A house is a property that is usually set out over two or more floors. In Qatar, houses are usually referred to as villas, although it is possible to also find townhouses too. There are two kinds of villas: either standalone villas or compound villas. A standalone villa is defined as a house that has boundary walls and stands on its own private land as a detached and separate entity. A compound villa is defined as a house that is located within a residential compound or "neighbourhood/society". Compounds vary in size and can be anything from a handful of houses to hundreds in the much larger compounds. Both have their benefits and drawbacks for example, standalone villas offer more privacy for their occupants and compound villas usually benefit from many more amenities, security and maintenance.
A townhouse is a type of terraced housing often referred to as "row houses" as they are constructed in rows and stand side by side with shared walls usually to both sides. Most townhouses typically have more than 2 floors and commonly three in most regions. There is a wide variety of houses available in Qatar with varying amenities and suitable for most budgets.
Al Dafna is a coastal district of the Qatari capital and municipality of Doha located on the Persian Gulf (sometimes referred to as "Arabian Gulf"). The word "Dafna" roughly translates to "dredged land", a reference to the fact that the district was built on reclaimed land following a large-scale land reclamation project along Doha's coastline launched in the 1980's. It is a rapidly developing business district and has quickly become the new downtown district of Doha and many foreign consuls reside in the area. The type of housing in the area is up-scale and often luxurious and prices tend to be higher than the average. There are plenty of standalone villas available for rent in Al Dafna and they are usually large with extensive private facilities. The availability of many international schools in the area makes it an ideal rental location for families in particular.
The area is known for the famous 456 room Sheraton Grand Doha Resort & Convention Hotel built in 1979 which is well recognised and loved for its unique architecture and the Conference and Exhibition Centre, which opened in 1982. It was not until the late 1990's that the districts growth picked up pace and this led to the development of many plush hotels, restaurants and shopping centres including the famous City Center Mall, one of the largest in the region: well visited by locals and tourists alike. One of the main attractions in the area is the Katara Cultural Village, the largest and most multi-dimensional cultural project of Qatar. It is a place where people come together to experience the cultures of the world. With a beautiful beach offering water sports, theatres, concert halls, exhibition galleries and cutting-edge facilities, Katara aims to become a world leader for multi-cultural activities.