W Doha Hotel

By now you’re probably prepared to see a W cropping up just about anywhere, but Doha? How, quite frankly, is the high-design luxury chain’s whole nightlife-centric, anything-goes approach supposed to work in buttoned-up Qatar? The answer: pretty well indeed. For foreigners the W Doha provides a fine introduction to a city that’s working hard to become a world capital — and for locals the W offers a much-needed excuse to kick up the old heels, metaphorically at least.

The style may tempt you to call it a boutique, but with 445 rooms this is definitely the big time. That’s an asset actually, when you consider the W’s big and bold approach — 445 rooms means up to 800-some guests roaming about the place, only adding to the general air of chic sophistication.

Everyone comes together in the bar, itself something of a rarity in this country, even now. And upstairs, whether you’re a sheik or a financier or simply a nomad on a budget, there’s a room for you — they start, in typically understated W style, at “Spectacular,” before passing up through “Extreme WOW” and into the realm of the residences, with all the comfort and service of a W room and the added benefit that it’s yours alone.