Souq Waqif has been a trading place for more than a century, on the site of a Bedouin market beside the wadi that gave it its name. By the 1990s it had largely decayed into concrete infill. The state pulled the modern additions out from 2004, rebuilt in mud render and exposed timber using traditional methods, and reopened it as a working souq rather than a heritage display.
Whether a reconstruction that thorough counts as authentic is a fair question and Doha does not much mind. What matters practically is that it works: the falcon market, the spice lanes, the shisha courtyards and the restaurants are busy with Qataris rather than only visitors, and it is the only part of the city that functions on foot after dark.
The souq side and the tower side
West Bay is the skyline: a cluster of towers on reclaimed land across the bay, with the business hotels, the malls and the corniche in front. It is comfortable, well run and it could be any Gulf city.
Msheireb and the souq, at the southern end of the corniche, is the old centre. Msheireb Downtown is a recent redevelopment of about 31 hectares built in a contemporary Qatari style with a tram, museums and a low skyline, and it adjoins the souq.
The Pearl and Lusail, north, are newer developments with marinas.
The museums are the real argument for Doha: the Museum of Islamic Art on its own island by I. M. Pei, and the National Museum of Qatar by Jean Nouvel, built as interlocking discs modelled on a desert rose crystal.
Six hotels below meet the standard on the souq side and the alternatives worth naming.
Msheireb and the souq
The old centre, walkable after dark.
Mandarin Oriental, Doha occupies a building in Msheireb Downtown with a rooftop pool, a spa and a covered courtyard, five minutes on foot from the souq. It is the best hotel in Doha and the only luxury property genuinely in the old centre.
Mandarin Oriental, Doha
Msheireb Downtown · 5★ · $$$$
Rooftop pool five minutes on foot from Souq Waqif
Check availabilityAl Najada Doha Hotel by Tivoli sits in Msheireb in a converted building with a pool, contemporary rooms in a Qatari idiom and a short walk to both the souq and the tram.
Al Najada Doha Hotel by Tivoli
Msheireb · 5★ · $$$
Contemporary Qatari design beside the souq and the tram
Check availabilitySouq Waqif Boutique Hotels - Tivoli occupies a collection of small restored properties within the souq itself, each with a handful of rooms, courtyards and rooftops over the lanes. Staying inside the market is not something the tower hotels can offer.
Souq Waqif Boutique Hotels - Tivoli
Inside Souq Waqif · 5★ · $$$
Small restored properties within the market lanes
Check availabilityWest Bay and the corniche
The skyline side, with the business hotels.
Four Seasons Hotel Doha occupies a tower on the corniche with a spa, several restaurants and rooms looking across the bay at the museum and the old city.
Four Seasons Hotel Doha
West Bay corniche · 5★ · $$$$
Corniche tower looking back at the museum and old city
Check availabilityRaffles Doha sits in the Katara Towers at Lusail in an all-suite property with a large spa and the most theatrical interior in Qatar.
Raffles Doha
Katara Towers, Lusail · 5★ · $$$$
All-suite with the most theatrical interior in Qatar
Check availabilityThe islands
Banana Island Resort Doha by Anantara occupies its own island 25 minutes by boat from the corniche, with overwater villas, a beach, a large pool complex and no cars. It is the only resort of its kind in Qatar.
Banana Island Resort Doha by Anantara
Banana Island · 5★ · $$$$
Overwater villas on a car-free island 25 minutes by boat
Check availabilityWhat we have left off
The apartment hotels across West Bay are excluded, and Doha has a very large supply of them serving long-stay business visitors. They are apartments rather than hotels.
What to do
Go to the Museum of Islamic Art, which is the best collection of its kind anywhere and sits on an artificial island with the best view back at the skyline. Allow half a day.
Do the National Museum of Qatar, which tells the country's story from geology to gas and is worth it as much for the building as the contents.
Spend an evening at Souq Waqif. Eat, walk the falcon souq, and see the horses at the police stables. It runs late and it is at its best after nine.
Go into the desert to Khor Al Adaid, the inland sea in the south where the Gulf reaches into the dunes at the Saudi border, on a half-day trip.
See the Richard Serra sculptures in the desert at Zekreet, four steel plates in an empty landscape an hour west, which almost nobody visits.
Practical notes
Hamad International is 15 to 20 minutes from the centre and is a major connecting hub, which makes Doha a straightforward stopover of one or two nights.
November to March is the season: warm, dry and pleasant. April and October are hot. May to September regularly exceeds 45 degrees with high humidity and life is entirely indoors.
Qatar is conservative in dress and licensing. Alcohol is served in hotels rather than generally.
Explore 4 & 5 Star Doha Hotels
Questions people actually ask
Is the souq a reconstruction?
Substantially, from 2004 onward, using traditional methods on a site that had traded for over a century. It functions as a real market.
Souq side or West Bay?
Souq side for the old centre and walking. West Bay for towers, malls and business convenience.
Is Doha worth more than a stopover?
Two nights for the two museums and an evening at the souq. Longer if the desert appeals.
How many nights?
Two, or three with a desert day.