Review: Raffles Doha

Why book

Ok. You’re in Doha. A city that’s fast making top-notch hospitality its calling card. But you want something extra. You want unapologetic, unadulterated luxury. You want to be cosseted but never overwhelmed, by staff who know what you want before you do. You want the history and elan of an iconic hospitality brand redefined with an eye firmly on the future. Put simply, you’ll book because you expect the best. And you won’t be disappointed. 

Set the scene

As your car climbs up the sweeping, surprisingly hilly, drive to Raffles Doha’s imposing entrance, there’s a sense of impending theatre. And it’s purposeful. Once through the gargantuan six-metre-tall iron doors, you can start to understand where designer Marcel Wanders was going when he dreamt up his vision for the property. He imagined a modern fairytale castle with a lobby of soaring, cathedral arches, walls crafted with moldings as delicate as spun icing sugar, rippling, laser-cut marble panels fashioned to look like drapes and a kaleidoscope ‘sky’ that changes with the time of day.  On this, he has truly delivered. With Raffles, Wanders has created a property that oozes a quiet, cultured elegance that mirrors the city’s erudite aspirations. 

The backstory

When several of the world’s most iconic hotels, including The Grosvenor House and Savoy in London, The Plaza in New York and Raffles Singapore are tucked into your property portfolio doesn’t it make sense that you’d want to build a rival on home turf? Why not indeed. For Raffles (and its sister property Fairmont), the Qatari government-owned Katara Hospitality brought both into a landmark structure that, like Dubai’s Burj Al Arab, has already become synonymous with the city. Enter, Katara Towers, a staggering 725-foot-high behemoth of two halves fashioned to look like the curved scimitar swords on the nation’s seal. Dominating the skyline in the city’s Lusail district, it became a familiar reportage backdrop as the world’s media descended on Doha for the recent World Cup. Yet it remained tantalizingly aloof, open only to visiting royalty and FIFA VIP’s until the finishing touches were in place ahead of the hotel's soft opening in late December 2022. 

The rooms

As the first all-suite hotel in Qatar, Raffles' aim is to offer every guest a slightly different experience. There are only 132 of them, almost half individually designed including a two-bed Parisian “townhouse” suite so faithfully reproduced, it’s a surprise to see, not the elegant streets of Saint Germain when you step on its jaw-dropping terrace, but the endless blue of the Arabian Gulf.

Back in the non-themed suites, it’s hardly less salubrious. From hand-carved ceilings and specially-commissioned artworks to spa bathrooms with experiential showers and Frederic Malle fragrance, the not-so-little luxuries are a-plenty. A hotel first, is the intelligent Compoz scent library where you choose your room infusion based on your olfactory mood. But the true gem in the centre of the suites is a leather-clad “jewelry box”, which opens on one side to reveal a walk-in dressing room and vanity area fashioned like an enormous Louis Vuitton stand-up trunk, the other, your personal crystal maxi bar with sinks, fridges and complimentary drinks and snacks.  

Food and drink

As enticing as it is to chill in your suite all day, it would be a shame to rely on room service unless you’re avoiding recognition or the authorities. Malaki Lounge makes crystal chandeliers works as well for its delectable a la carte breakfasts as it does champagne cocktail-infused afternoon teas. 

Another highlight is a custom-made sun-downer at Acoustic, the duplex rooftop restaurant and cocktail lounge. High-octane glamour is delivered by servers in glittering jumpsuits worthy of an Abba reunion and a huge circular amber bar, fashioned in the shape of an old whiskey tumbler found in the walls of Raffles Singapore during renovations. 

The biggest culinary draw though is Alba by Enrico Crippa, the three-Michelin star chef who has chosen Raffles for his international debut. Not surprisingly for the Piedmont-based maestro, truffles are the star menu ingredient, selected from a novel truffle “library”  reverently housed one of the restaurant’s many intimate nooks and crannies. Choose a cosy table a deux on the restaurant’s Juliet balcony or get real at the chef’s table in the kitchen overseen by Crippa’s protégé, the audaciously talented 27-year-old Antonio D’Alessio and his team straight out of the original Alba kitchen. 

The spa

The Raffles Spa was still a work in progress during pre-opening but it's destined to be the region’s first Medi-Spa destination fronted by one of Europe’s most-renowned clinics. Beauty & Wellness ministrations come courtesy of Dr Burgener skincare with treatments lasting anything from four hours to six days, There are also five Experience Suites, each a self-contained mini spa with its own outdoor pool, sauna, and hammam.  

The neighborhood

Lusail and its slew of international culinary names including Rainer Becker’s Zuma, Monte Carlo’s Beef Bar, Madrid’s Tatel and Mykonos beach club Nammos are right on your doorstep on the neighborhood’s Maha Island. But Doha isn’t a large city with most things worth seeing a short drive away. 

The service

With every suite assigned its own butler, on-call 24/7 to unpack, run you a bath and notice which delicacy you seem partial to most from the fruit, nut, and chocolate buffet constantly replenished, there’s an ‘arrive as guests, leave as friends, return as family’ mantra going on among them. They actually seem to mean it too. With over 1,000 staff servicing guests it’s fair to say, many are still getting up to scratch on Raffles exacting standards. But they’ll get there thanks to the veterans from the brand’s other global properties drafted in. 

For families

Raffles is undeniably grown up. But it’s also going to attract families who like the good life and they’re well provided for with gourmet cuisine re-fashioned for unrefined palates and plenty of room to play tag in the family suites. They’ll also love the freshwater pool and popping over to the kids club, inspired by enchanted forests. 

Eco effort

There’s no single-use plastic evident throughout Katara Towers. Chefs and mixologists grow and harvest their own ingredients on the hotel grounds and there’s as much produce as possible sourced from local farms. 

Accessibility for those with mobility impairments 

Good. All single-level suites are easily wheelchair accessible as are restaurants, elevators are roomy and have seating, as do bathroom showers.

Anything left to mention 

The books. Katara’s art consultants scoured the world for thousands of inspiring tomes to place in suites and restaurants, but it is the gentleman’s club-like atmosphere of The Blue Cigar Lounge that the real gems are to be found. Behind a concealed door, over 200 rare books, from volumes of Homer and Defoe’s Robinson Cruse from the 1700s to many First Editions including Hemmingway are stored in temperature-controlled deference. Just ask and they’ll be brought to your table by white-gloved waiters for your reading pleasure over coffee, a digestif and mellow jazz.