Hi - planning a business trip to Doha later in the year along with 3 nights in Dubai. Need some suggestions for a nice 5* hotel with a nice restaurant and bar. Somewhere to chill outfrom a few beerss , good steak after a days work. Sorted for Dubai as I know the city but Doha will be a first for me. As I will be travelling alone heading out for dinner is something I won't bother with as I am only there for 2 nights.

The hotels with steakhouses are:

-- Marriott: So-so steakhouse (JW) and a bit dated but solid hotel overall with comfortable rooms, some with balconies, and among the more competent service in town. In addition to the JW bar, there is a poolside bar and a few bars at the other restaurants. Indian (Taj Rasoi) is pretty good.

-- InterContinental City: Probably the best steakhouse in a hotel (Prime), but a mediocre bar (Hive) and atrocious service overall but fresh, modern rooms. One of the best buffets (The Square) if you're into that.

-- Radisson-Blu: Another older hotel but with some refurbished rooms in the new tower and a very old-school but fun steakhouse (Bentley's) and a plethora of bars, including Manhattan off the lobby of the new tower, which is a quaint place, and the old-fashioned Library at the top of the old tower, plus a dingy pub (Shehrazad) among others. Very solid F&B overall, including a great Indian kebab place (Chingari) and teppanyaki (Sakura). Probably a bad location for most business travelers.

-- Renaissance/Courtyard: Location downtown, probably convenient if you are on business there (across from the InterContinental City and near the W), with a decent steakhouse (New York Steakhouse) but mediocre restaurants otherwise and very poor service and uninspired rooms. Champions is a basic sports bar, but exciting by Doha standards.

-- St. Regis: Very comfortable and attractive rooms and good service (though not quite at the St. Regis level elsewhere), probably the best bar/lounge in the city (Vintage) plus a lounge at Hakkasan and a great Lebanese pool-side (Sultan Brahim), though the steakhouse (Astor Grill) is poor in my opinion. Jazz at Lincoln Center is a bit too ambitious for what it delivers but is a unique venue in the city.

This list leaves out the best hotel in the city (Four Seasons) and the best steakhouse (The Anvil Rooms, downtown) in my opinion. Of course you can get a steak in other ways besides one of these steakhouses. For chilling out, I would recommend either the Four Seasons, which is also downtown and features the Cigar Bar and Library Lounge, my favorite lounge which is exactly as you'd expect; and the W, which features Market, a Jean-Georges restaurant that is among the most reliable in Qatar and has steak nights, Wahm, a top lounge destination though it gets noisy with a young crowd, and Crystal, the top nightclub in the city. The W has very comfortable, if a bit smaller, rooms in which nothing really works.

Also worth mentioning is the old InterContinental on the beach, also a bit dated, but with renovated rooms, and a good buffet as well as the Belgian cafe, a pub that is unique in Qatar -- kind of sad, and not a destination if you're a visitor, but a solid choice for locals and with some unique beer selections. Everywhere else in Qatar, you'll see the same basic beers.

Also the Kempinski, which has a lounge and brasserie that are so-so and modern, comfortable rooms, but not worth the price in my view; and Oryx Rotana, at the airport, which has a great outdoor bar/shisha lounge and jazz bar as well as a couple of mediocre restaurants.

I am leaving out the other alcoholic five-star hotels, Ritz-Carlton, Sharq Village, Grand Hyatt, and Hilton, which I would skip. The Hilton has Trader Vics, but it is a terrible representation compared to the locations in Oman, UAE, and Bahrain.

Brilliant info thanks

Which of these hotels would be a good choice for someone with a two-day lay-over, so spacious and relaxing but also with some places to go to in the vicinity instead of just being stuck on hotel grounds or having to get driven somewhere when leaving the hotel? Any place in a touristy area with shops/malls/restaurants within short walking distance?

Doha isn't much of a walking city (actually, that's an understatement), but the Renaissance and Courtyard are attached to a shopping mall in the main downtonw. Four Seasons, Hilton, InterContinental City, W, and Kempinski are close by.

If you can forgo the benefits of an international chain, and alcohol, then the Souq Waqif Boutique Hotels could work -- it's around seven small hotels integrated into Souq Waqif, the best location in the city for walking around. The hotels are interesting, too.

My favorite is La Cigale, stayed there a few years ago and it was fabulous.
Avoid the Rotana at the airport at all costs. Horrible spa service, food was beyond poor, and add food poisoning on top. If you want to stay near the airport, the Marriott is fine although it is a bit dated.

+1 I forgot about that one, but this is an excellent hotel on a large commercial street that is good for walking. There are plenty of good local restaurants close by, and a couple of bars in the hotel.