I stayed at Ritz Carlton Doha about two weeks ago and now at St.Regis Doha so I can easily compare the two.  Based on my stay I can say St.Regis is a fine property in Doha, perhaps not always my favorite in the city depending on my purpose while in Doha, but it does have some strong points so I can recommend it.

Location

In Doha I sometimes prefer hotels closer to the Corniche such as Sheraton Grand or hotels closer to the airport especially for a one-night stay during a layover, and while St.Regis is not very close to either, at least it’s better located than Ritz Carlton.  Not only is the Corniche closer but you are also right on a beach at St.Regis.

Common Areas

Once you arrive at the hotel, you can immediately see the imposing structure with the two huge oryxes at the bottom of the entrance.  Once inside the hotel, the common areas are equally impressive and imposing.  

Room

I booked the entry level room using a free night certificate and I received a generous 5-category upgrade to the John Jacob Suite so the hotel went 2 notches beyond the “junior suite” upgrade.  The John Jacob Suite is very spacious at 110 square meters and in my opinion in line with St.Regis standards in terms of quality.  There is a powder room off the entrance and a full living room separated from the bedroom.  While there is nothing wrong with the room, I would give the edge to the executive suite we got at Ritz Carlton in a number of minor ways, but they add up.  First off, the room in St.Regis had carpet and I preferred the hardwood floors at RC.  The furniture at RC was more recent as the hotel has been refurbished recently, the tech features were a bit better for example electric curtains at RC, there was a small balcony at RC and not at StR, the powder room was cramped at StR (the door opened about 1 cm from the counter) and was bigger at RC, the shower was also bigger and nicer at RC than StR which took a long time before we could get warm water.  The TVs at StR are somewhat small relative to the size of the bedroom and living room, and the walls of the living room felt a bit naked and in need of more deco.  Bathroom amenities at StR were the standard Le Remede products just like RC also had the brand standard Asprey Purple Water.  The one feature I liked better at StR is that the room had a more local touch due to the shape of the Arabic entry ways to the various rooms.  None of these are big deciding factors but if I must pick one room then RC would be my choice.  It’s all relative: Doha has many new and modern hotels and StR opened in 2012 which is not old by any means but you can notice the difference.  

Dining

I found the StR breakfast to be noticeably better than at RC in most aspects.  Other than RC having fried rice and soup which StR did not have, the rest was in StR’s favor.  There was more choice at StR for example several warm dishes such as juicy pieces of white chicken, there were lentils, falafel, samosas, more choice of baked veggies, etc.  Also there was an interesting mixed juices station (although portions very small!), and most importantly there was an a la carte menu offering more than made to order omelets which I found to be lacking at RC.  Unfortunately the “Crab Royal” poached eggs that we tried was forgetful and contained fake crab, but at least they had choices that RC did not have on top of the buffet so if I was to return at StR I would try other options such as the breakfast tortilla.  The brand standard at RC is normally that elites do not get free breakfast and I was thankful that they went above the rules to give it to us for free, but StR breakfast is also free if you forego the 1k points so it’s a tie regarding cost at least for elites.  The other way in which breakfast at StR is better than RC is the restaurant itself: the atmosphere felt more roomy at StR and it was not crowded, plus they have a terrace outside for people who want to have breakfast with the warm morning desert breeze.  As a final note about breakfast I would mention that hours are quite convenient: 6am-11am.

Pool

Another main advantage of St.Regis over RC is the pool.  It looked very nice; I did not use it but for guests who value a pool then it should be seen as a strong point in favor of StR.

Overall

All in all St.Regis Doha is a good property; that said there are lots of strong Marriott chain choices in Doha.  I would give the edge to RC over StR for people who care most about the rooms, and also RC has a lounge which can be a plus if you are willing to pay for it - it’s a choice which does not exist at StR.  Conversely StR wins for people who value the breakfast, the location, and the pool.