Photos by Matthew Walker and Lesley Walker

The new public park in front of the Sheraton Doha Hotel in Dafna has finally opened to visitors and already appears to be proving a hit with children and adults alike.

The seven hectares of public gardens, situated at the top end of the Corniche and in the heart of the capital’s bustling business district, includes “dancing” water fountains that spout out of the ground.

The design of the park centers around water, with the section nearest to West Bay’s towers including at least five different “wadi”-style features, including mini-fountains, waterfalls and small streams.

There are also jets of water that strike against elevated cymbals to make music.

Modern in style and using geometric shapes, the park has been designed with a combination of soft and hard landscaping.

There is plenty of flat, grassy areas for picnics, while a large, pyramid-shaped mound offers picturesque views of the nearby Corniche and West Bay.

A playground at the top end near Ooredoo tower includes play equipment particularly suited to younger children, as well as two sand pits.

Nearby, there are also outdoor fitness machines for adults.

No toilets, cafes

Though the park had plenty of visitors yesterday, there has been no official announcement of its opening from developers QDVC, which was unavailable to comment to Doha News.

However, QDVC previously said the park will also have cafes, restaurants and toilets. But none of these appear to be open yet.

The two-story underground car park, which is beneath the park and which has space for around 2,000 vehicles, is also still closed, though it has opened for one-off events such as the Stereophonics concert outside the Sheraton hotel in November.

When it does open, there will be around a dozen elevators leading from the parking lot up to the park, according to QDVC’s website.

An underground tunnel connecting the car park with the recently-opened Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC) was also planned.

The park has been under construction for more than four years and was scheduled to open more than a year ago.

While the perimeter hoardings were taken down and the park appeared finished for the GCC leaders’ conference which was held in Doha in December 2014, it was not opened to the public.

Do you plan to check it out? Thoughts?