With a world class airline and an international menu of fine dining choices, Qatar has
an abundance of luxury hotels. Choose from all the world’s major brands: the five-star St. Regis Doha and the five-star Kempinski Hotel & Residences and the soon-to-open five-star Mandarin Oriental to name just a few. This desert country offers bold adventures, dazzling architecture—and golf. Among Qatar’s “green places” is the Doha Golf Club, which includes an 18-hole Championship Course, a 9-hole Academy Course, an enormous driving range and putting green, set amid eight man-made lakes, limestone formations and thousands of shrubs, trees and giant cacti imported from Arizona. The traditionally designed clubhouse evokes the Arabian Nights, but the play is strictly 21st century.
Designed by Peter Harradine, the 18-hole, 7,374-yard course was one of the first grass golf courses ever built in the Middle East. It is open to non-members. Take time out for an off-road adventure in the Qatari desert, join a camel caravan, get to know a $25,000 falcon, dine on Arab-style barbecue near the beach. Or if the cuisine of an international celebrity chef is preferred, consider Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Spice Market restaurant in Doha, which brings South East Asia to Qatar, with such dishes as Thai noodles and Mongolian lamb. And when day is done, head to one of Doha’s inviting spas to unwind and relax. Best choices are at the Ritz Carlton and the upcoming Mandarin Oriental.