Throughout my world wide journey with dad, we had three nights in Doha, and determined to remain at three completely different resorts. After spending the primary evening at the Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha, we spent our subsequent evening at Katara Hills Doha, a Hilton LXR property (that is Hilton’s unbiased luxurious resort model).
I used to be actually interested in this resort, because it was fairly actually the only factors property on the planet I used to be most curious to remain at. The 15-villa property opened in 2022, and is positioned on a synthetic hill, with nightly charges typically being round $2,000 per evening.
So, what did I consider Katara Hills Doha? Whereas the property has stunning villas and staying right here is a tremendous use of factors or a free evening certificates, it’s not a property I’d return to. To me it felt extra like renting a villa than staying at a resort, given the dearth of facilities.
In equity, I’m most likely not the target market for this property. I think about households from the area would possibly respect the area and privateness that villas right here supply, even when there’s an absence of public amenities. Let’s get into the overview…
Reserving Katara Hills Doha LXR
Charges at Katara Hills Doha are round $2,000 per evening, together with for the evening that we stayed. If you’re going to e-book a money keep right here (which I wouldn’t actually advocate, however…), I’d accomplish that by way of the Hilton Impresario program, which affords additional perks.
Thankfully this property is a good place to redeem Hilton Honors factors or free evening certificates:
- The resort usually expenses 110,000 Hilton Honors factors for a free evening award; you’ll be able to typically purchase Honors factors for 0.5 cents every, which might be the equal of spending $550 per evening right here
- I redeemed a free evening award that I earned with the the Hilton Aspire Card for the keep; the cardboard has a $450 annual charge (Charges & Charges), and affords so many wonderful perks, so I received fairly a deal on this keep
The data and related card particulars on this web page for the Hilton Honors American Specific Aspire Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or supplied by the cardboard issuer.
Katara Hills Doha LXR location
Katara Hills LXR is positioned within the Katara Cultural Village. The resort is about 25-Half-hour from Doha Hamad Worldwide Airport (DOH). It’s inside a 10-15 minute drive of a lot of the locations you’d wish to go to in Doha, starting from Souq Waqif, to Lusail (together with Al Maha Island), to the Museum of Islamic Artwork.
Within the extra instant space, we visited a few of the newer developments, like 21 Excessive Road, that includes a number of buying and outside air con. Doha has developed very properly because the final time I visited (as a result of all of the World Cup building), and now has much more to supply. Sadly I discovered virtually all the pieces to be completely abandoned. I suppose Qatar is taking the “construct it and they’ll come” method.
Katara Hills Doha LXR foyer & check-in
We arrived at Katara Hills at round 2PM. We had been confused as we first pulled up, as a result of an worker directed us to go to the spa moderately than reception.
Because it seems, the reception constructing was absolutely beneath building. Despite the fact that the resort opened about six months in the past, I suppose it’s nonetheless not absolutely operational?
The spa space had been become a makeshift foyer, besides it was fairly small. There was the reception desk, after which there have been two chairs throughout from it.
The folks checking us in had been pleasant, and supplied us Arabic espresso and dates, together with a welcome mocktail, as they processed our check-in. It wasn’t terribly seamless, although, as they needed to go to completely different buildings to get every of these items.
Ultimately they knowledgeable us that our room could be prepared in about 45 minutes. The difficulty is that the resort has no public amenities, and it was over 100 levels outdoors, so at first we determined we’d simply sit in that reception space. However then a spa visitor confirmed up and we felt a bit dangerous utilizing the seats, so we determined to go to a close-by mall to hang around for a bit.
I imply, you’d suppose a $2,000 per evening resort would have actually anyplace for visitors to sit down, however not right here.
We returned at round 3PM, and had been then delivered to our room. The resort has golf carts that they’ll drive you round on.
All of the villas are alongside one winding highway — I fairly just like the farmhouse-style exteriors of the villas.
I additionally seen that there was nonetheless fairly a little bit of building happening, and most of the villas appeared to not be full but. So we by no means noticed some other resort visitors when going to or from our rooms, however we did see dozens of building employees.
Katara Hills Doha LXR villa
We stayed in villa quantity eight, a king one bed room villa with personal pool. That is the bottom room (no Hilton Honors Diamond upgrades), and was roughly midway up the hill.
Exterior the villa had been two bikes, which may very well be used in the course of the keep. Nonetheless, given the temperatures outdoors, we by no means ended up utilizing them.
Villas at Katara Hills are a beneficiant 1,765 sq. ft (164 sq. meters), and are for essentially the most half very properly appointed. Despite the fact that I noticed footage on-line, I used to be pleasantly stunned by how the villas appeared in individual. On the bottom flooring, there was an enormous front room with a sofa and two chairs, together with a big TV in a wall console.
The resort affords rollaway beds at no additional price, so we had a type of delivered to our room. That is the proper sleeping association for 2 folks, since every degree has a full toilet.
Katara Hills doesn’t have a health club, so there was some health club gear alongside the home windows, together with a yoga mat, resistance bands, and free weights.
There was then a eating space and kitchen — the eating desk had six chairs, and there was a small kitchen with a microwave, a sink, and a fridge.
Ready on the eating desk was a beautiful welcome amenity, consisting of recent fruit, bottled water, all types of tasty native sweets, and nuts.
The eye to element may very well be improved a bit, although, because the welcome card didn’t even spell my title proper. I imply, c’mon, can’t you copy and paste accurately?
The in-room minibar was complimentary, although the choice was moderately random. There have been two tonic waters, two Purple Bulls, three Ritter Sport sweets, and three luggage of pistachios.
There was additionally a espresso and tea setup, with a Nespresso machine, a kettle, and quite a lot of Dilmah tea choices.
The bottom flooring had a full toilet, with a sink, a rest room, and a walk-in bathe.
Toiletries had been in reusable BVLGARI wall-mounted containers.
One main promoting level of Katara Hills is that every villa has a personal outside pool. The pool deck was fairly good, and featured a few daybeds, and a decently sized pool.
What was much less inspiring was the view. Whereas base rooms listed below are described as providing “beautiful sea views,” I’d say the view may extra precisely be described as “dazzling car parking zone views.” Our villa missed a large, virtually totally empty car parking zone. Not precisely essentially the most inspiring view.
On the plus facet, I believed the view was prettier at evening.
There was one significantly unusual factor concerning the outside space. There was no deal with to open the sliding glass door from outdoors. So to open the door from outdoors, you mainly needed to press each palms towards the glass, and attempt to slide it to the facet. Is that severely the way it’s meant to work, or have they simply not gotten round to putting in door handles?
Anyway, the villa continued up on the second flooring, which may very well be accessed by a staircase proper by the doorway (and there’s a door as quickly as you get to the second flooring).
The higher flooring had a cushty king measurement mattress, together with a chair within the nook, plus a TV on a dresser.
Behind the mattress was an extended desk with a conceit, which may additionally double as a desk, if wanted. The toilet was hidden behind the wall, within the sense that the door simply blended into the ribbed wall design.
The toilet had double sinks, a soaking tub, a walk-in bathe, and a rest room.
Whereas I used to be for essentially the most half impressed by the finishes within the villa, there have been some areas that nearly felt unfinished, just like the beneath area subsequent to the sink.
All-in-all, the villa exceeded my expectations, and we had been very comfortable campers with the setup.
One different factor to notice — Katara Hills doesn’t serve any alcohol on-property, allegedly as a result of Katara is taken into account a “cultural village.” Qatar has unusual legal guidelines about alcohol these days. It was that alcohol may solely be served at resorts, whereas now you could have some resorts that don’t serve it, whilst you have some venues at non-hotels (like Al Maha Island) that do serve it.
What made Katara Hills not serving alcohol even stranger is that there have been wine glasses within the villa, and the room service menu even confirmed alcohol. I’m unsure if it was quickly allowed in the course of the World Cup, or what…
Katara Hills Doha LXR Gymkhana Restaurant
Gymkhana is Katara Hills’ all-day eating restaurant, and it’s positioned proper subsequent to the spa. The restaurant is an offshoot of Gymkhana London, which is an Indian restaurant that has had a Michelin star for almost a decade.
The restaurant is cute, with a couple of dozen indoor tables, plus an outside terrace with roughly the identical variety of tables.
We determined to have dinner on the restaurant, since we’re large followers of Indian meals, and we ordered the tasting menu. Whereas expensive at 450 QAR per individual (~$123) per individual, the standard of meals was glorious, and there was manner an excessive amount of meals (on reflection, we may have most likely shared one). You could find the menu beneath.
I’ll let the photographs of the meals converse for themselves — the meal was very, excellent, however I felt dangerous losing a lot meals.
Katara Hills Doha LXR breakfast
Breakfast at Katara Hills can both be loved within the Gymkhana Restaurant, or by way of in-villa eating. Since I’m a Hilton Honors Diamond member, breakfast was complimentary for us. Under yow will discover the breakfast menu.
Whereas the set menu breakfast was beneficiant by way of amount, I didn’t love the breakfast expertise general:
- The restaurant was useless quiet (there was no music and no different visitors), and it virtually appeared like the identical man might have been serving and cooking
- I requested for water with breakfast, and was introduced a invoice for that, which is ridiculously low-cost for any resort, not to mention a luxurious one
- We weren’t served any meals for about Half-hour, after which all the pieces got here without delay, to the purpose that it may barely match on the desk, and stuff needed to be rearranged so there’d be sufficient room
- The meals high quality was simply okay — this isn’t like a type of luxurious resorts the place you’ll be able to inform they simply freshly baked croissants, and so on.
To drink, we had some orange juice and a few coffees — I had a cappuccino, which was simply okay.
The breakfast then included a pastry and bread basket, recent fruit, and yogurt.
Then I had eggs benedict (described as coming with “caviar,” although it should have been invisible), whereas my dad had the cooked to order eggs.
Katara Hills Doha LXR spa
The one different amenity that Katara Hills has is a spa (which, as talked about above, can also be presently getting used because the resort’s reception). It’s not a very massive or spectacular spa space, however moderately is all about privateness.
There are a couple of particular person therapy rooms, one among which had a personal steam room, sauna, and jacuzzi.
Spa providers had been very costly — we’re speaking $300+ for many therapies.
Katara Hills Doha LXR service
The employees at Katara Hills Doha appeared effectively intentioned. Admittedly we didn’t truly work together with employees that a lot, given the dearth of facilities. We primarily interacted with staff at check-in and check-out, and the restaurant servers had been additionally fairly pleasant.
The one different humorous service story I can share is that my dad is an enormous walker (he walks for hours a day), and he wished to go on a morning stroll, earlier than it received too scorching. There have been solely large glass bottles within the room, so he wished to get a plastic bottle if attainable, since that’s simpler to stroll with.
We went to reception and requested about this. There have been no plastic bottles at reception, so the employees member referred to as a colleague, and some minutes later he confirmed up with the beneath… lol.
Why I wouldn’t return to this resort
Katara Hills has beautiful villas, and it’s an incredible use of factors or a free evening certificates. I’m so comfortable I checked out the property, as a result of I used to be curious. Nonetheless, I don’t have a lot of a want to return.
On the finish of the day, this property lacks the issues I like a couple of luxurious resort. I like properties with good amenities, starting from a number of bars and eating places, to a health club, to a pleasant pool space, to different facilities. Right here you’re mainly renting a villa, with the one amenity being a single restaurant and a really costly and small spa.
I get who this property is theoretically concentrating on. There are households who will respect having such a big, personal area, but it surely’s additionally not for me.
Let me say that whereas I wouldn’t return, that’s to not say that you simply shouldn’t keep right here. When you respect having such an enormous personal area and have a free evening certificates or factors expiring, completely try this resort, because you’re paying only a fraction of retail price. Simply know what to anticipate.
Backside line
Katara Hills is a novel all-villa Hilton LXR property. On the plus facet, the villas are fairly — they’re spacious, have personal swimming pools, and really feel fairly high-end. Moreover, the resort’s Indian restaurant is excellent.
That being stated, in any other case I’ve a tough time getting enthusiastic about this resort. It lacks facilities, as there’s no health club, no bar or social area, and no large pool. The views additionally depart a bit to be desired, not less than from some villas.
What do you make of Katara Hills Doha? Would you keep right here?
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