South Beach is a special kind of place. It is a mélange of Miami chic where urban-cool New Yorkers and Euro travelers come to warm up in winter and where Latin America has created a home away from home in the US. That Miami style created some of the coolest and most chic hotels and hospitality that the world over has come to love. One of Miami’s hippest hotel icons is the Mondrian, a fantastical Alice in Wonderland-like inspired hotel with whimsical design elements of pure opulence, high style and décor. That brand of Miami chic has made its way to the Middle East with the opening of the Mondrian Doha, which has immediately been recognized as the sexiest hotel – bar none - in Qatar.
For those who have traveled to the Middle East, they know that the region redefines the term opulence. Hotel brands have created a no-holds-barred luxury ethos with one outdoing the next; always pushing to be the biggest, best, and boldest. The Mondrian Doha hotel sets its own trail of art with style of hospitality with a focus on lovely design and experience surprises at every turn. The hotel features 270 rooms and suites over 24 floors with eight specialty bars and restaurants, and the largest ESPA facility in the world.
The hotel is an architectural and design marvel. Sparkly chandeliers shed light on slick white marble surfaces interrupted with bold colorful quirky objects d’ art. The same fairytale-esque design elements are mixed with bold colors and geometric patterns to create something that is one of a kind work-of-art that happens to be a functional hotel. The Mondrian Doha is the design opus of the heralded Dutch designer, Marcel Wanders.
Parts of the hotel looks like the set of a fashion Paris fashion runway and one expects to see a parade of six foot models in Balmain dresses strut along the hallways. Nowhere is this more evident than the pool on the top floor. The scene is a work of functional art with a colorful pallet of playful and colorful patterns interrupted by a green shrubbed bridge that leads from one side of the pool to the other under a stunning stained glass dome ceiling. Guests in couture swimwear laze about on day beds in between dips or take in the panoramic views of the Doha cityscape that sprawls below.
The level of opulence clearly does not stop at the guestroom door. Inside is the continuation of the dreamlike experience with spacious rooms flooded with natural light, white surfaces and soft goods, colorful accent pieces and wall art. Bathrooms are made for luxuriating with a large standalone soaking tub underneath a sparkling Swarovski Crystal chandelier. Wanders imposes his Tim Burton-like fantasy hotel in all of the room categories from the standard room through the specialty suites.
All of the suites are over the top with endless amenities, bespoke furnishings, opulent touches, and features. For the penthouse, prepare to be gobsmacked. The penthouses are truly fit for royalty and are spread over two floors but, not to worry, there is an elevator, as well as the Wanders iconic floating staircase along with exquisite hand, painted murals and artwork throughout. The master bedroom is designed to impress along with two twin rooms, as well as a formal dining room. For entertainment, there’s a pool table and a piano as well all the latest electronics.
So when you have the hot hotel in town, you’ve got to make sure that the dining and entertainment experience is on par with what you’d find in the top urban centers around the world. That’s just what the Mondrian has done by bringing in outpost from the top restaurant franchises in the world along with some pretty awesome homegrown experiences as well.
At Morimoto Doha, the first thing that wows you before the first dish is served is the décor. You will feel that you are on an haute couture runway walking down the glitzy and shiny copper lined hallway leading to the entrance of the venue. Inside that same brilliant copper theme is evident in the stunning artwork. The centerpiece is a light of fixture with hundreds of copper Japanese lamps under which romantic couples dine in circular booth tables. Just beyond, the open kitchen sizzles with all types of wonderfully exotic dishes from the iron chef mastermind, Chef Masaharu Morimoto who’s brand of sexy Asian food has taken over the global culinary dining scene. Couples and groups of friends dine on signature omakase and the excellent sushi along with Japanese Wagyu beef.
Wolfgang Puck is one of our times most famous chefs and when he’s not serving his wonderful dishes to celebrities at events like the Oscars, he’s running his global chain of his exceptional restaurants. Cut is where you’ll find his brand of steak house with serving top cuts of USDA Prime beef as well as a healthy offering of fresh local seafood.
Other outlets include the casual Hudson Grill and Walima for Qatari cuisine with a focus on lamb and fish. For your sweet tooth, the lobby features the outpost of the New York cupcake café, the Magnolia Bakery.
To be sexy and cool and take a bit of the Miami experience the middle east, you’ve got to have a hot nightlife. The Mondrian Doha brings a bit of South Beach nightlife to the Middle East with their club, Black Orchid. It is the hot place to play at night in Qatar in a Miami styled venue where well-to-do locals, expats, and visitors gyrate to the region’s top visiting DJs. Any time of night streams of sparkler-adorned bottles flow through the room to the awaiting beau monde who pop bottles while seeing and being seen.
The Mondrian Doha also goes to the next level in providing pampering to their guests with the first ESPA in the middle east with a complete a comprehensive facility of 12 treatment room, a Turkish-style Hammam as well as a luxurious couples suite.
Doha is a thriving Middle Eastern country with so much to see and do. Nearby the hotel travelers will enjoy the Souq Waqif - an outdoor traditional village area with shops, restaurants and entertainment - the nearby malls as well the Katara Cultural Village, Museum of Islamic Art, and the Doha Golf Course. Qatar is also readying itself for its appearance on the world stage with the 2022 FIFA World Cup, so the city is a buzz with preparations in constructions as well as plenty of new sights and places to visit.
Doha is an exceptional Middle East destination worthy of a place on your where-to-go next shortlist. It’s a great destination in and of itself as well as an excellent stopover destination when traveling across the globe. Whatever your upcoming travel plans may be, you’ll want to include a stay at the Mondrian Doha.
