DOHA DIARIES: MY WEEK IN THE DESERT #22

I'm not even going to apologise for the fact that it is now Tuesday and this should have been posted on Sunday...to heck with blogging rules!

Last week was a fairly busy one, kicking off with...

A SHELLAC MANICURE AT B/ATTITUDE SPA
At work on Sunday I looked down at my sad, sorry nails and decided that they needed a treat, so I called up B/ATTITUDE spa and booked myself in after work for a Shellac manicure. My nail tech, Olha, did a fantastic job of shaping my nails just how I like them, and perfectly applying my French Shellac. Over a week later and they are still completely intact with the exception of two minor casualties to the corners of two nails, but nothing that a dash of white polish hasn't been able to touch up! I always feel very 'put together' with a French manicure - it always looks so clean and elegant.

HOSTING OUR FIRST DINNER PARTY
Hard to believe we have lived in our apartment for over a year and a half and not yet hosted a dinner party! Our friends and colleagues Ade and Naz have hosted us twice at their villa, so it was high time we returned the favour. Jemma cooked up a delicious main course of pasta, chicken and salad, and I put together a chocolate torte for dessert (recipe coming soon to the blog!), whilst Marion did a super job of making the place look hospitable for our guests! It was a really lovely evening with lovely people, including Ade's girlfriend Jessica who will be moving to Doha in September.

DATE NIGHT AT THE ASTOR GRILL
We were due at date night and both of us fancied steak, so Matt and I chose the Astor Grill at the St Regis as our venue. We had been once before together and the steak was phenomenal, so we were hoping for more of the same. We weren't disappointed, and the Astor Grill is fast becoming one of my favourite restaurants. Our waitress was the very lovely Roselle for a second time, and we set about ordering half of the menu - wagyu steaks for us both, a side of roasted vegetables, wedges, and truffle mac'n' cheese (which I didn't even have room for and ended up taking for lunch the next day!) The Entertainer voucher makes restaurants like this so much more accessible, hence we both went for the Wagyu steaks, something we wouldn't normally do. The chef very kindly sent over a complimentary portion of the most amazing steak tartar and never ending freshly baked bread. All washed down with a bottle of red wine. A perfect date night.

DINNER AT NOBU WITH THE GIRLS
When it came to deciding where we should go for our girls dinner, Jemma's suggestion of Nobu was the perfect choice. This would be our last dinner all three of us until after Summer, as Marion is now away on a business trip for 3 weeks, then I go home for 3 weeks, and this also crosses over with Jemma and Marion going home for 3-4 weeks for their Summer holidays. Such a special restaurant was definitely fitting for this special dinner. After eagerly awaiting the opening of this restaurant for so long, it was exciting to see what all the hype has been about. The restaurant itself is stunning and atmospheric - huge high ceilings with gorgeous light installations (i'm a sucker for those), a busy open kitchen, and staff that shout 'welcome' in Japanese every time the hostess brings new guests to their table. The staff are incredibly knowledgeable about the menu, and more than eager to assist in making recommendations. We found the attentiveness of the staff a little overbearing, but that is all down to personal preference - they certainly give 100% to their customer service which is something that can't be knocked. As to be expected from the name of the restaurant, the prices are very steep, but the food was delicious and beautifully presented - even the vegetables! We ordered sushi to start, followed by cod for Jemma and I, and sea bass for Marion.

As a guide, for 3 mocktails, 3 portions of sushi rolls, 3 main dishes, 3 vegetable dishes, and a pot of tea to share, our meal came to 1,300 QR.

After our meal, we decided to explore. The entire restaurant is stunning - a waterfall flows from the top of the restaurant, right down through the middle, and the views from each level are fantastic. There is a stunning bar on the first floor, where of course we stopped for some photos. Outside on the first floor are tables with a fabulous view, ideal for a date night when the weather is cooler. On the roof, there is a fantastic lounge area that curves up to the highest point of the restaurant, where it meets an observation deck for photographing the Doha city skyline. The lounge area would be perfect for drinks and dinner with a big group of friends - but only if you can afford the incredibly steep 5,000 QR minimum spend, something that would unfortunately put us off spending an evening here.

A lovely evening to end a lovely week in the desert.

As always, I hope you've had a great week, wherever in the world you are reading from :)

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 :)