Spice Market, one of the restaurants in W Doha, which is set to open in October.

doha • W Doha will open its doors around mid-October, and it will be the first five-star hotel in Doha to offer culinary concepts by Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

"We will begin operating in the mid of October, beginning of November ," said Janin Smollny, W Doha's Food and Beverage Director.

W Doha will also be the first hotel to offer concierge service round the clock. Everything, from simple, small requests to the big things, like a helicopter ride for a wedding, will be accommodated, confirmed Smollny. The service is part of W Doha's service commitment, Whatever/Whenever, which characterizes the W brand.

When asked why W had chosen Qatar as its first destination in the Middle East, Smollny said, "Doha is a fast-growing market at the moment, the economy is really booming and the W brand is the fastest growing luxury brand in the world, so it was a good match for us."

The hotel will feature two concept restaurants. "We are going to have an all-day dinning restaurant, called Market, by Jean-Georges, Smollny said, "it is modern, fresh, comfortable food with local ingredients.

Spice Market, the second restaurant, will serve Southeast Asian street food. "The service will be different from other five-star hotels…the preparation of the food becomes part of the dining experience," Smollny said.

Additionally, "we are going to have La Masion de Caviar," she said. The concept is from Paris, where diners are served caviar with table paper cloth.

"Wahm is our Shisha Lounge, where inspiration for the menu comes from the Mediterranean Coast," Smollny said.

Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten will be coming to Doha this summer and he will assist with the opening event. "He is very hands on, he wants to meet everyone," Smollny said.

When asked what makes Market and Spice Market by Jean-Georges different from any other restaurant in Doha, Smollny said, "Doha does not have any concept restaurants, yet. The design is incredible, the food, the service, will be different…"

After arriving in Doha, Chef Jean-Georges will dine out at local restaurants and get a feel of the most popular flavours in order to incorporate them into W Doha's menu.

Chefs will also be coming from other parts of the world.

"We hire for attitude and we train for skill," Smollny said.

The food service will be different from the classical appetizer-main entrée-dessert pattern and W Doha's restaurants will be serving food throughout the evening, giving a more social feel to the experience, she said.

Furthermore, W Doha will stand out for its W Speak. For instance, when asked what is the hotel's Living Room, Smollny said, "It is our lobby." While other hotels use standard names for parts of their hotel, W Speak characterizes W's service commitment, that a hotel should feel like home.

"We have high-impact design, music playing, lit scented candles during the day, board games out, books, so we create a living room. We make you become an insider," Smollny added.