Review: the Al Safwa First Lounge at Hamad Airport, Doha – monumental

This is our review of the Al Safwa First Lounge at Hamad International Airport, Doha in Qatar.

Last week, Rob and I took our first-ever joint trip – in six years of working together – to visit the Qatar Airways management team and try out the (genuinely gamechanging) new Starlink wifi service. You’ll be pleased to know that despite spending four days together we didn’t fall out!

On our way home we got a tour of new developments at Hamad International Airport in Doha, including the new D and E piers. We decided to end our tour in the Al Safwa lounge so we could remain until our return flight departed. We’re clever like that!

It is almost a decade since we last wrote about Qatar Airways’ Al Safwa First Lounge so we thought it was well worth revisiting. It was also my first time in the lounge, so this time you’ll get my perspective!

Where is the Qatar Airways Al Safwa lounge?

The Al Safwa lounge is located in the southern end of the terminal, where the big yellow teddy sculpture sits. This is convenient regardless of whether you’re starting your journey in Doha or simply transiting, as it is where you exit both local and transfer security.

Any First Class passengers starting in Doha do not need to enter the main terminal but can exit straight into the lounge following security, similar to BA’s First Wing at Heathrow.

For everyone else, you enter via the main terminal floor. The southern end is roughly triangle shaped. The Al Mourjan business class lounge is on one side whilst the Al Safwa First Lounge is on the other.

Access is via a set of escalators or lifts to the third floor where you’ll be checked in by one of the lounge staff:

The Al Safwa lounge is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As with the rest of the terminal, crowding can vary drastically depending on the time of day. The busiest times are leading up to the three Qatar Airways’ departure banks at 1am, 8am and 5pm.

As we found on our airport tour, outside of these times the airport and lounges can be spookily quiet and you may be just one of literally a handful of people there.

Al Safwa lounge entry requirements

There are only a handful of ways to get into the Al Safwa lounge:

• Anyone travelling or connecting on or off a First Class flight, either long haul First Class or regional First Class
• Anyone travelling in First Class on a oneworld airline such as British Airways
• Any Qatar Airways Privilege Club Platinum members travelling in business class, plus a guest

Of course, Qatar Airways does not have First Class on most of its aircraft. Long haul you will primarily find it on the handful of A380 aircraft.

The cheapest qualifying ticket would be a regional Qatar Airways flight in First Class, such as Doha to Dubai. These aircraft are sold as First Class / Economy Class rather than Business Class / Economy Class.

You can also pay to upgrade to the lounge for 600QAR (around £120) if you are flying Qatar Airways business class and would have Al Mourjan lounge access. This excludes the cheapest ‘business class lite’ fares which do not come with lounge access, although all Avios redemptions in business class qualify.

British Airways Gold card holders or oneworld Emerald members may NOT access the lounge unless flying in First Class. You will be sent to one of the Al Mourjan lounges if you are in business class or one of the two oneworld Emerald lounges if you are in economy.

Inside the Al Safwa lounge

The only way to describe Qatar Airways’ Al Safwa lounge is ‘monumental’. It doesn’t feel like a normal airport lounge thanks to the scale it works on. It is more comparable to a cathedral, mosque, mausoleum or state monument than anything else.

I mean, just take a look at the architectural sheets of travertine stone that clad the walls:

It’s hard to convey just how vast the space is due to the lack of guests for a human-sized comparison. In the centre of it all is a gigantic water feature with a single icicle of water flowing into a large reflecting pool:

In total, the lounge has seating for around 500 guests. It never felt like it simply because there is so much wide-open space (and, frankly, because there were nowhere near that many people there!).

At one end you have an expansive dining area with a la carte menus and views across the airport which are revealed by massive, ten-metre high sheer curtains.

Elsewhere, you’ll find an ‘outdoor’ terrace that is open to the rest of the terminal. This is the brightest part of the Al Safwa lounge which is otherwise more cavern-like in its design.

Original artwork and antiquities from the National Museum of Qatar and Museum of Islamic Art are displayed throughout:

This is complemented by other giant installations including a vast Keith Haring painting:

There is a lot more to it. Other parts of the lounge include a smoking room where you can purchase cigars, a spa where you can pay for treatments and even a jacuzzi. Showers are free and offer the same Diptyque amenities as in the Al Mourjan lounges:

An entire wing of the lounge is dedicated to families, with three games rooms depending on the age group:

…. as well as nine first-come-first-served private family ‘suites’ which are soundproofed:

A special kids’ menu is also on offer.

Meanwhile, if you’re on a layover of four hours or more you can use one of the twelve double or single occupancy bedrooms that are available, again on a first-come-first-served basis:

Each of these comes with a proper bed, desk and even fully equipped bathroom. You can use these bedrooms for free for up to six hours, with additional time available for a fee.

There’s also a duty free shop which comes with a tailor for any alterations you might need. Rob was delighted to get a tear in the lining of his jacket fixed – the quality of the work was excellent and the service was free.

Other facilities include a media room and a business centre.

Food and drink in the Al Safwa lounge

For anyone looking for a quick snack, a small deli area offers a micro buffet:

Anyone in search of a proper meal should head to the main dining room. This features an a la carte menu and waiter service with a breakfast menu from 5am – 10:30am and lunch and dinner for the rest of the day. An afternoon tea service is also available, from 3pm until 5pm.

You can see the full menu on the Qatar Airways website here. Starters include poached lobster:

…. and wagyu beef carpaccio:

Neither Rob nor myself had a main course (I had the two starters above instead) but options include grilled chicken breast, pistachio-crusted rack of lamb, grilled salmon and chicken mandi.

When it comes to drinks, you can request these from the central bar or one of the lounge staff will come round asking if you’d like anything. Champagne includes Lanson Le Black Label Brut and a Philipponnat Royale Réserve Brut Rosé:

The wines are virtually all vintage, from 2017 to 2022 – you can see them at the bottom of the menu linked above.

Conclusion

The Al Safwa lounge in Doha is not a lounge. It is a monument to luxury travel. No other lounge anywhere in the world is quite like it.

There are things you could do to improve it further, particularly when it comes to the amenities. For example, the excellent Diptyque shower amenities are the same as in the Al Mourjan business class lounge and on board in business class. Why not offer an even more exclusive brand partnership in Al Safwa?

The answer, of course, is that Al Safwa isn’t actually that exclusive given that you can get in with a regional First Class ticket. The ability to pay c £120 if you have a business class ticket also means that access is available to many people should they want to pay.

Visiting Al Safwa is not really about the facilities, or the food, or the bar, as good as they all are.  It is about being inside one of the most architecturally imposing interiors of any lounge (or, frankly, any 21st century building) in the world. For Qatar, the lounge is a statement of its ambitions.

Most cathedrals are designed, in some way, to cower you into feeling the power of the spirit.  This is a secular, 21st century interpretation.