Review: Qatar Airways Al Safwa First Class Lounge Doha Airport

Great review lucky! I am looking forward to visiting this lounge in a few weeks.

I am doing something similar to you with an overnight layover in Doha. I was wondering how much you paid for you visa at immigration?

Thanks

$100 for a 30 minute foot massage?!?!? In Cambodia you could get a 24 hour foot massage for that price, with free beer and money left over for a generous tip.

I guess they assume if you have the cash for a first class ticket on "the world's 5 star airline' than you wont be phased by spa prices that rival a 5 star hotel.

Great review! What are the iPad like devices next to some of the seating areas in your photos?

but the thai first class lounge only makes it to top 5 because of the free long massage no?

FWIW I was just in this lounge last week and when I asked for a nap room, I was denied one because my layover was under four hours; however, when I asked if I could take a shower, they let me take one for no charge.

Great review, the lounge looks amazing. Thanks

@ Jacob -- That's bizarre, so you need a minimum layover in order to get a nap room? Odd!

@ Jamie -- They have connecting gate information, airport information, weather information, etc. Not *that* useful, in my opinion.

@ franz -- Not just the massage, but also because they escort you gate to gate. They pick you up at your arriving gate and take you to your departing gate. And if you're originating in Bangkok they drive you to the lounge. Along with Air France, it's the most comprehensive gate-to-gate transfer.

@ Scott -- Hmmm, I want to say it was ~$20.

I read somewhere that there are also free showers near the Family rooms.

can someone confirm that (or better show some pictures of them)?

Is the hot tub private? Or does a traveler need to bring swimming attire to the lounge? (Maybe I am wrong, but I cannot imagine that communal nudity meets local standards).

@ jfhscott -- I imagine it's private, as I can't imagine a second person would fit in it.

Great review.

I suppose since we're noodling around the edges of the world's best lounges, you're right. Nothing should be an additional cost. That's just silly.

Also - and I realize you wouldn't have this - a floor plan for the lounge would help, because for a lot of it, it sure looks like they've put super nice furniture in a bunch of weird hallways. Yes, I'd spend time here without debate or complaining, but given it's a whole new airport, and one of their most prestigious spaces, you'd imagine it would be perfect.

@Tony : I (female) was in the lounge last Nov and had a quite long tour of the lounge. Yes, there is one shower room inside toilet located within family space/area (not main toilet for the lounge). So one can have a free shower either in quiet/nap room or family area.

I usually take Qatar Boeing 777 for CAI-DOH route, but didn't realize Qatar also operates this for such a short-haul flight (DOH-AUH). lol. To get an access to Al Safwa lounge is a bit tricky to me. When I fly to my home country (East Asia) departing Cairo, I guess I can't use it unless I fly F from DOH-BKK first (as I did last time) or F from DOH-AUH/DXB (connecting to East Asia). Then when I fly back to Cairo, what a convenient access.

It looks much nicer to me than AF First Lounge.

I wonder what all those railings in the entry tunnel are for? Maybe to protect some future artwork? Looks strange as it is now . . .

Hi Lucky. Currently have a Qatar trip in June for:
BKK to DOH in F, then
DOH to VEN in J (2 cabin only)
Will I be able to have access to Al Safwa F class lounge, since my 2nd segment is only in J? Thanks in advance!

So no nap room in AL mourjan but there is in AL safwa. I have a 24 hr layover coming up in doh. Flying j. Is doh worth seeing for 24 hrs. Wonder if I should get their visa.

Really don't understand why they need to charge extra for first class customers. You are supposedly paying a lot for your ticket (when not flying on miles) so charging for extra services is just plain ridiculous. BTW, unless you have a long layover in Doha why would someone need to spend many hours in a spa before catching a flight? If I am in the city I don't need more than 2 hours to be in the airport so it would just be a quick trip to the lounge before I get to the plane.

Are those iPad-like "terminals" sitting on the side tables actually working? Last year when we had long layover at the business class lounge both directions, 2/3 of the "terminals" were darkened. Those that had displays did not seem to do anything - not even get you to QR's website. I have no clue what those were for if they were not work stations, and not displaying anything, not connected to QR website... I notice in the F lounge you still see such "terminals" but they are far less. And you actually get a business center in the F lounge. I dont remember I see a business center in the J lounge.

"It looks much nicer to me than AF First Lounge."

Its a question of style, I suppose. But...AF First lounge has better food, better service, free spa, and they escort you to and from the lounge in style.

Not a response to the FC lounge, but my inaugural flight Doha-LAX and other flanking flights- super disappointed

Flex QR from Chicago-Doha-Bom, Del-Doha-LAX (Doha- LAX inaugural flight) in business. The family and I have been huge fans of QR business and as One World Emerald, I go out of my way to fly them. That said, these flights and the Doha lounge experience was decidedly subpar. Cost cutting evident across the board. Chicago lounge is a disgrace. No business lounge (shared or otherwise) should be this awful – restrooms in the main concourse, packaged snacks, horrible wine, no sparking, no bottled water and temperature close to Doha in Summer. ON board – the 777-ER/LR seats feel way past their sell by date – the space is nice, but the seat feels hard and has zero privacy (I used to like them, but Etihad and even AA biz is better). Food choices downgraded – just 2-3 options for lunch, snacks and breakfast – used to be a far more extensive menu. No Laudere deserts from the US. Mountain Spring water (really??). Champagnes downgraded to Drappier and Jaquart (less than half the cost of the Billecart and Tattinger Rose previously offered). No proactive turndown service offered. Pajamas quality has further degraded – S or XL – tank top like fit in one and a sack in the other! Godiva chocolates gone – packaged Valhrohna (sample pack style). Al Mourjan Lounge – Krug until Dec 23rd (in 2015) and on our return flight on Jan 1 (2016) – GONE. No more Krug – only in Al Safwa.
Inaugural flight Doha-LAX – was supposed to be a special flight – NOT. Given a certificate for first flight, an older design Qatar T-shirt (would have been nice to get the Qatar-FC Barcelona Jersey?), and some old connectors for internet modem (yes, can you imagine??). Ran out of food and the F&B even on the first flight was absolutely subpar. The crew was disinterested – one of them telling me that she has been with the company for 9 years and can barely tolerate it. OK – are we becoming United/AA?
I have profusely complimented QR in the past but this time around, they missed the mark completely. I will not spend premium $’s on QR, unless there is a marked improvement.

Um...Qatar doesn't have a lounge in Chicago, they use the KLM/Air France Lounge...

Very nice lounge but I agree paying for the additional service sets it back. I wonder if they will address this. Great trip report so far!

@ Aaron - yes I am aware of that - to use a contract lounge of this caliber is a disgrace.

Some of the 60 minute spa treatments cost more than they do in 5 star hotels around the city!

You have to pay for shower? They didn't even charge in Al Mourjan, and there is rarely any wait! I think I'd rather be at Al Mourjan rather than Al Safwa :-/

Looks incredibly empty too... I found that rather creepy.

Apparently the reason why their is charges for the spa is because it is not actually run by QR but the Airport Hotel within DOH. Therefore QR have no control over pricing. Just what I heard in Al Mourjan the other day.

I was in the lounge on Dec 29th morning, and for breakfast, the menu selection is significantly worse. For dinner there seem to be massive amounts of food on the menu, while for breakfast all that was available was a few different types of egg dishes (omelet, fried, scrambled, etc). No fancy egg dishes (poached, Benedict, etc). We asked for shakshuker (spicy egg dish with tomatoes, onions, and others), they made it, but it was really just scrambled eggs. They had pancakes, maybe one or two other dishes, but thats it. Total of 5 ot 6 items. Also, the coffee was quite bad. Anyway, point is that if you are expecting food, don't go for breakfast.

Wow, that's pretty darn upscale and beautiful. It appears that the government-supported business of abusing their employees, persecuting gay brothers and sisters and plundering the resources is a very good business to be in-except if you are a service employee or are gay.

I realize this is a travel blog, but again, I would urge you to stop supporting this junk! You are smarter and better than this. There are many other ways to make money.

I was there yesterday.... Here are my thoughts:

The lounge is beautiful, modern and minimalistic.

The staff were very attentive.

Food quality was very good except the bread basket as seen in your photo. The bread was stale and it looked like the packaged buns one gets in economy. I mentioned this to the server.

Over-all I would transit thru DOH just to visit the lounge in the future. Definitely a must-experience!

Thanks for the review, Ben! By the look of the hallway and water feature they have taken inspiration from the MONA art gallery in Hobart, Tasmania.

Quote Ben: "I never thought it could be a negative, but this lounge almost has too much space." - The Emirates F lounge in DXB comes to mind, it's just not a pleasant feeling regardless how great the finishes are or how attentive the service is. I did enjoy Singapore's Private Room or Thai's F lounge way more.

Lucky,
Great review!
Question, flying through Doha in July a couple of times. We are AA Explat, can we use the 1st class lounge while flying in business?
Flying to Sydney on AA in Business, can we use the Quantis 1st class lounge in Sydney?
Or the Quantis lounge at LAX?
I can't figure out the rules...

What sucks is that there is no First Class even available on the flights I have from DOH next year (DOH - BOS, A350 XWB), so I won't get to use this lounge because there's no first class bookable/upgradable to.

How do you rate Doha, Lucky?

As someone who lives in the UK, Qatar Airlines offers me very competitive prices to the Middle East and Asia along with the ability to earn BAEC points. For some reason I am far more interested in flying with Emirates or Etihad and can only put this down to having no interest in visiting Doha.

Hi Ben
It was excellent review.

1) How I can get access to Al Safwa First Class Lounge, by booking First Saver (A), First Value (P), First Flexi (F) or any three of them?
2)Can I get access to Al Safwa First Class Lounge if I have booked First Class Ticket irrespective of my booking class, but I am not member of Qatar's Privilege Club and also of any Oneworld Airline Members?

Please Lucky reply ASAP as I am still confused about getting access to Al Safwa First Class Lounge

Hi - great review - thank you.
I use this transit a few weeks ago from Edinburgh to Delhi but had no time to try any of this out. I do however head to JNB on Sunday from Edinburgh and on one of the legs have around 7 hours layover. How do I go about booking the 'nap room'? I am travelling on Business (all legs)... don't think there is a First product (def not EDI to DOH anyway)... I am also hold a One World (BA Exec club) card. I was allowed access to Al Safwa the last time but clearly didn't take a look around!
Thanks in advance for the extra info.

Just read my post... bad grammar and spelling!
Meant to read "I also hold a One World Emerald (BA Exec Gold) card."
I think this allows access to Al Safwa but not sure if this is still the case.

Hey Lucky so if you're flying "first" (business on the 777s) like doha-cairo, doha-amman, etc you get access to first class lounge?

hey Lucky -- i'm flying a330-200 on First from DXB to DOH and then business from DOH-BKK via 388. Can I stop by the al safwa lounge since i'm arriving to DOH on First?

We have a Doha scale 1:55 hours(CDG-DOH-BKK) Will we have time to visit Al-Safwa lounge? Thank you

Just visited the Al Salfa lounge ahead of F DOH-DXB. Totally awesome and now looks less sterile with the cabinets occupied by museum pieces.

Al Salfa is restricted to departing Qatar F pax. Qatar tend to have separate lounges for access based on travelling class and OW status. Not surprisingly, the OW status based lounges offer fewer amenities and are less impressive. If travelling Qatar you should be aware of this or could end up in a lesser quality lounge even though it has Qatar logo outside.

Does anyone know the artist responsible for the 'desert walkers' art installation you can see as you take the elevator to the Al Safwa lounge at Doha? It is absolutely incredible - a 'video', approx. 25 metres wide (possibly more) of a large group of people, of all races, religions and ages walking alone, towards and away from the front of the screen, across a desert landscape. As they move away from you the images are blurred by the tremendous heat haze. . I was mesmerized. I can find nothing on Google..

What surprises me is that you're complaining about the 200QAR charges in the lounge. These lounges are typically for highly affluent 1st class guests already paying a small fortune for their tickets, and so these prices would rather seem like a pittance to them. In my view the charges are probably meant to keep the facilities in top notch condition by keeping complimentary guests away haha. If you're going to review these absurdly expensive lounges that come with equally nauseating seat prices then you need to think like someone who's actually paying the full ticket price 😉

Great review lucky!
I just booked a super cheap ticket with Qatar from Cairo to Madrid and will get to try the First Class lounge. I was worried I would have to book the airport hotel as I have a long layover, but after reading your review - I'm going to take advantage of the sleep areas! 😉

I believe the "desert walkers" art installation is The Crossroads by Bill Viola.

Thanks Saara - you're right - I found the reference on Bill Violas website thanks to your comment. It was commissioned in 2014. In my opinion it's worth going to Doha just to see this! But why have they hidden it away? Only visitors to the first class lounge are likely to see it! It's not actually in the lounge but on a wall outside above a stairwell.

It's worth adding that if you're using the lounge during Ramadan, no alcohol is served. This is in contrast to Emirates who continue to serve, and Etihad who serve in the evening.

Disappointing Qatar Airways flight from DOH to LAX flight this past wk. A Biz Cl passenger insisted on keeping all 4 window shades up. I was seated on opposite side. Couldn't see my screen due to white glare. Older couple in middle seats complained to QR FAs that they couldn't sleep (on 15hr flight). FAs told us that they asked Pax to put the shades down and Pax refused therefore there's nothing they could do. In contrast, I thot of Lufthansa whereby if they told the Pax to put shades down, that's where the shades would be. LH FAs are in charge as are most US Airline FAs. Qatar FAs are not. Lowered my confidence in Qatar Airways.

Hello Lucky,

sitting in Al Safwa right now. I was allowed to use the Spa shower for free yesterday, so they changed at least this issue.

Greetings from Doha.

Im currently in the lounge and im not quite sure that i like it more tham the business class one. Its massive and cavernous and morr private than b class lounge but im looking at a pretty average buffet. Lots of wasted space. Ala carte food excellent though and loads of lovely staff. One point to notice is that even if you pay to upgrade no lounge access.

We are going to book Qatar Airways (Economic) KUL - CMN, with long layover at Doha, for our Autumn holidays, do we need to book nap room in advance, how much is the cost?

In July my wife and I flew Barcelona Doha to Melbourne in First so we loved our experience in their amazing lounge at Doha. There are more staff than guests in this lounge. The flight was delayed 10 hours due to technical issues ie the water pump that services the loos was broken. So we deplaned after 2 hours on the ground...Back in the lounge after deplaning we had a great meal and then we were offered overnight accomodation in the lounge !!! They have 10 bedrooms with full ensuite bathrooms as part of their wellness centre .. They are a very welcome free gift!!, They woke us up at 7 am for breakfast and we departed at 930 am... well worth it. Thank you Qatar you will see us again.

Worth noting - there are actually two first class lounges with the same name.

You can purchase a first class lounge pass, however the access you purchase is not to the lounge in this review. There is a second lounge that is more similar to the business class basic one - that is the only one you have access to.

The lounge in this review is only accessible through actually having a first class ticket.

Found that out the hard way!

hello,
can you pre book a nap room? i have a 9 hour layover. flying first

hi,
i have a nine hour layover next month. lhr- doh mus. flying first. can i prebook a nap room?

thanks in advance.

Did anyone manage to get confirmation on connecting flight eligibility; I'm flying LHR - DOH in J then DOH to KWI in F, then the same in reverse on way back. So on way in, I guess yes (as onward flight is F) but on return can I access with my same-day F boarding pass to DOH ? No F on my LHR leg...

Lucky hi sorry I missed you in Doha. I am in the Qatar Paris Premium lounge and no problem getting access with a Qantas Reward ticket.

They handed me the invitation with my boarding pass.
Now next test is in Doha i will confirm latest cost of Safwa access