Why the hell are you going to Qatar?
It’s no secret that we play the miles game, or that we love to travel and want to see All.The.Countries. When people heard about our most recent trip, instead of the normal, “oh that’s awesome!”, many of the comments we got were – “Why the hell are you going to Qatar?” The answer to that quite simply is, “because I want to go everywhere and I got a really good deal!” If you had asked me this time last year, I could not have told you anything about Qatar. Not what the capital was, not what the people were like – all I would have been able to tell you is that it was somewhere in the Middle East and was an answer on every trivia quiz that asked which country started with the letter Q.
As part of our miles strategy, I’m always on the lookout for business class lay-flat seats with a really good redemption value. One of the best business class products in the world is the Qatar Qsuites. These are mini-suites with a sliding door that make you feel like you’re in your own private room. The food on these flights rivals many restaurants and is available on demand. The service is impeccable from the stewards who come to turn down your “bed”, to the complimentary pajamas and Dyptique products, and the large entertainment system with headphones and a plethora of chargers. The service landside in their lounges is even better with complimentary food, alcohol and dedicated lanes for check-in and immigration.
One of the best miles business class redemptions you can find, is booking those Qatar Qsuites through American Airlines for 70,000 AAdvantage miles and $7.50 each way. You read that right, SEVEN dollars and fifty cents! Most credit cards have a 60,000 mile sub bonus, so just by opening a card you are already halfway there! Our flights when bought with cash were about $8,000 each way, meaning for the two of us it would have cost $32,000 RT, while we paid only $30! There is a good bit of strategy involved in trying to find these seats, but if you put in the effort, you can find them.
Once I decided that I wanted to try and fly with Qsuites, I then had to decide where we were going to go. Most Qatar flights connect in Doha, and my first thought was to use Qatar as a stopover and to fly on to somewhere like the Maldives, but I was having trouble finding 2 tickets on those routes for the dates I wanted, so I settled on going straight to Qatar. I didn’t know much about the Middle East, and I was very intimidated about the thought of going to Qatar without a tour, but I found a cruise with MSC that visited Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. I thought this would be a great way to see those countries, and still feel safe.
Unfortunately, a few weeks after we booked our tickets and the cruise, MSC decided to change the dates on the cruise, and it would not be returning to port until after our flights home, so we had to either cancel the trip or do Qatar on our own. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as I don’t think I would have EVER considered doing it on my own had the tickets not been bought, and it turned out to be an amazing place to visit and totally doable for two females without a tour.
I was able to get the outbound flight direct from Miami, so it was pretty easy to take the Tri-Rail down for our 7:30 p.m. flight. This is a 13.5 hour flight so it was overnight and due to the time difference we arrived in Doha at 5:50 p.m. the following day. The experience in Qsuites was exactly as advertised. The Suites were comfortable, and the stewards were excellent attending to your every need. Meals were on-demand, so whenever you asked for something they would set up your tray complete with linens and a “candle” for the table. The food was AMAZING and curated by world-renowned chefs. There was a nice range of options to choose from whether it be mains, starters, breakfast, breads, cheeses, light plates or desserts. Our main choices on the outgoing flight were, Grilled Atlantic Salmon with lemon beurre blanc, Roasted marinated chicken with thyme jus, Creamy porcini and chanterelle polenta or my choice the – Grilled Beef Fillet with thyme jus which was accompanied by sauteed potatoes, confit cherry tomatoes, baby carrots and yellow patty pans. I ate way more than I needed to just because I wanted to try everything! Someone else (not naming any names) may have ordered two mains. We had a conjoined suite meaning we could either keep the privacy wall up or bring it down, so that we were basically in the same suite and the two seats would form one large bed. Whenever you were ready to sleep the stewards would bring a mattress, blankets and pillows and set it up for you. There are even sections where four people could combine their suites. This is definitely the way to do a 13 hour flight. The ONLY issue we ran into was they ran out of a few of the food choices, so if you know there is something you want to eat, order it immediately and they will set it aside to ensure you get one.
On arrival the plane was stopped on the tarmac and passengers were put on buses to get to the terminal. The business and first-class passengers deplaned first and had their own bus that took them directly to a reserved Qatar immigration lounge. As business class passengers we were able to skip the long immigration lines and get scanned right through to get our luggage. Had we wanted to spend the time, we could also have visited their amazing in-airport lounges, but we were in a hurry to get to our hotel and planned on spending time in the lounges on our outbound flight.
Our hotel offered customer pick up for $50 a person, but it was much easier and cheaper to get a cab from the airport. We learned one lesson immediately and that was to always use a clearly marked metered taxi. In both Doha and Dubai, aside from regular taxis there were also private cars in the taxi lines. The prices for these drivers tended to be 300% higher than in the taxis. There were several times when we asked if the driver had a meter and he said yes, only to find when we walked us over to the car that was not the case. They would then blatantly lie and say it was much cheaper with them, or that you wouldn’t be able to get a taxi or Uber from wherever you were. Stand your ground, tell them that you wanted a metered taxi and walk away. It was only about $15 from the airport to Souq Waqif and the quote from the private driver was $50. In both countries we were able to use credit cards and Apple Pay to pay the fare.
We found in Doha that you could get a 5-star hotel for a really low price, and since normally we can’t afford these when travelling we chose to use cash and save our points. We stayed at the Tivoli Boutique hotel which was located inside Souq Waqif. Souq Waqif is a marketplace that sells traditional garments, spices, jewelry, perfumes, handicrafts and souvenirs. There are also a number of restaurants and shisha lounges. The original buildings date back to the late 19th century, but it was renovated in 2006. Tivoli has a number of small boutique hotels that are located inside Souq Waqif, and we chose the Hotel Bismillah and its Executive Suite that had a balcony overlooking the Souq. Had we not wanted that splurge, Tivoli had a number of beautiful hotel rooms in the Souq for $125 a night. That first night we didn’t get settled in until almost 7pm after hours of traveling, so we had a quick dinner of kebabs and fries at a nearby restaurant. We were hoping to be able to sit and people watch from our balcony after dinner, and Hotel Bismillah did not disappoint! Apparently, due to the heat in Qatar, the Souq is most lively at night. Add to that the Asian cup was being played in Doha during our stay, and for both nights thousands of fans from different countries would gather in the square below our balcony to wave flags and cheer on the teams that made it through each round. I can now identify a number of Middle Eastern flags that I could not before this trip lol! It was definitely loud, but it was also kind of awesome to be able to sit above it and experience the rush without having to actually be in the middle of it.
We spent the next day in the Souq. We chose the breakfast package with Tivoli and they picked you up in a golf cart to take you to the restaurant which was in another one of their hotels on the opposite side of the Souq. It was a huge buffet style breakfast with eggs to order and a large assortment of American and Asian foods. After breakfast we wandered the stalls taking in the sights and smells looking for souvenirs to bring home. We settled on a stunning champagne set with Arabic writing etched into it and some beautiful fabric to make pillows with at home.
The Souq is divided into different sections, you have the gold souq in one area and the falcon souq in another, there is an area for perfumes, handicrafts and even abayas (the traditional dress for Qataris). Falcons are a status symbol in Qatar and in the Souq there is a government run Falcon hospital where men were would bring their falcons for a checkup. Tourists are allowed in and there is a one room “museum” with exhibits that talk about the falcons and their history. There were a number of falcon vendors, and you could see the falcons sitting out waiting to be bought. It was a little disconcerting to see some of them wearing hoods, but apparently this is part of acclimating them to their surroundings and keeping them calm. We wandered over towards the Amiri Diwan Palace and stumbled upon the Palace Guard Camels patrolling the grounds. Dozens of camels walking in formation was a sight to behold. We followed them back to the Camel Pen in Souq Waqif where they are kept when they are not patrolling and grabbed some great pictures. We snacked all afternoon, stopping at Al Aker Sweets to try regional favorite kunafah, which is a pastry soaked in sugar based syrup and layered with cheese, and visited Tea-Time to try one of their many flavors of tea.
Temperatures in Qatar are beautiful in January. When we visited, the hottest it got was 73 degrees, however in summer temperatures can soar to about 122. Definitely take that into consideration when planning a trip. To avoid the mid-day heat, the Souq closes at 12:30 and re-opens again at 4. We decided to take advantage of the mid-day break with a Spa appointment at the Tivoli Spa. A massage and dip in the jacuzzi was just the thing to help our jet lag. For dinner we made reservations at Parisa. Parisa is an Iranian restaurant with delicious Persian food, but is more well known for its stunning interior. The room is filled with fancy chandeliers, colorful lights, a fountain, and thousands of mirrors that dazzle in the light. Dinner began with a bowl of pita bread and vegetables along with a feta cheese that Debbie couldn’t get enough of. Our starter was a delicious slow cooked cream-based chicken soup with lemon. (Technically it was Debbie’s starter but I *may* have eaten most of it) I ordered a Kebab Torsh which is a grilled beef fillet marinated in a mix of walnut, pomegranate syrup, olive oil and herbs. Deb ordered Khoresht which is a slow cooked chicken in a rich stew with walnuts and pomegranate along with Hibiscus tea. Both meals were delicious! If you decide to visit Parisa make sure to make a reservation as we saw many people being turned away on a Wednesday night.
We wandered the Souq a bit more experiencing the night atmosphere then headed down to the Corniche to take a Dhow ride that let us see the Doha Skyline from the water. It was a great view, but I’m pretty sure we got scammed here as they quoted us 50 Riyals which Deb assumed was per person, but when the second guy collected our money and she handed him it to him he looked a little shocked before taking the money and scurrying away. We found out later it was 50 Riyals for both lol! Doha invested a lot of money in their infrastructure prior to the World Cup. We were kind of in awe at the technology and were extremely amused at the escalators that only started up when you got near, or the elevator buttons you just had to wave your hand in front of to choose a floor. We got back to our hotel just in time for most of the revelers to arrive for that night’s celebrations. When staying in an Arabic country don’t be surprised to hear the Call for Prayer which is broadcast throughout the city to summon Muslims to the mosque for obligatory prayer. This happens five times a day and is a neat thing to hear, unless of course it’s the 4:53 a.m. Fajr prayer lol!
Thursday morning we headed to the airport for a flight to Dubai. Because we originally thought we were going to be on a cruise, I had booked a surprise birthday dinner for Deb at our scheduled cruise port in Dubai on Friday. Not to be deterred, we decided to fly to Dubai and spend five days seeing how the rich and famous live before returning to Doha.
We used Air Arabia which is probably comparable to Spirit Airlines in the US – but considering the flight was only an hour we didn’t mind. This time we got to see more of the Hamad airport which is one of the most beautiful airports in the world. The airport has stores that make you feel like you’re in an upscale mall, and there are tons of food and drink choices. There is even a whole “orchard” or garden area if you’d rather wait for your flight inside a peaceful indoor air-conditioned park full of trees! My favorite may have been the Oreo café – with its Golden Oreo shakes!
We flew from Doha to Sharjah International Airport rather than to the Dubai airport. I’m sure the Dubai airport was amazing, but Sharjah, which is another of the seven emirates, is about 50 minutes from Dubai and the flights were SO much cheaper. When purchasing tickets, they gave you the option of having a private car take you directly to your hotel for $50. We probably could have taken public transportation very easily for less, but we didn’t know that when planning and we were a little nervous about being an hour away, so we used the car service. In hindsight it turned out well as they were very communicative on the day of, waited for our plane when it was late and dropped us off at the door of our Dubai hotel.
Dubai is broken into new and old Dubai which are separated by Dubai Creek. We stayed in Deira in old Dubai at the Swissotel Al Ghurair. Although probably one of the cheaper hotels in Dubai at $140 a night, it was still a 5-Star Hotel and the rooms were large and comfortable. There was a metro stop close by that connected directly to some major sights like the Dubai Mall, Burj Khalifa, Museum of the Future etc. The hotel was also connected to a mall which was a plus for us. When we travel, we typically only eat breakfast and either a big dinner or lunch. When we’re not that hungry and don’t want to spend a ton, it was nice to have a food court nearby. I have no idea why, but it amazed me that they had a lot of the same fast food as back home, KFC, McDonalds, Wingstop, Popeyes, Burger King, Krispy Kreme etc. were all there! There was even a Kenny Rogers Roasters which I really wanted to try for nostalgia sake since we don’t have them in the USA anymore, but when I saw the side was rice and not potatoes I decided to skip it and keep the memories intact. 😉 The girls were amused by the menus we sent them and now the running joke is they really want to try a McDonalds Teriyaki Rice Bowl!
One thing we noticed is that signs in the airport and most other public places like metros or malls almost always had an English translation. Additionally, most of the people we encountered also spoke a little bit of English, so it was very easy to get around and not intimidating in the least. We also felt safer there than we had in most of the European countries we visited. There was of course that whole “homosexuality is illegal thing”, so we were “friends” for our trip. PDA is frowned upon in general in Qatar and the UAE, and unmarried male/female couples cannot share a hotel room so it wasn’t that hard to not look like a couple since no one else could either. I know people will ask, “why would you even go to a country that could put you in jail for that”. The answer is that not every person in a country agrees with some of its more restrictive or discriminatory rules. I obviously wouldn’t live there, but I do enjoy seeing as many different cultures as I can so I’m ok with visiting for a few days. I know what the laws are and while I’m there, I obey them. And hey, if that was the litmus test for visiting a place, no one would ever come visit us in Florida with our record of school shootings and discriminatory LGBTQ laws. Speaking of rules and customs, if you do visit – many males will not shake hands with a female for religious reasons. All of our tour guides did but devout Muslims will not. If you do shake hands, remember the left hand is intended for personal hygiene so make sure to use your right hand instead.
On our first day in Dubai, we took a tour to get the lay of the land and see what attractions we might want to go back and visit. You can book several tours from Viator from $60-$80 a person to make it more affordable, but we did private tours on this trip. The price wasn’t that much more since there were two of us, and to be able to have someone drop us off door to door and stop wherever we wanted was so valuable to us. We used Anjay from Airbnb experiences and he was absolutely phenomenal. He took his job seriously starting in Old Dubai taking us to the Dubai Old Village which showcased early Emirati life and buildings. We tried tea that would typically be served to guests and learned about some of the old customs. It was a fascinating look at the past, but if I’m being honest the dolls they used in the displays kind of creeped me out! There were was a cute mama and baby camel here as well.
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After the village we went to the old Souq to do some shopping where we bought some pashminas for our Asian themed dining room and spices to bring home. I am so not a fan of bargaining, but I did get some more pashminas and a prayer rug for a really good price.
We then headed over to New Dubai where Anjay drove us past many sights like the embassies, and the Frame which is a 500-foot high structure in the shape of a frame that tourists can ascend and see Old Dubai to one side and New Dubai to the other. We drove past the Dubai Mall and the Burj Khalifa as well as the Museum of the Future and the Burj Al Arab stopping to take pictures at all these places. We drove through the Palm Jumeirah (the man-made island shaped like a palm that shows up in all Dubai pictures) as well as visited the Marina. This was a great way to get the lay of the land and figure out where we wanted to visit. Anjay was very knowledgeable telling us so much about the sights and Emirati life. He was also a GREAT photographer and knew just where to stop to get the best pictures and views. Anjay was very accommodating and picked us up at our hotel in the morning but dropped us off at the marina at night so that we could make our dinner reservations. I would highly recommend using Anjay.
For Deb’s birthday the week before, I gave her a card and inside I wrote that we would have her official birthday dinner on our trip at Dining in the Sky. I had seen this advertised in London years earlier and it looked like a very cool experience, so I thought what a great way to mark an occasion. The concept is you are dining on a platform that is hoisted 150 ft in the air by a crane. You have a belt to keep you in your chair, and the servers are in the middle whipping up food and vibing to the music. The views are absolutely incredible – we chose a night flight with the city lights and the Dubai Ain ferris wheel in the background, but I’m sure the views during the day were just as amazing. I was worried that it would be gimmicky, and the food would be subpar, but it was actually delicious. For the starter Deb had Arabic Mezze with Hummus, Moutabel, Labneh, Tabouleh, Vine leaves and Arabic Bread, while I had Fresh Burrata with heirloom tomato, basil leaves, balsamic caviar and olive oil. For the main I had Penne Pasta with cream sauce, Pesto, Cherry Tomato, Parmesan and Pine Nuts, while she had Pan Seared Salmon with Puy Lentil Ragout, Mediterranean Vegetables, and Cherry Tomato Salsa. Dessert was just as decadent with Deb having a Blueberry Cheesecake with Cream Chantilly, Blueberry Compote, Fresh Berries and Chocolate Garnish while I had a Chocolate Dome, which was a chocolate mud cake with a chocolate dome, hot chocolate sauce, berries, and ice cream they made on board! Tickets are not cheap, but if you need something grand for an occasion this definitely fits the bill.
Since we had 5 days in Dubai, we took the next day to visit a third emirate – Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi is the capital of the UAE and home of the beautiful Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. For this tour we used Ocean Air Travel’s full day tour and lucked out with another great tour guide, Noor. Noor knew a lot about the sights and previously worked at the Mosque so he had insight and connections we would not have had otherwise. It’s about 79 miles from Dubai to Abu Dhabi so a full day is definitely needed. Since we had a private tour, Noor was great about showing us the things we wanted to see and not wasting time on things we didn’t (we didn’t need the stop for a picture at Ferrari World lol!). We started our tour at the Grand Mosque which was absolutely breathtaking. It’s the countries largest mosque and the key place of worship for daily Islamic prayers. There is a very long walk from the place you scanned your ticket to the Mosque (mostly on moving escalators) but with Noor’s connections he got us a golf cart ride to the mosque and made sure we were there when it opened so we were among the first to get there and take pictures. In order to enter the mosque women had to don an abaya, and make sure their heads were covered. Noor provided us with freshly washed abayas to wear. The mosque was constructed between 1994 and 2008 and covers more than 30 acres. There is even a mall with a Starbucks in the parking lot lol! I of course had to take a picture wearing my abaya at McDonalds while stopping for a Coke since ice was not really a thing in the Middle East. The mosque can accommodate over 40,100 worshippers with 7,000 in the main hall. The walls and courtyards are filled with exquisite white marble imported from Italy, China and India. The courtyard with its floral design is considered to be the largest example of marble mosaic in the world and the carpet in the main hall is considered to be the world’s largest carpet! Noor told us that the “no swimming in the gazing pools” signs were inspired by Rihanna. As Noor tells it, Rihanna and her entourage visited the mosque and decided that they would lie in the pool to take pictures. Some people have more money than sense lol!
After the Mosque we visited Ethiad Towers and the “Observation Deck at 300” on the 75th floor overlooking the city. Apparently, Ethiad towers were featured in the Furious 7 film where Paul Walker and Vin Diesel steal a Lykan HyperSport and drive it through three of the towers. The views were incredible!
Our next stop was the Emirates Palace Mandarin Hotel where Deb wanted to try their “Palace Cappuccino” which is a $27 fragrant coffee with the hotel’s logo on top and sprinkled with real 24kt gold leaf. I think she was trying to channel her inner Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, but what really happened is that every time we bought something during the vacation, we compared it to what she spent on that coffee lol! “You know, we paid the same amount for our entire dinner as you did for that coffee…..”. Hey, I guess you only live once!
Noor took us to the Louvre (did you know there was one in Dubai?) and even took a detour to see the F1 track so we could send our son-in-law pictures to make him jealous!
The next morning, we started our day at the Museum of the Future. This is a new museum that opened in 2022 and is quickly becoming an iconic landmark in Dubai due to its distinctive torus shape. The building has windows in the form of a poem written about the future making for some very cool pictures. The idea is that it takes you to the year 2071 and you visit seven floors based on exhibits with different themes. It’s a very interesting concept, and the “library” room is a feast for the eyes. The building is a must see – but if you are not interested in technology the $40 entrance fee may be a bit steep. It has become one of the busiest tourist attractions in Dubai and is consistently sold out so if you want to visit make sure to buy your tickets beforehand.
Following the Museum of the Future we took the Metro to the Dubai Mall Complex. There is a metro station right outside the Museum and the Dubai Mall stop brings you to a long series of moving escalators to take you directly to the mall. (and I mean LONG, it must have taken us 15 minutes to get to the mall after exiting the train, but I think this was their effort at making everything accessible by public transportation during the World Cup). The tickets were less than $2 a ride and the metro came every few minutes. The train we took was very crowded so we splurged for a $6 ticket to the “gold car” on the way back, but since Dubai is not a walking city, it is a cheap and efficient way to get to some of the tourist attractions. Dubai is renowned for its over-the-top malls. The Dubai Mall is the fifth biggest mall in the world, and has over 1200 high-end stores, with an icing skating rink, an aquarium, an escape room, a 22 screen movie theater, a dinosaur park, a virtual reality game, and even an opera house!
We had a leisurely day browsing the stores, and of course stopping in the bookstore to get a travel guide for our next adventure. The Dubai Mall is connected to the Burj Khalifa, which at the height of 2,722 ft is the world’s tallest structure and one of the most recognized buildings in the world. Guests can choose from viewing “At the Top” which is two levels of viewing on the 124th and 125th floors, “Sky” which is a viewing on the 148th floor, or go VIP to the world’s highest lounge on the 152nd, 153rd and 154th floors. Prices are pretty steep with the VIP lounge costing a whopping $209 dollars pp. We chose the At The Top viewing which was $48 a person. (I mean was 25 floors going to make that much of a difference with our pictures? 😉) Even though you have tickets, you’ll still need to wait in line a bit to access the top. I think we waited a half hour and it can be longer in peak hours. Try to time it for golden hour as the views then are epic. Another must do in the Dubai Mall complex are the fountains. The fountain shows commence every half hour between 6 and 11 p.m. At night the lights with their timed fountain streams and graphics projected on the Burj Khalifa itself are breathtaking. You can watch the show from anywhere in the complex, but it gets crowded so one of the best things to do is get a reservation at one of the fountain-side restaurants during the show. We chose Joe’s Café which has an outdoor terrace overlooking the fountain and got some great pictures while having dinner. Another option in the complex is Skyviews which has an “edge walk” that allows daredevils to circle the building while strapped to a rope. It also has the Skyslide which is a glass slide that lets you glide over the complex. One benefit is views from Skyview allow you to see the Burj Khalifa from up high.
On our last full day in Dubai our original plan was to wake up and go to the Frame, but after seeing it up close with Anjay we decided we were just fine with the pictures we had and didn’t need to go to the top, so we had a lazy morning instead. We headed out to the Mall of the Emirates to kill some time, and this one had an entire Ski Slope in it!
Had I not been wearing a dress there is a very good chance we would have gone snow tubing or skiing that day. (Secretly I was glad I wore the dress because Deb had been accident free up until this point and I did not want to tempt fate!). We had lunch at the mall, and Deb insisted we try something we didn’t have at home, so she ate her kebabs and laughed at me and my Burger King snack box which I repeatedly reminded her we did not have back home. 😉
We headed over to the Dubai Miracle Garden which is a large garden with over 50 million flowers and 250 million plants. The flowers in the garden are formed around wire figures to make them look like they came to life. There is a full-size Emirates plane, hearts, dinosaurs and other flowery creatures. I’m not going to lie, it’s a little cheesy, but there are SO many flowers and cool displays that it is an Instagrammer’s dream. For some reason, there is a whole display of Smurfs, so I guess that’s where they went when they fell out of popularity in the US!
Following the gardens, we drove out to the Global Village. I had read about this, and our tour guide recommended it as well, so we figured we’d give it a try. Global Village is a shopping, dining and entertainment attraction that has a carnival as well as number of “Country Pavilions”. In those pavilions you’ll find food and wares local to that country. The mesh of cultures was amazing. They did a really good job with the Asian countries, and it was neat to walk around and see the different clothing and gifts each country had. On the main stage they had shows and entertainment. There was food EVERYWHERE and you could try all kinds of things you would never get at home. The Floating Market for example had so many boats with offerings like Baos, Grills, Dumplings, Ramen and Pho – and that was just one of the many food areas! For dessert we tried Luqaimat Balls, which were Middle Eastern style donut balls, crisp on the outside, soft on the inside and drizzled in syrup or honey. Deb and I also bought rings in Turkey to bring home as souvenirs. We were excited to get to the Americas, but they did not do as well with the non-Asian countries, and we laughed at the US being characterized as a tiny trading outpost where everyone wore cowboy hats! It was still a very cool thing to see, and admission was only $6 a person so it was a fun way to spend a night and a bargain. Like many attractions in Dubai both the Miracle Garden and the Global Village are seasonal due to the heat (typically October to April) so if you want to see these plan accordingly.
The one thing we didn’t do while in Dubai was take a desert tour. These consist of activities like dune bashing, sand surfing, ATVing, camel trekking and more. The only reason we didn’t is because we did something very similar in Morocco, but if you have not done it before I would absolutely do it – it’s an experience to be remembered. However, one camel ride and one swirling jeep ride was enough for me.
The next day we flew back to Doha. Our flight was mid-day and with the time change we arrived about 5 minutes after we left. We stayed at the Grand Hyatt Doha, a 5-star resort in the West Bay Lagoon district near the Pearl which had a small beach and views of the Arabian Gulf. This was an amazing resort, and we were able to get the room for $230 a night, which was nothing compared to what a similar hotel would cost back in the states.
The hotel has a few really good restaurants, and we tried Rocca, an Italian restaurant for dinner one night as well as their amazing breakfast buffet at the Santa Monica Beach club one morning. The food was great, but as at most resorts the prices were high. ($30 for the breakfast buffet) This hotel was located right across the street from a mall, so when we didn’t want to pay resort prices, we were able to walk across the street and get coffee or a McMuffin from the food court 😉.
On Wednesday morning we took a half day private tour of Doha with a driver from Al Annabi Tourism. This was the only tour on our vacation that we weren’t really happy with. Irman was a great driver, but not such a great tour guide. He was late arriving and didn’t have much perspective on some of the sights. When I asked questions he was most certainly making up answers lol! He drove us around the city where we saw the Pearl, which is a man-made island that has several restaurants and shopping areas. We drove by the unique looking buildings housing the National Museum of Qatar and the Museum of Islamic Art as well as the stadiums. We visited the Katara Cultural Village as well as Education City to see the statue the Miraculous Journey. Two places we added to the itinerary were the Qatar National Library to see its beautiful interior (yes, we’re geeks) and just for the heck of it the outdoor air-conditioned jogging tracks. It’s so hot there, that they literally pump cold air onto a jogging track surrounded by plants on an overhead frame! We asked Irman to take us to the old Souq, Souq Al Wakrah which is situated along the Arabian Sea and there are a number of vendors selling their wares. Or at least sometimes there are – what we didn’t take into consideration (and what Irman didn’t bother to mention lol!) was that we were dropped off at 2 into an empty parking lot and the Souq didn’t open again until 4:00 p.m. Luckily it was a beautiful walk along the Corniche, so we had some ice cream and walked the row while we waited. Deb also took this opportunity to take a picture of each and every cat that inhabited the souq to the point that I bought her a small album to house her pictures of cats around the world lol!
We took a cab straight to the Lusail Marina Food Arena which is a spot reminiscent of food trucks though the buildings are permanent structures. There are about 65 different vendors with every cuisine you can imagine, and the food is AMAZING! Deb visited Smoke Bey and got the Smoke Bey Signature, which is short rib sandwich with caramelized onions, sweet relish, mushroom mix, cheddar cheese and truffle mayo. She dubbed it excellent and possibly one of her favorite meals on the whole trip. I went to Meat Chops and had their entrecote shaker, which is a cup into which they put fries, grilled steak and an entrecote sauce, then you then put a lid on and shake it all up. It was delicious! Of course we had to stop at La Churroria for Churros and Donut Time to get some donuts for breakfast, which may or may not have been eaten before we went to bed that night. We also got zero pictures because we were so eager to dig right in.
Thursday we took it easy and spent the day by the pool. I never get time to read at home and I think I read two books just lazing out in the sun (or in my case shade lol). For our last night in Doha we decided to have dinner at STK in the Ritz Carlton with “La Petite Chef”. This is a 3D immersive experience where they use mapping technology to make it seem as if there are four small chefs on your plate, creating each course for you from scratch. Once they finish each dish, the waiters magically appear and put the real thing in front of you. At the end you have to choose which Petit Chef you deem the winner. Imagine our surprise when we were led up to a private room on the twenty-third floor with a view of the marina where the table was set for just the two of us with two waiters at our service all night. (I think normally they split guests into two rooms, but we lucked out as there was a group celebrating a birthday who all wanted to sit together). The food was amazing! The appetizer was a Burrata Tomato Salad with Basil Pesto, Crostini Sourdough, Crispy Beef Bacon and Basil Leaves. The second course was Black Truffle Ravioli with Black Truffle Oil, Creamy Truffle Sauce, Parmesan and Oyster Mushrooms. The main was a Wagyu Tajima Tenderloin Filet with a Bearnaise Sauce and crispy potatoes (aka Fries lol) and for dessert Japanese Mont Blanc with Matcha Cake, Mango-Lemon filling Vanilla Wasabi Cream and Matcha Meringue. We voted Chef Luciano the winner with his Black Truffle Ravioli! I think this might have been my favorite meal of the trip.
Friday we had to head home, and though our flight left at 3:30 p.m., we made sure to get to the airport early to enjoy those Qatar business lounges. We visited the new Al Mourjan Sky Garden lounge, and can I just say the complimentary food there was better than some of the restaurants we visited on our trip. There was a huge buffet which Deb set off to try that had things like a pea and cheese ravioli with herbed cream sauce, braised beef with demi glaze, fresh sushi and some amazing desserts. I dined off the a la carte menu and had a beef tenderloin steak with herb polenta cake, broccolini, lime glazed carrots and demi glaze and then salted caramel poffertjes for dessert. Yum! There were comfortable spaces everywhere, showers and quiet rooms – and if this was business class, I have no idea what the first-class lounge could look like!
We were thoroughly spoiled by our trip to Qatar and can’t wait to use our miles to experience another luxury trip. Sidenote: I have worn my Qatar pajamas twice this week and not once when I woke up did Deb have an amazing breakfast buffet waiting for me – slacker!
I think the biggest thing we learned is that even though we were hesitant to go to Qatar outside of a tour, we probably felt safer there than we did anywhere else in Europe. It was very easy for two women who only spoke English to maneuver. You can easily see most of Doha in just a few days so it would also make a good stopover trip. If Qatar has never been on your list – give it a chance, you’ll enjoy it!
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