GIVEAWAY: Free Ritz-Carlton Stay, Sharq Village & Spa with Breakfast

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Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card

Earlier in the year I arranged a brief stopover in Doha. I’ve always wanted to visit the Museum of Islamic Art but never took the opportunity.

Doha is a really convenient stopover, as the home airport for Qatar Airways, a top world carrier and member of oneworld. Their first class lounge in Doha is amazing, and even features pieces from the Museum of Islamic Art’s collection.

I found just two days in Doha to be perfect, but if I had it to do over again I’d do four nights… two dedicated to a museum visit and two for The Ritz-Carlton Sharq Village & Spa.

Follow my lead, and stat two nights here, because I’m giving away a 2 night stay with breakfast to a blog reader.

A TripAdvisor ‘Certificate of Excellence’ hotel, it’s one of the top rated properties in Doha. It’s conveniently located but a retreat on the Gulf. And it garners comments like “Best anniversary ever!” “Magic” and “Awesome architecture.” The resort looks fantastic.

Here’s how they describe the property:

A luxury Doha resort that exemplifies the perfect fusion of contemporary and traditional, Sharq Village & Spa places guests in the heart of the Qatar capital, yet within the tranquil confines of an idyllic coastal retreat on the Gulf Bay. Featuring an exceptional spa, world-class dining, including the only Persian fine dining restaurant in Qatar, and 300 meters of private beach, our luxury resort in Doha Qatar is perfect for families of all ages, and envelops guests in a world of time-honored hospitality in surroundings that embrace Doha’s newer opulent vision.

This is a very special giveaway, thanks to my good friends at Luxury Travel Diary. Regular readers know them as a high-end travel blog with great reviews. They’re based in the UK and run travel auctions with real bargains.

As I’ve said before, folks who already know about these auctions don’t like this added attention, because there don’t seem to be enough bidders for many of their best offerings relative to the value available. Some of their items go way too cheap.

Let me just underscore this. Current bidding on 3 nights in a beachfront villa for 8 people in Turks and Caicos is running just over $900. And 2 nights at the Washington Duke Inn — a lovely property, I stayed there last year when visiting a Duke law school class to talk about DOT regulation of mistake fares, is going for about $80 total.

This Ritz-Carlton prize is being given away by the hotel and Luxury Travel Diary, I’m just helping to highlight it and randomly select the winner.

To enter: leave a comment on this post with your favorite item up for auction at Luxury Travel Diary, or why you would choose to stay at The Ritz-Carlton Sharq Village & Spa. You may enter two times if you wish and answer those two questions one time each in separate comments.

Contest deadline and drawing winner: Entries close Sunday, October 16 at Noon eastern. I will draw winner with the assistance of random.org.

The fine print: Advance booking is required and it’s subject to availability. Terms and conditions apply. Winner will have one week to respond to email notifying of the prize, otherwise the prize will be forfeit and made available to another reader. Free stay certificate expires March 26, 2017.

For avoidance of doubt, I have no affiliation with Luxury Travel Diary or The Ritz-Carlton Sharq Village & Spa. I am not getting anything in exchange for running this giveaway other than an opportunity to share the place with readers.

Of course you know I’m loving the benefits of the new Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card Visa Infinite, including a signup bonus of 3 complimentary nights and elite status in Ritz-Carlton’s frequent guest program (that’s honored as Marriott status as well).

The hotel is solely responsible for providing prize to winner. All decisions made in the course of running this giveaway are final and unappealable and your entry signifies your acceptance. The goal here is to make readers aware of a pretty cool auction opportunity, and to give away a stay. So please don’t make it hard on me for doing so!

Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. We have been planning a stay in Montevideo, Uruguay for a while and would love a stay at the The Hyatt Centric.

  2. Yep, a stay at the Ritz-Carlton Sharq Village is right up my alley. Interested to see Doha, and two nights might be just enough en route somewhere else…

  3. What a gorgeous property Sharq is. Just from the pictures, i can’t stop thinking about it. Would dearly love to go there

  4. My friend Paulo and I were recently at the Marriott Doha located very closely to the Shark Village.
    Even just from outside the hotel, as discrete as it is, one can feel it exhales elegance and privacy. You can easily imagine and hear the silence, the peace and quiet. Later on, reading reviews and seeing pictures, it all matched my imagination. It’s become a drem since then.
    Both Paulo and I have stayed at RC properties and are RC infinite holders so we look forward for the club level upgrade. We stayed at the club level at the RC Beijing and it was simply AMAZING! We want to repeat the feeling:)

  5. RC in Doha would be a nice change from the Grand Hyatt, which is fine.. but certainly not my favourite Hyatt in the world!

  6. My favorite item on auction is 6 Nights At Crown Lanta Resort & Spa In Koh Lanta, Thailand.

  7. I love Doha and I would love to take my partner to the Ritz Carlton for his birthday!

    Thank you!

  8. Hyatt Montevideo seems beautiful!! Would LOVE to try! But the Shark Village is still my favorite!

  9. I just went to Dubai last year and would love to visit Doha (via Qatar Air) and visit the Sharq Village property – it looks amazing!

  10. I’d love to spend 2 Nights At Fort Rajwada Hotel In Rajasthan, India! Been meaning to make a trip to Rajasthan!

  11. The Crown Lanta Resort & Spa In Koh Lanta, Thailand auction package looks great. Another place I need to visit!

  12. Oooh, I love it when you do this kind of contest, maybe I’m lucky this time.

    I would love to stay at the Ritz-Carlton Sharq Village & Spa as I am quite regularly flying through Doha.

    Fingers crossed 🙂

  13. Have to say the 2 Nights At Tigerland Safari Resort In Nepal would be my pick, short but an absolute winner of a trip.

  14. The Ritz-Carlton Sharq Village & Spa is absolutely stunning. If I don’t win, I might just have to use some points to stay their anyway. Can you say dream oasis!

  15. I am a regular to Luxury Travel Diary thanks to your recommendation and was already lucky enough to win a bid on a get-away in Italy.
    Today I would choose The Crown Lanta Resort & Spa In Koh Lanta, Thailand to bid on.

  16. Fave item is the Turks and Caicos beachfront villa – it’s not quite cold enough yet to flee to the beach but in just a couple short months that’s where you can find me

  17. I’d love to stay at the Sharq. My in-laws are in Kuwait so this is the perfect excuse to go for a visit but then steal away for a couple nights! Side note: Doha airport is the BEST i’ve ever been in

  18. I’d love to stay at The Ritz-Carlton Sharq Village & Spa because it’s one of the top rated properties in Doha!

  19. Favorite auction is 2 Nights At Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge In Tasmania. Would be so cool to stay there!

Comments are closed.