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Hilton opens a huge beach resort, with a water park, in Qatar

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With very little fanfare, presumably because this is not necessarily the best time to be spending the marketing budget, Hilton has opened a new resort in Qatar, around 85km from Doha.

It looks very interesting – it has its own water park and 3.5km of private beach.

In general, Middle East resorts outside Dubai, and to a lesser extent Abu Dhabi, are substantially cheaper than Dubai itself.

Hilton Salwa beach resort doha qatar

The added benefit here is that Doha is exceptionally well served with direct flights from the UK on Qatar Airways, including departures from Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh. Cardiff may return too. There is also a direct British Airways service.

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Hilton Salwa Beach Resort & Villas, Doha

Take a look at the resort website here.

Unfortunately the new-look Hilton website is big on pictures and low on words and you won’t be any wiser about what is going on.

It is a HUGE development and it isn’t quite clear how much of it is hotel and how much is residences or commercial.

Here is a map, click to enlarge:

Hilton Salwa beach resort doha qatar

What you’ve got is a marina with the 362-room Hilton hotel directly behind it. Stretching away to both sides along the beach are 84 villas, which appear to have direct beach access. There are a further 31 villas in the ‘Arabian Village’.

Behind the hotel is the Desert Falls Water and Adventure Park, which is the largest theme park in Qatar. The park promises “28 thrilling adventures with 56 rides/slides”. Entrance is free to hotel guests.

There is also a conference centre behind the hotel, which is presumably how it intends to fill the rooms outside peak season.

In terms of pricing, I looked at October half-term (16th-23rd October or 23rd-30th October). This is usually the most expensive week of the year for Middle East resorts, apart from Christmas and New Year.

Rooms, which sleep four on two queen beds, start at QAR 6,277 for seven nights (£1,262 or £180 per night). A 2-bed villa is, admittedly, less of a steal at £3,611 for a week, but we paid more than that in Crete last October – and it wasn’t exactly warm. You need to double that for a beach villa with a private pool like the one above.

I wouldn’t take this pricing too seriously, however. I expect it will fluctuate as it tries to find a market.

In terms of Hilton Honors redemptions, it is coming up at 47,000 points per night over half term. At £180 for cash, you are getting close to the ‘standard’ return of 0.38p per point.

Conclusion

I’d like to tell you more about Hilton Salwa Beach but I can’t. The Hilton website has very little to say and I’ve seen virtually no PR. I have no idea how quick the 85km drive is from Doha (taxis are very cheap though) and no idea what else may be available in the vicinity. I don’t know how much is actually open so far – it seems to be opening in stages, with the first villas being bookable last Winter.

It is owned and presumably funded by the state-owned Katara Hospitality group which also owns The Savoy and Grosvenor House hotels in London.

You can find out a little more on the Hilton website here.

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Category

Hilton Honors

Comments (131)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Jamie says:
    4 Feb4 February 06:12

    2. Qatar

    “Coming in second on Forbes LGBTQ+ Danger Index is Qatar,” says Fergusson. “This oil-rich Middle Eastern country enforces up to three years in prison, flogging and the death penalty under Sharia law for any acts of homosexuality.

    How anyone could travel to these countries with such despicable laws is beyond my comprehension.

    • KP says:
      4 Feb4 February 09:18

      Ironic I see these kind of comments often on this site….which has mainly British readers. Maybe the British first need to think about what they did to the rest of the world before commenting on other country’s affairs.

      • Evan says:
        4 Feb4 February 09:51

        Right so no British person can ever comment on human rights abuses anywhere ever again?

      • Andrew says:
        4 Feb4 February 09:52

        Be that as it may, it still doesn’t justify despicable human rights abuses today.

      • meta says:
        4 Feb4 February 09:52

        It is precisely because of the remnants of British laws that such laws still exist in many countries. LGBTQI+ discrimnation also happens in Britain every day despite the laws and often goes unnoticed. If you actually went to some of the countries and interacted with local people (not just stay bunkered up in your hotel or resort), you’d be surprised how progressive people actually are.

        • Anna says:
          4 Feb4 February 10:34

          According to the LGBTQ Travel Index, the UK and Sweden jointly have the best record on gay rights! While there certainly are remnants of colonial attitudes in some legal systems, none of those countries now have the death penalty (or other punishments like flogging) for being gay.

          • meta says:
            4 Feb4 February 11:45

            You can talk about travel index all you want, but the reality is different and I tell you that as a gay man. Discrimination happens casually every day in Britain. It’s just not as obvious.

            Also Jamaica that you mention below has a punishment in the form of hard labour!

          • Anna says:
            4 Feb4 February 12:27

            I appreciate that, meta, and I deeply regret any discrimination you’ve suffered here. There’s still a way to go with education and that’s also hampered by the equal rights of some groups to promote homophobic messages.
            I’m certainly not defending any of those countries, I was just pointing out that progress is being made, albeit slowly!

        • Alan says:
          4 Feb4 February 13:56

          Meta, regardless of any objectionable discrimination which takes place in the UK, it is incomparable to the punishments available and routinely handed out in law in Qatar. Nor is it relevant how progressive the average person on the street is, if you can still end up detained or physically punished by the State.

          • meta says:
            4 Feb4 February 14:56

            It is not routinely handed out. There hasn’t been a single case of death punishment in Qatar. Just because some cases are publicised in the mainly Western media, doesn’t mean that they paint the full picture.

            Most of us here, including me, are not best placed to discuss with the level of certainty what kind of punishment or discrimination takes place in MENA or other countries. And others have said below, you decide for yourself what is an acceptable risk for you.

    • Aston100 says:
      4 Feb4 February 10:06

      Perhaps don’t commit any acts of ‘sexuality’ (of any kind) in public then?
      How else are they going to know unless you intend to do it in the open?
      I’m pretty sure most people wouldn’t have public sex wherever they go in the world.

      This just sounds like an opportunity for faux outrage to me.

      • Rhys says:
        4 Feb4 February 10:20

        I hate to break it to you Aston, but being gay is a lot more than just sex. LGBT people not being comfortable travelling to particular countries isn’t “faux outrage” but a genuine concern.

        • TGLoyalty says:
          4 Feb4 February 10:22

          These laws are also just ancient laws that aren’t actually put into practice.

          When was that last time anyone in Qatar was convicted of said laws?

          As meta says look how progressive UK law is but yet plenty of bigots exist.

        • Aston100 says:
          4 Feb4 February 10:29

          ***I hate to break it to you Aston, but being gay is a lot more than just sex. LGBT people not being comfortable travelling to particular countries isn’t “faux outrage” but a genuine concern.***
          I’m not disputing this.
          I am however wondering how anyone (gay / straight / curious / whatever) is going to receive the punishments that are being mentioned in the comments unless they actively do something sexual in public.
          Given that you’d likely get arrested in the UK for public sex I don’t understand why Qatar is being singled out here.

          If you are suggesting that tourists would get arrested simply for being gay, then I’d like to know how the authorities found out. There is no reason for the authorities in Qatar to go after tourists.
          I feel the fear of tourists being arrested is greatly exaggerated, unless they are publicly breaking some law or other.

          • Rhys says:
            4 Feb4 February 10:30

            Do you consider holding hands, kissing, etc sex?

            I also imagine that some people wouldn’t want to travel to these places as a matter of principle – regardless of how ‘safe’ they’d be as a tourist.

          • kitten says:
            4 Feb4 February 11:19

            In poor taste to do that in public even if you’re straight

          • blenz101 says:
            4 Feb4 February 14:21

            Well turning up at hotel reception as two men would be the first sign. King or twin beds? Two ‘bachelors’ on loungers next to each other round the pool? Any kind of frolicking in the pool…

            Only takes one local with some wasta who believes his family shouldn’t be subjected to homsexuals and things can go south very quickly once he involves the authorities.

          • Aston100 says:
            4 Feb4 February 15:29

            ***Well turning up at hotel reception as two men would be the first sign. King or twin beds? Two ‘bachelors’ on loungers next to each other round the pool? Any kind of frolicking in the pool…

            Only takes one local with some wasta who believes his family shouldn’t be subjected to homsexuals and things can go south very quickly once he involves the authorities.***
            Until last year, I was going on annual trips to either Dubai or Turkey (sometimes both) with my brother in law.
            We’d be in the same hotel room; on loungers alongside each other, and having a laugh in the pool.
            Neither of us is gay (as far as I know) and never did it occur to me that anyone might mistakenly call the police.

            As I say, there is some serious exaggeration in here and elsewhere about the threat of tourists being arrested.

          • TGLoyalty says:
            4 Feb4 February 21:09

            Wasta 🙂

  • The Lord says:
    4 Feb4 February 06:20

    Assume built with one eye on hosting a team during the World Cup?

  • Trystan says:
    4 Feb4 February 06:42

    LGBT+ History month and HFP decides to promote a tourist destination where the country has one of the worst anti LGBT+ laws in the world.

    • Harry T says:
      4 Feb4 February 06:58

      Don’t really see how this is relevant to a travel blog. People are free not to travel to Qatar or stay at this hotel, if they have a particular ethical stance. But some people may well be interested in travelling here.

      • Brian says:
        4 Feb4 February 07:13

        Fair point. I’d rather go on holiday to a war zone than Qatar but people are free to make their own choices.

      • Trystan says:
        4 Feb4 February 07:16

        And pretend that such atrocities as the death penalty for a same sex relationship doesn’t exist? I’m making it relevant, and to be quite frank it’s very relevant should you be unaware of such draconian laws and considering traveling there.After all isn’t this a travel blog for all members of society?

        • Harry T says:
          4 Feb4 February 07:32

          It’s a travel blog for people with a wide variety of opinions and priorities. Are you going to come back and castigate Rob for advising people to travel to the UK during Black History Month because of Britain’s history of slavery?

          • A says:
            4 Feb4 February 07:44

            Bizarre false equivalence there – a historical wrong that ended over a century ago is not the same as an ongoing one

        • Anna says:
          4 Feb4 February 08:21

          It’s a sad, (but surprising to some) fact that gay relationships (for men at least) are still illegal in about 40% of countries, including such popular holiday destinations as Seychelles, Egypt, Jamaica, Morocco and Barbados. The government of an Overseas British Territory (Cayman Islands) is currently using public money to fight a legal case against allowing same sex marriage in the islands – and a British QC is representing them!
          It’s a genuine conundrum – at what point do you decide that a nation’s human rights record is bad enough to prevent you visiting – or indeed promoting it as a tourist destination?

          • Andrew says:
            4 Feb4 February 08:56

            The world would be a terrible place if professionals refused to represent (or treat) people they disagreed with.

          • Trystan says:
            4 Feb4 February 09:09

            I totally agree with your point, and many of these countries you mentioned tend to turn a blind eye when it comes to foreign visitors as long as they don’t blatantly express their same sex affection in public areas. However the reason I wanted to highlight Qatar was, according to Forbes it’s the 2nd most dangerous country in the world that a same sex couple could travel to.

          • Anna says:
            4 Feb4 February 10:15

            Andrew, that would be a valid point in the case of someone accused of a crime who would of course be entitled to legal representation, but this is the government of a UK territory actively seeking to be allowed to discriminate against a minority group which is regarded as a human rights issue by most of the developed world. Would you say the same thing if they were trying to prevent interracial marriage and a British lawyer was making money from helping them achieve this?

        • kitten says:
          4 Feb4 February 11:20

          They have lots of other laws we might not like too. Same as everywhere.

    • JamesH says:
      4 Feb4 February 07:05

      National homemade soup day and we’ll regarded travel site HFP decides to lead with a new hotel opening rather than a minestrone recipe. I’ll be taking my clicks elsewhere, thank you very much.

    • Magic Mike says:
      4 Feb4 February 07:26

      Posting from your Chinese made iPhone and therefore supporting Uighur genocide?

      • Rob says:
        4 Feb4 February 09:25

        Last time I checked IAG’s biggest shareholder, by a substantial margin, was the Qatar Government. As is Sainsbury’s.

        • kitten says:
          4 Feb4 February 11:25

          Don’t forget Harrods and Aspreys, the Bond Street jewellers.

          A huge chunk of Mayfair is also owned by Qataris as well as a number of other traditional British businesses.

          Do they own Claridges, The Connaught and The Berkeley as well or was The Savoy split off I wonder.

        • Magic Mike says:
          4 Feb4 February 11:39

          Indeed Rob. This is particularly amusing when I have to fill in my work expenses which asks “Is this a payment to a government official?” (and the guidance notes states that state owned, or partially state owned, enterprises, count)… I think i just tick yes on everything now.

    • Mike says:
      4 Feb4 February 07:26

      Trystan – go and find a statue of Rob to topple

      • Evan says:
        4 Feb4 February 07:58

        He’s entitled to express his opinion just as you are to make your above comment. Which has the greater value is subjective. Not a great “article” in any event. “Chain hotel opens in Gulf”. “No real details but might stay there during half term sometime”.

      • Ceri says:
        4 Feb4 February 08:35

        A statue of Rob? What for? The handful of travel related awards awarded from the votes of his followers.

        • Rob says:
          4 Feb4 February 09:23

          The awards we’ve won (eg Editor of the Year) have always been judged by a selected group of travel and journalism professionals – we’ve never actually won anything based on ‘reader votes’.

        • Thywillbedone says:
          4 Feb4 February 09:34

          The number of toxic/begrudger/zero added value types posting here in recent times amazes me …clearly some with little or nothing to do with their time.

    • Baji Nahid says:
      4 Feb4 February 07:51

      Says the guy who probably travels with the ME3

    • Rhys says:
      4 Feb4 February 08:50

      As a gay man myself, I’ve been to many countries with questionable human rights records (and not just for LGBT issues) including Israel and Malaysia. That doesn’t mean I condone those views – in both cases these countries have rich cultures that I wanted to experience, despite their regressive politics.

      It’s a complex issue that I believe everyone should decide for themselves when travelling.

      • ken says:
        4 Feb4 February 09:06

        I honestly don’t know but I would have thought Israel and Malaysia are miles (or decades) apart in respective LBGT rights laws and cultural tolerance.

      • Harry T says:
        4 Feb4 February 09:07

        Well said, Rhys. We wouldn’t travel to many interesting places and experience different cultures if we only travelled to places where people have the same values and perspectives.

        • Andrew says:
          4 Feb4 February 10:20

          +1! And it’s odd that no one ever makes these comments when there’s an article about a Qatar Airways sale – probably because people are happy to take the good prices and good service from the airline and not think about the things they are saying are so atrocious today – whereas today’s article isn’t of interest to people as they don’t want to actually go on holiday to Qatar itself, so are taking the opportunity to talk about this.

      • Anna says:
        4 Feb4 February 10:44

        Gosh Rhys, all this is taking me back to the 80s when we demonstrated against Clause 28 and Frankie Goes to Hollywood were considered highly subversive! Some time before you were born I’m guessing, lol. Despite what some people say, the change in attitudes here since then is nothing less than seismic.

      • Ian says:
        4 Feb4 February 18:28

        Unsure israel has questionable human rights records unless you listen to the UN.

    • Aston100 says:
      4 Feb4 February 10:15

      Can’t you just keep it in your pants when out of the hotel?
      Don’t think anyone has ever suggested you’ll get raided by the morality police (or whatever) when in the privacy of your hotel room.

      • Toppcat says:
        4 Feb4 February 11:26

        Aston – this nearly got a response that would have got me banned…

        When we are talking about a lot of the ME countries, it’s not just just ‘failing to keep it in your pants’ that gets you into trouble. It can be any expression of intimacy at all – a kiss, holding hands, touching your partner, or acknowledging their status as precisely that. The kind of things that heterosexual couples do all the time, and don’t give a second thought to.

        I’m not going to lecture anyone on which countries they should visit, and in general I agree with Rhys’ post above. But that comment showed a pretty willful ignorance of the issue you are discussing…

        • chabuddy geezy says:
          4 Feb4 February 13:06

          A new born baby was recently found in Doha Airport recently and they sexually assaulted several women to try and find the mother. Some people might visit Qatar and find themselves in trouble with the authorities through no fault of their own…

  • Mike says:
    4 Feb4 February 07:25

    With all the current maritime navigation technology I am surprised they needed to build a lighthouse ! – but better safe than sorry I suppose

    • BuildBackBetter says:
      4 Feb4 February 12:04

      Just a tourist attraction. Thousands of pics on instagram = free marketing.

  • Lee says:
    4 Feb4 February 07:28

    What you do not mention is that it has an executive lounge.

  • Lee says:
    4 Feb4 February 07:37

    Their own website is much better than Hilton’s, most restaurants open mid May.

  • Mark says:
    4 Feb4 February 08:05

    Outrage that a travel website has the cheek to post travel related stuff.
    LMFAO.

  • Eshaq Choudhury says:
    4 Feb4 February 08:26

    @Rob Qatar are no longer flying from BHX. Ofcourse this could change in the future but for now they’ve pulled any future flights.

    • Andrew says:
      4 Feb4 February 08:28

      I don’t think they are flying from anywhere other than LHR at the moment. They will return to the regional airports in due course.

      • Aston100 says:
        4 Feb4 February 10:13

        I can still see flights on QR out of LHR / LGW / MAN and EDI.
        But not Cardiff or Birmingham.

        Did they ever fly from Glasgow?

        • Peggerz says:
          4 Feb4 February 10:53

          Never out of Glasgow.

        • TGLoyalty says:
          4 Feb4 February 11:52

          They were planning on flying out of BHX, I don’t know if they managed to fly any flights, then stopped the plans when the lockdown hit.

          • Aston100 says:
            4 Feb4 February 12:09

            ***They were planning on flying out of BHX, I don’t know if they managed to fly any flights, then stopped the plans when the lockdown hit.***
            Not sure I understand this.
            QR have flown out of BHX for years.

          • TGLoyalty says:
            4 Feb4 February 21:10

            I meant AGAIN

            Flights stopped in April 2020

        • Stephen says:
          5 Feb5 February 01:06

          That was, and is, Emirates from Glasgow.

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