- Introduction: Birthday Trip To The Maldives
- Booking Emirates Skywards One-Way Awards With Stopovers
- Review: Air France-KLM Lounge Washington Dulles Airport (IAD)
- Review: New Emirates Boeing 777 First Class (IAD-DXB)
- Review: Waldorf Astoria Dubai International Financial Centre
- Review: Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai Airport (DXB)
- A Lovely Emirates First Class Flight To The Maldives
- Review: Cheval Blanc Maldives Randheli
- Review: Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi
- Review: Four Seasons Maldives Landaa Giraavaru
- Oops: I Missed My Flight, Almost Got Denied Entry To Qatar
- Review: Qatar Airways Boeing 777 First Class (MLE-DOH)
- PSA: Don’t Wait At The Wrong Baggage Claim Belt
- Review: Park Hyatt Doha, Qatar
- Review: Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge Doha (DOH)
- Review: Sleep ‘N Fly Sleep Lounge Doha Airport (DOH)
- Review: Qatar Airways Qsuites Business Class 777 (DOH-DFW)
I recently spent nearly 10 hours at Doha Hamad International Airport (DOH). While I spent most of that time in Qatar Airways’ Al Mourjan Business Lounge, I also decided to check out the airport’s unique Priority Pass concept.
Specifically, Doha Airport has a Sleep ‘n Fly Sleep Lounge, which essentially consists of individual nap pods that Priority Pass members can enjoy for a period of two to three hours (others can pay to use these pods). This is an interesting concept that’s also available at Dubai International Airport (DXB), so let me share my thoughts.
In this post:
Sleep ‘n Fly Doha location
Sleep ‘n Fly is located airside at Doha Hamad Airport, not far from the center of the terminal. However, it really is hidden, so you need to know what you’re looking for in order to find it.
When you’re in the center of the terminal facing the massive teddy bear, turn right, and walk underneath that big screen you see in the below picture (“Your Journey Starts Now”), in the same general direction as the Al Safwa Lounge.
Near the entrance to the Al Safwa Lounge, turn down a hallway that has a bunch of luggage carts, where you’ll see a sign for “Sleep Lounge.”
Just walk down that hall, and at the end of the hall you’ll see the public restrooms (these are also the restrooms you’ll use if you are visiting Sleep ‘n Fly, since the facility doesn’t have toilets).
Then when you turn right you’ll see the entrance to Sleep ‘n Fly. This really is hidden, so I can’t imagine they get much foot traffic here. Even if you’re looking for this, it can be a struggle to find.
Sleep ‘n Fly Doha hours
Sleep ‘n Fly Doha Airport is open 24/7, so this can be a useful place to grab a nap any hour of the day or night.
Sleep ‘n Fly Doha cost & Priority Pass perks
Sleep ‘n Fly essentially has individual nap pods, giving you a private place to rest. I accessed Sleep ‘n Fly Doha Airport using Priority Pass, as many premium credit cards in the United States offer a Priority Pass membership. According to Priority Pass’ website, each visit gets you either two or three hours in a single FlexiSuites nap pod:
- You can get a two hour stay between 10PM and 12PM
- You can get a three hour stay between 12PM and 10PM
If you have a Priority Pass membership that includes guesting privileges, your guest can get their own pod as well. For example, I presented my Priority Pass card and said I had one guest, so then we got two of the nap pods.
For those curious about Sleep ‘n Fly pricing:
- A two hour stay between 10PM and 12PM would usually cost $31
- A three hour stay between 12PM and 10PM would usually cost $37
Now, I have to say, our check-in experience wasn’t particularly great.
For one, the employee checking us in was borderline rude. When we arrived I said “hi, do you have any availability right now?” In a rude tone she said “yes, but you have to pay.” She didn’t do anything horrible, the tone was just not at all friendly or welcoming.
A couple more notes:
- We checked in at shortly after 8PM but were only offered two hours rather than three hours; I’m not sure if the agent was just being stingy, or if the pricing gets into the higher tier if you fall into the 10PM until 12PM window even by a few minutes at the end of your stay
- We checked in at 8:08PM, and were told that we’d be woken up at 10PM, so we weren’t even getting a full two hours of rest
These are all minor details, but I definitely think there’s some room for improvement when it comes to the check-in experience, as it doesn’t make the best first impression.
Sleep ‘n Fly Doha pods & experience
The lounge essentially consists of one big, dark room, and then you’re assigned a cabin.
Each cabin has a sliding door, and size-wise I’d describe each cabin as being a similar size to a first class suite on a plane. Personally I love this nap pod concept, as I find these seats to be so cozy. This is also like an airplane suite in the sense that you can put the seat upright, or recline it into a flat bed.
As far as luggage goes, there was a compartment above the bed. We left our bags in the Al Mourjan Business Lounge storage area, because it would get tight if you had a full size carry-on plus a large backpack.
Each cabin has a huge personal television, though there’s not cable, but rather you can just use this to connect your personal device, via an HDMI cable that’s available from the lounge staff (if you don’t have your own).
A table folded out from the side of the seat, though it wasn’t particularly large. Each cabin also had a variety of controls, including an individual thermostat, lighting controls, etc. I was impressed by just how well the thermostat worked, as you can make your cabin quite cold, if you want to.
Each cabin also has a pillow and blanket, though don’t expect this to be as luxurious as your typical first class bedding.
There were also earplugs and some cleaning wipes in the cabin. In general the cabin felt very clean, and I believe the sleep pods have seat covers that are changed between each use.
Below is the information sheet that was in the pod, for anyone who is curious about more details.
I got the sense that Sleep ‘n Fly was empty while we were using it. I say that because it’s almost silent in the facility, and if you’re not using headphones you could easily hear someone else snoring, or someone else slamming their door open or shut. So I’d recommend wearing headphones if you don’t want to be disturbed.
While I’m not a great napper, I ended up getting about an hour of sleep, which definitely helped with making the travel day a bit easier. At 10PM on the dot someone knocked on my door, and we headed back into the terminal.
Bottom line
Sleep ‘n Fly is a unique Priority Pass lounge concept at Doha Airport, giving members a private sleep pod for two to three hours. Furthermore, you can also rent a pod with cash, for as little as one hour.
Obviously this isn’t for everyone — if you have a short layover and are looking to eat or drink, then a nap pod isn’t worth a whole lot. That being said, with a longer layover, I love the Sleep ‘n Fly concept, and would absolutely recommend checking it out.
Even if you don’t necessarily plan on sleeping, it’s nice to have a private space and not feel like you’re around people, whether you’re looking to watch a TV show on a personal device, or get some work done in privacy.
What do you make of the Sleep ‘n Fly concept, and could you see yourself using this?
Okay, great concept but I’m sorry, epic fail. My pod kept getting warmer the longer I was in it. I asked the attendant if he could assist. He said the “air conditioning” is only a fan that circulates cool air from outside the pod to inside the pod. Honestly the longer I was in there the warmer it got simply from my body heat. The attendant suggested leaving the door slightly open? What? How is that even secure?
Not worth it too expensive better go outside in a decent hotel if u have a longer transit time.
I would suggest you use the toilet facilities on the way in since they are your only option!
At the prices they're charging, I'd rather just get a hotel.
Its one of the most terrible experience that I had. The space was very smalls and there was no proper ventilation. Its like you are put in a small cell for doing some crime. Highly not recommended.
She was WAY past borderline rude when i went there. She said i had to reserve a pod. Ok, i will reserve one, then. Response: You can't. I walked away thinking of a specific salute she deserved, and contacted Priority Pass to advide them of the treatment I got there.
Could you use two different cards for more time? As more cards offer Priority Pass as a benefit many have more than one card issued by different credit cards.
They are very rude and impolite to priority pass members. i just left on spot and go back to the business class lounge. Their staff needs lots more training!
Useless concept and an absolute waste of money - hear other people snoring and slamming of doors.
Point to point flying is catching on - ringing the death bell to spoke and hub travel.
The actual transit hotel in the airport is “booked” during the entire month of the World Cup (November), as is the entire city. Thus, we’re stuck making a reservation for this, and I’m dreading it. We actually cancelled a few days in Doha since the obvious lockup scam on the hotels being zeroed out a year or more in advance meant simply transiting Doha Airport was the best choice. Sadly, I had looked forward to...
The actual transit hotel in the airport is “booked” during the entire month of the World Cup (November), as is the entire city. Thus, we’re stuck making a reservation for this, and I’m dreading it. We actually cancelled a few days in Doha since the obvious lockup scam on the hotels being zeroed out a year or more in advance meant simply transiting Doha Airport was the best choice. Sadly, I had looked forward to this as a solution, but it looks like an uncomfortable chair in a closet. Entering a scrum for a couchette at the lounge is the only worse alternative.
Since the vast majority are simply transitting DOH, most likely on QR, it would make more sense to use the lounge sleep/rest facilities, even if you had to pay for lounge entry.
Personally, I would need bathroom facilities on hand and more than 2-3 hours if I intended sleeping. Sometimes a little sleep IS worse than none!
Seems grumpy facility attendants are the norm; maybe their pay is commission on 'sales'. LOL.
A flawed concept IMO.
Disagree with Ben as well…reserved one of these last year for 6 hours overnight and found the beds terribly uncomfortable. The only way I was finally able to fall asleep was to put my pillow on the footrest and sleep backwards to get off the lumpy built-in headrest roll.
Another major problem was that they don’t have a bathroom anywhere in or near the sleeping pod area. If you’re staying for more than an hour...
Disagree with Ben as well…reserved one of these last year for 6 hours overnight and found the beds terribly uncomfortable. The only way I was finally able to fall asleep was to put my pillow on the footrest and sleep backwards to get off the lumpy built-in headrest roll.
Another major problem was that they don’t have a bathroom anywhere in or near the sleeping pod area. If you’re staying for more than an hour or two know that if you wake up and have to pee you have to get re-dressed and trek all the way back out into the terminal to go to the bathroom.
I personally regretted not just spending the night in the business lounge
They're technically "priority pass" but don't think they actually allow you to use it unless they're completely empty in the middle of the day. If coming you'd want to book ahead and pay. And for the one bedroom one-person rooms, there's frankly no way you could fit 2 people in there. It's about the size of a lie flat business class seat.
Hate to ask the question but is the one person per suite actually enforced? Yes you need to book two suites which shouldn't be an issue since we all have PP but i have to imagine giving the comments on the staff that they are probably to lazy to go back and check on if you are in your pod alone or not.
Seems kind of comparable to Minute Suites, but smaller.
I really have to contradict Ben. Me and my wife have been there same months ago and I would not recommend it. Honestly I regretted it. I asked upfront if it's possible to enter with priority pass and they said that that its on a first come, first serve practice and that during our times she would highly recommend to book upfront. We both paid more than 100 dollar per person for 5 hours stay....
I really have to contradict Ben. Me and my wife have been there same months ago and I would not recommend it. Honestly I regretted it. I asked upfront if it's possible to enter with priority pass and they said that that its on a first come, first serve practice and that during our times she would highly recommend to book upfront. We both paid more than 100 dollar per person for 5 hours stay. It's was not reduced for the fact that we both are PP members.
Check in was very rude and impolite.
We didn't slept at all because of the small bed , considering that we are both not tall. Besides the size the "bed" was very uncomfortable.
All in all, 1 star if any for. I will never come back again.
If you don't trust me, check out the reviews on Google or tripadvisor...they're was bad as well.
I mean why would you even pay that?
because we were almost 20 hours awake and had 6 more hours of flight ahead...we thought that a little sleep would be better than nothing....
Can you get 4-6 hours if both had PP?