Just back from Honeymoon and stayed as the Kempinski on the way home. Not overtly impressed mind you the last ME hotel we stayed in was the FS in Dubai so maybe my expectations were too high. Yes physically impressive hotel but room i had certainly felt that it needs TLC; for example there was a big stain on the carpet in the middle of the room; chips on some of the door frames etc. The pool/beach area was the best part but out of four days there was only proactve service at beach on the Friday when additional water/fruit was offered during the day. The rest of the days nothing at all. On checking in we were asked if we wanted a paper every morning. We got it the first morning and then didnt after that. Anyway it was ok and we did get a welcome treat (a cake) to say happy Honeymoon; but I would try somewhere else next time.

It's Kempinski... unsurprisingly there are service issues.

I really wonder if MO is going to open...

I am staying at the Mondrian in Doha next month. Has anyone else stayed there yet?

After the very clever proprietress of Mandarin Oriental, Doha recently did a walkthrough of the property, it became very clear that the lovely hotel will open indeed.

Consequently, they are now happily accepting reservations for bookings April onwards.

And... rates clearly indicate that the property aims to shoo Four Seasons Doha where it belongs — in cost cutting hell. I hope this will be reason enough to finally spearhead renovations of the gracefully aging lady and rethink some decisions. I highly doubt MO will open with wooden sticks in all rooms and suites in lieu of spoons.

Park Hyatt also has a GM working very busy on something, but not too sure when they will open.

I really regret not checking out the MO during my last stop in Doha. I decided to stay at the RC at the Marina and while the rooms are totally redone and the club lounge had nice seating areas I thought the food offerings were really mediocre to poor in the club and the pool area had not been redone at all, seemed straight out of the late 80's was dirty and had very poor service. I would not stay there again for that reason alone as I really enjoy swimming after a long day. Will be interesting to see what the FS will be like after reopening. If I had to go back over the next few months I would decide between the MO or the St. Regis as the other choices just seem pretty poor.

Doha will see an influx of new 5* hotels this winter. I will be traveling there after the World Cup to try as many as I can, and will revert back!

Here are some upcoming hotels (some of them will open for the World Cup but won’t take bookings for this period):

Waldorf Astoria Lusail (accepting bookings from December 22nd)

St Regis Marsa Arabia (accepting bookings from December 22nd)

Waldorf Astoria West Bay (no official opening date yet, but most likely after WC)

Raffles Doha (not yet accepting bookings, but they told me they will open for the public after WC, so probably they will take bookings from December 21st onwards)

Fairmont Doha - connected to Raffles, see above

Rosewood Doha - delayed to 2023

The DOHA Edition - not accepting bookings yet, but it still says 2022, so might open up for late December too

The Chedi Katara - no news yet, still says 2022

Rixos Gulf Hotel - already taking bookings

Le Royal Meridien - already open

already booked the Waldorf Astoria Lusail, St. Regis Marsa Arabia and Le Royal Meridien. Really hope I can try the Raffles & Fairmont - they look amazing!

Much like you, I am also looking forward to trying some of these... I will be in Doha just before FIFA World Cup and will stay at FS Doha... will also try to have a look at the new FS Doha-The Pearl (a resort plus residences!), The Chedi Katara and others...

Very exciting times for Qatar, though I am avoiding the World Cup period, no doubt very busy.

FS was solid, almost had the pool to myself. Food was good but did not impress me.

Can’t say I will be eager to return to Doha though it is light years better than many other places I’ve been sent. But not much to do here

Chiva Som opened the Zulal resort in Qatar. That might be worth a look. https://www.zulal.com/

Any suggestion on which hotel in DOH has the best food on site nowadays?

Four Seasons — at least the brand/management side — is owned by a Bill Gates investment vehicle and a Saudi investment vehicle. Did the cooling of the Saudi spat with Qatar have any impact on the two FS in DOH?

Plenty of high end-oriented hotels in the Gulf states, but Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar I would find to be boring for typical tourism purposes; and no amount of investment at hotels in any of these places would have me stick around for more than a couple of days if I can help it. The UAE and Oman, for different reasons in part, have more going for them in terms of getting me to stay around longer.

I did read about the FS Doha Pearl and thought that it’s only residences. When is it opening?

Raffles Doha and Fairmont Doha have started to accept reservations today - you can book for December 24th onwards.

Flexible rates start from 600$ for the Fairmont and 1200$ for the Raffles.

there was an interesting article about the hotels last week https://www.businesstraveller.com/fe...otels-in-doha/

What is Doha like for women travelers?