The race to find a room in Qatar is hotter than ever, as the World Cup officially starts on November 20, expected to attract more than 1.5 million fans to Qatar for more than a month. Fan Village Cabins Free Zone is the newest accommodation in Qatar to welcome fans, with a capacity to serve about 12,000 people.
Jimmy and Kennis Leung were among the first fans to visit the Fan Village Cabins Free Zone, one of the largest accommodation locations for fans watching the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
They built this place in the desert, Jimmy told CNN while visiting the residence. Hotels or AirBnBs in Doha are too expensive, so this is a great choice, he was impressed with his room.
Kennis added: This place is very quiet, with many food options and the rooms are beautiful, even though they are a bit small.
The fan village is about 20 minutes by metro from the center of Doha city, but there are still many construction materials around the time of the World Cup opening ceremony.
The rows of mobile houses are arranged in color, arranged in order of the extended lettering. The common living space has hundreds of empty tables and chairs. The receptionist is about 10 minutes' walk away from a large parking lot.
Fans may find it difficult to determine the direction. Jimmy and Kennis admit they were lost in endless roads in the village. However, customers can take an electric scooter to travel, not to mention the staff who takes them to the door of the room by electric scooter.
For tourists with limited budgets, the 8 World Cup fan villages in Qatar offer them two accommodation options: normal camping and cabin. However, some people are not impressed with what the host country provides.
There are many cabins and containers, a big screen to watch matches but the accommodation is... I dont know what to say?, Fei Peng, a Chinese fan who came to Qatar to watch more than 30 World Cup matches, said. This is the best option we can afford. Doha is so expensive that we could not expect anything more".
According to Qatar's World Cup accommodation management agency, a night in the cabin of the Free Zone fan village costs from 207 USD per night (more than 5.1 million VND), or 114 USD per night (2.8 million VND) in Caravan City.
A tent in the Al Khor fan village costs $423 a night (over 10.5 million VND). For customers who want to camp luxuriously, the cost is around 1,020 USD per night (more than 25 million VND). If you want to stay in the cabin of a cruise ship, the minimum amount that you have to pay is 179 USD per night.
Visitors will have other room options for $80 a night, but located further away. These fan villages are located near Doha International Airport and Hamad International Airport, both of which will have flights at all times throughout the tournament.
Some fans plan to rent rooms in countries bordering Qatar, flying during the day to watch matches. In May, Qatar Airways announced that it had partnered with regional airlines to deploy an additional 160 daily round trips at competitive prices to welcome fans from Dubai, Jeddah, Kuwait, Muscat and Riyadh to Qatar.
The airline does not provide baggage booking services to save time, and allocates separate means of transporting fans from the airport to the stadiums.
In addition, visitors can also drive from cities such as Riyadh, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, all of which are less than 7 hours by car from Qatar.
