Originally Posted by sandeep.thilakan (Post 35807609)

Completely agree with cornwall4000 . I would even say that Raffles Doha is among the finest hotels in the Middle East, if not the finest. I am glad that it's in Doha, and not Dubai; since otherwise, they would be charging 2000+ USD for an entry-level suite.

Originally Posted by sandeep.thilakan (Post 35878533)

I regret to take back my words after an underwhelming stay over New Year’s Eve. While the hard product is still uniquely word class, and housekeeping did a wonderful job, the rest fell flat. Perhaps the most disastrous part was the famed Raffles Buttler service. From getting pampered during our first stay to waiting for hours to get water delivered, suite number being asked a zillion times, and being charged for plain cappuccino's, it was quite a fall.

The staff at Four Seasons Pearl reminded us of the once great service at Raffles.

Originally Posted by sandeep.thilakan (Post 35878533)

I regret to take back my words after an underwhelming stay over New Year’s Eve. While the hard product is still uniquely word class, and housekeeping did a wonderful job, the rest fell flat. Perhaps the most disastrous part was the famed Raffles Buttler service. From getting pampered during our first stay to waiting for hours to get water delivered, suite number being asked a zillion times, and being charged for plain cappuccino's, it was quite a fall.

The staff at Four Seasons Pearl reminded us of the once great service at Raffles.

Originally Posted by jinyoungkim7 (Post 35878901)

That's too bad, I'm headed to the Raffles in about 2 months from now. Hopefully the service issues were due to them being at higher capacity than usual on NYE.

Originally Posted by CanaryWharf (Post 35881298)

Wow, I am surprised to hear that, especially about the Butler service and suite number being asked all the time. I spent 7 nights there last month, and luckily my experience was just as good as the last time.

Did you raise the issue with the head butler or management?

FS Pearl is amazing indeed, it felt very exclusive!

Originally Posted by sandeep.thilakan (Post 35891509)

The full capacity was the main reason for the service shortfalls. I was told that their average occupancy is around 50%, and it seemed like they got a few staff members from the Fairmont who were not trained for the Raffles ethos.



I raised the issue with the Director of Rooms, Keith Chong, who acknowledged the staffing issues and assured us that this was an exception - something which he was sincerely apologetic about. The service recovery was also quite good until the last day's breakfast when we again had to wait long to get coffee and juices served. But, the real face-in-the-palm moment happened when we asked the butler to get us two cappuccinos a few hours before checkout and they charged us for that, which I honestly had no issues about. Upon checkout, I found that the coffee wasn't added to the final invoice, only for the front office staff to come running while we waited in the lobby and charge us the missed $20!

Originally Posted by CanaryWharf (Post 34970249)

After trying out 19 five-star hotels in Doha during the past 5 weeks, here is my ranking for the luxury segment:

1) Raffles Doha - truly stunning architecture, outstanding service (not just due to the low occupancy, they really did hire a fantastic professionals), F&B and SPA was excellent and sets the bar high
2) Mandarin Oriental - service was the best out of all hotels, very sophisticated & classy, super friendly & proactive staff, interior design is amazing (understated luxury which is not easy to find in the Middle East)
3) Four Seasons - post-renovation the hotel is shining again, really liked the combination of white and blue colours, Ambassador suite was beauitful, great service as one is expecting from FS and solid F&B offer.

One’s to avoid:

the Chedi - beautiful property but service was seriously lacking. Probably needs another few months to get running properly.
St. Regis - poor service and outdated rooms, would not want to stay there again.

Originally Posted by AdelaideAce (Post 35943031)

Hoping to pick your brain as you seem very well travelled.
I’m Accor Plus Diamond and have 3n in Doha during March this year. Keen to try both the Fairmont and Raffles but having trouble deciding which one we stay at for 2n and which one for just 1n.
The Fairmont Gold rooms sound very appealing and with the private pool and lounge might be the winner but keen to know what the Gold experience is like at this property and if the Gold included breakfast is sufficient or if I’m better booking a room with breakfast if that is substantially better. Raffles does look absolutely superb but just wondering if I will get a better overall experience by staying at the Fairmont for 2n or the Raffles for 2n.
Much appreaciated if you had some pros and cons or any advice thanks

Originally Posted by jk1087 (Post 36114388)

Looking for location advice for a ~35 hour stay in Doha in September. Arrive around 5pm Thursday, fly out 9am Saturday.

Will probably go to the Souk Thursday evening, with Friday packed with as much as possible.

Debating the best area to stay, ideally in a higher end Marriott or Hilton property. Is the Sharq village the best just out of closeness to airport? Lusail or the Pearl look nice but not sure if it's worth travelling to the other end of the city

Originally Posted by CanaryWharf (Post 36262836)

Rosewood Doha got pushed back to 2025 from what I hear. Not surprised as the market is really tough at the moment, few hotels are doing well.

No signs of the EDITION opening anytime soon (originally due to open in 2022) and the Andaz will finally open October of this year after a long delay.

Originally Posted by CanaryWharf (Post 36262836)

Rosewood Doha got pushed back to 2025 from what I hear. Not surprised as the market is really tough at the moment, few hotels are doing well.

No signs of the EDITION opening anytime soon (originally due to open in 2022) and the Andaz will finally open October of this year after a long delay.