A hidden gem that appeared out of nowhere earlier this year

Earlier this year in Qatar something very different appeared in the middle of this nowhere: A huge, gleaming luxury hotel complex, complete with its own theme park.

The Hilton Salwa Beach Resort & Villas is clearly no ordinary hotel.

Seen from the air it resembles an entire coastal town. Pristine twin beaches peel away from a central harbour. Above the sands, bright white villas and buildings cluster around blue swimming pools. Behind them, oasis greenery. It’s one of the Middle East’s largest resorts.

So what happens, when a gigantic upscale hotel appears miles from anywhere just as a pandemic freezes global travel?

The complex is one of the largest resorts in the Middle East.

It gets really busy, according to Etienne-Charles Gailliez, the resort’s general manager. On opening its doors in February it became a staycation hit with locals, he says. More recently it’s been a popular destination for visitors and business travellers from the wider region.

There’s plenty of room. Hilton Salwa Beach has 84 villas, ranging from two to four bedrooms, with private pools and direct access to the white-sand beach. There are 31 Arabian village-style apartments and villas, while the main hotel has 246 rooms and suites.

The huge grounds also contain more than 20 food and drink outlets, including seven gourmet dining options, a high-end spa with VIP suites, sports courts, swimming pools surrounded by landscaped gardens, corporate facilities, and a marina.

On top of that, there’s Qatar’s largest theme park, featuring dozens of attractions, including “King Cobra,” a thrilling twin-tube ride that sends riders into the mouth of a massive snake-like structure.

“We are a new resort and are more than just rooms. We have villas and a water park which makes our structure quite unique,” said Gailliez.

Alongside efforts to integrate new contactless technology, Gailliez identified logistics and staffing as key considerations. “On peak days, across the resort, we welcome up to 2,500 guests, with a workforce of around 1,200 team members,” he said.

These guests, when they’re not lounging or strolling on the cotton-soft sands along the resort’s 3.5-kilometres shoreline, can keep busy by choosing from a long list of fun-filled activities.

At the heart of it all is the Desert Falls Water and Adventure Park.

The adrenaline-packed attraction features multiple children’s pools and water playgrounds, as well as nearly 30 rides and slides, including a spinning rapid, ride that at its starting point -— at the peak of the park’s 32-meter mountain — offers panoramic views of the entire resort.

Here, mat-racing guests can also zoom down tubes — head to head and side by side — into a rapid splashdown, or try out a surf simulator.

The park is also home to what is billed as the first man-made canyoning structure in the Middle East. There’s an outdoor go-kart race track — fully equipped with stands for spectators — and an indoor laser tag course.

Inevitably, given its size, the hotel has a range of dining options, including Middle Eastern, Italian, and Chinese cuisines.

Levantine serves signature Arabic dishes with a twist, including The Qattinah, a delicious mocktail that consists of crafted botanical spice syrup, citrus kaleidoscope, and flakes of 24-karat gold. Main course and dessert highlights include sizzling kebabs with Mdakhan (smoked hummus, roasted garlic puree) followed by Knafeh nabulsieh (pistachio cream).

At Miss Wong, the sound of a gong ushers guests into a private Chinese dining experience that kicks off with an elaborate tea ceremony. Recommendations include the chicken and vegetable soup (Enoki mushroom, dried shiitake mushrooms, vegetables, chicken & turmeric wonton), various dumpling options, and crispy Peking duck. The resort’s Dante Cucina Italiana restaurant serves Tuscan wines and pizzas cooked in a wood-fired oven. Another, The League, is a sports and entertainment bar where guests can watch soccer matches and play games of pool and foosball. Cocktail pitches and beer buckets are available here, along with a gastropub menu featuring a selection of burgers, steaks, and smoked ribs.

So is the trip out to the desert worth it?

“We enjoyed the selection of restaurants, especially the continental buffet. Top-notch food with excellent presentation. It was a wonderful experience and there was no dull moment due to the fun and different activities available,” said Jamali, who is already looking forward to another stay.

Source: Agencies