A NIGHT AT THE FOUR SEASONS DOHA

On Friday morning, I packed my smallest suitcase, rounded up my Mr and hopped in a cab.

Destination? The Four Seasons hotel, Doha.

We were greeted at the check-in desk with a warm welcome from staff full of smiles, who promptly took care of the paperwork before advising that our room - which we didn't expect to be ready (we had arrived three hours earlier than the check-in time as we were heading to the Four Seasons brunch)  - was all set for our arrival. 

We had been upgraded to an Ambassador Suite, situated on the 9th floor of the hotel, with stunning views of the pool, beach and the ocean.

The room was gorgeous, with so much space for just the two of us. With a powder room on the right and mini bar facilities on the left, the room opens up onto a spacious lounge/dining area, with a balcony from which I took the above photos of the beautiful view.

Through double doors to the right of the room, you enter the bedroom.

The bed was like sinking into a soft cloud - it was ridiculously comfortable! 

Through further sliding double doors to the right of the bedroom, was my favourite part of the suite - the bathroom.

Having lived in an apartment with only a shower for the past year and a half, there is no sight more welcoming than that of deep soaking bath tub!

Brief room tour complete, it was time to head downstairs to brunch, but not before Matt had finished taking in the view.

We were led to our table outside on the Nusantao terrace, and the first of many glasses of bubbles were poured.

As is my brunch ritual, sushi and seafood to start!

There is so much choice at the Four Seasons brunch, from seafood and sushi, to mixed grills, to roast dinners, to curries, to noodles, to fresh pasta and delicious light salads. Chef Marco Arlotti came round with parmesan risotto for all of the guests to try, and having tried this at the BloggingME event back in February, I wasn't about to pass it up!

I only managed one picture of the food, but I also enjoyed fresh gnocchi (of course!), mixed grill, and not one but two plates of dessert (including Nutella cheesecake, a Nutella crepe, and the most amazing chocolate and mandarin mousse which I urge any Four Seasons brunch goer to try!)

Feeling merry and full, we finished up at brunch and headed back to our suite to get ready for an afternoon in the sun. A colleague and his lovely family were at the beach too (also having a staycation!) so we said hi to them all, swam a little in the sea, before settling down on a sun bed to catch the last of the sunshine.

Back at the room, we noticed a fruit platter had been laid out for us.

I tucked in to the grapes, and ran myself a lovely long bath, whilst Matt hopped into bed for a nap after a very busy day of eating, drinking and sunbathing - it's a hard life but someone's gotta do it!

My bath was amazing (I'd bought a lush bath bomb with me for the occasion), and I slipped into my Four Seasons robe afterwards, feeling utterly relaxed.

We watched a couple of episodes of 24 (the DVD goes everywhere with us!) before perusing the extensive room service menu and ordering some dinner - smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel for me, and pizza for the Mr.

Outside, children were still playing in the pool and there was a lot of atmospheric sounds coming from the newly opened Nobu restaurant that sits at the end of the pier - this may just have to be our next dinner date location.

Happily full, we settled down for the night.

After a long sleep in the amazingly comfortable bed, we begrudgingly dragged ourselves out of it to head down to breakfast at Nusantao.

They have a great breakfast selection, pretty much every breakfast food you can think of (with the exception of pork products of course), but I opted for fresh fruit, a croissant with jam, and scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, all of which were delicious.

We spent our morning down by the pool, tucked away in the beautiful gardens, until it was time to head back upstairs to our suite, pack, and check out.

We had such a lovely stay at this incredibly opulent hotel. After a year of the football pundits I work with raving about the Four Seasons, it is now so easy for me to see for myself why they rate it so much - professional, friendly, and highly attentive staff, beautiful rooms, gorgeous grounds and facilities - I for one can't wait to stay here again.

* I won this one night stay at FS Doha during the BloggingME event so the room night & breakfast were complimentary, but the brunch and room service we paid for ourselves, and couldn't be happier with the service received throughout the duration of our stay. A big thank you to Sarah Derrig and Kirsty Rice for running the competition, and to Mia at the Four Seasons for so kindly putting all of the arrangements in place for our stay :)