Ascott or Pearl? | ExpatWoman.com
 

Ascott or Pearl?

9
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 08 September 2014 - 17:38

Hi ladies!

I narrowed down our flat choices to 2:

- 1-bed Ascott serviced apartment in West Bay; or
- 1-bed apartment in a new tower in Pearl in the Qanat Quartier (15B)

All in all they basically cost the same and I like the look and feel of both. Could you ladies help me to decide? We are totally new to Doha and I have seen so many compounds that my head is about to explode!

We heard that living in West Bay is great, as we could walk to work in cooler months (both my husband and I will work in the Tornado tower) and there are all the shops and hotels close by. From what's available (not many choices!) I liked Ascott the most. Does anyone have experience of the place? What kind of neighbours could I expect? Isn't it a little bit dark in the flats?

The Pearl apartment, on the other hand, is brand new, lovely furnished and considerably more spacious. And it has a balcony overlooking the marina! Other than the traffic to get to work, I worry about all the construction work that is happening around. Although none of the windows are facing building sites, how much noise should I expect? Will I be able to enjoy the outdoor pool on the weekends? And how long would it in fact take to get to West Bay in the morning?

I would greatly appreciate any opinions! (need to make a decision in the next few days) Many thanks,
Nina

40
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 18 September 2014 - 11:50
Be glad you have these two choices! We lived down New Dlata for a year so living at The Pearl is glorious! Our building has a cafe, gym, pool, spa, private beach and all the trimmings so for me, this is great. I lived at the Marina in Dubai while it was being built all around me and had all the benifits as each area opened up. Whatever you choose, you cant go wrong.
9
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 16 September 2014 - 12:02
Oh now I wish there was something available in the West Bay! Unfortunately I have visited literally each tower and only serviced apartments have free flats. And those cost min 5000 QAR pcm more.
9
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 15 September 2014 - 08:08
We are living in West Bay at the moment and one of the reasons why I would not want to consider living on the Pearl is the ridiculously inflated prices for everything. If you compare the menus of the same chain eateries across Doha, you will find that everything is that much more expensive on the Pearl. Spinneys grocery prices are silly too. A shopping trip to Spinneys cost a third more than a shop at Carrefour or Lulu. For e.g. QAR12 eggs in Carrefour retails for QAR29 in Spinneys. <em>edited by MrsPles on 16/09/2014</em>
51
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 10 September 2014 - 19:37
I have to agree with Rachel A, I also live in West Bay and love having shops, nightlife, Corniche within walking distance. Not driving here but living where we do it is easy to flag down a taxi should I need to go further afield. Friend just moved into Sara Tower,furnished 2 bedroom apt, don't know how much sorry. Nice tower. Good luck with your search!
1326
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EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 10 September 2014 - 16:29
I live in a West Bay tower (Al Areen) and love being able to walk to restaurants and bars at the local hotels. Also walking to work - I work in The Gate too. Why are you looking at serviced apartments? You could probably find a 2bed in one of the other WB towers for a comparable price to a 1bed serviced. Just a thought. I have friends who live on the pearl and love it -- but I love not having to deal with any traffic except of those days that I have to venture to other parts of town -- a couple of days a week at the most.
9
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 10 September 2014 - 13:09
Oh sorry, I got confused - the tower 15B is not in QQ part of the Pearl but rather the Viva Bahriya (or even still Porto Arabia but it's overlooking the second marina). So it's one of those high towers, with outdoor pools and gyms (men and women separately). We viewed the apartment again yesterday and I am not loving it any more. It is a completely new building (not opened yet) and already there is mould! I don't know much about the issue but I guess it's not a good sign. And Ascott is in fact dark and after closer inspection you can see the tear and wear. This home searching really isn't easy here! :) Thea117 - you make QQ sound good. I will look into it!
14
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 10 September 2014 - 01:05
Hi, We got here couple of weeks ago and are staying at West bay now. My husband is working at the Gate so can actually walk to work but we went to view some properties at the Pearl recently including Sabban Towers, Viva Bahriya, Qanat Quartier and others. It's nice to have some facilities and the swimming pool used to be a deal breaker for us but after visiting QQ we loved the location and the space. We met one of the residents who had no complaints at all about the place (only thing, the beach gets crowded on Fridays). Now since it's slightly cheaper than other places we figured out that we can afford to join the Diplomatic Club which looks really great and it's like 3 min drive from QQ. We also need to make a decision soon and it's so confusing. I hope that we are making the right judgement. Good luck. My email is: [email protected] if you would like to get in touch.
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EW GURU
Latest post on 09 September 2014 - 22:59
Hi there We live on The Pearl (not QQ though) and really like it. QQ, I have heard, has had many noise issues with jet skiers going along the canals at all hours and at the beach area. Not sure of the situation at the current time though, as the authorities keep blocking off the canals to these people, but they break the barriers and re-enter the canals. The rents are slightly less at QQ than where we live, but there aren't any facilities such as gyms and pools (you talk in your post about a pool...I didn't know that there were any at QQ)., so that is a deal breaker for us. From The Pearl to West Bay would be around 10-15 mins if traffic is behaving itself, if not, a bit longer. No idea about Ascott, but I like the West Bay area. We were thinking of living there, rather than The Pearl, but couldn't find a 2 bed unfurnished apartment at the time (3 years ago). For me it would have been more convenient for shops, etc as I don't drive, but now having visited WB lots of times, I'm happier on The Pearl with the sea views and facilities here. If you can get a quiet apartment on QQ (don't know 15B personally) and don't need gyms or pools, then I would choose that over WB. Good luck. <em>edited by chizz on 09/09/2014</em>