In the middle of October 2023, Qatar Airways closed its most premium lounge temporarily. The timeline of it reopening was up in the air for some time, so there’s now a positive update, as flagged by YHBU.
Continue reading: Qatar Airways Al Safwa First Lounge Reopens After Temporary Closure
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Those nap rooms sound great but I’ve been too late to nab one in the past… thankfully the lounge is set to reopen well in advance of my next visit!
NO! We are traveling through Doha and have a long layover in the middle of the night. Was really looking forward to using the nap room! Boo.
Not sure if it’s still the case but if there are no available bedrooms/nap rooms passengers were directed to the Oryx hotel within the terminal which was according to work colleagues a very welcome alternative.
NOT HAPPY ...
We will be there Mon 4 Oct for a long layover and then again on the way home Fri Nov 3 ... (with Friday Prayers we planned to stay in the airport and sleep in the lounge)
This is BAD news.. having taken advantage of the nap rooms (I call them bed rooms). I checked out the new Maj.. lounge last month and those nap rooms are USELESS...and much as the original Maj nap area is comfy it is loud..
Will QR not accommodate 1st class pax in the airport hotel ?????
The Maj has gone down hill
I would be furious if I had a F flight during this time. We did a 22 hour layover in February just to experience the lounge to its fullest and it was totally worth it. We consider Al Safwa our happy place.
I really liked that we were able to grab a quick meal there, short haul first doesn't have the time to provide meals, at least not on the flights we took to/from DMM. Fighting for a place in the business lounges wouldn't be too hard but we really felt pampered in our 45 min lounge visit
The food in the Al Safwa lounge may be more varied and better presented than in the Business Class lounges, but it is equally BAD, especially considering the much better quality of In-Flight food on QR. The high ceilings and the museum-like atmosphere are unique, but I'd rather see the lounge well maintained than eventually having to go into former great places which have become dumps, like the once beautiful Air India Maharadjah rooms in Bombay and Delhi.
The 4th photo looks familiar. I wish I would have spent more time in the lounge. I had a nice shower and downed 2 San Pellegrinos in a can on my stop over.
My Q Suites experience was a close 2nd to LH F and Emirates F. I would fly Q suites again out of those 3 but my next reward is likely AA J from DFW ICN or QF J from Dfw Mel (the 4 longest flight in the world )
The emirates F experience in Dubai and LH at Frankfurt are both lit. Qatar can compete with the best pound for point.
Classic. Just as I had booked a trip to visit the lounge, it's closed. I wonder if they'll be offering any kind of compensation?
I liked the first class lounge the one time I went and found the breakfast there lovely. However when I got a room to sleep it is not particularly sound proof and they have a door to the service area in the hallway that slams shut (or they let it slam shut?). So it was very unpleasant. All in all, it was a mixed visit. Maybe they are fixing that door, ha!
No way also Booked a F ticket thinking about to experience the lounge… when are u traveling.. ? let us know if you get a compensation.. my trip
Starts in 2 weeks.
two quick things:
In this sentence: "If you’re traveling through Doha, how disappointed should you be by the Al Mourjan First Lounge closure?" I think it should read "...Al Safwa First Lounge closure"
At the top of the article it says QR Platinum members have access to Al Safwa, but it doesn't state that it only applies if said Platinum member is flying in business class (paid or upgraded), just to be super clear.
It never ceases to amaze me how people think and how entitled they feel! It’s a lounge that happens to offer nap rooms (for a proportion and not all lounge users as there are not enough rooms to cater for everyone)! It’s a nice perk, of course. But they’re offering alternative lounge arrangements which are better than most lounges around the world. Yet, people still ask about compensation, or about being put up in a hotel…
And yes, I too will be missing out as I am due to travel through at the end of November!…
Can F class pax booked during this time be accommodated by getting complimentary use of the Louis Vuitton lounge and Dior Spa as an alternative? These services are added expenses for J pax, maybe that's a fair trade off?
I'll be traveling there around Thanksgiving week, please let me know if they offered any compensation! Definitely upset about the timing
In essence, yes... if you meet the complex reqiurments to access Alsafwa, then yes it is annoying/sad whatever you want to call it, that during that time peroid, you wountbe able avial what you are entitled for and hadn hotten used used to.
Yet, these things happen and I wount be surprised if QR updated the alsafwa to be even better, but frankly weather or not you are QR fan.. the fact of the matter is QR among extremly few airlines around the world caters to business class even better than most others who do for first class.
I have been fortunate to have access to all these lounges at doha and on my last trip I was hard pressed to remain in alsafwa because -for example- wanted to see an experience the new almourgan garden lounge.. which was excellent. So yes you wount get alsafwa for now but the alternative is better than the vast majority around the world.
Furthermore I wouldn't be surprised if somehow QR does something a bit more entrucate (like sealing off parts of the mourjan lounge and offering more in it) spacifically to cater and remind those who couldn't go to alsafwa during this time.
I'm so glad I found this out. I was due to fly with Qatar at the beginning of November and had deliberately planned a 14 hour layover, primarily to enjoy the Al Safwa lounge. I have now cancelled my flight and am flying with Etihad instead, having secured a paid upgrade to the Residence - this will be a first for me. So thank you again Ben for this heads-up!
your time must not be worth much to hang around in a lounge designed for a few hours layover and not as tourist spot
A downgrade from first class to the business class lounge isn't aligned with the premium experience that first-class passengers anticipate. It's not about entitlement; rather, it's about the reasonable expectation that when you've paid a premium for first-class service, you should receive exactly that. Expressing disappointment in such situations is justified as they are simply re-directing FIRST class passengers into a BUSINESS class lounge.
I'm traveling from Cairo to Doha to Islamabad later this month with the first flight marketed as First Class, and the second leg in Business (first isn't offered). I have a 11 hour transit in DOH, would I be able to get access to the Al Safwa Lounge for free (since I just came off of a flight in First Class and I am flying in the highest class of service on the next flight)?
Has it yet been clarified what Al Safwa's purpose will be, when physical First Class goes away?
Or with the new leadership, has that potentially been reversed, and QR will continue offering First (even in name-only for regional flights), even once the A380s and Cathay 777s are gone?
Well it was a 1 hour 50 minute layover or 22 hours. We found it definitely worth it for our one big trip a year. It was booked with points, so we wanted to maximize our first class experience. We find the flight and lounges part of our vacation.
I know it’s an honest mistake but it’s not Dona not Doha. It should have been spell checked. Good article!