New Year’s in Doha
The goal was to start the year off with sunshine and friends to ring in the new year. Destination criteria was simple: warm and sunny, fun New Year’s options, and the flight from Amsterdam had to be relatively painless. Doha was the winner. Our trip was short and sweet and exactly what we were looking for. That said, while I enjoyed our trip, I’m not sure I’ll be hurrying back. The city has a bit more growing up to do and the options in places like Dubai or in parts of Oman are of a higher caliber and more developed. This is a good first trip into the Middle East in terms of cost and kindness of the locals.
First things first - The flight wasn’t entirely painless, but we’ve definitely had worse. Four and a half hour flight to Amman, Jordan followed by a three hour layover, and lastly, a two and half hour fight to Doha. Luckily the lounge in Amman is a lovely place to spend a few hours. Anyways…
Hotel
We stayed at The Ritz-Carlton, Doha: Loved it. Highly recommend. Excellent everything: rooms, service, gym, and a nice beach with a beach bar. There’s also some sort of small petting zoo with goats and turkeys. I have no further information on this topic.
Restaurants
STK at the Ritz - It was…fine. I got surf and turf; steak was great but my lobster tail was teeny tiny and the concept of clarified butter required a few people to understand what I was looking for. Sides were fine. Two things had to be sent back to be warmed up. Overall, it felt like someone sent the staff a handbook about how to run a steakhouse but none of them had ever eaten at a proper steakhouse. That said, staff was incredibly attentive and kind and lovely, but the value just wasn’t there for us. You can do better.
B-Lounge at the Ritz - Great food, great service, great vibe. We went for NYE and everything was exceptional. Would highly recommend.
Coya at the W - Atmosphere was festive, cocktail menu was tasty and creative. Ceviches were good and the Escabeche Peruano was AMAZING. That said, everyone else's dishes were lackluster. Visit if you’re getting EXACTLY what I ordered or just go for cocktails.
Rivaaj at the St Regis - Vibe is non-existent, but all of the food was super delicious so I would absolutely go back if the goal is just to eat great Indian food.
Bars
Note: Raffles and Fairmont are in a single building split in half so it's easy to go from one to the other if you can’t decide between the two, which is what we did. Plus the lobbies for both hotels are insanely beautiful and worth a visit. ALSO the elevators in the hotels have benches to sit on and enjoy the ride to your chosen floor: A luxury I didn’t know I needed.
Accoustic at Raffles - Super cool retro bar. They had live music and great views. There is also an outdoor terrace up the stairs from the main bar that wasn’t officially open while we were there but you can go up and enjoy the incredible views. Most importantly the cocktails were great and service was lovely.
Provok at the Fairmont - Another great rooftop bar option. This bar offers outdoor seating with heaters so you can enjoy your city views right at the ledge overlooking the city. Outdoor seating might not be suitable for those who are squeamish about heights. Cocktails are creative and tasty.
To Do
Corniche - Nice city views and some statues and things along the way, plus it’s always refreshing to get out and walk. Along the way you can stop over to the Waqif Souk which has a camel pen, falcon souk, venders selling your typical textiles and souvenirs (Note: this is the only place to buy postcards) and walk by the Golden Thumb statue. Food there is also legit. And if you keep going to the end of the corniche you can go to the Old Port which has some colorful buildings, take a Dhow back over to where you started, that sort of thing.
Pearl Island - No need. It's an unpopulated ghost town of unopened stores and restaurants. Maybe try back again in 2026.
We didn't do anything terribly cultural but the main things I found during my research are listed below (Note: both museum buildings look incredible and I wish we had at least walked by them to get a closer look):
Museum of Islamic Art
National Museum of Qatar
Minaretein - Education City Mosque - outside the city but looks quite impressive
Msheireb Downtown Doha is supposed to be the shopping area and Studio 7 Design Concept Store I have marked for some reason
THE LOGISTICS
Travel Date | December 2023 / January 2024
Lodging |
Club lounge is excellent; wonderful service and the options for each meal were delicious
Main breakfast restaurant was chaos; great selection but there were a million people and the staff was running around like crazy so if you have lounge access I suggest you have your breakfast there
The beach is a short walk (or buggy ride) from the hotel and although it’s a work in progress, you can tell it'll be lovely once it's complete
The pool area was mayhem so we never went
Transportation |
AMS > DOH (through AMM) on Royal Jordanian / Qatar
Qatar Airlines Q-Suites = AMAZING. Everything was super high quality and I honestly thought about how I could take my blanket home with me. A delicious sparkling rosé was our welcome drink. And for in-flight entertainment they offered a number of Alfred Hitchcock’s most popular films, which is a rare treat. I chose Vertigo for those who are curious. We were on our shortest fight with Qatar and I was wishing we were flying 20 hours instead of 2.5. Will definitely be finding a reason to fly Qatar again.
Royal Jordanian was good as well. Business class offers arm chairs with a decent recline and foot rest; meal service was a legit buffet of everything on the menu; staff was lovely
Pro Tips |
Uber is super easy, readily available, reliable and affordable
If you want to send postcards buy them at the Souq and then mail them when you get home. We were advised that Qatari post is notoriously dysfunctional.
#195Postcards
