Travel and Accommodation

MENOG 13 is held at the JW Marriott in Kuwait City

Hotel address
Al Shuhada Street P.O. Box 26302 · Safat, Kuwait City, 13124 Kuwait

Direction and Maps to the MENOG 13 venue
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/maps/travel/kwijw-jw-marriott-hotel-kuwait-city/


Transportation
Getting from the airport to city centre

Kuwait
General information about the host city and country

Other Useful Information
Currency, electricity, telephones and other practical information


Transportation

Getting from airport to city centre

Kuwait International Airport (Airport Code: KWI) is located 16km (10 miles) south of Kuwait City.

Public transport road

Bus: Buses to Kuwait City (route 501) depart from outside Arrivals. The journey time is about 30 minutes, and the fare KD 0.25.

Taxi

Taxis (tel: 431 9829) are readily available; the taxi desk is located in Arrivals on the ground floor. The fare to the city centre is around KD 5-6. It is recommended to agree this in advance with the driver.

Car hire

Car hire firms operating in Kuwait City include Avis (tel: 2474 5528), Europcar (tel: 2473 5626) and National (tel: 2434 3139). All have offices either at the airport, in city hotels, or both. Drivers must be at least 21 years of age.


Kuwait and Kuwait City

General information about the host city and country

About Kuwait

Kuwait constitutes a puzzling but intriguing mix of Western liberalism and strict Islam. The capital, Kuwait City, is a bustling metropolis full of high-rise buildings and luxury hotels. Yet the country is also host to elaborate and opulent mosques and palaces, and its religion is an integral part of its affairs.

This juxtaposition perhaps stems from Kuwait’s marrying of Islamism with oil-wealth, mostly traded with Western superpowers. Upon independence from Britain in 1961, Sheikh Abdullah assumed head of state, adopting the title of Emir. The large revenues from oil production allowed independent Kuwait to build up its economic infrastructure and institute educational and social welfare programmes.

About Kuwait city

At the cusp of the Gulf crescent, the tiny city state of Kuwait (Al Kuwayt) is wedged between powerful neighbours in a region defined by Islam and new wealth.

Settled for centuries by seafarers and traders, Kuwait City provided ‘bread and salt’ for the Bedouin from the Arabian interior. More recently, the capital offers all the diversions of a burgeoning metropolis with excellent museums, modern shopping malls and sophisticated marinas.

Beyond Kuwait City, the desert unwraps across a barren plain of oil installations but it has two great attractions: a limitless sandy coastline and a surprising dusting of vegetation after spring rains, both of which come as a pleasant surprise to visitors.


Other Useful Information

Currency, electricity, telephones and other practical information

Currency

Exchange rate
€1 = 0.37 KWD Kuwait Dinar

Electricity

240 volts AC, 50Hz; single phase. UK-type flat three-pin plugs are used.

Weather

http://www.worldtravelguide.net/kuwait-city/weather

Timezone

UTC +4:00

Telephones

Emergency Phone Number of Police, Ambulance and Fire Services: 112

Alternative hotels

Luxury hotels

Mövenpick Resort

An elegant, contemporary hotel on a beach just 2km from the city centre, this lively hotel provides the perfect antidote to a hot day downtown. With an excellent spa, restaurants and landscaped gardens, it’s a relaxing place to unwind.
Coast Road, Shuwaikh Free Trade Zone, Kuwait City, Kuwait

Le Méridien Kuwait
With views of the iconic Kuwait Towers from the front bedrooms, this hotel has a flavour of the French Riviera with rococo furniture and brass-rimmed mirrors. Rooms come with CD players, polished floors, floral-design bedsteads, huge bolster pillows and enormous luxury bathrooms.
Arabian Gulf Street, Bneid al-Qar, Kuwait City, Kuwait

Moderate Hotels

Marina Hotel
In this beautiful, contemporary, low-rise hotel floating at the sea’s edge, many of the designer rooms have direct access onto the beach. This is one boutique hotel that succeeds in being practical as well as aesthetically pleasing, with lots of amenities nearby and an excellent fish restaurant called the Atlantis. If you’d rather enjoy your fish in the water, rather than on the plate, then look out for the aquarium in the foyer.
Arabian Gulf Street, Salmiya, Kuwait City, Kuwait

Ghani Palace Hotel
One of the few hotels where you don’t have to check the address to remember you’re in the Middle East, the quirky Arabian-style building sports Syrian furniture, Moroccan lanterns and local stucco, and boasts local-style hospitality to match.


Money

Moneychangers are dotted around the city centre and main souqs, and change all major and regional currencies. Only banks and the larger money-exchange facilities will change travellers cheques.

Since 2003, the Kuwaiti dinar has been pegged to the US dollar

Visa

Visa information

More information can be found at http://www.lonelyplanet.com/kuwait/practical-information/visas

More tips about doing business in the Middle East can be found at the following site: http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/etiquette/doing-business-middle-east.html