Qatar Travel Experience: Qatar Airways QSuite, Places to Visit | Where to Eat
Hi guys,
I was in Qatar in March with Qatar Airways and it was majorly for the Qatar International Food Festival. We covered all the major places in Qatar and ate some amazing food, all types of cuisines, at the best restaurants in Qatar. I have tried to include everything from my 5 day trip in this 31 minute vlog.
I got to experience the Qatar Airways Qsuite Business Class service and it was just amazing. I didn’t even feel I was on a flight and I slept so comfortably. The space is so well designed and well utilized. If you are travelling in 2 or 4, you can pull down the cabin separator and have the whole area to yourself. The quad is absolutely perfect for a family of 4. Food and service again absolutely amazing, the whole range of entertainment options, sound quality, each and every thing and every minute detail was absolutely perfect. You cannot find a single reason to be unsatisfied with the QSuite.
They have Al Maha services at Doha/Hamad International Airport and you need to book it online in advance. A person will escort you to their separate lounge as soon as you land. They will get your luggage while you have your breakfast or relax at the lounge, they also have a separate immigration for the lounge, so no standing in queues. Basically everything is done pretty quick and you don’t have to practically do anything. I loved the Al Maha services! More airports should have such similar services.
I was staying at Intercontinental in Doha, which is a stunning property with a private beach. The staff was so warm and helpful, and though I only got a chance to have breakfast there once or twice, they were kind enough to make me eggless breads and pancakes. Overall experience at Intercontinental was really good!
On Day 1, we went to Argan Restaurant at Souq Waqif and covered some museums. In the evening, we covered Corniche and Katara Cultural Village. Corniche is absolutely stunning and I can practically sit there for hours and just look at the view. You can see entire Doha skyline from there. Katara Cultural Village is also beautiful and the evening sky looked magical there. It is inspired by the Roman architecture.
For dinner, we went to Riyasat at St.Regis Doha. We had an elaborate Indian meal prepared by Chef Jolly who was also a part of the Qatar International Food Festival this time.
On Day 2, we first went to Qatarat Agricultural Development Co. (QADCo.). It’s basically like a farm which produces tonnes and tonnes of fruits and vegetables and supply to major Qatar companies, markets, even Qatar Airways. They create conducive environment for the fruits and vegetables to grow because Qatar is basically a desert, so the whole process of converting desert to making fertile land is intriguing. We had some yummy breakfast there and they also gifted us some veggies and honey from the farm.
They also have horse stables and we saw how the horses take a bath, exercise, most take part in racing and they were very strong and active horses.
Next stop was Fire Station Exhibit and it was so beautiful. Anyone can submit their art creations with it’s meaning and they will display it at the Exhibit. Some of them had so much thought going, and were created by 15-16 year olds.
We had lunch at Al Terrace at Souq Waqif and in the evening was the opening ceremony of QIFF 2019. We had dinner at Morimoto, Mondrian Doha and even met Chef Morimoto himself. I was not very excited about Japanese food as I am a vegetarian but I had the best veg sushi, tempura, grilled veggies there and the desserts were out of the world! I love Mochi <3
On Day 3, we had breakfast at the Helipad of Shangri-La Doha and trust me, the view was the best ever! It was an amazing experience and I am sure, the evenings there would be magical.
Then we went for Supreme Legacy 2022 which is a road map to 2022 FIFA World Cup, being held in Qatar. They are changing Qatar 360 for that and so much infrastructure and work is going on, on a daily. From 7 huge stadiums to metros, they are working at an amazing speed. Each stadium has some significance, a specific shape and dedicated to something which is a part of Qatar or their culture.
Then we went to Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) followed by the best meal I had in Qatar. We went to Em Sherif at Sheraton Grand in Doha and the meal was fit for royalty. We were served everything on the menu and the table looked unbelievable. The mirror table, cutlery, decor, chair, view, colours, everything at Em Sherif was just too stunning and beautiful. 80% of their dishes were vegetarian and I had the best vegetarian Lebanese experience at Em Sherif. The flavours in every dish were so good, it was like a blast of flavours in every bite.
In the evening, we went to The Pearl and trust me when I say this, it was prettier than Venice! It’s like a pastel dream come true. The buildings, the canals, the lights, it was all so pinterest-y. The Pearl had all the designer brands possible and the evenings again looked magical and beautiful to just sit there and have a cup of coffee and admire it.
We had dinner at La Mar at our hotel Intercontinental itself, it was Peruvian cuisine. Two of us in our group were vegetarian and though we did try 2-3 dishes, we were so full and satisfied with our afternoon Em Sherif lunch, that we didn’t try much 😀 We were pretty happy and content with Em Sherif, I believe it’s at two other places in UAE and if you ever go to a place with Em Sherif around, you have to try it out!!
On Day 4, we went for Desert Safari at Messaied Sand Dunes and we also saw the Inland Sea/Khor Al Adaid, which connect the desert to the sea and is only one of the 3 places in the world. It also shares borders with Saudi Arabia across.
We went for lunch at Al Mourjan Restaurant, loved the desserts and Karak (tea) there. In the evening, we attended the AR Rahman Concert at Khalifa Stadium. It was amazing, the whole team was so good. The stadium was lit up with phone torches during the finale 2-3 songs, magical.
On Day 5 which was our final day, we only went to Zekreet as we had our flight back in the evening. We saw the UNESCO Reserve, Richard Serra’s East West-West East, Film City and Mushroom Rock. We also spotted Oryx and Ostrich there.
And then it was time to head back and pack. Qatar was such a wonderful experience and I thoroughly enjoyed those 5 days. A big thank you to Qatar Airways for this memorable trip, I will always cherish it.