Review: Marriott Marquis City Center Doha, Qatar

The Marriott Marquis City Center Doha is located in the downtown area of Doha, the capital of the State of Qatar. Built in 2008, it is a large 5-star hotel, with 579 rooms across 44 floors and two towers. It caters primarily to business guests on conferences as well as other guests on stopovers in Doha (presumably flying Qatar Airways).

This hotel excels from a location perspective for three good reasons. Firstly, it is directly connected to the large Doha City Center mall via indoor access, which features many international brands, a Carrefour supermarket, and a cinema among others. Secondly, it is just a few steps from the DECC station on the Red Line of the newly built Doha metro system, which is one of the world's fastest driverless train system. Thirdly, it is reasonably near to Hamad International Airport (HIA), being just 20 minutes away by car and 30 minutes by metro. These three reasons point to the Marriott Marquis City Center Doha as an excellent choice for stopover travellers in particular.

Hotel lobby, Marriott Marquis City Center Doha

The two towers, North and South

I stayed on an executive floor on the North Tower, which had a great view of the downtown area and the waters behind it. There was a distinctive striped carpet in the superior rooms (42 square metres) which are slightly larger than the deluxe rooms.

The Superior Room, executive floor

The bathroom features a bathtub

A somewhat foggy view from the room

For Marriott Bonvoy elite guests and those who booked rooms with lounge access, a notable benefit of staying in this hotel is that there is not one but two executive lounges. They are located on the 42nd floor of the North Tower and the 8th floor of the South Tower. While they are only manned from 6am to midnight, they are available for access 24 hours a day for getting a quick drink or just a short rest to recover from jetlag, considering that many guests at this hotel are transit passengers.

Only the North Tower executive lounge serves breakfast in the mornings. As for both lounges, other than an afternoon tea available, there is a happy hour from 5.30pm to 7.30pm, where a selection of alcoholic drinks and hot food are available on a complimentary basis.

Breakfast selection at the North Tower executive lounge

Afternoon tea, South Tower executive lounge

Food served at the evening cocktail hour, South Tower executive lounge

There is also a bar and pool area on the open floors that connect the North and South towers, although not recommended in the summer heat. The swimming pool is large but may get crowded depending on the hotel's occupancy rate.

Outdoor bar area

Swimming pool

I had a pleasant stay overall, and especially appreciate the little thoughtful gesture of the hotel through the very local Middle Eastern sweets that were delivered to my room, which were a delight for foreign travelers like me to try.

A welcome treat courtesy of Marriott Marquis City Center Doha

Marriott Marquis City Center Doha is located on the Omar Al Mukhtar Street, Area 61, Al Dafna, Street #850, in the city of Doha, Qatar.