Although the notice says clearly that the club is members only, rules of entry to the Cloud 9 Bar at the Merweb hotel in Al Sadd street seem to vary from visit to visit. On my first visit with a friend, we were asked to pay a 50 riyal cover charge. We decided not to bother.
On a subsequent visit we were turned away for not being members. On my third and most recent visit my friend and I were accompanied by our wives and were promptly let in (no cover charge). We did have to give our ID cards, which were scanned into a computer.
When and if you gain access to Cloud 9, big doors are unlocked and opened. Hold on tight, or you’ll be blown over by a blast of chilled air from the air-conditioners. Enter, and the bar at first seems huge – an illusion provided by the mirrors at the far end.
The light is low, blue and seductive, and the walls are decorated by drawings you would never expect in a strict Muslim country. The service is good, and the waiters are aided by trays that light up to illuminate the drinks balanced on top. The customers we saw, many of them Asian, were young, trendy and cool. Most of them were already paired off in couples.
The bar had a pleasingly sleazy atmosphere which suits decadent Westerners such as ourselves. Essentially it seemed a place where you can get away from the strictures of Qatar society. As the price of alcohol was not murderous (by Qatar standards), it's probably a place I’ll be returning too. If they let me in, that is.
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