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In the middle of a recent set of flights with Qatar Airways, I found myself (unexpectedly) staying at the Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha, and while the stay wasn’t long enough for me to justify calling this report a ‘full review’, what you’ll find in this article should be more than enough to let you know what the property is like and what it offers.
Background
I don’t usually stay at hotels for less than a night, but that’s exactly what happened on this occasion.
Thanks to a missed Qatar Airways connection and incompetent Qatar Airways ground staff (link to details of the saga), I ended up checking into the Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha as I waited for my rebooked connecting flight.
The admin
- Length of stay: ~11 hours
- Cost of stay: QAR855/$235 (including taxes/fees)*
- Paid with: World of Hyatt Business Card
- Elite status at time of stay: Hyatt Globalist
- Points earned from the stay: 1,516 points (1,166 base + 350 elite)
- Upgrade instruments used: None
- Upgrade received: No
*I also received a $50 statement credit by using the World of Hyatt Business Card.
World of Hyatt information
The Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha is a Category 1 property in the World of Hyatt which means that an award night will cost 3,500/5,000/6,500 points for off-peak/standard/peak seasons.
During this stay, the property was charging 5,000 points for a night, and this would have seen me get almost 5 cents/point in value. As, however, I planned to claim the cost of this stay through my insurance (trip delay), it made no sense for me to use points.
Location
The property is approximately 15 minutes away from Hamad International Airport by car and is within 5 minutes’ walk of the Umm Ghuwailina metro stop which can take guests to/from downtown or to/from the airport.
If you’re visiting Doha to see the city and all that it has to offer, other locations may appeal more as the area around the hotel didn’t seem to have much to offer.
Check-in
The hotel had no warning that I was turning up as I had only decided to stay here 20 minutes before I arrived (once I had realised that Qatar Airways wasn’t going to arrange a hotel for me any time soon).
The agent at the front desk was very helpful, and after explained that I only needed a room for less than 12 hours, he took checked passport, my credit card and my World of Hyatt number, and checked me in to a standard room (with 1 King bed) at the prevailing World of Hyatt member rate.
Because it was only just past 6am, breakfast was being served in the hotel’s main restaurant, and even though I had only just checked in, I was invited to enjoy a complimentary breakfast at any point before 10:30am*.
*Complimentary breakfast is a Hyatt Globalist benefit, but it’s only usually offered on each morning following a guest’s first night stay, so I was pleasantly surprised to have this offered.
The lobby area
The hotel’s front desk is to the right as you walk through the front doors, and directly ahead is the Hyatt’s ‘Sky Lounge’ which sits in one of the biggest hotel atriums that I’ve seen in some time.
The Sky Lounge is served by a coffee shop …
… where guests can purchase light meals, sandwiches, savories, a variety of pastries, as well as freshly brewed coffees and teas.
The lifts are to the left of the Sky Lounge (as you approach from the front desk area) and after taking a few pictures of the atrium, I headed up to the second floor and to my room.
Standard room – 1 King bed
A standard room at the Hyatt Regency Doha is approximately 375sqft/35sqm in size, and this applies whether the room has a single King-size bed or two twin beds.
The room isn’t modern, but it feels spacious, and the king-size bed doesn’t dominate or take up too much space.
It should be noted, however, that at the time of writing, 50% of the rooms at the Hyatt Regency Doha are closed for renovations and when those reopen, the remaining 50% will be refurbished as well.
What doesn’t look modern now, may look very different in a few months’ time.
There’s a 2-seater sofa and a small glass table to one side …
… and a desk/chair combo and a low cabinet opposite the bed.
The desk has access to two universal power outlets, so most readers won’t need an adapter here …
… and while both sides of the bed have good access to power outlets as well, these are not universal and anyone without a UK-style 3-pin plug will need an adapter.
One side of the bed (the left as you look at it) had what looked like a UBC-port (I didn’t try it) but there was a notable absence of USB-A ports in the room.
If you want to charge smartphones/tablets, make sure you travel with the appropriate adapters.
The room’s closet is pretty standard …
… and to one side of it, you’ll find a mini fridge (empty), a coffee maker, bottled water, cups/mugs, a kettle, coffee pods and a variety of tea bags.
Just like the sleeping area, the bathroom is of a good size and feels reasonably modern.
To one side of the sink are a bidet and toilet …
… while to the other side, is a large walk-in rain shower (there’s no bath/tub in this room).
As is to be expected nowadays, the toiletries are full-size and not miniatures …
… and these Pharmacopia toiletries are pretty standard for the Hyatt Regency brand.
The only negative thing that I have to note about the room as a whole is that the shower was very, very temperamental.
In this shower, the temperature of the water would fluctuate significantly, and had I been staying longer, I would have called an engineer or asked to change rooms (I mentioned the issue on my way out later in the day).
Breakfast
Breakfast is served between 6am and 10:30am (daily) in the hotel’s ‘Choices’ restaurant which is in on the 1st floor (one up from ground level).
Walking towards Choices, you get a good view of the atrium and the Sky Lounge one floor below …
… and when you head into breakfast, you start to see why this place is called ‘Choices’.
Breakfast at Choices is a buffet, and it’s one that you’re not likely to leave hungry.
After you move past the entrance desk, you’re greeted by a kitchen island with juices …
… assorted pastries …
…and one of the most impressive selections of bread that I’ve seen at a hotel buffet.
Next to this, is another area with fresh fruit …
… cereals …
… yoghurts, preserves/conserves/jams/marmalades, and muesli …
… a giant honeycomb …
… and a selection of cheeses and cold cuts.
Moving on …
There’s a selection of Arabic mezze items …
… and fresh vegetables.
And finally, there’s a hot food station where the chefs will make you something to order or where you can pick from a variety of pre-made items.
I’ve stayed at my fair share of Hyatt Regency properties around the world (although never in this part of the world before), and this has to be the most comprehensive buffet breakfast that I’ve seen in any of them.
My favorite bit?
The full-size glasses for the juice bar!
Why can’t more hotels offer these!? 🙂
The Regency Club
On the same level as ‘Choices’, is the Regency Club.
From what I saw, breakfast isn’t offered here, but afternoon tea is served between 3pm and 5pm and drinks and canapes are served between 3pm and 5pm daily.
No one would describe this lounge as large or spacious (it would have been interesting to see how busy it gets during one of the food/drinks services), but it looks nice and the furniture seemed comfortable.
The one negative that I should point out is that I didn’t see any easily accessible power outlets, so anyone planning on using this space to get some work done, should make sure their devices are charged.
The gym and pool
The gym and pool are two more amenities that are accessed via the 1st floor with both forming part of Club Olympus (which also includes a spa).
The gym is huge, and it combines ample light (gym that offer natural daylight are so much better than those that don’t) with an impressive number of cardio machines and weights machines.
Not pictured (because I didn’t want to invade anyone’s privacy) are the free weights (of which there are plenty) and the stretching/yoga area which should be large enough for most people’s needs.
The pool looks like this …
…and offers loungers on three of its four sides as well as access to a bar/coffee shop located next to the doors back into Club Olympus.
The eateries
Given that I was at the Hyatt Regency Doha for a few hours, I didn’t have a chance to try out any of the dining facilities other than the breakfast buffet. I did, however, take a look at what some of these options look like.
Choices
I’ve already discussed the breakfast buffet offered at Choices, but it’s worth noting that it also offers an a la carte lunch between 12:30pm and 3:00pm as well as a dinner buffet between 6:30pm and 10:30pm.
The Cellar
This is the Hyatt’s Spanish restaurant on the ground floor which is open between 12:00pm and midnight daily.
You can access the Cellar’s latest menu via this link.
Al Nafourah Garden
This is a Lebanese/Middle Eastern restaurant which offers outdoor and indoor dining, and multiple large screens on which guests can watch sporting events from around the world.
Opening hours are between 12:00pm and 2:00am daily and special offers for set lunches, afternoon mezzes, and seafood mixed grills are available through the week.
You can access the Al Nafourah Garden’s latest menu via this link.
Rubix
Rubix is the property’s Jazz and Blues club/bar and was closed during the short period of time I spent at the Hyatt Regency Doha so other than the opening hours, there’s not much information that I can give you:
- Sunday to Wednesday: 6pm to 2am
- Thursday and Saturday: 8pm to 2am
- Friday: 4pm to 2am
You can access Rubix’s latest menu via this link.
Overall impressions
All the staff members that I met were pleasant and very polite, and after a fairly terrible set of service failures by Qatar Airways that led to this stay, that was really appreciated.
I didn’t expect to be offered breakfast straight after I checked in so that was a nice touch, the food at breakfast was great, and as somewhere to stay that’s clean, very cheap to book on points, and convenient for the airport, there’s nothing to fault the Hyatt Regency Doha.
My only grumbles (and these are minor) would surround the issue with the shower temperature, the absence of USB ports in the rooms, and the fact that the decor in the rooms looks outdated.
All those things, however, are probably being addressed during the current renovations and so shouldn’t be used as a reason not to visit.
If I was visiting Doha to look around and to spend a few days, I would probably book a property in an area with more going on, but if I was visiting for a long layover or a 1-night stay, I’d almost certainly come here again.
All articles in this series:
Qatar Airways 787-9 Business Class review (Ascent seat)
Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha mini review
Qatar Airways 777-300ER Business Class (non-Qsuite) review
Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok review
Review: Cathay Pacific Lounge Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport
Review: JAL Sakura Lounge Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport
Review: Miracle First & Business Class Lounge concourse G Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport
Qatar Airways Platinum Lounge Doha International Airport (South) review
Qatar Airways Qsuites Business Class 777-300ER review
Qatar Airways 787-8 Dreamliner Business Class review
This is a Category 1 hotel so for 5,000 points it’s an excellent bargain especially with the huge breakfast buffet. The nearby subway station is a great bargain way to get into the city or to the airport.
The fact that they gave you free breakfast the day of your checkin was excellent! great job
Agreed. That was very generous (and really appreciated)
The Hyatt Regency Kota Kinabalu has an extremely nice breakfast buffet as well if you ever find yourself in Borneo. It’s a bit tired but how many category 1 Hyatt Regency hotels can you name? Quite nice club lounge and suite upgrades every time as well.