W Doha Hotel & Residences W ドーハ ホテル＆ レジデンス

W Doha Exterior of the Hotel Entrance (left) and the W logo at outside the Residence (right) 

  

W Doha was open in 2009 with 291 hotel guest rooms, including 31 suites and 154 residences.

At the moment, W Doha is the only W property in the Meddle East and North Africa, though there are several properties currently in development for the UAE.

  

W Doha, Living Room

W Doha is located in the West Bay of Doha on the Qatar peninsula. Standing right across from the popular City Center mall and it is only a 15-minutes drive from the airport.

Doha's beautiful Corniche, as well as beach and water sports facilities are just 5 minutes away by car, while the challenging greens of the Doha Gold Club are a quick 10 minutes drive.

- See more at: http://www.whoteldoha.com & http://www.sleepermagazine.com

 

W Doha, Living Room

 

 



W Doha has 3 restaurants. One of them is "Market by Jean-Georges".

[Sleek and sophisticated. Savor fresh, local ingredients with international flare in a chic setting at our second restaurant by Chef Vongerichten. Candle lights flicker, and spice jars line the walls of this contemporary take on a traditional souq]

 

 - See more at: http://www.marketdoha.com

 

 

 Market by Jean-Georges | Signature Restaurant by Jean-Georges in Doha  

Seafood display for Brunch (left, -the time I was there, they had Brunch on every Fridays-)  



Market by Jean-Georges | Signature Restaurant by Jean-Georges in Doha  

Other than the restaurants, W Doha also has 2 lounges, Wahm lounge & Crystal lounge,  and a cafe in the hotel.
In Doha, you can not get any alcohol either from stores or restaurants in the city, except those 5 star hotels with the special permit. So, those 3 restaurants and 2 lounges are packed with people, especially over the weekends. Not only for the tourist and business travelers from other countries, but also for the Arabs. W Doha is truly the Oasis for the people in the desert Qatar.

W Café

Light bites. Grab a cup of coffee or tea and maybe a pastry or two at the warm, welcoming W Café. Whatever you’re craving, we have a selection of delicious baked goods, cupcakes and

treats to satisfy your appetite.

Task Force Doha, Qatar ドーハ出張 -2-

While I was in Doha, I could take a day off to discover a tiny part of the city.

I am not sure about the other cities in the Middle East, but I can say, it was very different from any other countries I have visited before...  

 

Fanar - Qatar Islamic Cultural Center 

 

There are many new & fancy shopping malls in the city. You can buy everything and eat any kind of food over there (except pork and alcohol). Those places are, of course, with air-conditioning which is very nice but luck of character...  

 

One of my friends who used to work in W Guangzhou, now works in the kitchen of W Doha, took me to a place called "Souq Waqif".

 

Souq Waqif 

 

 

 

Souq Waqif 

 

 They also sell Falcons!

 

In this place, you can find everything in here from clothes, spices, paintings, souvenirs, accessories and jewelries to food. It's not as big as Istanbul's Grand Bazaar but nice thing about this place was nobody push you to buy stuff. I could just relax, take my time and walk around window shopping.

Also, because I was there at the best time of the year (in Jan) and best time of the day (6-8pm), I had no problem walking around the place.

There are many nice restaurants and cafe at the Souq, but I have tried their traditional food from the street vendors and the small tiny restaurant inside the Souq.
The BBQ grilled lamb & chicken with green leaf salad and some bread (?? something like Indian Naan bread but thinner). It was good. Much better than I have imagined, though the meat was bit too dry for my taste.

Street vendors come out and selling food at the evening

 Souq Waqif

 

Traditional Middle Eastern food

 

Many nice luxury 5star hotels in the city of Doha. Didn't have enough time to visit those hotels but I know for sure, W Doha was extremely busy. Not only for the rooms, but also their restaurants and the bars were crazy everyday. They don't have a big banquet space but busy with outside catering. They told my they are the busiest B&F operation in all W hotels in the world!!

 

Kempinski (top left), Marriott Marquis City Center (top right),

W Doha (bottom)

 

 

View of Doha at night. Office buildings and shopping malls.

 

 

Task Force Doha, Qatar ドーハ出張 -1-

First time in Middle East.

Beautiful view of CBD Doha


I have been in W Doha, from January 21st to 31st on a Task Force assignment.
To oversee and train the staff in their sushi and sashimi section of their restaurants by Jean-Georges, all day dining restaurant "Market" and Asian restaurant "Spice Market".

In this time of the year, the weather in Doha is perfect.
Not hot at all. During the daytime, I could walk around outside with T-shirt, and after sunset, just with light jacket over the T-shirt.

Doha is an exciting city. A capital city of Qatar, with fast-paced economy growth, it has been hosting major international events and building many skyscrapers for residences, shopping malls, hotels and offices. Also a national museum of Qatar, located at south Doha, has been under construction.
Getting ready for 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar!

The time I was there, they had "Handball World Championship" in the town

View from the car, on the way to work

  

Because W Doha was fully booked during the time I was there, I had to stay in the staff dormitory....
It was actually a great experience though. I could feel how the life in Doha is like!

Outside of the apartment building I have stayed 

(very dark during the night time and looks bit scary...)

My room

Special welcome amenity delivered by W Doha team (left), living room (right)

Bed room (left), kitchen (right)
 





 Kitchen (left), Bathroom (right)

 

 

 

 

W Taipei, "The Kitchen Table" W台北 "キッチンテーブル"

"The Kitchen Table", W Taipei's all day dining restaurant, is located on the 10th floor of the hotel.

It serves various types of food from the breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea to the dinner.

 

Entrance of "The Kitchen Table" (top left), Inside of the restaurant (top right)

Outside terrace at night (bottom)

Dessert section (left), restaurant interior (right top) and table setting (right bottom)

 

 

Some may find the food variety of the buffet isn't good enough, compare to the other 5 star hotel's buffet restaurants in the town, but I found the quality of the food in "The Kitchen Table" was much better than others.

They also "pass around" their special dish of the day, several times during each meal period. I had grilled fish, deep fried prawn, individual portioned mini-gratin during my dinner time. Those pass around dishes were all nicely presented in the small portion and very tasty indeed.

 

 

Cold appetizers, sushi/sashimi (left bottom) and hand roll (right)

Dessert selection

Salad (left) and Asian hot food (right) selection

Cold cuts (left) and dessert (right) selection

 

 

For more details on their official websites → W TAIPEI - THE KITCHEN TABLE

Hot Openings: W Bogota show offs dramatic style

“The opening of W Bogota is a milestone in Colombia’s hotel landscape, setting the stage for a redefined luxury experience in one of the world’s most vibrant destinations,” said Paul James, global brand leader, W Hotels, St. Regis and The Luxury Collection. “As emerging economies expand, so does tourism, and W Bogota’s highly anticipated debut is symbolic of the whims and wishes of today’s more global and interconnected modern travelers.”

- See more at: http://www.hotelsmag.com

  

Golden tones dominate the lounge

W Taipei, W台北

Trip to Taipei in the middle of November 2014, I had experienced the hottest energy source of the city, W Taipei, for the first time.

 

Exterior view of W Taipei (left), Giant chain at the entrace(right)

*The Chian "anchors the energy of the W Taipei into the ground"

(See more at: W Hotels Worldwide Debuts in Taiwan with the Opening of W Taipei)

 

 

For the first time, I heard of "W" hotel brand was back in 2010 when I was still working for Shangri-La hotel in Taipei. I had never heard of the name before and had no idea what the W brand was. After the hotel started recruitment, people also started to talk about it. Some said "it's a new brand from Hong Kong", "it's a boutique hotel combined with a night club"....

After 4 years, I work for the one in Guangzhoiu now and came to understand more about the brand.

Also the people in Taiwan have better understanding of this unique, inovative hotel brand and they seemed to love it! 

 

 

Fabulous Room (495 Square Feet / 46 Square Meters)

Fabulous Room in the evening

 

I have stayed in their "Fabulous" room, facing down to "WET" swimming pool (BTW, this swimming pool can be changed to an ice-skate link in the winnter time!).

The room was very clean, of course, big and nice design with all the necessary amenities. 

I personaly liked the big TV with the great sound from Bose speaker. That was awesome!

 

42" Flat Screen TV

 

Rainforest Shower (left), Bath room with W Signature Bathrobe & Bliss® Spa Bath Amenities (right)

W Signature Bathrobe & Separate Bathtub

Unique designed room. Wooden panels separates the bathroom and bed room, can be opened/closed.
Besides the design, they got all the basics just right. Such as hot water -hot enough-, water pressure -strong enough-, cleanliness, amenities...etc.

Bliss® Spa Bath Amenities (left), A Full Length Mirror (right)

Coffee Plunger (left), Munchie Box (right)

WET® Pool View

 

Elevator hall (left) and Hall way (right) at the guest floor

 

Elevator hall (left) and Entrance hall (right) at the ground floor



Entrance hall (left top), Entrance (left bottom) and W sign (right) outside

Jet bath (left) Sauna and Shower (right) in a FIT gym Change Room

My perosnal favorite, as being a Japanese, was the jet bath & sauna in the change room. Japanese people love "Onsen" -hot springs- and soak themselves in a hote bath tub, especially during the cold winter time.

Entrance to WET pool (left), Change Room (right)

WET pool (left) and WET® Bar(right)

WET pool (left) and WET® Bar

WET, swimming pool, is located just next to "The Kitchen Table" all day dining resturant, "WET BAR" and "WOO BAR"  The water tempature was warm enough but unfortunately I didn't have time to swim this time. Besides, I would be too shy to swim in the middle of the restaurat and bars...

Exterior of the hotel from pool side at night

Pool side and outside of WOOBAR at night

I understand why W Taipei is so popular in Taiwan and even for the people from outside Taiwan. It was an extraordinary experience that you can get in the latest, busiest part of the city of Taipei. And yet, they also have covered all the basic necessities that 5star hotels must have. I would recommend this hotel to everyone and love to go back again!

 

 

 

 

Wish You a Merry Christmas from W Guangzhou!

 

2014 Christmas Tree in W Guangzhou Living Room

 

2014 Christmas Tree in W Guangzhou Living Room

2014 Christmas Tree in W Guangzhou Living Room