Five-star Onaiza, Doha
InterContinental Doha Beach & Spa
Qatar's first privately owned hotel, opened in 2000 behind a private beach of more than a mile between West Bay and Katara, with La Mar by Gastón Acurio on the sand.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.
- Rooms
- 375 rooms and suites, 171 facing the sea
- Beach
- Private, more than a mile long
- Opened
- November 2000
- From the airport
- About 30 minutes from Hamad International, our estimate
The hotel
Twenty-five years on the beach.
The InterContinental opened in November 2000 on the shore between the towers of West Bay and the districts of Katara and The Pearl. It was the first privately owned hotel in Qatar, built under Sheikh Mohamed bin Fahed Al Thani, and it marked its twenty-fifth year in November 2025 with a party on the Novecento terrace. In 2016 villas and apartments were added as InterContinental Residences.
What sets it apart is the beach: 5,381 feet of white sand, more than a mile, which the hotel calls the longest private beach in Doha. Behind it sit a large pool, lawns and palms, so the MICHELIN inspectors find it rarely feels crowded for a hotel of 375 rooms. The spa and the Bay Club, with tennis, squash and padel, are both large.
- The beach More than a mile of private sand, with water sports and small boats, and seafood from La Mar Beach served at the cabanas.
- Spa InterContinental Sixteen treatment rooms and a private indoor pool for women.
- The Bay Club A gym with tennis, squash and padel courts beside the beach.
Rooms & suites
Sea view or garden.
Of the 375 rooms and suites, 171 face the sea. Even the smallest is over 400 square feet.
- Rooms Superior rooms From 430 square feet, in muted colours with an accent for each category.
- Club Club rooms and suites 120 of them, with access to the club lounge.
- Suites Suites From 861 square feet. The newer Executive Suites have separate sitting and dining areas and a deep tub.
Dining
Peru, Greece and Belgium on one beach.
Venues as listed by the hotel and Forbes Travel Guide. Shown for information.
- La Mar Doha MICHELIN Guide Peruvian Gastón Acurio; recommended in the guide, says the hotel
- La Mar Beach Seafood Served at the cabanas and sunbeds
- Mykonos Greek Moussaka and aubergine rolls
- Belgian Café Belgian A large bar and terrace
- Coral Arabian and international All-day dining
Recognition
Awards and listings.
- Forbes Travel Guide Recommended, 2026
Good to know
Before you go.
- Arrival Check-in from 3 pm, check-out by noon.
- Children Welcome at any age. Children up to five stay free in an existing bed; older children pay a nightly rate.
- Pets Not accepted.
Getting there
Flying to Doha.
Hamad International, for scheduled flights, is about thirty minutes by car, more in traffic, our estimate. Private jets use Doha International, beside it, where Qatar Executive runs the terminal.
- Dubai 50 min
- Riyadh 1 h 00
- Malé 4 h 40
- Geneva 6 h 25 long-range jet
- London 7 h 15 long-range jet
Questions
What guests ask first.
- How long is the beach at InterContinental Doha Beach & Spa?
- More than a mile: 5,381 feet of private sand, according to Forbes Travel Guide. The hotel calls it the longest private beach in Doha.
- Does the hotel have MICHELIN Keys?
- No. The MICHELIN Guide describes the hotel on its website, but it holds no Key in the 2026 selection for Qatar.
- Is there a spa?
- Yes. Spa InterContinental has sixteen treatment rooms and an indoor pool for women only.
- Can SkyCourtage arrange the flight to Doha?
- Yes. We arrange Business and First Class seats on scheduled airlines and private jet charter to Doha, with one final price, our margin included. The hotel is booked with the hotel or through our booking partner.
Also in Doha
Other hotels worth the trip.
- Raffles Doha In one of the crescent Katara Towers, drawn from the crossed swords of the national emblem, with 132 rooms.
- The Chedi Katara Hotel & Resort A white palace of Persian, Mughal and Ottoman inspiration on the sea, with thirty-two pool villas.
- Four Seasons Resort and Residences at The Pearl Apartments of one to three bedrooms at the end of Porto Arabia Drive, on a private beach.
- Rosewood Doha Twin towers by the Qatari architect Ibrahim Jaidah, opened in 2026, their coral-patterned façade throwing moving light indoors.
- Mandarin Oriental, Doha Arabesque patterns and hand-blown chandeliers, and a rooftop pool facing the sunset over the skyline.
- The Ned Doha The former Ministry of the Interior on the Corniche, a 1960s building now holding seven restaurants.
- Fairmont Doha The second Katara Tower, with 362 white rooms looking over the Gulf or Lusail.
- Four Seasons Hotel Doha White stone, latticed domes and arched colonnades on the West Bay waterfront.
- Marsa Malaz Kempinski, The Pearl On its own island within The Pearl, with a private beach and a balcony or terrace for every room.
- Sharq Village & Spa, a Ritz-Carlton Hotel Whitewashed villas and shaded courtyards modelled on a Qatari village, above a natural beach.
- The Ritz-Carlton, Doha A tower of 374 rooms above an offshore marina, with an STK steakhouse among its restaurants.
- The St. Regis Doha Some fifteen bars and restaurants and a stretch of its own beach, close to the Diplomatic District.
- The St. Regis Marsa Arabia Island, The Pearl-Qatar On its own island joined to the city by a bridge: 193 rooms with Qatari and Andalusian interiors.
- Waldorf Astoria Lusail, Doha Opened in 2022 with about two hundred metres of private shore, a Sushisamba beach club and an ESPA spa of nineteen treatment rooms.
- Banana Island Resort Doha by Anantara Reached by boat in half an hour, a crescent-shaped artificial island in the Gulf with 141 rooms, suites and villas.
- W Doha Its bar, still something of a rarity in Qatar, is where the guests of this West Bay tower end up.
- Sheraton Grand Doha Resort & Convention Hotel William Pereira's pyramid on reclaimed land, opened in February 1982 and host of the 2020 Doha peace conference.
- Banyan Tree Doha A high-rise near the old souq whose 28th-floor lounge looks over the old city and the Gulf.
- Al Messila Resort & Spa Rooms, suites and thirty pool villas among gardens and waterways, with separate spas for men and women.
Staying at InterContinental Doha Beach & Spa?
Book the room, then the flight.
Rates and availability come from the hotel itself. For the journey to Doha, a Business or First Class seat or an aircraft of your own: tell us the date and we come back with one final price, our margin included.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.