Stay calm, people, it's supposed to be minor and involved carpet burning outside the hotel - link here. Damage is apparently minimal and OUTSIDE the buildings - no interiors affected.

This is summer in the Gulf - fires are extremely common due to the extreme temperatures this time of year.

khabah

Looking to do a quick 2-nighter in Doha, Dec 31-Jan 2, before flying to MLE. We are a couple, no children. What property would you guys recommend?

W or St Regis

Are hotels in Doha already sold out for the world cup in November or have they not released the rooms yet?

Seems like all of November and most of December are currently showing unavailable

there will be some kind of portal where it will be possible to book hotels for that period.

this one appears to be the official portal
https://www.qatar2022.qa/book

but there clearly will be a major shortage
https://apnews.com/article/soccer-sp...d08859090185ef

Thank you for this. Very helpful :)

​​​​​

Hi All,
Planning a stay in Doha during transit. Will arrive at 5PM and leave the next day at 8AM. Is Sharq village a good option? Very light sleeper, open to other recommendations as well. Thanks in advance.

I once had a similar itinerary of a few hours in Doha, and stayed at the Four Points. You can access it via a few stops on the metro from the airport, get off at Msheireb station and walk out of an exit right in front of the hotel entrance. Hotel was clean and quiet, I was upgraded to a large suite with separate living room and bedroom, and Jacuzzi in the bathroom. You can walk through the metro tunnels into the Msheireb development itself to grab food, walk through the well-designed streets, lumber to Souq Waqif nearby and enjoy a relaxing few hours. Would recommend.

khabah

Thank you for the reply. I am a little hesitate to stay at the Four Points due to the hotel has smoking rooms. I am very allergic to fumes. In that case, is the Sharq village the better option (or else)?

all the hotels from the chains (Marriott included) don’t have any availability as all the period held by supreme committee.

i had to change my next 5 nights stay (at Ritz shark) to check out on the 1st of November (30th of October last available date)

I heard a new St. Regis is opening in Doha soon, but I can hardly find any information about it.
Does anyone know anything about a second St. Regis coming to Doha?

Thanks for the link, looks quite nice.
Is the area good for sightseeing in Doha though?

it quotes April 22 as the opening date. Anyone know of when it is now expected to open?

actually seems to be not bookable for this year …

It seems like they have a residency Instagram page

https://www.instagram.com/stregisres...aarabia/?hl=en

And a youtube page

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpr...RXcwsYYOSiXufg

There appears to be two new Autograph Collections coming according to the Marriott Website -

Doha Lusail Qatar , Autograph Collections Hotel- https://www.marriott.com/search/hote...rshaCode=DOHLK

and

Al Samriya Autograph Collections Hotel - https://www.marriott.com/search/hote...rshaCode=DOHAS

There is additional information on the latter property by the owner - https://www.artic.com.qa/portfolio/hotel/autograph.aspx

It appears the Luxury Collection property at Lusail has disappeared off the list, not sure what to make of that!

Has anyone booked rooms during the world cup?

I was going to book through the official FIFA booking portal, but wanted to know if these rates will earn points/night credits?

I do not believe they do as I think that would be considered a third party booking. I have contacted some hotels and they have rooms but at exorbitant rates so just assessing for myself what to do!!

Hotel prices are pretty crazy. The JW Marriott Marquis I was looking at was around $800 a night for the few nights I'm scheduled to be there.

If I cant earn points or night credits, I'll probably go with one of the local hotels for around $500

Just to update, went ahead and booked a local hotel.

They charged the card through QTR Accommodations so I doubt any status or points earning would apply.

St Regis Marsa Arabia Island, The Pearl opens on October 16th and is bookable for 34K points/night (or 2205 QAR). I'll be in town that week but might wait to book until it's been open a while.

https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotel...atar/overview/

i thought to change the Ritz with this property for my next stay at the end of October, because the very low amount of points for a suite and because I’m sure it’s an amazing new hotel, but I’m too worried about some noise that may comes from any not completed work

and there’s not a beach. And the pool seems to be very small …

P.S. I see many dates opened also after the 31October for most of the properties, at “normal” rates

I’ll be staying there on December 24, will share my feedback here! Booked it for 40k points, which is still very decent.

what was interesting is that the pricing for all 3 suite categories that are bookable by points were the same, i.e., superior / deluxe / premium suite were all 40k.

Doha, Qatar: Stay at Ritz Carlton Doha, Sharq Village Ritz Carlton or St Regis?
 

I have a stay for 5 nights later in October in Doha using points and/or free nights. I stayed at the Ritz Carlton Doha on the club floor for four nights three years ago and loved it. When I went to re-book it, I noticed that there was another Ritz Carlton we can stay at in Doha called Sharq Village. It looks very Arabian over the top, especially the spa and certain restaurants. So I only booked two nights at the RC Doha and 3 nights at Sharq Village. I wonder if anyone has stayed at both or has stayed at Sharq Village and can comment. I also wonder if I should give the St Regis a chance. The nice thing about RC Doha is that they let you book on the club floor for a very reasonable rate using cash & miles. I look forward to hearing from any kind and well traveled folks.

Looks like the STR has been renovated recently. My suggestion to go for it. Rooms/Suites looks outstanding.

Thank you. I'll check it out. We definitely got spoiled at the RC Doha club floor. They had a chef cooking hot meals in there in the evenings. And when I checked out in the lounge, I was presented with a large bouquet of white roses and lilies wrapped in embossed paper and entwined with vines. Then as we passed by the front desk, I was given a coffee table book on the Museum of Islamic Art that they knew I had loved visiting.

Have you stayed at either of the RC or the STR?

STR. However it was a very long time ago (2013 or 2014). I can recall being upgraded to a massive 2 bedroom suite after a numerous amount of hiccups back then. Regardless of that we cut our stay short and left.

Sharq and St Regis don't have lounges, so if it's a lounge you want, then don't stay at either of these.

I have stayed in most of the Marriott (old SPG) hotels and I will now only ever stay in the Sheraton. The reward value is amazing, the lounge has a huge selection, the facilities are great, it's on a "beach", all rooms have balconies, platinum upgrades are plentiful.

The hotel is a bit "out dated" / very Arabic, but it is by far my favourite.

The RC has a more fancy lounge and has a chef there, but the Sheraton has a lot more variety of food. I'd say the Ritz has a better lounge just (but you have to pay for it), but that is the only thing that I would say is better.

have you been upgraded at the club suite having booked the club room ? (If you have any status like Tit)

thanks

I won’t know until check in because I don’t have any suite upgrade certificates. Marriott did not ask extend their expiration dates. I can let you know after I return from the trip if you’d like a date point. The regular rooms are pretty basic especially by RC standards. Balcony is very tiny.

I can't find anywhere online the St Regis Marsa Arabia Island email. For the hotel, not for the residence.
Anyone have (or have find) it?
Thanks! ;-)

In case anyone is interested, the FIFA hold on many rooms during the World Cup has been lifted.

I know it's not cheap, but can be booked directly through Marriott. The Marriott Marquis is also available on some dates with points. If you can get it, 20k points a night is a steal.

Hi TravelerIT,

The email address for The St. Regis Marsa Arabia Island, The Pearl Qatar is: [email protected]

Best Regards,

Christina Z
Specialist, Social Media
Marriott International

[email protected]

Has anyone had any feedback from the Delta hotel, trying to decide between this, Element hotel and Le Meridian? at the moment Le Meridian purely as its closest to the metro but not sure.

booking canceled, all rates for December now showing at $600usd/night
 

I had a similar experience booking this hotel (for the spa mostly) but was sent an email (with spelling errors no less) saying I needed to cancel my booking :

Can anyone shed some light on what is going on? TIA!

I heard that Marriott properties in Doha would not be granting any Titanium benefits during the World Cup (lounge access, breakfast, etc.). Can anyone confirm this? I can't find this in T&Cs.

For what date is your booking?

They sent me the same email for my stay on December 24th. I rang them up and said December 24th does not fall under the World Cup period. They apologized and said I can keep the booking.

if your booking is indeed during the period the World Cup is happening, best to call them.

St. Regis Marsa Arabia Island, The Pearl Qatar
 

I noticed the first Tripadvisor review has posted. Not good reading especially as I’m booked to stay there later this month :-(