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Black pearl
of doHa
eacH of tHe w Hotels scattereD arounD tHe worlD are BaseD upon a narrative of weaving tHe concept of tHe BranD witH tHe culture of its Host city. at w DoHa, rory coen founD out its a case of influencing its pulsating passion points witH tHe elegant curves of qatars inDigenous Black pearl.

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W Doha Hotel and Residences has been stepping it up in recent months. Its General Manager, Safak Guvenc, reeled off the list of regional and global gongs it has received since the New Year turned. The most prestigious ceremony was the World Travel Awards where we won the Best Business Hotel and the Best Hotel and Residence in the region, he said. We also won the Best 5 star Business Hotel at the MENA awards. In Time Out magazine, the Jean-Georges inspired creations Market and Spice Market were voted the Best Restaurant and the Best Business Lunch in the city, while

Bliss won a MENA gold award for offering the best spa treatment in the region. Ws Got Talent After a delightful express lunch at the Spice Market, I sat down with Guvenc to get an understanding of the W brand and what it did in particular to capture these awards in the face of such stiff competition across the region. Keeping a hotel in tip-top shape and promoting attention to every detail can only be a joint effort by all staff, so these awards are team awards in effect. Guvenc had an interesting way of showing his appreciation for his team. We are continuously training our talent, he explained in reference to the hotels staff. Its not everywhere you hear this type

of positive rhetoric being aimed at human capital. In fact, all the way through the chat, every member of his team was labeled as such. We dont sacrifice on quality in our service, he continued. And we really believe that buying the best ingredients when it comes to food and beverage is of paramount importance. If we dont like it, we dont buy it. Market and Spice Market are Jean Georges restaurants pure and through we dont make any changes to the recipes. When it comes to the hotel, we have the same principles, he carried on. The perpetual training and development of our talent is key we believe new blood is sometimes required to bring us to the next level, but also promoting from within to reward

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Market watcH

Safak guVenc
general manager, w doha hotel and residences

and motivate our incumbent talent. Passion Points The W Dohas definition of luxury is a little different to the classical meaning. The hotel is definitely open to everyone, but its aimed more at those who have a passion for a lifestyle hotel, those who want to live their normal life in luxury. It essentially offers an entertainment choice with a luxury product. Guvenc explained the W Dohas points of passion. Our passion points are the foundation

of the W brand, he explained. Branding is very important. All brands have values behind them which make them strong. Our passion points are music, fashion and design. We leverage these to strengthen our brand. So, for instance, Crystal Lounge and Waham support the worlds top and upcoming DJs. This is not just in Doha whichever W Hotel you go to in the world you will find an entertainment centre. We even have our own music director. The fashion constitutes the wardrobe

that we wear. All of our talent wear black suits, black ties or various other outfits thats fashion! We dont believe in just wearing a uniform so thats why we call it a wardrobe. We believe that out talent should wear something they are proud of. With Virgina Commonwealth University (VCU) here in Doha, we support their fashion academy and sponsor some of their fashion graduates. The design of this hotel was taken from the black pearl of the middle east. If you walk through the hotel you will see curves everywhere because a pearl is curved. Our rooms have sheer curtain, the living room has a curved stairs, and we have a hanging blue lamp which was taken from a local mosque. Were combining a modern lifestyle luxury with the amazing Arabic culture of Doha. Those are the three passion points we build the brand on. We are very strong with these and we will continue to focus on them. Our number one priority is of course the guest experience, but all of this is to enhance this experience

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