Doha for a Day
Rather than just transiting through Hamad International Airport, we planned a one-night stay in this fascinating city. Doha is the capital city of the State of Qatar, located on the coast of the Persian Gulf and has a population of 1.85M.
On arrival in the ultra-modern airport, one gets an immediate taste of what's in store from this amazing country, everything is big, organised and immaculate. We used trusty Uber (around €12) and enjoy the amazing view of the city skyline and its enormous buildings growing in front of our eyes as we made the 20-minute journey to our hotel. We booked a club premium suite at the 5-star City Centre Rotana with access to the executive lounge on the 46th floor, our room just two floors under, had stunning views of the city, through the slick floor to ceiling windows.
Hotel location was very important in our choice of The City Centre Rotan, with outside temperature in excess of 40 degrees we wished to minimize walking time in the outdoor and so were thrilled that the hotel was connected to the City Centre Mall. We visited the Mall on our first evening and our Kids (12 &10) made a dash to the western style food court, after 2 weeks in Sri Lanka it appears, they were in need of a fast food hit. The Mall was enormous with a terrific choice of shopping, prices appeared on par with home. We returned to the hotel and enjoyed complimentary evening canapés including alcoholic beverages at the Club Rotana Lounge with 360-degree views of the lit up city to relish. Before retiring for the evening, we all took a dip in the temperature controlled swimming pool.
After early breakfast, we hailed an Uber to take us to the Museum of Islamic Art, arriving just after opening. The museum is located on an island off an artificial projecting peninsula near the traditional Dhow harbour and houses a world class collection of Islamic Art spanning 1400 years. Admission was about €12, with kids under 16 free. One could easy spend half a day exploring the dimly lit air-conditioned expedition rooms, but we were on a whistle stop tour, so it was on to the next stop.
We make our way to Souq Waqif (meaning standing market). Several streets appear as mazes with no defined pattern, we learn this is a typical characteristic of these Middle- Eastern markets. The Souq offers several small shops with a dazzling array of Middle Eastern merchandise. We wander the narrow alleyways and explore shops as we go, always finding the shopkeepers to be friendly and not at all pushy. With the sun hitting its mid-day high, we return to the hotel, take a dip in the pool and then check our luggage into storage before enjoying a light lunch.
Still time for one more outing, we head for the Villaggio Mall, enroute our Uber driver pointed out some of the stadium construction for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The Mall has over 200 stores including all the famous western brands. Gondola rides are available on the manmade canals which cut through the rows of shops in this ultra-modern centre. The indoor theme park wass a hit with our kids and it included a high-speed spin on the roller coaster.
After a ride back to the hotel to collect our belongings, we made a dash for the airport, which in 2018 was voted the 5th best airport in the World and it's little wonder, given the 5 star service we experienced there.
So that's Doha in a day, I really wished we had more time to enjoy this fascinating city and would highly recommend a break there or at the very least a stop if your travel plans allow.