W Doha Qatar [Master Thread]
 

This hotel is supposed to open imminently (although as of a couple of days ago, it was still not possible to book a room on-line).

I got a sneak preview last night, and it is really spectacular. Yes, it does have that "hip" look, complete with pulsating music and seemingly indifferent staff (even on my private tour), all of which makes it totally different from anything else in Doha. The lobby is a grandiose large room with long dark blue chandeliers, a circular staircase up to the mezzanine, and a variety of seating areas. It is accented with the usual W color schemes of lots of black and bold colors.

The rooms are also pretty, with floor-to-ceiling windows, technological gadgets, modern furnishings, and gorgeous bathrooms. I would rate the size of the rooms small-to-average for Doha. In addition to the rooms, the property features several floors of apartments, designed similarly to the rooms (in small one-, large one-, and two-bedroom layouts) and with all of the services of the hotel. There's a separate entrance to the apartment, and valet parking, a 24-hour concierge, daily servicing akin to a hotel room, phone/internet/TV, and many other amenities are included for the healthy monthly price.

I visited the "ewow" suite, which was like nothing else that I have ever seen before. The living room is styled like a night club, with curved sofas arranged as niches with thick strings hanging from the ceiling to form sort of like a curtain around the niches. It does not make for a large, open, airy space; but rather a cozier space that feels larger than it is because of the curved walls and hallways. The living room also has a billiard table, and a long but almost flat, brightly lit fish tank hanging about two feet down vertically from the ceiling near the dining area (which is adjacent to a full kitchen, which has a separate entrance for the chef, so he does not have to traipse through your suite I suppose). Most of the suite has dark, plush carpet, and some areas have dark hard wood floors.

The long hallway that leads to the bedroom features about seven more fish tanks interspersed with dark wood panels, with probably a 25-foot wide floor-to-(high-)ceiling window with a desk in front of it with a great view of the West Bay corniche. The bathroom has a huge rain shower and tub between two sinks/vanity areas. Etc., etc. Some of the furnishings (like the nearly life-sized lamp/sculpture of a horse in the bedroom) will not be to everyone's taste, but it was still very pretty. The furnishings seemed, at a quick glance, to be of high quality (which is not always the case in town).

The hotel features the Crystal Lounge, a bar/night club that clearly will set the new bar for Doha (although that's not saying much). It is a huge space, with many separate rooms, each with plush furnishings. One of the bars is to be a "Cristal champagne bar." There's also a beautiful sheesha lounge on the second floor with another bar area and a number of private booths with sofas and curtains, Arabian style, that leads outside to the black pool. The hotel also features a caviar restaurant (not open yet) and a brasserie-type restaurant by John Georges Vongeritchen, which is a striking space -- although the menu didn't look too interesting.

If you're in Doha, it's definitely worth checking out. It is certainly what you'd expect from the W brand, for better or worse. Although this style is generally not my cup of tea, they certainly delivered a bold and striking new venue that should be a welcome addition to Doha.

Thanks for that report, can't wait to see pictures !

Just a heads-up that the W Doha has C+P availability on nights where it is not shown on the website -- or least it did on the the night in mid-July that I inquired about, a few weeks ago.

At the time, rooms were going, with tax, for over $500, making $90+tax+4,800 points one of the better redemptions I've ever had. Rooms are now in the $300s, still a good deal.

Now if the Cat 5 Sheraton Bahrain would only do the same...

Trip report with a few pictures
 

I just finished my fourth stay here, for a total of about a dozen nights. Here are some observations:

-- Guest rooms. As I commented before, they are very attractive, although small compared to other five-star hotels in Doha. The carpet, furniture, and fixtures are of a higher quality than anything else in the city. The beds are quite comfortable, typical for W. The best part of the rooms are the floor-to-ceiling windows that cover most sides of the room, although the windows don't open. The desk and bathroom accessories are all made of leather, and all of the chairs and sofas are typically modern and comfortable.

Here are a few pictures of the W Suite (to which I was upgraded on two stays) and the Fabulous Room (to which I was upgraded on the other two stays):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/42248653@N04/3896182367
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42248653@N04/3896182367
(Bedroom in suite)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/42248653@N04/3896173613/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42248653@N04/3896173613
(Living room in suite)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/42248653@N04/3896944934/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42248653@N04/3896944934
(Guest room, non-suite)

You can see that the rooms feature circular spaces, with pseudo-curtains (strands of string) that fully "enclose" the spaces.

The Fabulous Rooms are at the corner of the building, so are sort of triangular- (or perhaps trapezoidal-) shaped. Behind the wall with the TV monitor is a little nook with a daybed and coffee table in front of the windows. Sort of a waste of a space, perhaps, or a nice little addition, depending on how you look at it.

The room has all sorts of gadgets, like a fancy alarm clock, VoIP phone on the desk and cordless phone on the nightstand, iPod docking station, and Bose surround sound (in the suites). The suite has a few other whimsical items, like an old manual typewriter and a chess set. I wasn't interested in most of these, except for the Nespresso machine with several different pods of coffee to choose from. ^ The room has a minibar, with alcohol, and food items, all at fairly decent prices considering the source. (By the way, the minibar does not include the racier items that some Ws in more liberal locales are known for.)

I had one major problem with the room, which was the entertainment system. It's actually a PC and monitor -- the software was branded Neos -- but worked very poorly. The DVD player (which is part of the PC) was sluggish and unresponsive to the remote buttons. Every time I tried to watch a DVD, the system froze, skipped, or otherwise misbehaved. Often the sound would play without the picture or vice-versa. I often tried to re-boot (which took about five minutes) with success for only a few minutes each time. The television channels were not much better. There is no way to surf all of the channels at once; only to navigate through menus and sub-menus on the screen, although the channel selection is pretty narrow. The system also offers pay-per-view movies, which is not common in the Middle East (I can think of only one other hotel in Doha that offers them), but none of the fewer than 20 titles on offer were of any interest to me.

I had this issue with all three of the units that I attempted to use over my several stays. A couple of times they sent the engineer up, but he was unable to do anything. I told them that it was obvious that the software was just junky, but they didn't seem to understand. They offered to swap the system out; I told them, please don't bother until I leave tomorrow morning, and I am not sure if they ever did. They certainly didn't fix the problem.

-- Bathrooms. The bathrooms are very attractive, with huge rain showers, large bathtubs, and the usual Bliss toiletries (large bottles in the suites), replenished each day. Here are a couple of pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/42248653@N04/3896956900/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42248653@N04/3896956900
(Suite bathroom)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/42248653@N04/3896966168/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42248653@N04/3896966168
(Suite bathroom)

However, where the bathrooms excel in form, they sometimes fall short in function. The elegant parabolic sink in the bathroom in my suite was too flat -- and the end of the faucet too high and close to the edge of the sink -- to prevent a tidal wave of water from ending up all over the counter whenever I used it. The shower also has many nozzles -- six horizontal jets, in addition to the vertical rain shower and hose apparatus, in the one in the suite -- but the pressure was uneven and temperature not very responsive to the controls. There is also no soap dish or tray of any kind in the shower, so that I had to place all of my toiletries on the floor while using it. Not a huge deal, of course, but a strange design oversight.

-- Food and beverage. The hotel has three restaurants, Market by Jean Georges, Spice Market [also by Jean Georges], and La Maison du Caviar.

I was excited to go to La Maison du Caviar, as there are few, if any, French brasserie-type places in Doha. The food and service are not great, unfortunately, but prices are moderate for Doha, so overall it's a decent option. Last visit, I had the veal cordon bleu (with "beef ham"), served with some roasted potatoes and browrn gravy. It was fairly solid, but the goat-cheese salad I also ordered was really underwhelming. The restaurant also features caviar, of course, with all major varieties (including beluga), but the prices are quite high, even in context. Not surprising, I guess, because it might be the only place in Doha that carries cavier.

The Market, by contrast, is one of the best restaurants in Doha. It has a relatively small menu, but everything that I have had has been tasty. Breakfast in the morning also does not feature as wide of a selection as most of the other five-star hotels in town, but more than makes up for it in quality. It features excellent fruit and berries, a few typical cold and hot mezze, a variety of cold cuts and cheeses, elegantly displayed yogurts and parfaits, foie gras, and choice of basic hot entrees (e.g., eggs, pancakes). Breakfast was complimentary for me (it was included in my corporate rate, although I am not sure if it's complimentary for Platinum members), which includes coffee and fresh juice, but a 1L bottle of water set me back about $10.

I was disappointed by the Spice Market. It is sort of a Vietnamese-based menu, but I found the menu selections limited, and wasn't thrilled with what I ordered. Maybe they're trying a bit too hard here, which sophisticated-sounding dishes that don't really deliver.

I also attended the iftar buffet at Spice Market as well as the suhour "Ramadan tent" set up in the ballroom. Both were disappointing; at suhour, available from 10:00pm-3:00am, they have a slightly smaller version of the same buffet as iftar, as well as small cooking stations for India, France, Italy, China, Japan, and Qatar, if I remember correctly. This was not too memorable -- think of a basic pasta station for "Italy" -- although they had Peking duck with pancakes at the "China" station. ^

-- Service. I wouldn't say that typical W aloofness characterizes the service -- in fact, the staff are pretty friendly and engaging. The front desk service is efficient, while the bell and valet parking seem to take an inordinate amount of time, even when it's apparently not busy. I sent my shoes down for a shine and asked that they be returned at a certain time the next day; they weren't, and I had to call down and retrieve them.

On the plus side, twice when I called down and asked for the bellman to help me with my luggage, when I went downstairs they had already printed my bill to expedite check-out. A relatively minor accommodation, of course, but this is very rare in my experience. I have called the hotel reservations office several times, and always had good experiences (this is not always the case in Doha, given limited English capabilities of many of the front-line staff at hotels), although the front-desk attendant was not able to fully help me when I tried to make a reservation there in person.

I have no experience with "Whatever Whenever."

They once sent me an SMS with an offer for a promotional menu at La Maison du Caviar, but, when I went there, no one at the restaurant nor the front desk knew anything about it. Typical.

-- Amenities. The hotel also features Wahm, an outdoor bar and shisha cafe that is quite nice. It has a handful of Arabic-style cabana-type facilities outside, with cushioned seating and privacy curtains. The Bliss Spa, the first in the region, is also gorgeous, although I did not avail of any of the services. The pool is smallish, outdoors and with a black bottom and music playing under the water. The Crystal Lounge is without a doubt the most attractive night club in Doha. I went once a couple of months ago, but haven't been lately (it's closed during Ramadan, which lasts for about two more weeks).

There is a small ladies' boutique in the lobby, as well as a branch of iSpot, the Apple [computer] dealer in Qatar. There is no place to buy a magazine or batteries, however. The lobby also features a number of semi-private spaces with comfortable sofas, ample reading material strewn about, and wait service for tea, juice, etc. They also have a little table set up each evening with snacks and drinks (dates, iced tea, etc.). I am not sure if this is just for Ramadan or not, but it makes for an inviting atmosphere when one returns at night.

Here is a picture of the lobby:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42248653@N04/3896938820/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42248653@N04/3896938820

In summary, the hotel stands out in Doha, and is a very comfortable place to stay. I will be back.

Thanks for this great report and the photos. Appreciate it very much as I'm right now thinking to stop over here for a night or two. It might be worth to look arround and have a view of the city.

Thanks!

Staying there for 3 nights next month.. looking forward to it..

I've been going to Doha every month or two for several years. I've stayed regularly at the Ritz, Marriott, and more recently the Sheraton. I have access to a great corporate rate at the W and as a Platinum thought I would check it out.

Platinum upgrade to a Fabulous room (oversize corner room, pictured above in mecabq's great post). In the Fabulous room the sink and shower were very functional: very good temperature control, soap dish, very functional rectangular sink. I also felt the corner sitting area was a waste of space but the rest of the room was spacious and functional. I can believe the regular category rooms are small.

Wired internet worked very well. Wireless worked okay but speed was very slow at peak times in the evening (the wired was several times faster at those times).

Platinums get a continental breakfast which you can take either from the lobby takeaway cart or in the W-ip (VIP) lounge, not in the main restaurant. The Crystal Lounge serves as the W-ip lounge from 6am-6pm for Plats and upgraded rooms and suites. I saw very few people in there but it's a pleasant place to chill out during the day, if you want. The staff were very nice to me. In the morning they have continental breakfast. After that they have a few choices of soft drinks, fresh chips and salsa, small cut veggies with dip, and small fruit kababs. Those "snacks" do not change all day or on any day the week I was there. Other soft drinks like sparkling water are charged at menu prices. Alcohol is free (it wasn't clear to me exactly what was free) from 5-6pm only. At 6pm it goes to the Crystal Lounge and is not a Platinum lounge any longer.

My corporate rate includes the full breakfast in the Market, which is very good and as described above. Normally QR125.

Market and Spice Market (which is a little hyped up but I find quite tasty) both have a good deal from 12-4pm every day except Friday (that's the local weekend). You can get a three course 'express lunch' in either restaurant for QR80, drinks extra. It's a very good deal by Doha hotel standards and a fraction of the regular menu prices. You have five or more choices for each course in each restaurant. Maison du Caviar has set lunches at the same time for QR90 for two courses and QR115 for three courses (no actual caviar at those prices).

I agree the bottled waters are expensive by local standards (QR20 in Market and QR25 in Spice Market for a half liter; twice that for a liter) with no cheaper local bottled option as in most hotels. I've never seen anyone in a Doha hotel restaurant drink tap water even though it's perfectly potable. Maybe I'll try asking for it next time!

If anyone wants more info about Doha travel in general, I am happy to receive PMs.

Charles

Checked in yesterday for three nights. Hotel is at the middle of the huge construction zone that is Doha. Building is beautiful and the decoration in the lobby is really stunning. beautiful hotel.
No platinum recognition at check in, was upgraded to a fabulous room and was told that there were no suites available.
Not a big deal as the room is quite nice and roomy. Really love the style of this hotel
complimentary breakfast at the crystal lounge is a little lame but no complaints it's free.. overall good experience.

Continuing to stay here regularly and pleased with the experience. The W-ip lounge has improved its policies: free choice of soft drinks during the day including bottles of sparkling water and generous choice of alcohol from 5-6pm daily. The snacks are slightly improved and slightly more varied. Quite good sushi rolls and ceviche (?) are often available 5-6pm during the happy hour.

Upgrades either to Fabulous (oversized corner) room or W suites each time. I corrected my earlier post; I have not stayed in the "Marvelous" rooms, which are the regular rooms but on the upper floors and include the W-ip lounge (sort of an inexpensive cash upgrade for non-Platinums).

I've stayed here 3 times now. My first stay this year was as a platinum, got upgraded to a "cool corner" suite, which is one room, but is very nice as the desk faces the water. (Well, half the cool corners face the water, the other half face a construction zone). The decor and floor-to-ceiling glass is great. But there are several construction sites around the hotel which does lend to dirty glass! The only other issue is the lighting in the room, which is overly complicated.
Service has been good to excellent for me.
Valet parking is free, which is fantastic. (and its the only option, there is no self parking). The valet attendants always seems a bit surprised and/or awkward when I tip them - so they don't even seem to expect the tips.
The restaurant are excellent. I agree that The Market just has fanstastic menu items, including two good Hamour dishses (the local fish).
Overall I'd totally recommend this place, especially for those who like modern design.

hmm
 

Anything recent on this? Thinking of going in April and see a St Regis is also opening?

Extended Late Checkout
 

As many flights from DOH leave around midnight, is it possible to get an extended late checkout until, say, 9PM?:confused: Free will be nice but I am happy to pay up to 50% rate for 9-10PM checkout.

Can anyone advise how much a taxi from the airport to this hotel is? Do Qatari cabs take credit cards, or do I need to plan to have local currency? Thanks!

As far as I know, taxis take only cash. There are ATMs and money changers in the terminal. There is also an ATM in the corner of the W lobby.

Taxis are inexpensive and Doha is not very large (although congested at peak times). The fare is usually about QR 50 (US $14) to the W hotel (including the recently raised airport surcharge).

On the way back there are no public taxis at the W hotel but you or the doorman might be able to call one. They have hotel cars, which are likely several times more expensive (the minimum hotel car to the airport may be QR 150 according to their website). I use local private drivers from a company and their standard charge is QR 50 to or from the airport (plus waiting time if needed at QR 30 per half hour). If you PM me, I'll send you my guy's name and local number.

I usually tip taxi and car drivers in Doha although I can tell you many people do not.

I've stayed at this hotel 20 times mostly leaving around midnight and have never been offered anything other than paying a full night's rate after 4-5pm (which as Plat is the free late checkout). I actually have never specifically asked.

At other hotels in town: Marriott was the most accommodating with sometimes allowing a 7pm checkout at no cost as a Gold/Plat (and would have done the same for others with a 50% room charge).

At these hotels, their housekeepers are usually finishing up for the night around 7-8pm. If the room is still occupied at that hour they cannot rent it again that night.

For the money involved, it may be better to check out and store your bags, go off to spend some money on a nice dinner, walk around the Pearl, or the souk, and then come back to collect bags and head to the airport (although note that the souk is on the way to the airport).

Any experience at this hotel recently?

I'm staying in Doha for 4 nights and juggling around the St. Regis and the W. I'll be using SNA's as well.

Any recent experiences with Platinum treatment at this property?

Stayed here last year. You can have breakfast at the lounge or at Market. Other than that, you are entitled to all listed benefits.

Great hotel!
 

Stayed here for 3 nights in November and it is a stunning hotel. The rates can back that up but was not an issue as I was staying for work. Rate included breakfast,wifi and lounge access although I am not sure if there is a lounge or where it would be as it was never mentioned during check-in. I was staying as a Gold and was provided a free drink voucher upon check-in.

Room is clean, small but efficient. Bathroom on the other hand is massive and over the top. Wifi was generally fast but I did have some VPN issues due to slowness.

Food is good and room service was quick. Breakfast downstairs is very good!

Staff were very helpful and made sure to say hello and ask if you needed anything while waiting in the lobby.

Only issue I had was when I was leaving and they scheduled a BMW to take me to the airport. They put me in a nice 5 series and then a gentleman came from the car area and started arguing with my driver. Apparently I was put into the wrong BMW and they wanted to put me in another car but it was not there and I had a flight to catch. I bailed and just took a taxi that was waiting near the entrance. Glad I did not prepay for the service or I still may be there while they argued.

This hotel is making me rethink my allegiance to HGP and is definitely one of the nicest business hotels I have stayed at.

P.S. - When checking out, you may notice a small charge for each night. It was some sort of donation that I was making. It is small but did cause me some headaches with my expenses department so be on the lookout if you need to expense this stay. I would gladly pay it but would prefer it to be separate from my bill.

Stayed there overnight due to connecting QR flights back in July. (On my dime, not QR's, though the airline would have put me up in another hotel.) Very impressed by great suite upgrade and friendly, efficient staff, but the stay was so short I can't comment much beyond that I'll definitely go back if visiting or passing through Doha in the future.

I was upgraded to a Witty Residence on my stay last weekend. I am not sure why I got this rather than one of the hotel rooms. I can only think it was perhaps because I have a preference for a higher floor and these rooms are above the normal hotel?? I was awarded all the other Platinum benefits of the WVIP at the hotel including free breakfast in the restaurant of the hotel.

There are some pictures in my current TR (at the bottom of the post).

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/24517315-post38.html

Wiki created.

Guys, any comments on the lounge? What do they offer? Happy Hour? Hors d'oeuvres? Alcohol?

I stayed one night here about a month ago. The lounge was closed (due to Ramadan I think) so the cafe acted as a temporary lounge. But now that Ramadan is over it should be back to the normal lounge again?

I guess I'm not really answering your question :) Thought I would share my fairly recent experience anyway

Thanks anyways! ^

Can somebody else share any more details on the lounge and its offerings?

So been about 6 months since I've been but in the past they offer a full enough breakfast spread in the morning (with chef for fresh hot eggs / omelettes). In the afternoon there is another wide selection of min sandwiches, cheeses, fruits, desserts, etc - more than enough to make a lunch. During dinner time there are 3 or 4 hot options added in addition to nuts, chips & salsa, cheese, hors d'oeuvres, desserts again, etc - I've had "dinner" there many times. Drinks (non-alcoholic) are free throughout the day and their latest policy was during happy hour (6-7pm I think) drinks are free. ^ Much better than old policy of buy one, get one free during happy hour.

Thanks. ^

Anybody been there most recently? Is the pool renovation coming along and on schedule? Can you still sit outside or is it totally unaccessible?

I usually get Cool Corner Suite upgrades here, but just got a Witty Residence one myself. Fantastic. Also, they're testing a WhatsApp concierge service which is amazing. Set my wakeup call, got help with internet, and a bottle of wine to my room in 10 minutes, all via WhatsApp.

I continue to maintain it's my favourite hotel in SPG....going back to my first stay in approx 2010 where they tracked down my lost wallet in a taxi overnight and had it located for me by morning.

Older posts speak of "the construction site". Is there still construction ongoing nearby, and if so, how disturbing is it?

How do the other properties compare? StR appears to be similarly priced for the dates I'm thinking of.

I just updated the Wiki. Any Western people been here during the holy Ramadan? Is Doha a ghost town during the day? I take it I will only be eating at night. Do all the Western chain hotels close up food service for the day?

I haven't been in a while but normally you can order room service all day to eat in your room or dine in the main all day restaurant of each hotel. Specialty hotel (and non hotel) restaurants will open after sundown. Many hotels also have a Ramadan tent with a buffet and entertainment from sundown to sunrise.

Alleged rape of a Dutch woman, who says she was drugged at the hotel's Crystal Lounge:

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/0...112412853.html

"The woman, 22, said she was drugged during a party in March at the Crystal Lounge nightclub at the W Doha Hotel, and woke up in an unfamiliar apartment when she realised she had been sexually assaulted."

Not to undermine the severity of this situation, but what is the relevance of this to us on FlyerTalk?

khabah

If I stayed at the hotel and the toilet was blocked, or some other unpleasant situation occurred during my stay, I would post it here, and people would find it relevant, right? So why not warn others who might frequent the Crystal Lounge that their drinks may be spiked? An isolated incident it may be, but still worth putting on the record for the property IMHO.

Particularly as a woman, given Qatari laws. This woman spent 3 months in prison for "committing adultery" -- she was raped, and didn't choose to "commit adultery." Way more important IMHO than some minor maintenance issue at the hotel.

The post is appropriate for Flyertalk. At minimum it alerts people to a possible safety issue. I planned a stay at the W Doha until I found out the restaurants were closed for Ramadan. I updated the Wiki about the restaurants being closed and this alleged incident has more importance than a food or beverage issue . I think the alleged incident belongs in the Wiki and updated the Wiki. Further the link to Aljazeera news article keeps changing and I wonder why?

QATAR12 JUNE 2016

Qatar: Dutch woman who alleged rape to appear in court
Tourist held since March after reporting being drugged and raped likely facing charges of having sex out of marriage.


The Dutch embassy said officials were in close contact with the woman and her family in the Netherlands [File pic: EPA]
Doha, Qatar - A Dutch woman who alleged she was drugged and raped is to appear in court on Monday, believed to be charged with having sex outside of marriage, a criminal offence in this Gulf state.

The woman, 22, said she was drugged during a party in March at the Crystal Lounge nightclub at the W Doha Hotel, and woke up in an unfamiliar apartment when she realised she had been sexually assaulted.

The Dutch woman, who was on vacation at the time, reported the incident to Qatari police and was immediately arrested. She has been held ever since on charges that still remain unclear.

Al Jazeera called the Qatari prosecutor's office to confirm the charges and the nationality of the alleged assailant, but received no response by publication time.

One senior defence lawyer not involved in the case told Al Jazeera that the woman may face charges of having sex outside marriage, a serious crime under Qatar's penal code.

Conflicting accounts

The alleged assailant - who also has been arrested - acknowledged having sex with the woman but said it had been consensual, according to Dutch media reports.
The Dutch embassy in Doha told Al Jazeera that officials were in close contact with the woman and her family in the Netherlands.

"We have provided assistance to her since the first day of detention. For the sake of the defendant's case, we will not make further comments at this point," the Dutch embassy said in a statement sent to Al Jazeera on Sunday.

The victim's mother was quoted by Dutch media describing the ordeal her daughter is going through as a "nightmare".

Doha-based attorney Najeeb al-Nuaimi - Qatar's former justice minister who is not involved in the proceedings - told Al Jazeera that defence lawyers will have to prove there were "no voluntary actions" between the woman and the man.

He said that even if she was seen walking with the accused, the judge may have doubts, adding signs of force would need to be proved in a rape case.

If not, the judge would probably consider ruling against both for having sex outside marriage, which is known as "zina" under Islamic law. Nuaimi said such cases often end with a judge issuing a punishment involving "a number of lashes".

I emailed Starwood customer care to ask if they have taken any additional security measures, saying that as a single female traveling alone who is booked to stay there later this year, I am concerned about this situation and considering whether to change my reservation to a different hotel. Most likely I won't do that, and will simply avoid that particular lounge as well as not order any drinks that I can't open myself while in Qatar. Anyway, here is the response:

Dear XXX,

Thank you for contacting the W Doha Hotel and Residences. It will be my pleasure to assist one of our loyal members, with any concerns or doubts about a future reservation. We appreciate your loyalty to our SPG program.

XXX, it will be my pleasure to assure you that, you have made an excellent choice by choosing our property. We are located in a great location and offer the highest level of customer care for our guests. I have shared your comments with our management team and I can tell you that we take the security and well being of our guests very seriously.

We look forward to hosting you in December and we hope to exceed all the expectations you have come to expect from Starwood hotels. We look forward to hosting you worldwide at any of properties, hotels, or resorts in the future as well.

IMO it's sort of relevant. Someone was drugged and assaulted? That can happen at any hotel anywhere. I see no reason not to post on FT, but to draw the conclusion that the hotel is not safe would be unfounded.

Female rape victims will/can be charged with having sex outside of marriage in Qatar? That's relevant, but applies uniformly throughout Qatar, not just at the W. Qatar is strict about that stuff. Married Qatari couples must provide a marriage certificate on checkin if they wish to stay in the same room.

I stayed in the W for a few nights late last year. (I'm male.) Used SNAs and got a great suite with cool architecture and lighting. There are lots of staff hanging around the lobby; and they were uniformly pleasant, welcoming and eager to do whatever they could to assist me. Happy hour was odd, though; as I had to pay for my drink, and that fact wasn't apparent until the check came before I left.

I would go back to the W in a minute; although next week I have a one night stay at StR. Just wanted to try it as my cousin went there for several days last year and loved it.

Elsewhere on Flyertalk ....
 

..... the Welcome Gift afforded to guests at the 'Genius' tier level.

Just completed a one night stay here and was very impressed.

Check In: Arrived at about 11am. Was made aware that my SNA was on file and that the room was ready, but just needed a final quality check. 5 minutes later, I was presented with my key to 1025, which is a WOW suite. The room was well appointed in the typical W fashion. It also had a nice desk space to get work done.

The lounge had solid offerings--enough for me to have any meal there and feel full if needed. The lounge offered alcoholic drinks for free from 6-8pm.

The gym is excellent with plenty of machines, free weights, ect. The Pool was complete and looked nice, but it was a bit cool in Doha, so I did not hop in.

Where the hotel really shined for me was on check-out. My flight was not until 2am, and at 4pm when I checked out, I asked if it would be ok to use the lounge until 8, offering to pay if necessary. Not only did she say that was completely fine to use complimentary, but also to come back and let her know if I wanted to shower before heading to the airport. She said she would find an open room to allow me to do that as well. While I did not take her up on that offer--I thought it was extremely generous.

There is construction near the property, but it was no bother at this point. It looks like they are building a foundation between the property and the sea, so that could pose some problems for both noise as it goes up and views once completed.

With that, if I ever had to be in Doha again, I would not hesitate to return to this property.