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Doha, Qatar Is the Site of First W Hotel in the Middle East

Where: West Bay, Doha, Qatar

W is just taking the most unexpected pieces of the world by storm lately; first it was the announcement of aW Vieques Island to come in December of this year, then all the hype around the W Hoboken, and now they've gone and opened their first Middle East property, the W Doha in Qatar. It's a doozy of a luxurious place, with the requisite pool deck (with shisha lounge!), Spice Market restaurant from famed chef Jean-George Vongerichten, and pool tables in the suites.

Since the W is still very much in its soft-opening period, some of those features may have to wait until the grand reveal in April, but booking a night now will cost you $390, versus the $450 they'll be charging once everything is up, running, and attracting a scene.

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Tags: Anti-View / Qatar Hotels / → All Tags

Room With an Anti-View: Buy Your Carpets Here, Qatar Palace Urges

Where: Al-Asmakh St, Doha, Qatar

You know the scene. You open the door to your brand new hotel room, run over to the window, open the blinds and bam, you are hit with the anti-view. Maybe you are looking down a dirty alley, witnessing a drug deal, staring at an air shaft in the face, or seeing a brick wall. Whatever you are viewing it is not extremely pleasurable. Help out your fellow hotel mavens by uploading your anti-views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number with the not-so-easy-on-the-eyes view.

This view out of the Qatar Palace Hotel in Doha is definitely an anti-view--it's clearly unattractive--but it did, at least, make us laugh a bit.

We don't hit too many hotels in Qatar but the idea of staring out over the Qatar Carpet Centre is somehow pretty cool. Qatar Palace Hotel is a 40-room, four story place with various restaurants right nearby, and its best feature: it's the most convenient hotel in town if you're planning on buying a carpet.

[Photo: Liquid Lucidity]

Tags: Hotel Hype / → All Tags

W Hotels Heads to the Middle East...Again

Striking while the iron is hot, W Hotels has announced their plans for a second Middle Eastern hotel--The W Doha Hotel & Residences, which are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2007.

W Doha will feature 292 guest rooms, including 31 suites and 154 W Residences, multiple signature restaurants, a poolside outdoor shisha lounge, champagne bar, event space, and luxury retail space.

The W Doha will offer the Living Room experience the brand is known for, creating a place where guests and the local community can socialize, poolside lounge areas and spectacular views of the Arabian Gulf.

The design team behind U2's The Clarence Hotel in Dublin and the Metropolitan Hotel in London, United Designers, will be creating the setting for W Doha.

Earlier this year, W presented their plans for W Dubai Festival City which will open later in 2008. We expect that aloft Hotels won't be too far behind.

Related Stories:
· The W Hotel Heads to the Middle East [HotelChatter]
· W Hotels(R) Sails into the Arabian Gulf; The W Doha is the Brand's Second Property Planned for the Middle East [Business Wire]