So as I alluded to in my last post, why did I book an award with a First Class “tag” flight from Doha to Abu Dhabi? Doing so allows you to access the Qatar Airways Al Safwa First Lounge in Doha. Yes, I’ve expressed criticism at a design that always struck me as cold and soulless. But I wanted to check it out anyway to see if experiencing it in person might change my mind.
Note: this is part of my trip report series covering my around-the-world trip to Taiwan in January, 2024. Click here for the trip report index and introductory post.
Qatar Airways Al Safwa First Lounge, Doha
Access
The Qatar Airways Al Safwa First Lounge is one of the more exclusive as far as access goes. The following passengers can access the lounge:
- Qatar Airways First Class passengers, including “regional” First Class flights
- Oneworld First Class passengers
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club members with Platinum status flying Business Class
Note that this does NOT include oneworld Emerald members, who can use the Qatar Platinum Lounge instead. In the past, Qatar offered paid access for all Business Class passengers for QAR 600 (~$165). However, I’m not sure if that is still an option, as Qatar’s website no longer displays it. Additionally, there is some question as to whether connecting FROM First TO Business qualifies. It likely depends on the agent on duty that day.
So what exactly is a “regional” First Class flight? Qatar markets short-haul premium cabin flights as First Class on routes such as Doha to Abu Dhabi, Amman, and Bahrain. First Class Avios redemptions run as low as 27,500 points each way to Abu Dhabi and Bahrain from Doha. Or you can add a “tag” short-haul First flight to a longer haul Business redemption, as I did from Hong Kong. That’s probably your best bet for accessing the Al Safwa Lounge.
Location
When originating in Doha, passengers can access the Al Safwa lounge directly from a dedicated immigration and security checkpoint. When transiting, you do have to make your own way there, but it’s easy enough to find. Why? You only need to look for the giant teddy bear in the center of the terminal.
When facing the bear, turn right and follow the signs to the Al Safwa lounge. You’ll find an agent at the bottom of the escalator that will verify that you have access, and welcome you in.
The Qatar Airways Al Safwa First Lounge is open 24 hours per day.
Qatar Airways Al Safwa First Lounge – Review
After heading up the escalators, you will need to formally check in with the agents at the entrance. Helpfully, they will tell you if your flight boards from the lounge (if using a remote stand), or if you will need to go to a gate.
Once inside, you arrive at a large central foyer with various amenities heading out in different directions. Several lounge staff wait here to welcome you and direct you to where you need to go. If it’s your first time to the lounge, they will give you a quick overview and invite you to look around.
The lounge is roughly modeled after Doha’s Museum of Islamic Art. To say the least, the design is polarizing. Many bloggers, including my friend over at Live and Let’s Fly, go gaga over the minimalist architecture. Others find it cold and soulless. That was my opinion after reading various reviews. After seeing the lounge in person – I guess it’s not as bad as I thought, though it’s still not my cup of tea. The monotone whites and greys look too much like the cookie-cutter minimalism that was en vogue in the early-mid 2010s, and took over literally every urban office building at the time. But there are some features and creative touches I like, and you can’t deny, it is unique.
Anyway, if you head down the corridor to the right of the entrance, you’ll find a small museum consisting of Islamic art and historic artifacts. This is one of the creative touches I enjoyed. After all, it’s not every day that you can check out an art museum inside an airline lounge.
Of course, the museum section also illustrates what I don’t like about the lounge’s design. The long, corridors, devoid of color and natural light, just feels very cold. It’s appropriate for an art museum, I suppose, but feels out of place in an airline lounge.
Continuing past the museum, you’ll find some of the other amenities of the lounge. This includes the business center, with a few seats outside and workstations inside.
Also back in this area are the lounge’s sleeping rooms and semi-private rooms. Sleeping rooms are only available to passengers on long layovers, though anyone can request a semi-private room. I didn’t ask for one, but did get this sneak peak as I looked around this part of the lounge.
If you’d like to see what the sleeping rooms look like, both OMAAT and Live and Let’s Fly have reviews that show these.
For families, this section of the lounge also features a changing/nursing room, and a kids’ play area. It’s pretty far removed from the rest of the lounge, so you don’t really have to worry about disturbing anyone back here. You can see there’s also a nanny room behind the nursing room. First world problems, I guess, for uber-wealthy families traveling with their nanny.
The kids’ room, meanwhile, is quite large and includes a few game tables.
Finally, this part of the lounge also provides access to the spa and showers. All spa treatments are complimentary, though subject to availability. Any passenger can reserve a shower room with the spa attendant, as well (or if you snag a private room, those include their own showers).
Going back to the central lounge area – one of the other peculiar design concepts of this lounge are the seemingly random seating areas. You have sets of a few chairs scattered about with no apparent rhyme or reason. (In reality, most people sit in the dining area, so most of the other seating areas remain unused.)
If you want a more secluded space to relax, there are a handful of cubicle-style chairs with ottomans.
Between the entrance and the dining room is the lounge’s most notable amenity, the water feature. This is pretty cool, especially the illusion of the water coming down in a straight line from the ceiling with no apparent source or track.
There’s a seating area next to the water feature if you fancy listening to the water as you sit.
There is an organized seating area on the other side of the water feature behind the wall, near the remote stand gate. I generally found this area the most congested, with people hanging around waiting for their flights to board. Essentially, lounge passengers can access a separate bus transfer direct from the lounge. I’ll cover the transfer on my review of my regional first class flight to Abu Dhabi. (Aside: I find it irritating that so many flights at DOH still use remote stands, even with the new terminal.)
I did fail to notice the other large seating area – the “terrace” seating area behind the dining area. It mimics an outdoor terrace, but really just overlooks the terminal area. You have to look closely, but there’s a set of double doors near the restaurant that leads to it. Both of the reviews linked to above (Lucky’s and Matt’s) have photos of this area.
When you’re ready to eat, head on over to the enormous dining area, which takes up most of the lounge. There area a variety of dining tables and booths available throughout the dining area, which extends all the way back to the windows.
There’s even some bar stools overlooking the kitchen if you want to watch your food getting prepared in real time.
One of the few areas in the lounge that you can look out over the ramp area is from the back of the dining room. So head back here if you’re in the mood for some planespotting.
The centerpiece of the dining area is a large, circular bar plopped down right in the middle.
There is a limited buffet in the corner of the dining area. Here, you can find salads, sandwiches, sushi, and sweets. If you want a sandwich, simply order one from the counter. You can also order a barista-made coffee here.
Eat at the buffet if you must, but I recommend ordering off the sit-down menu. Each table has a QR code you can scan to pull up the menu for the day. Below were the selections available during my visit.
On the beverage menu, the wine list is pretty impressive. Most of the selections retail for $60-80 a bottle, with vintages that rate quite highly. The champagne and liquor selection, though, strikes me as rather mediocre for a First Class lounge. Not terrible by any means, but you’d figure Qatar would offer something higher end to compete with the likes of Emirates.
Anyway, after asking for a table, I was quickly shown to an empty one and directed to the QR code for the menu. I ordered a mezze platter and the “chicken mandi” for dinner, and the shiraz to drink.
The food in the Al Safwa lounge receives mixed reviews, but I found this meal quite good. You generally can’t go wrong with mezze, and the chicken mandi was reminiscent of a good chicken biryani. The shiraz was a nice peppery one that accompanied the spicy chicken well. Overall, I found it quite a tasty meal. Afterwards, while I generally hate drinking coffee at such a late hour, I needed to stay awake for several more, with my upcoming flight to Abu Dhabi followed by a long layover. So I took up the server’s offer of Arabic coffee and dates.
There are a few drink stations sprinkled randomly throughout the lounge, including one near the restrooms. However, expect a very limited selection, mainly water, soft drinks, and a few snacks/sweets.
Surprisingly, despite visiting during peak departure time in Doha, I found the lounge fairly uncrowded. You could easily find a seat pretty much anywhere. Power outlets are plentiful throughout the lounge, with both universal 110v and standard USB ports available. While WiFi was good enough for web surfing, it wasn’t stable enough to maintain a FaceTime call.
Final Thoughts
There are several good aspect to this lounge, including some creative design elements, a solid a la carte food offering, and enough space that it never feels crowded at all. But while the architecture doesn’t seem quite as cold in person, it still isn’t my cup of tea, and feels more like a museum (or is it a mausoleum?) than an airline lounge. Would I go out of my way to get access to this lounge? Honestly, probably not.