The 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar led to a slew of new hotels opening up around Doha, and the city’s hospitality scene has never been more exciting. From architectural icons to oases of calm elegance, here are six of the Qatari capital’s hottest properties.
Doha’s most dramatic new building houses not one but two design-driven hotels. Taking up one half of the scimitar-shaped Katara Towers, the all-suite Raffles Doha is an instant dazzler. From its 42-metre atrium that doubles as a giant kaleidoscope with constantly changing projections of clouds to the louche velvet-curtained Blue Cigar bar with its collection of 6,500 books including rare first editions, it’s clear that this hotel aims to be different.
Up in the suites, the mood is light and whimsical, enhanced by vaulted ceilings covered in reliefs of foliage and flowers, leather-fronted storage spaces that look like steamer trunks, and walk-in “minibars” enclosed within ornately carved wooden walls. Attention to detail is extraordinary here, from the small surprises – monogrammed key cards, bowls of berries, sleep sprays – that pop up during your stay, to the heated marble stands that keep towels fluffy and warm in the bathrooms. Don’t miss breakfast in L’Artisan, a glorious light-filled space with soaring curved ceilings and cascading chandeliers that look as if they’re made of icicles.
The greatest design stories from AD Middle East, delivered to your inbox
The Fairmont Doha, Raffles’s sister hotel, resides in the other half of the Katara Towers and, while it has a completely different design mood, it’s no less dramatic. The atrium here is filled with more than 4,000 rain drop-shaped crystals that tumble down from the ceiling, lifts have twin benches so you can enjoy the ride in comfort, and public bathrooms are worth a peek for their individual design themes and intricate mosaics.
The calming guestrooms are filled with light, enhanced by pastel colour schemes and high curved ceilings. A shell-shaped white leather canopy towers behind the bed, made for Venus de Milo moments, and the back-lit onyx bathrooms add an extra layer of understated glamour. Up in Asian restaurant Provok on the 33rd and 34th floors, a fire-and-ice theme is enhanced by life-sized ice sculptures carved by hand every few days, and glass objets d’art containing sand from the Qatari deserts. Out on the pool deck, pick a sunbed, get horizontal, and gaze up for one of the best views of the building’s extraordinary silhouette, towering high above.
The Ned Doha is a stunner. Whether you’re a lover of brutalism or not, it’s hard not to fall for this place, housed in a former government ministry built in the 1970s and restored by David Chipperfield Architects. The harsh desert sun cuts through the straight lines of the concrete exterior creating geometric patterns of light and shadow on the sleek staircase at the main entrance and out on the pool deck. Inside, layered textures – marble, wood, velvet – and patterns meet in spaces that ooze mid-century glamour, with walls showcasing art by contemporary Qatari artists. It’s sexy and stylish, and could become a shining example in the region of how the adaptive reuse of modernist architecture can be a success. Let’s hope so – our urban landscapes would be enhanced by more brutalist beauties getting their chance to shine.
The Chedi Katara strikes out on a very different path in the city. Looking like a seaside Mughal palace, it’s a world away from the many glass and steel towers that punctuate the Doha skyline. Taking inspiration from the beauty of Rajasthani architecture, the hotel features domes, chhatris, repeated arches and a dramatic central muqarna facing a 60-metre pool and the Arabian Sea beyond.
Indoors are echoes of the Lake Palace in Udaipur and Agra’s Taj Mahal in the art, carpets and textiles, with a minimalist, uncluttered feel. But the real drama is outside, in the facade painted a pale shade of robin egg blue, topped with pearlescent mosaic-tiled domes. It’s striking by day when set against clear blue skies, and equally spectacular at night when the lighting enhances the architectural details, making every line and curve stand out in even sharper relief.
The Mandarin Oriental Doha is one of the city’s most elegant options, with interiors that incorporate Qatari design influences with subtlety and poise, all wrapped up in a sense of hushed calm. Carpets and curved gilt ceilings reflect the shades and shapes of desert sand dunes, and straw marquetry adds a tactile element to decorative panels in the atrium.
In the rooms, geometric patterns adorn walls and marble-clad bathrooms feature mosaics inspired by ancient weaving patterns, along with subtle nods to Qatar’s pearl-diving heritage in the ropes that mirrors hang from, and the tiny air bubbles sealed in glass light fixtures. Up on the roof, two swimming pools, sun loungers and a handful of private cabanas are an extra bonus in this city where you’re guaranteed sunshine pretty much every day.
.jpg)
When it first opened in 2017, the Mondrian Doha surprised the city with fantasy and flair in fairytale-esque spaces dreamed up by Marcel Wanders. A huge spiral staircase reminiscent of a helter-skelter, oversized lamps that pop up like mushrooms, and giant golden flowers are just some of the details that make you feel as if you’ve landed in a modern-day version of Alice In Wonderland.
The quirkiness continues up on the 26th floor where the pool presents an almost hallucinogenic vision of black and white geometric tilework, dangling crystal chandeliers and the scribble-like shadows of the building’s exterior on the windows, all topped by a vast stained-glass ceiling covered in flowers. It’s a lot to take in. Fortunately, the rooms are a little less overwhelming, featuring lots of white and sand-coloured carpets to create cool, calm oases of relaxation.
