Shae and I flew back to the US from South Africa on Qatar Airways (see my review of that excellent experience here). Our itinerary included an overnight layover in Doha, Qatar, so we booked a one night stay at the Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha.
Hamad International Airport in Doha has a hotel in the airport itself, but room rates were north of $350 for the night which was far too expensive for our budget. The Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha was excellent value on the other hand seeing as we were able to book with points, plus it was only a relatively short drive there from the airport.
If we were to return to Doha to actually spend some time there exploring, I’m not sure we’d pick this hotel again as there are lots of hotels that are much closer to Doha activities, but we’d almost certainly stay at the Hyatt Regency again if we needed somewhere to rest our head for the night when flying Qatar Airways.
Here’s our full review of the Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha.
Check-In
We arrived at the hotel at about 6pm and it only took a couple of minutes to get checked in by the friendly front desk agent. I have Globalist status with Hyatt and one of the benefits is a suite upgrade. Unfortunately there weren’t any suites available that night (I’d already checked their website and seen that was the case). That wasn’t a big issue though seeing as it was only a quick stay and we had to leave early in the morning, so we wouldn’t have had much time to enjoy a suite anyway.
The hotel was much bigger inside than it looked when we’d arrived in our Uber. It also reminded us of a much nicer version of the Luxor in Las Vegas due to the angled windows.
King Bed Room
Bedroom
When entering our room the bathroom was on the right and the bedroom was straight ahead.
I love Hyatt beds. They’re always the perfect balance of soft and firm, while also having clean, crisp cotton sheets. The blackout curtains also worked to keep the room dark.
Both sides of the bed had lamps as well as bendable reading lights beneath them.
To the left of the bed was a couch and coffee table.
On the other side of the room was a desk and office chair.
Beneath the glass panel on top of the desk there were a couple of letters giving more information about the hotel and its amenities. If you’re planning a stay at the Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha, you can scan the QR codes below to check out the information listed.
To the left of the desk was a short dresser along with a wall-mounted TV.
Then to the left of that was a luggage rack and closet which also featured a mini fridge and tea & coffee-making facilities.
The closet contained an iron, ironing board and slippers. I feel like a cupboard in it might’ve contained a safe, but I didn’t get a photo of that unfortunately.
Although we weren’t upgraded to a suite, there were a couple of very nice welcome gifts waiting in our room for us courtesy of my Globalist status. On the coffee table was a plate of fruit and a plate with three truffles on them.
Then on top of the dresser was a bottle of red wine and wine glasses.
Bathroom
The bathroom was a good size with a large walk-in shower.
There was a bidet in addition to the toilet.
Regency Club Lounge
We arrived at the hotel at the perfect time. That’s because we checked in at about 6pm and from 6pm-8pm the Regency Club Lounge served hors d’oeuvres and drinks. My Globalist status gets us complimentary access to lounges, but the World of Hyatt program also gives a couple of lounge access awards when earning 20 elite night credits in a year and another couple when earning 30 elite night credits.
There was a decent selection of food available – enough for it to count as our evening meal so that we didn’t have to have food delivered or pay for dinner at one of the hotel’s restaurants. There were a few hot options, hummus, cheese, cold cuts, dried fruit, nuts, fresh fruit, desserts, etc. They also served complimentary wine, beer and select spirits, along with water and soft drinks.
I’m assuming that complimentary breakfast is also available in the Regency Club lounge if you have access, but we had to leave before breakfast and so we didn’t get a chance to check it out.
Restaurants
The Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha has numerous dining options in addition to the Regency Club lounge:
- Choices – Open from 6am-10:30pm, this restaurant is where breakfast, lunch and dinner are all served. It looked like it was primarily a buffet, but with some a la carte options.
- The Cellar – Open from 12pm-11:30pm or 12am (depending on which of the hotel’s resources you look at), The Cellar is a Spanish restaurant that has happy hours throughout the week.
- Al Nafourah Garden – Open from 12pm-2am, this is an outdoor restaurant serving Middle Eastern and Lebanese food, as well as shisha.
- Jazz Club – Open from 5pm-2am, this seems like it’s a bar that only serves drinks but with all kinds of music in addition to jazz.
- Sky Lounge – Open from 6am-12am, the Sky Lounge is in the main atrium and is more of a deli/coffee bar.
- Splash – Open from 10am-8pm, Splash offers poolside food and drinks.
Amenities
Due to our short stay, we didn’t get to take advantage of any of the hotel’s amenities which includes a spa and fitness room. The fitness room is open 24 hours a day. Club Olympus also has a sauna, steam bath and hot tub available for guests to use.
If you need any souvenirs or gifts to take home with you, there’s a store selling those kinds of items.
The Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha has an outdoor swimming pool. It’s meant to be open from 6am to 8pm, but when I went to take a photo at 8pm it was closed. I don’t know if that’s because they’d closed it a little early that evening or if it was closed for some other reason during our stay.
The hotel has lots of seating in the large atrium, so that could be a good place to hang out if there’s a group of you traveling together.
Pet Policy
The Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha isn’t a pet-friendly hotel.
Service
We only stayed the one night and had limited interactions with staff members there. However, the person who checked us in was friendly and efficient, while the person working in the Regency Club lounge that night was friendly and helpful.
Wi-Fi
I had to get a little work done that night and the hotel’s Wi-Fi seemed to be good.
Check-In & Check-Out Times
Check-in is available from 2pm, while check-out is at 12pm.
Location
The hotel’s location isn’t really anything to write home about. It’s not like it’s in a bad neighborhood; it’s just that it’s not close to all the activities, museums, etc. which are downtown. It’s fairly close to the airport, but it still took 15 minutes or so to get there from the airport by Uber; the hotel doesn’t offer shuttle service.
Parking
Complimentary self-parking is available for all guests.
Cost
The Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha was a category 1 property in the World of Hyatt program when we stayed. That means it costs 3,500, 5,000 or 6,500 points per night depending on if it’s at off-peak, standard or peak pricing during your dates. It was at standard pricing the night we stayed there, so we redeemed 5,000 points.
The cash cost for that night would’ve been $115.57. That means we got 2.31cpp (cents per point) of value by redeeming points which is good value for Hyatt points, although not as spectacular as you can get at some other Hyatt properties.
Final Thoughts
We enjoyed our stay at the Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha. Our standard room was a good size and there were some generous welcome gifts left in our room for us thanks to my status. Having access to the Regency Club lounge was particularly useful as it meant we were able to have a free evening meal and drinks.
As I mentioned at the start of the review though, whether or not we’d stay there again would depend on why we were in Doha. We’d definitely stay at this hotel again if we had an overnight layover. However, if we were there to actually visit Doha then we’d prefer to stay downtown so that we were within walking distance of everything there.
Ubers aren’t expensive in Doha though and it’s not a long journey to get downtown, so if you’re wanting to book with points then this Hyatt Regency could be a great option, especially if you have access to the Regency Club lounge.
Our Rating
Room = 4.3 / 5
Hotel Amenities = 4.3 / 5
Food = 4.4 / 5 (this is based solely on the Regency Club lounge’s hors d’oeurves that night)
Location = 3.9 / 5
Service = 4.1 / 5
Overall Value = 4.0 / 5
Total = 4.17 / 5
Address
Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha, Al Matar Street, Doha, Qatar
See All Posts From This International Trip
- Lions & Quokkas & Scorpions, Oh My: A Month In Australia, South Africa & More
- We Were Denied Boarding To Australia – Here’s Why
- Flight Review: Lufthansa Business Class – Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) To Frankfurt (FRA)
- Flight Review: Eurowings Discover Business Class – Frankfurt (FRA) To Mauritius (MRU)
- Some Thoughts On Mauritius
- Hotel Review: Hilton Mauritius Resort & Spa
- Hotel Review: Le Méridien Ile Maurice (Mauritius)
- Restaurant Review: Sunset Filaos In Pointe Aux Piments, Mauritius
- 20 Fun & Interesting Things To Do In Mauritius (+ Many Bonus Ideas)
- Hotel Review: Holiday Inn Mauritius Mon Tresor
- Flight Review: Air Mauritius Economy Class – Mauritius (MRU) To Johannesburg (JNB)
- The Awesome Drive Between Johannesburg & Kruger National Park
- 50 Animal Photos From Kruger National Park In South Africa Taken With Our Phones
- Kruger National Park: 13 Tips For A Successful Self-Drive Safari
- Elephant Kisses – Meeting Tswale In South Africa
- Kruger National Park: 30 Photos Taken With Shae’s Nikon Camera
- Doing A Kruger Park Bush Braai With Royal Safaris
- Marloth Park: Like Living In The Best Zoo Ever
- Hotel Review: InterContinental Johannesburg O.R. Tambo Airport, South Africa
- Flight Review: Qatar Airways Business Class (Qsuites) – Johannesburg (JNB) To Doha (DOH) To Miami (MIA)
- Hotel Review: Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha, Qatar
Leave a Reply