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

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• Paul says:

  4 Feb4 February 08:55

  I wonder if this is partly to get the Saudi weekend travel. Qatar used to be a big weekend destination for Saudis until the borders were closed. The location would certainly seem like it.

  • Andrew says:

    4 Feb4 February 09:04

    Yes many times I’ve been at the IC Doha (the beach one) and it was full of Saudi tourists.

    • Aston100 says:

      4 Feb4 February 10:17

      How did you know they were Saudis?
      Someone was telling me recently that Saudis like to go to Bahrain in order to partake in activities that would be forbidden back home.
      Obviously a generalisation, but am curious as I thought Qatar was stricter than Bahrain.

      • Rob says:

        4 Feb4 February 10:27

        Seems odd, given that there were no flights between Saudi and Qatar for 4 years until last month.

        • TGLoyalty says:

          4 Feb4 February 10:31

          But there were via Kuwait and Oman etc

          Personally I think Oman has a far more interesting landscape with lots of nature etc but Qatar is far more developed if you fancy nice food and some shopping. Horses for courses.

        • Andrew says:

          4 Feb4 February 12:31

          This was before the blockade – and was obvious by the KSA number plates in the forecourt of the hotel and on one occasion they couldn’t upgrade my room and the hotel manager came to apologise and explained it was a national holiday in KSA and so they had a lot of guests because of that.

      • Andrew says:

        4 Feb4 February 12:33

        On Oman – it is a LOT more expensive than UAE and Qatar, mainly because they don’t encourage migrant workers (which keep things cheap due to low wages in other areas of the Middle East), taxis for example are UK minicab prices whereas in UAE and Qatar they are UK bus prices.

        • TGLoyalty says:

          4 Feb4 February 21:15

          Yes lots of Omanis work where lots of emratis and Qataris rely on government subsidised wages from jobs they acquired or via being a silent partner in a business as you couldn’t just set up a company there without local partners.

          Hear that JV rule has changed recently for Dubai and Abu Dhabi though.

• Yuff says:

  4 Feb4 February 09:49

  Anywhere that gives a viable alternative to Dubai at October half term is fine by me, add travel convenience and Q suite and it gets better and better 😉

• ChrisW says:

  4 Feb4 February 10:09

  I dunno, being stuck in the middle of nowhere in the desert, surrounded by thousands of random kids, fairly expensive f&b presumably… Wouldn’t it be cheaper just to go to Tenerife? Siam Park is great.

  • Aston100 says:

    4 Feb4 February 10:18

    I would presume this would be an all inclusive resort. Otherwise they can charge whatever they wanted for f&b and you’d have no choice but to cough up.

    • Mr(s) Entitled says:

      4 Feb4 February 11:25

      Website offers a breakfast rate but not full board or all inclusive for the dates I looked. That immediately gives me pause for thought.

  • Anna says:

    4 Feb4 February 10:19

    In school holidays there’s probably not that much difference in price. I’ve seen economy flights to Tenerife at October half term in economy priced at £800 pp and more!

  • Rob says:

    4 Feb4 February 10:31

    We paid something like £400-500 per night at Domes in Crete last October. The weather was OK the week we were there, but the week before it had rained every day and the forecast was poor the week after we left. I think we had 3 days of rain out of the 7 we were there.

    Only an idiot would go there rather than the Middle East in late October, given a choice.

    • Yuff says:

      4 Feb4 February 10:40

      Dont remind me of our pain Rob, my wife has refused to ever go back.
      She refers to the holiday as cr*ppy Crete, although I think that’s a bit harsh but she has been spoilt by Dubai.
      Just being able to travel in long haul, J or F, to get to the Middle East makes Tenerife a non starter. Then you have the guaranteed Dubai weather in October add in the luxury afforded by Dubai hotels and yes you would have to be an idiot to choose Crete, or Tenerife, over the Middle East

      • Peggerz says:

        4 Feb4 February 11:06

        I assume you are referring to resorts in Crete which are not my thing.
        However it is my favourite place in October when I have never had poor weather (sorry Rob!). The trick with Crete in October/November is to head to the south of the island – Matala, Paliochora, Makrigialos – and rent a beach villa apartment. The north coast loses the sun mid afternoon because of the Lefki Ora & Idi mountains. The south can still have another couple of hours of sun.

        • BP says:

          4 Feb4 February 16:19

          Crete is fantastic. I went a few years back, cheap Ryanair flight, £25 a night basic apartment and a cheap hire car. The local food is outstanding and it’s a great island to explore when you have a car. The place we stayed was a little village called Sissi.

          We usually do 5* hotels but really enjoyed our cheap week in Crete.

        • ChrisW says:

          4 Feb4 February 17:29

          I also enjoyed Crete. Very affordable restaurant dining (and they throw in ll sorts of freebies during the meal), incredibly welcoming and friendly local, great weather, beaches pretty good. A very relaxing week.

      • ChrisW says:

        4 Feb4 February 11:23

        Agree the 4+ hour short-haul seat flights are a pain for Tenerife + Greek Islands.

        It depends what kind of holiday you are wanting. If you have kids that want to eat chips and icecream and mess around on the beach while you enjoy a cheeky pint, Tenerife is a good fit. You can go for a fancy meal every night without breaking the bank.

        For luxury/adults-only etc Dubai is definitely a better choice.

        • Mr(s) Entitled says:

          4 Feb4 February 11:28

          The list of destinations for “idiots” in October now extends to Crete, the Canaries and the Greek isles?

          I would definitely take two of these over Dubai so I’m siding with the idiots.

        • Rob says:

          4 Feb4 February 11:29

          In late October? The absolute last thing you want with a kids holiday is to go anywhere where you have a chance of a wash out and be stuck in your hotel room.

      • Sandra says:

        4 Feb4 February 12:28

        I remember years ago one cheap, late October week in Aghios Nikolaos, when I went with a friend – we were young. We spent nearly every morning with the apartment oven turned on full, huddled in front of it with the door open to get warm. Late morning the rain always stopped & the sun came out. We found Lerapetra (?) beach in the south half way through and better weather there. We drove up to the mountains to look down on the plain of a 1000 windmills, by the time we got to the top you couldn’t see a foot in front of you for the fog never mind a windmill! Never been back but wouldn’t rule it out, but only in late spring or late summer!

        • Sandra says:

          4 Feb4 February 13:13

          From the human rights perspective, what also sticks in my mind was the hatred of Germans by the older population on Crete because of WW2 (this was mid 1980’s). I remember in a shop politely saying this lady is first and the Cretan owner saying ‘No, she is German, you are first’. She then proceeded to take me outside and point to the prices on the lace tablecloths, telling me this is the German price the English price is X amount less! I hope that attitude has changed if I go back!

    • OHR says:

      4 Feb4 February 14:36

      Are all open homosexuals idiots?!

• NFH says:

  4 Feb4 February 10:21

  In addition to the previous warnings about Qatari law’s death penalty for gay men (which does not apply to lesbians), it is also worth noting that Qatari law prohibits unmarried heterosexual couples from sharing a hotel room. The Canadian government confirms the common-law relationships are illegal in Qatar at https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/qatar. I do think these issues, which impede basic human rights, should be pointed out in any travel article about Qatar and other Arab countries. I reject the notion that it’s nothing to worry about on the basis that few people are prosecuted. Some tourists are prosecuted, and there’s always an underlying risk which will impede the enjoyment of one’s holiday in such a country.

  • Rhys says:

    4 Feb4 February 10:24

    We don’t run disclaimers like this on any of our articles because we expect our highly educated readers to be able to work this out fairly easily themselves 🙂

    • The real John says:

      4 Feb4 February 11:08

      Yet so many people want to be spoon-fed on how to use curve…

    • Dr C says:

      4 Feb4 February 13:43

      Well for people who have not visited the middle east before the non sharing of a hotel room for couples is a big one, especially as your readership is growing with many new people perhaps inexperienced.

      • Rob says:

        4 Feb4 February 14:02

        Except, erm, you can. I probably did 15 Middle East trips with my wife before we got married.

        What you are purposely ignoring is that, to all intents and purposes, hotels in the Middle East effectively operate outside the jurisdiction of the authorities. Strictly speaking women shouldn’t be wearing swimming costumes either, neither should alcohol be served, or pork products. All is fine in reality, including visits by gay couples. A lesbian couple can visit and sit on the beach in their bikinis all day whilst stuffing themselves on bacon sandwiches and wine and no-one will care.

        • Dr C says:

          4 Feb4 February 14:48

          Thanks for the info, I was not ignoring on purpose as I haven’t been to the middle east yet.

        • Economist-Nearby1 says:

          5 Feb5 February 13:38

          “A lesbian couple can visit and sit on the beach in their bikinis all day whilst stuffing themselves on bacon sandwiches and wine and no-one will care.”

          Booking my ticket now!

  • TGLoyalty says:

    4 Feb4 February 10:33

    That exactly the same in UAE but unless you’re a national you’ll never be asked.

    • Max says:

      4 Feb4 February 10:42

      Dubai has recently changed the law, it is now officially permitted to stay in the same hotel room as an unmarried couple.

      But even before this it was never really enforced in UAE & Qatar, only in case you caused bad trouble.

      • Anna says:

        4 Feb4 February 17:17

        I’d rather not stay in the same hotel room as a couple, whether unmarried or otherwise 🤣

      • TGLoyalty says:

        4 Feb4 February 21:18

        Baby steps

    • Rob says:

      4 Feb4 February 11:33

      My sister in law and her husband had to get remarried when they moved to Dubai. They got married on some Caribbean island (dunno where, was years before I met my wife) which is not officially recognised under UAE law. This meant that they were not, in the eyes of Dubai law, married and so could not move there without a fresh ceremony.

      • TGLoyalty says:

        4 Feb4 February 11:54

        I believe that’s an employer’s stipulation rather than when staying in hotels.

• Aston100 says:

  4 Feb4 February 10:37

  Question for Rhys.
  I imagine you’d be aware of the openly gay Avgeek and youtuber ‘non-stop Dan’.
  He has done some really good, impartial reviews of many airlines (Sam Chui should learn a thing or two about impartiality).
  His favourite seems to be QR.
  He is aware of the human rights concerns in Qatar (the country) and other parts of the region. In fact, I recall he did a video about why he is boycotting certain airlines (mostly from the Middle East), and yet seems to love flying in Qsuites as much as possible.

  So, I’m wondering, do you have a view on this, as there seems to be some conflict between Dan boycotting apparently crappy airlines from countries with a poor human rights record, and Dan loving the better quality airlines (EK, EY, QR), from other countries with the same kind of poor human rights record. Almost as if the quality of the airline outweighs the human rights records of the home country.

  Thanks.

  • Rhys says:

    4 Feb4 February 10:41

    Not sure why you expect me to comment on this, but I’m not aware of any airlines Dan has boycotted, although I don’t watch his videos so I wouldn’t know.

• Sandra says:

  4 Feb4 February 11:39

  I agree with TGLoyalty , Oman much better for scenery etc.
  This is essentially a beach resort with guaranteed sunshine, unlike the Med etc in the low season, probably built to attract tourists plus weekenders from Saudi and other ME countries during national holidays. It wouldn’t be my choice now but when the kids were younger, maybe. IME if you are sensitive to their culture and ‘don’t flaunt it’ you will generally be left alone. You often see Asian men in the ME holding hands, not necessarily gay just friends, and they are left alone. However I have seen tourists who are totally insensitive (or stupid) turning up to visit a mosque in clothing that is totally unsuitable, with no head covering, and looking aghast when they are handed a abaya to cover themselves or refused entry. The shopping centres used to crack down every so often and security guards at the entrance would stop people unsuitably dressed (bare shoulders/knees) and refuse entry. Not sure if they still do, maybe tourists are now seen as essential and they turn a blind eye.
  As someone else said there are lots of countries with dubious human rights records, the USA included, and you have to choose wether to go and accept that you will be restricted for a couple of weeks holiday or stick to your principles and avoid completely. It’s not necessarily right but that’s the conundrum you have to deal with if you want to travel.

• Michael C says:

  4 Feb4 February 12:42

  Just to add my 2-peseta worth on the ME/gay conundrum: as two dads with a son, we do indeed choose not to go to Dubai etc., simply because of the thousands of wonderful places where nothing happens if we “accidentally” hold hands etc. in public (although we are perfectly adept at “keeping it in our trousers”, as someone charmingly put it!!).
  Having said that, we love going to US/China/Singapore, etc. etc., all of which have capital punishment. And Spain, with its atrocious animal rights. And a long etc. I guess you just have to fight your own personal battles, and be ok with what you do yourself.
  We actually chose to move to the UK, to live a peaceful lifestyle, and have never regretted it.

  • Anna says:

    4 Feb4 February 13:14

    Good to know that someone’s having a positive experience of life in the UK! We have come a long way though – when I started work in the early 90s having just left uni and being slightly idealistic I was considered rather radical for questioning why anyone would be the slightest bit bothered by what consenting adults did in private.
    On another note I’m hoping we’ll soon see the end of capital punishment in the US.

    • RussellH says:

      4 Feb4 February 14:10

      I suspect that you are right – at the Federal level. State level executions will continue in a few states for may years I suspect.
      Since 1976, Texas has carried out over 33% of all judicial killings in the US. Add in Virginia and Oklahoma and you have covered over 50%.

      • Anna says:

        4 Feb4 February 17:20

        Just why? Even if you agree with the death penalty in principle, the millions of dollars spent on lawyers while someone is on death row for 20 years is enough of an argument to abolish it in my view. That money could be funneled to help some of the inequalities that blight those states!

        • The Savage Squirrel says:

          4 Feb4 February 17:34

          I entirely agree about the pointlessness of executing (often by that time relatively elderly) prisoners, decades after they have committed a crime. I’d imagine the legal fraternity is largely in favour as the seem to be the main beneficiaries of the arrangement.
          …Richard Grant’s (the excellent travel author, not the actor – so it’s HfP relevant!) book Dispatches from Pluto shines a superb light in understanding the persisting inequalities, attitudes and problems based around race in the more regressive areas of the USA.

  • Doug M says:

    4 Feb4 February 13:47

    I agree with Michael C, you find your own level of comfort with the laws, beliefs and cultural norms of other countries. Ultimately, if you take a hard line you rule out everywhere, and every product.
    Some of the comments on this thread are comedy gold.

  • Rob says:

    4 Feb4 February 14:08

    You should note that hand-holding by heterosexual couples is also discouraged in public and there are signs in the malls to remind you. Not that I have seen it enforced.

    • Anna says:

      4 Feb4 February 20:52

      It’s our Silver wedding anniversary next month so we’re unlikely to be overcome with uncontrollable urges for PDA’s!

• Pangolin says:

  4 Feb4 February 13:04

  Reading these comments fills me with a sense of moral outrage and righteous indignation.

  I am of course referring to the decision of QR to drop BHX for W20.

  • Andrew says:

    4 Feb4 February 13:31

    +1!! (Especially as they have the Club Rooms at BHX now so you don’t have to slum it in the No1 Lounge)

    • Aston100 says:

      4 Feb4 February 15:26

      Pretty sure I got turned away at all the BHX lounges in 2019 when presenting my lounge club card. I recall a priority pass holder got the same treatment at one of the lounges too.

      • Andrew says:

        4 Feb4 February 16:27

        I don’t travel in economy so wouldn’t know.

      • Evan says:

        4 Feb4 February 19:09

        Were you with your brother in law at the time?

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