The Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani opened the Banana Island Resort Doha.
He toured the resort and was briefed on its facilities, services, accommodation units, playgrounds, recreation centers, marina and indoor botanical garden.
Built on a 162,000sqm area in the Arabian Gulf, the resort is 20-minute luxury ferry ride from Al Shyoukh Terminal on the Corniche or 10-minute helicopter ride from Hamad International Airport.
The crescent-shape resort has a natural harbor framed by an 800-metre-long private beach.
It has 141 luxury guest rooms, suites and villas designed in Arabian style and comprise 54 Premier Sea View Rooms, 16 Deluxe Sea View Rooms, eight
Sea View Suites, 18 Anantara Suites and 34 Sea View Pool Villas, each featuring a personal pool and poolside cabana.
There are also eight two-bedroom Over Water Villas and three Anantara Over Water Villas, each with three bedrooms and a personal pool. The resort has a marina with 30 berths and a diving centre with a practice pool. Water sports include kayaking, pedalos, stand-up paddle boarding, wakeboarding, banana boat, triple tube and donut rides, water and jet skiing, luxury yacht cruises and fishing trips, among others.
The resort also has a two-lane surf pool in which waves can be controlled to suit different skill levels, a lagoon pool and a children’s pool with water slides.
Other recreation options include tennis, beach volleyball, fitness and entertainment centers, a nine-hole putting golf course, an eight-pin bowling alley and a VIP cinema theatre.
The Balance Wellness Centre, said to be the first of its kind in the Middle East, offers an indoor botanical garden, oxygen fern room, female-only hydro pool and nutritional wellness cuisine.
The menu includes Middle Eastern, Italian and international cuisines at various locations — the marina, poolside, by the shoreline and on over water decks. Guests can learn to recreate traditional Qatari cuisine with a master chef.
The resort, developed by Al Rayyan Hospitality, is operated by Anantara.
The Peninsula
2 January
