Review: Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Garden Business Lounge Doha Airport (DOH)

After a few nights in Doha, my dad and I continued our round the world journey by flying Qatar Airways’ Airbus A380 first class to Perth. We spent lots of time at Doha Hamad Airport so that I could review several lounges plus the airport expansion.

In a previous post I reviewed the Qatar Airways Al Safwa First Lounge, and in this post I wanted to review the Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Garden Business Lounge North, which is is Qatar Airways’ newest lounge. It complements the existing Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Lounge South, which was previously the carrier’s primary business class lounge.

Qatar Airways’ new business class lounge is spectacular, among the best in the world. Perhaps what’s most exciting is that it nearly doubles business class lounge capacity, which comes in handy over peak periods. Even beyond that, this is such a gorgeous lounge, with great design, unique amenities, and fun views.

I also love how while both Al Mourjan Lounges are exceptional, they’re very different, and each have pros and cons. I’m not sure I actually like one lounge more than the other. With that out of the way, let’s get into the review.

Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge Doha location

The Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Garden Lounge is located in the airport’s north terminal expansion, near the airport’s tropical garden. For better or worse, this lounge is basically hidden, and you probably won’t stumble upon it unless you’re specifically looking for it. I could see that being a good thing, because I’m confident this lounge will never get as many visitors as the Al Mourjan Lounge South, which is in the middle of the terminal.

To find the Al Mourjan Garden Business Lounge, just follow the signage in the direction of the C, D, and E gates. When you’re in the center of the terminal, this is behind the airport’s famous teddy bear.

You’ll have to go quite a ways from there, and you can either take the airport’s train system one stop, or you can walk. If you’re easily able to walk I’d recommend doing that, because it’s probably faster, given the moving sidewalks.

When you’re at the far train station (or just walk far enough in the terminal), you’ll see a large circular area. Just keep walking straight, and you’ll then see signage for the Al Mourjan Garden Lounge.

Even then, the entrance is sort of hidden. You can enter the lounge via the sets of elevators behind a Louis Vuitton store. There’s no Qatar Airways branding, so the whole thing is kind of strange.

If you find yourself in The Orchard (the indoor tropical garden), you’ve walked too far.

Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge Doha hours & crowding

The Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Garden Lounge never closes, as it’s open 24/7, reflecting that Qatar Airways has flights all hours of the day and night.

I think it’s worth mentioning that Doha is a heavily banked hub, which is to say that there are typically a huge number of flights that arrive and depart around the same time. This is intended to minimize travel time for passengers, and maximize aircraft utilization.

As a result, the airport is basically deserted for around 18 hours per day, and then it gets slammed for brief periods. In general, you can expect that peak periods will be around 5:30PM until 7:30PM, 11PM until 1AM, and 5:30AM until 7:30AM. There’s a bit of variation there, but your experience will be very different if you’re visiting at 12PM vs. 12AM.

Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge Doha entry requirements

The Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Garden Business Lounge is open to Qatar Airways and other oneworld business class passengers. There are some things to be aware of, though:

• The Al Mourjan Lounge isn’t open to oneworld elite members (including oneworld Emerald and oneworld Sapphire members), but rather they’re directed to inferior lounges intended specifically for elite members
• The Al Mourjan Lounge isn’t available to Qatar Airways business class passengers who upgraded, or who are traveling on “Lite” fares, which is Qatar Airways’ “basic” business class offering (you need to be traveling on an Elite, Comfort, or Classic ticket — award tickets are eligible for lounge access, regardless of which airline they’re issued by)

Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge Doha layout & seating

Qatar Airways’ new Al Mourjan Garden Lounge is 7,390 square meters (~79,500 square feet), and can accommodate up to 707 guests at a time. This makes it a bit smaller than the other Al Mourjan Lounge, but it’s still massive.

The lounge is one level above the concourse, so when you enter, you’ll see a customer service desk, and then you can either go left, right, or straight ahead.

Straight ahead you’ll find the Louis Vuitton Lounge, which I’ll talk more about in a bit. If you walk into the lounge and turn right, you’ll find hundreds of seats. While there are some seats designed for relaxing, I’d say this side of the lounge is generally more for those who are looking to grab something to eat.

You’ll first see several seating arrangements for lounging. I love the design of this lounge, and in particular how high the ceilings are, and that the lounge opens up into the terminal. I loved the natural light during my daytime visit, as that’s something that’s lacking in the other Al Mourjan Lounge (of course most travelers are transiting at night, so that’s a moot point).

The next part of the lounge has most of the dining options. There’s a bar with a couple of dozen high-top seats, some individual dining tables, and also some communal tables.

There are so many seating options, and then when you go beyond that, you’ll find even more seating. The back area of the lounge is almost a hybrid dining and lounging space. There’s another bar, and then there are more proper tables with booths and chairs, though they don’t have the tables set, as you’d find in the main dining area.

That covers the right side of the lounge. Now let’s take a look at the lounge if you enter and turn left. Visually this is probably the prettier side of the lounge.

This part of the lounge has a water feature along the center, with seats along the outer edge of that.

There’s a huge variety of other seating options, ranging from couches, to chairs for lounging, to semi-private seats with partitions, to shared workspaces. I’ll let the pictures of the seating speak mostly for themselves.

There’s another bar and smaller buffet on this side of the lounge, though otherwise there’s not as much variety as on the other side.

I appreciated that there were lots of charging ports at all seats, including wireless charging at some seats. The above covers the main part of the lounge, though I’ll talk more about the individual amenities below.

Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge Doha food & drinks

The Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Garden Lounge has an extensive selection of food and drinks, with both a la carte and buffet options. You can find the lounge’s main menu and drink list here, and the lounge’s deli menu here.

As you can see, the a la carte food selection includes everything from a variety of fresh sandwiches, to salads, to beef, to fish, to pasta, to desserts. There’s also a substantial drink selection, with Laurent-Perrier Brut being the house champagne option. That’s the same champagne served in the Al Safwa First Lounge, so I’m not sure if that reflects positively on the Al Mourjan Lounge, or negatively on the Al Safwa Lounge (or probably both!).

The lounge’s main buffet is located inside the entrance and to the right. During my morning visit, the selection included everything from pastries and bagels, to cold cuts, to fresh fruit, to cereal, to a handful of hot options.

There were also a few types of juice, soft drinks, water, wine, and a coffee machine.

The various bars throughout the lounge all have some food on display, which you can order. This includes everything from quiche, to sandwiches, to cheese and fruit plates, and more.

There are also several drinks stations throughout the lounge, so you’re never too far from a glass of champagne.

While there are several self-serve coffee machines throughout the lounge, I’d highly recommend going to one of the bars to get a barista made coffee. I’m so happy to see that Qatar Airways has finally introduced proper coffee at its lounges, as this isn’t available in the other Al Mourjan Lounge.

Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge Doha nap rooms

The Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Garden Lounge has 24 nap rooms, located inside the entrance of the lounge and to the left. These are available to guests on a first come, first served basis, and there’s a desk where inventory is managed.

It’s nice that each nap room is private, and then each room has either one or two loungers. There’s a blanket (the same you’ll find onboard in business class), though there aren’t any pillows. Each room also has a stool, plus a couple of bottles of water.

Personally I wouldn’t be able to nap in these seats (I’m a terrible sleeper, unless conditions are perfect), but I’d still enjoy just having somewhere to relax for a bit and get cozy.

Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge Doha showers & restrooms

The Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Garden Lounge has a couple of sets of bathrooms, which stay meticulously clean. As is the case onboard, they feature Diptyque products.

The lounge also has shower suites, located inside the entrance to the lounge and to the left. This is the only aspect of the lounge that I don’t like.

Each shower suite features a walk-in shower and a sink. For whatever reason, there are no toilets in the shower suites, unlike in the other Al Mourjan Lounge. On the plus side, the air circulation in the shower suites seems to be better than in the other lounge.

Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge Doha game & kids room

The Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Garden Lounge has a few other interesting amenities. There’s a game room, featuring a pool table and a foosball table, presumably intended primarily for older kids and teens.

Then there’s another area intended for younger kids.

There are also a few private family rooms, which are a nice touch. This basically lets you grab a private living room, which is ideal if you have little kids. Each room has a couch, a few chairs, and a TV.

Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge Doha smoking room

The Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Garden Lounge has a smoking room inside the entrance and to the right. It’s a pretty dignified space, though when I visited, this room was colder than a freezer. I assume something wasn’t working correctly.

Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge Doha lockers

For those wishing to store their luggage during their visit, there are some lockers just inside the entrance to the lounge. You can store your bag here for the duration of your stay, so you don’t have to carry it around.

Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge Louis Vuitton Lounge

The Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Garden Lounge has a first of its kind collaboration, as there’s a lounge within a lounge. Specifically, right when you enter the lounge, you’ll find the Louis Vuitton Lounge. I wrote about this in a separate post, but it’s essentially a restaurant and bar with everything available for purchase.

It’s a unique collaboration, and it could be worth checking out.

Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge Doha gym

While it’s not open yet, in the coming months we should see the opening of a gym at the Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Garden Lounge. I have reason to believe that this will be the best gym you find at any airport lounge, so I’d consider this to be a very exciting development. There aren’t many airport lounges with proper gyms, so this will be a very nice addition.

Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge Doha spa

The Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Garden Business Lounge will have not one, but two, spas. Neither are open yet, but we can expect them to open in the coming months:

• The generic spa run by Qatar Airways will feature a manicure and pedicure station, as well as neck and shoulder massage chairs, relaxation chairs, treatment rooms, and changing rooms
• The lounge will also have a Dior Spa, though details about this remain limited

You can expect both spas to exclusively feature paid treatments, so there won’t be any complimentary treatments.

Bottom line

Qatar Airways’ new Al Mourjan Garden Lounge is spectacular, and really exciting for passengers. Perhaps most importantly, the expanded lounge capacity will be great regardless of which lounge you visit, since it should help with crowding.

But what I especially love is how different the two Al Mourjan Lounges are. This lounge has a totally different vibe than the other one, and has comfortable seating, great food and drinks, and several unique amenities. I’d say the only downside to the lounge is that the shower suites don’t also have toilets.

So, which Al Mourjan location do I prefer? I’m actually not sure, as I love them both. It’s like asking me if I’d prefer a dirty martini or cappuccino — it all depends! I will say that I suspect the Al Mourjan Garden Lounge will be quieter in the long run, given that it’s more of a trek to get to, and harder to find. That makes it more appealing to me.

What do you make of the Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Garden Lounge?