Making the most of the Qatar Airways Stop Over Program, recently, as part of an around the world trip, I stayed at the 5 star Marriott Marquis City Centre Doha. £22 for 1 night meant it was a no brainer.
Location
Located in West Bay it’s only a 25 min drive from Hamad International Airport. An £11 Uber ride is probably your best bet for convenience. You’re in the thick of it really, Nobu, Nandos, Noir Lounge & Club, it’s all there.
The Room
At check-in I was asked if I’d ever stayed there before when answering no, the check-in lady instantly said: “in that case, we’ve upgraded your room to a junior suite”. “Junior” was a bit of a lie, the room was vast, talk about underselling a product. The above photo is a Super King, just to give some perspective.
The issue with a large room is that the 65″ 4K TV was that far away, it may as well have been a 17″ laptop screen. Even if it did have a decent selection of TV stations and access to NetFlix.
Having a full-sized office desk kitted out with an ergonomic chair, plenty of plug sockets to put everything on charge and a fast ethernet connection was good for productivity. Plenty of photo’s ingested, backed up and edited.
The Bathroom
Onto the bathroom where a large bath awaits. By large I mean it takes 20 minutes to fill. The shower, on the other hand, was on the small size. I frequently knocked my elbows on the glass, to the point where I had to figure out how to stand so I could wash my hair. Plenty of pressure, just a small enclosure.
Toiletries are taken care of, like in all Marriott properties, by Thann.
The Rooftop Terrace/Bar
The feeling of “Hello, is there anyone there?”. I think as I was the only person there they only had 1 member of bar staff on which makes sense. As you can see though, a fully stocked bar with everything refrigerated, nice for when it’s a cool 41 degrees and 85% humidity. During the day the dress code is very relaxed due to it being a pool terrace bar. I think in the evening it’s more a smart-casual vibe.
There’s plenty of seating available with table service as standard. They even have booths with air conditioning if it gets a little too hot under the collar.
The Lobby
It isn’t really a hotel where you’ll spend a lot of time in the lobby, they’re efficient when it comes to checking in (less than 5 minutes) and asking the concierge wheres good to eat. The Ubers are quick to the front door too so no reason the be there
If you do find yourself sat there waiting for people there’s plenty of comfy chairs and sofas. A decent selection of magazines and as much coffee and chilled bottled water as you could want.
The Pool
Did I mention that it was 41 degrees and 85% humidity?! You know when you’re somewhere hot and you get into the pool and it feels freezing? You don’t have to worry about that. Heated to a nice temperature you can dip in to have a quick swim and you’ll cool down briefly when you get out, got to love convection.
If you’ve got kids there’s a mini pool set back from the main one in a more secluded environment under a cabana.
If there are no kids there this is where I’d recommend lounging. Like I say it’s slightly more secluded so it gives much more of a sense of privacy without actually being private.
As you can see it’s a fair-sized pool, starting out shallow enough to walk into then to a depth of 1.8 meters at the opposite end. Because the pool is flanked by both 28 story high hotel towers the glass reflects the light beautifully, creating the perfect light for a selfie. Useful for those Instagram models…
To be clear it isn’t the kind of place where you have to worry about Germans laying down their towels, there’s an abundance of sun loungers. Opening from 06:00-23:00 exclusively for guests of the hotel, you can even swim under the stars.
To summarise it’s a tremendous hotel and deserves it’s 5 stars. The staff are kind, knowledgable and kempt. 5 restaurants on-site, security on all entrances to the building, Floor to ceiling windows in all rooms. Easily worth the £145-185 a night starting price.