Fifteen hours after departing Houston, we landed in Doha and after clearing transfer security headed for the Al Mourjan business class lounge for our seven hour layover before our connecting flight to Male. I was looking forward to checking out this lounge as it is regarded as one of the best business class lounges in the world.
Location
The Al Mourjan lounge is located above the concourse for the A gates at the Hamad International Airport. While most passengers will probably utilize the escalators from the terminal, we ended up on an elevator that took us from the transfers area up to the lounge without having to enter the main concourse. For passengers in the concourse there is plenty of signage directing passengers to the entrance once airside.
Hours of Operation
Since Doha is a global hub, with flights arriving and departing at all hours of the day and night, the lounge is open 24 hours a day. With our delay, we were in the lounge from approximately 8:00p-1:00a local time.
Entry Requirements
The Al Mourjan lounge is open to Qatar Airways and other oneworld business class passengers with a couple of exceptions. Passengers flying on business class “light” fares are unable to access the lounge though they may be able to buy access to the lounge. Pricing is around $100 per person. Also, unlike many of their oneworld partners which allow access to elites, the Al Mourjan lounge does not provide access to oneworld Emerald or Sapphire members without a qualifying business class ticket.
All business class award tickets, regardless of the program booked through, receive lounge access as was the case with our American AAdvantage redemption. The agents at the reception desk verified our documents and we were quickly admitted. A lounge staffer offered to store our bags and located some seats for us.
Layout
This is hands down the largest lounge I have ever stepped foot in. The lounge is around 110,000 square feet and is split across two levels with multiple seating areas and zones. The extremely high ceilings make the lounge feel even larger. Upon entering the lounge is a large silver statue and from here you can either turn left or right. There was also a Qatar Airways employee there to answer any questions for travelers.
To the right, was the two story portion of the lounge. The most commanding feature of this side was the large floor to ceiling fountain/reflecting pool. There were a few sets of chairs situated around the pool and across from it was a beverage station featuring coffee and flavored waters. At the end of the space was a large, grand staircase leading to the second level of the lounge.
Behind the staircase was another beverage area which featured a variety of waters and sodas in addition to coffee. There were also some chairs (which didn’t look particularly comfortable) that had views out over the ramp.
On the opposite side of the reflecting pool were some additional seating areas with chairs and low tables as well as the prayer room, smoking room, business center, restrooms and showers.
In the center of the lounge was a raised seating area surrounded by a glass wall, there were entry and exit points on each side and also included a beverage area as well as a variety of seating.
At the opposite end of the lounge from the reflecting pool (turning left as you walk in) is an a la carte dining area which featured rows of communal high top tables as well as some smaller, low top seating.
Finishing our lap of the lower level of the lounge, I stopped back by the front desk to inquire about some nap pods as we had a roughly 7.5-hour layover before our flight to Male. A friendly attendant led us over to two empty pods where we could make a home base for the next few hours. While these nap benches weren’t fully flat, they were sufficient to catch a quick nap.
On the second level was the main restaurant that had great views out over the tarmac and the first floor of the lounge. Tables were arranged in 2 and 4 tops and were attended to by a server. You could order off of the menu or visit one of the many staffed buffets.
Food and Beverage
With the main dining room on the second level, the lower area just had a couple of soups, pre-packaged pastries and desserts available at a walk up buffet.
Upstairs, we sat down at a table and perused the menu which read as follows.
In addition to the menu, the main dining area also had a variety of buffet stations featuring everything from sushi to camel so there was something for everybody. There was also a massive bread cart with more types of bread than I have ever seen available to select from.
Mrs. ATX Jetsetter had a sushi plate from the nearby sushi bar while I had Camel ouzi with oriental rice, pan grilled Hamour with creamy lemon butter sauce and an assortment of bread. After eating, we headed back to our nap pods to catch a couple hours of sleep.
Showers
My back was bothering me so I couldn’t sleep that well in the nap pods. Instead I decided to try and take a hot shower to get refreshed. I headed over to the restrooms to book a shower appointment and, at 9:30p there was no wait. The Al Mourjan lounge shower rooms have a separate toilet room, shower room sink and vanity with diptyque toiletries. I was also offered a shaving kit and dental kit.
More Food
The time zone changes were really messing with me at this point and, feeling refreshed from the shower, I headed back to the restaurant for a snack and to wait for Mrs. ATX Jetsetter to wake up. I couldn’t decide what meal this was and my choices reflected that. I started with a glass of champagne and a cup of coffee while working on this trip report.
From there, I had the beef tenderloin steak with pommery mustard sauce and followed that up with a bowl of delicious vanilla bean ice cream. Mrs. ATX Jetsetter joined me and once we finished we headed off towards our departure gate.
Summary
The Qatar Airways Al Mourjan lounge was a great place to pass the time between flights. Due to the size of the lounge and the height of the ceilings, even when it is busy the lounge doesn’t feel crowded. The one thing I wish the lounge had were true nap/sleeping areas as I was never able to get comfortable and, because it is a heavily banked hub, you may find yourselves spending large amounts of time here. The food and facilities were great and I appreciated the showers immensely. Overall, I would gladly connect through Doha and use the lounge though I certainly didn’t need to spend almost six hours here.
