Hotel: Four Seasons Doha / Location: Doha, Qatar / Date: December 2023 / Program: Four Seasons Preferred Partner (FSPP)
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During our short two-day trip to Doha in December 2023, we stayed at the Four Seasons Doha. We were on our way to Jordan and transiting through Doha and hence decided to have a slightly longer layover and see this new city (and country). I think most people who visit Doha fall into the same bucket as well. It is trying to be Dubai, but it’s not there yet.
Doha has a plethora of luxury five-star properties to choose from, most of which are amazing value for money. In such a market, it’s not that easy to select a hotel. We choose Four Seasons Doha primarily for its great location as well as the fantastic rooms and access to the private beach.
The Four Seasons Doha was built in 2005 and was one of the first luxury properties in this city, which makes it old. However, it was completely transformed after Pierre-Yves Rochon put his magic touch on the property during COVID. Hence I think this hotel is a serious contender for one of the top spots in the Doha hotel scene, even though it may not have a ‘glamorous’ location like all the new five-star properties on The Pearl Island. To keep up, FS recently opened Four Seasons Resort and Residences at The Pearl Doha.
Booking
Further details on the Four Seasons Preferred Partner (FSPP) program is available on our dedicated page for FSPP. In summary, the benefits we received included the following:
- Complimentary breakfast for two in the Elements restaurant or through in-room dining
- $100 equivalent food & beverage or spa credit, which we used for in-room dining (lunch and dinner)
- Early check-in and late check-out – we didn’t use early check-in but we checked-out at 2pm for our 4pm flight to Amman, Jordan
- Complimentary upgrade from the Deluxe Room to the Sea View Room (which we then upgraded to the Executive Suite
- Welcome note from the GM and welcome amenity (fruits and local sweets)
Location
Doha is a relatively small city, albeit growing a rapid pace. It is fairly linear as majority of the development is along the coast.
The north of the city is Lusail and The Pearl Island and the south is Old Doha (including all museums and tourist attractions) as well as Hamad Airport. The centre of Doha includes the Corniche and the business district which is where Four Seasons Doha is located.
You can get from the airport to the north of the city in 30mins at best and cabs are extremely cheap in comparison to most European cities. This means that from the Four Seaosns you are hardly 15-20min away from any major attraction point in Doha.
Four Seasons Doha: Pre-Check-In
I wanted to highlight our excellent pre-check-in experience before we get into the details of our stay. The pre-check-in experience really sets the tone for the rest of the stay. As travel advisors, we can get a feel for the hotel during our conversations with the Sales team, the Reservations desk or the Front desk. From these interactions, I can know whether my guests will have an amazing stay or an OK stay.
Four Seasons has an excellent app, which is arguably the best of the lot. The stay information is pre-populated with detailed insight of all the amenities and F&B options including menus. However, what sets it apart is the chat function with the Concierge team. In advance of my stay and even during my stay, I never once had to wait more than a minute or two for the Concierge team to respond to me. They were on it, and I mean on it.
- They acknowledged my check-in time and ensured the room would be ready
- I let them know when I was on the way to the hotel and they informed me that the room is ready and I had already been upgraded one category above
- During my stay, they immediately swapped my pillows to a firmer pillow
- Acknowledged the in-room dining order, agreed to swap ingredients and communicated with the F&B team
- Helped us with luggage during check-out and booked us a cab, without having to follow-up or wait as you often have to do at most hotels
It was like having a personal butler!
Check-In: Four Seasons Doha
We arrived at the FS around midday and our luggage was promptly taken away as we made our way to the check-in desk. The lobby of FS is absolutely stunning in true Four Seasons style. Expect a lot of marble and high-end furnishing with beautiful lighting.
At check-in we were given a warm welcome and all the FSPP benefits explained to us. We had booked a base-level Deluxe Room and were upgraded to a Premier Sea View room as per the FSPP benefits. However, the check-in agent offered us an upgrade to an Executive Suite room for approx €100 per night for our two-nights stay, which I couldn’t refuse. In hindsight, this was a great decision as I firmly believe this room category is the sweet-spot at FS Doha, after having toured all the rooms during my site inspection.
If one wants to splurge a little then I would highly recommend the Ambassador One Bedroom Suite.
I did note that there was no welcome drink provided during check-in, either to me or any other guest. Whilst not customary in business hotels, this one has a more resort vibe and it would have been nice to receive one, especially if the temperature is on the warmer side outside.
The entrance also had a stunning ‘Christmas tree’ made from what seemed to resemble macaroons. Regardless it looked stunning.
As we moved away from the lobby and towards the rooms, the interiors changed from marble to soft blue and white hues mixed with dark wood furnishing. It looked very elegant and once again it was evident that FS pays attention to the public areas.
Room: Executive Suite (Four Seasons Doha)
The Executive Suite layout is very difficult to explain, hence I’m sticking below the room layout courtesy of the FS website.
This room layout was slightly unusual in that the bathroom separated the living space on the left and the bedroom to the right. It worked out well for us because it reduced noise between the living room and bedroom which meant I could binge watch my Netflix shows in the living room whilst the wifey rested in the bedroom and recovered from the nasty bug.
Entrance
The entrance to the room had a handy console table to the right and a tiny wardrobe to the left to keep luggage. The space was a bit too tiny to make meaningful use of it, but it was handy to tuck away our shoes and the cabin-sized luggage.
Living Room
The living room was quite spacious with a white sofa to the left facing the TV and a lounge chair closer to the window overlooking the beach. The arrangement was slightly odd given the room layout but overall it worked out well. The circular dining table came slightly in the way and felt out of place in the room.
The coffee corner included the usual Nespresso machine and a minibar.
The staff came a few minutes later with our welcome amenity and a personalised letter from a hotel’s GM. This is always a nice touch for our clients. Usually we would add our own personalised welcome in addition to the welcome from the hotel. We also noticed that the fruit platter was replenished for the next two days by housekeeping.
The corridor that led to the bathroom and bedroom included a wide wardrobe, which had a lovely Four Seasons Doha beach bag together with slippers, laundry bag, lint rollers etc.
Bathroom
The bathroom was spacious and included a double vanity, separate shower, bath rub and toilet. All marble of course. Toiletries were Diptyque.
If you correctly guess what is in the FS Doha pouch bag (second picture) then comment below and let us know!
Bedroom
There isn’t much to say about the bedroom than to let the pictures do the talking. The bed, with the standard FS bedding and embroidered FS logo looked beautiful against the subtle blue and grey carpet.
I did feel the pillow was way too soft on the first night. I had it replaced promptly the next day by housekeeping after I sent a quick note to the concierge team via their fantastic app.
All curtains were electronic and motion-sensitive which meant that a light tug at the curtains to open or close them did the job.
Across the bed, we had nice views of the Doha business district and the beach. Of course, a higher floor room would have much better views than we did. We also had a second TV in the room, which we didn’t turn on during our stay.
Turndown Service
FS Doha offered turndown service. It’s always interesting to see how the housekeeping staff add their little touches to the evening turndown. I do love coming back to a made-up bed and a clean bathroom. FS Doha kept a pair of slippers next to our bed, a bottle of mineral water and a nice card with a quote.
What missing was a little gift or treat as we’ve experienced at other hotels. Conrad Seoul for instance offered us chocolates one night and peppermint tea on another night.
Housekeeping
The housekeeping team was fantastic and I thought it warranted a sub-section in this blog. It is always the little touches that shows the attention detail as well as the care and customer service. Three specific examples which come to mind:
- My shavers and comb were neatly arranged over a towel each day
- All my toiletries were lined-up nicely each day during our stay
- The housekeeping staff noticed I was reading a book and left a lovely FS Doha bookmark on my book which had a photo of the Doha Museum. (PS: I made a mental note to take a book to my next FS stay so I can get another local bookmark :))
Four Seasons Doha: Breakfast
Breakfast was served in the Elements restaurant and included both buffet service and a-la-carte options. I generally prefer this over a full a-la-carte service which at times can be too slow.
The buffet was served indoors but we chose to sit outside next to the pool as the weather was rather pleasant.
The quality of a hotel’s breakfast is evident, in my opinion, through the coffee served. We are huge coffee buffs and we were served a great cappuccino on both days. Doha is not known for good coffee but rather for good ‘karak chai’. I did order some karak chai on my second day and although it was not part of the breakfast, I was able to order it.
The buffet options included the usual fare with a wide range of cereals and fruit options. The fresh juices however were actually ‘fresh’ and tasted great; well at least the mango juice did. But the others looked great (and colourful).
There were a number of hot options to choose from in the buffet, including Middle Eastern options.
In addition, we could order an unlimited number of items from the a-la-carte menu. We had a dosa with chutney. On both days, the sous chef came by with tasters – quinoa and avocado salad on the first day and idli on the second day.
Four Seasons Doha: Beach and Pool
The hotel has several pools which stretch right across the grounds. It’s one large pool that stretches from the main building towards the spa/gym building. During our time at the hotel, we didn’t see it particularly busy and there was plenty of staff there to attend to guests. One section also has a nice pool bar which turns into a proper bar in the evening with music. Plenty of sun loungers too and hence I don’t think it will be too difficult to find a nice corner to relax in.
One of the days we did go to the beach for a few hours. As soon as we got to the sun loungers, staff came by to arrange the lounge chairs with towels and provide an ice box with cold still or sparkling water. An attendant was nearby, and we ordered some potato wedges, that arrived promptly. We had a nice chat with the staff who was also from Kenya and it was wonderful to listen to her story of how she came from a village in Kenya and is now working with one of the best luxury hotel groups which is known for its stellar training programs.
In-Room Dining
Now we typically do not order in-room dining when we are staying in hotels. The main reason is that we love trying out local restaurants and tasting the local cuisine. Going to a nice country or city and then eating in your room seems a waste.
However, during this stay, we ordered three meals during a two-night stay. The main reason for that was that the Mrs was poorly during this trip and she was dragging herself through the Doha sights. Hence we decided to order-in so she could rest and not over-exert herself before our big adventurous trip to Jordan.
The $100 credit thanks to our Four Seasons Preferred Partnership came in very handy. Even after these meals we had some $$ left over which we used in the bakery.
As we had late check-out the next day, we ordered lunch through in-room dining again. This time an Arrabiata pasta was served again with an assortment of breads. It was delicious. We agreed to disagree on which one was better – the white creamy sauce or the arrabbiata sauce.
On the first night, we had a creamy Alfredo pasta to share which was served with an assortment of breads. The wife loved it and it was probably the perfect comforting meal to have. I, on the other hand thought one can’t go wrong with Indian food in the Middle East and this is the Four Seasons after all. Oh boy, how wrong I was. Let’s just say that FS Doha is not going to win a Michelin star anytime soon for its Indian cooking.
Other Amenities
I won’t list out all the other amenities as the details are on the FS website plus I can’t give my own view as we didn’t really make use of it. The hotel has a separate building accessible to both guests and local residents which houses the spa and gym. Tennis courts are also available as well a curated jogging map.
FS is known for providing family-friendly stays and this hotel had a kids-corner next to the pool. FS will typically have a kids club, kids corner and nanny services. All of these can be organised when booking through our agency.
Conclusion
In a city like Doha with numerous luxury property options, it can get difficult to select a hotel. More so, for hotels to offer that little extra bit that edges it over other hotels.
Overall, I was extremely happy with our stay at Four Seasons Doha. Most importantly, I think its location is amazing because it is bang-on in the centre of Doha with The Pearl Island to the North and Old Doha and Hamad Airport to the south. Added to that, it has a luxury resort vibe with beautiful pools and a beach, unless other properties within the same area.
The recent renovation of the hotel in 2020 and the fine touches of Pierre Yves Rocher give it an edge in my opinion.
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