Service Par Excellence at Shangri-La Doha

Having experienced the hallmark hospitality of this brand in a trip earlier this year, we had a great opinion of these chain of luxury hotels. Being a member of their loyalty program Golden Circle, my husband received an email about their promotional offer with which we could redeem less points for a stay. There was a 25 % discount on points required for the standard room, which was an amazing deal as we could finally redeem the points we had for a stay in their Doha property!

Just a week back we had been there to their restaurant Sridan and I was already in love with their beautiful property. My children were very excited too as we had gone up to check out their swimming pool and they really wanted to go back. I was one weary, happy mamma with two happy kids when my husband went for it a booked a one night weekend stay at Shangri-La Doha.

They were prompt in their reservation confirmation and assisted very courteously through the process. We received the confirmation email with a surprise – a complimentary upgrade to a premium room! (how cool is that!?) In addition they took note of all our specifications regarding baby cots, removal of alcohol from the room, getting a room with a better view, late check-out etc. The check in time is 2 pm (which is great as its a bit earlier than other few hotels I had been to) So we packed up and arrived on a sunny and pleasant Thursday afternoon.

As you walk into the opulent lobby of the hotel, you are greeted by a unique fragrance, which is their signature scent I believe.  You can really feel the mix of oriental and arab culture everywhere from the design of the building and the interior decor to the uniform of the staff. The front desk staff are very friendly and pleasant. We were checked-in smoothly and given all the details. The staff who checked us in gave us another surprise – our booking included breakfast too! and assured us that we have a really spacious room with a great view and kindly accompanied us up to our room.

I was totally blown over by the spacious premium room on the 27th floor with huge glass windows up to the ceiling offering a stunning view of the skyscrapers around the area and of Doha beyond. Since this room was at the corner of the building we had two walls with glass facade. My son had a ball of a time. He spent a good half hour walking along the walls pointing at the packed west bay roads excitedly repeating ‘car’ – a word he recently learnt.

The closet was huge. There was a large working desk, a 5 seater sofa set at the other end, a huge TV screen displaying a personalized welcome message in front of the king sized bed.

The spacious bathroom had a closed shower area with rain shower, a W/C segregated with a door and a huge bath tub. The toiletries sets were luxurious and deliciously scented with Jasmine and Bergamot.

We immediately felt relaxed as we settled in and soaked in the view. We watched the sunset right from our couch and saw the view change from one of ‘cars’ to one of ‘lights’ (you can guess what my son was saying for quite a while after that 🙂 ) It was a great experience indeed.

A little while later we went down to the hotel lobby. On Thursdays they have a falcon there, the guests can hold it and take pictures. However, we couldn’t hold it then as the person incharge informed us that it was in an angry mood. We could only touch its soft feathers. My kids were absolutely delighted by it.

Next we went into the lobby lounge. It looked so comfy and inviting. However, we chose to sit outdoor as we were with the kids and didn’t want to disturb the other guests. Their outdoor area is rather small and opens adjacent to the main entrance and parking so it’s not really a view. Thankfully nobody was smoking there at that time so we took our seats and ordered a light dinner from their menu. We had tomato soup with goat cheese (quite good), kofta sliders (awesome) and a raspberry collins (super awesome! I am definitely going back to the lounge for this one InshaAllah).

We experienced exceptional service throughout for room service and house keeping. They were always courteous and quick to respond – be it changing the sheets in the middle of the night as the kids soiled them, replacing toiletries as we ran out, extra water, the second baby cot (they had kept only one when we arrived) to every other request I threw at them.

Early in the morning, we went down to their swimming pool at the 7th floor. It is so beautifully laid out over a large area. There’s a bridge in between, a juice bar, jaccuzi and all. You feel you are on the ground with all the greenery around. It was a pleasant morning and the dad and kids enjoyed a refreshing swim listening to the sound of chirping birds as I relaxed on one of their beautiful cabanas lined all around.

Next up was breakfast in Sridan. There was a little confusion as we were informed that our room was with breakfast by the staff at check in but somehow that didn’t show up in the system. However, they said since the mistake was from their side, they wouldn’t charge separately. It was a really professional and responsible gesture from them and I really appreciated it. With their dinner buffet setting the bar really high, I felt the breakfast buffet wasn’t as varied but still I enjoyed it. All the food tasted good and many of the things were freshly made then and there to order. We left very well satisfied.

More pictures of the restaurant and my experience at their dinner buffet can be found here.

Since it was Friday, the late check out at 2pm was really helpful as my husband could go and attend the prayer and the kids got a chance to nap and we could relax in our room a little more before we left. The check out was very smooth too and we left after a thoroughly enjoyable staycation with unmatched service.