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Qatar Airways First Class Doha “Al Safwa” lounge & how to get access

  • 23/06/2019
  • Michele

I had heard a lot about the famed Qatar Airways First Class lounge- Al Safwa Lounge in Doha but had not got round to trying it. I have only flown first class into Doha and not out of it. So when the opportunity arose for us to try in on a recent 9-hour layover in Doha, Claudio and I jumped at the chance.

We arrived at around 9pm after having done a Doha city tour (details to follow). We still had about 5 hours until the flight so we planned to try and experience as much of the lounge as possible. At reception I asked about the spa and someone from the spa appeared shortly to talk to us. Sadly you have to pay for spa treatments but they are proper spa treatments rather than a quick 15 minutes that you would normally get for free. I could pretty much have what I wanted when I wanted, so I booked the calm massage with an extra 10-minute foot massage for later to allow time to eat first.

 

In this post:

  • Qatar Airways First Class lounge Showers
  • What facilities does Qatar Airways First Class lounge have?
  • Qatar Airways First Class lounge Food and drink
  • Qatar Airways First Class lounge Spa
  • Conclusion and how to get in

Qatar Airways First Class lounge Showers

Qatar Airways First Class lounge Shower Suite
Shower suite

Our first order of the day was a shower having travelled from Heathrow and then been into Doha where it was 41c outside! We were shown to the shower and told that someone would be with us shortly. They weren’t! Both Claudio and I gave up waiting and just went into the empty shower. There were only two showers available but seeing as the lounge is so quiet I can’t see it being an issue.

Qatar Airways First Class lounge Amenity Kit
Qatar Airways First Class lounge Amenity Kit

The shower rooms were modern and clean with a luxurious feel. However, I would not say they were substantially better than the business class ones. Strangely they did not have a toilet in them. There were Rituals toiletries provided with the usual shampoo, conditioner, body wash and body lotion available. There was also toothbrush/paste and a few other amenities.

Qatar Airways First Class lounge shower

 

What facilities does Qatar Airways First Class lounge have?

going to Qatar Airways First Class lounge

Once refreshed I had a wander round to see what was available. The entire massive area was pretty much deserted. If you were travelling with family there were special family areas provided for children along with a games room and even a room for the nanny to rest in!

Parent's Room at Qatar Airways First Class lounge

A kid’s playroom includes a shelf with classic children’s books, games, and a fußall table. In the room next door, video games for kids who are a bit older.

Qatar Airways First Class lounge

There was a business centre with PCs and a printer.

Qatar Airways First Class lounge Business Centre
Business centre

The lounge even has its own duty free shop albeit with a rather limited and expensive selection!

Qatar Airways First Class lounge Duty Free
Duty free

The most impressive feature was the water feature which was very dramatic.

One of the features which may justify buying access is the “quiet rooms” which are actually not far off a hotel room. The rooms come with a proper bed and en suite shower. You can’t reserve one until you arrive but once you have it, you can stay pretty much as long as you like.  They have single rooms and ones with two single beds.

Qatar Airways First Class lounge Bed

There is no shortage of places to sit in the lounge although most of the seats were similar to those in the business lounge and quite upright. There are two main seatings areas – near the restaurant and then a terrace, similar to the BA T5 lounges.

Qatar Airways First Class lounge Seats

There was a small area with sofas that looked a bit more comfortable and sociable.

Qatar Airways First Class lounge Seats

 

Qatar Airways First Class lounge Food and drink

For food there was the main restaurant and then a rather bizarre dessert room which seemed a strange choice. That too was des-serted!!

Qatar Airways First Class lounge Dessert Room
Dessert room

If you wanted something casual there was a cafe type area like the business class lounge and a few drinks stations with coffee, tea and soft drinks.

Casual Dining area at Qatar Airways First Class lounge
Casual dining area

We headed into the main restaurant to enjoy a three-course meal as we planned to sleep the whole way to Penang. The menu was fairly comprehensive with starters, mains and desserts.

Bar in the centre of the main restaurant

I was disappointed to learn that we could only have the steak medium-well or well done as they are pre-cooked! Apparently, this is due to no naked flames being allowed in the airport. I am sure there is still a way to cook a steak better though – Etihad managed it on a plane in the First Apartment!

Restaurant

The drinks choices were very impressive though. The champagne was Veuve Cliquot Gran Damme which is in my top 5 champagnes and retails at over £100 a bottle.

There was also a comprehensive list of fine wines and spirits which you see here.

 

The service was very odd. The staff were all very friendly and polite but pretty much clueless and very very slow. At most, there were 4 people in the restaurant with 6 staff and yet we had to constantly ask for things.

I didn’t fancy any of the starters so I asked for a portion of the Panner Makhani as a starter without the bread. Meanwhile, Claudio had both the soup and the lamb skewers whilst I sat with nothing. We found that the staff seemed to just say yes to things without really understanding what you wanted.

We were at least given bread with butter, dip and a very strange muse bouche of cream cheese on raw carrot to keep me going!

Next, our steaks arrived without any sign of my starter. The pepper sauce was tasty but not really what I was expecting – it could have had more pepper for my taste. Despite preferring my steak rare, it was actually not too bad and close to medium. I enjoyed the accompaniments but overall the dish was pretty much akin to what you would get on a plane.

I had a glass of the Chateau Lynch Moussas red Bordeaux with the steak and it was really excellent. I asked for mustard and was given the horrible American style mustard you get on hot dogs!! Not exactly fine dining…

Qatar Airways First Class lounge

Finally my paneer makhani arrived and it was definitely worth the wait – probably one of the best Indian dishes I have had. Rich and creamy with a nice balance of spices.

Qatar Airways First Class lounge

Once I had had my massage and woken up again I returned to the restaurant to try the dessert.

I went for the tiramisu cake. This was creamy and delicious although it was lacking the oomph of one made with alcohol. Some extra coffee may have helped it be less one dimensional. I accompanied this with a glass of the Remy Martin XO cognac which was very enjoyable.

Qatar Airways First Class lounge

Refills were never forthcoming and we constantly had to ask. Whether this is deliberate or not I don’t know. There have been reports of people getting quite drunk after buying access into the first lounge, so it could be a way to control this. (I do not recommend getting drunk in any of the countries such as Qatar and UAE that have a very low tolerance on drunkenness before you get arrested)

Qatar Airways First Class lounge Spa

I found the spa very impressive. Here is the full spa menu:Qatar Airways First Class lounge

The therapist was from Zimbabwe and absolutely delightful. I was shown into a dressing area with a shower etc and given a robe and slippers to change into.

Qatar Airways First Class lounge Spa Room
Spa changing room

The treatment used a relaxing oil and the pressure was just the right amount to aid relaxation but loosen some stiff muscles from the journey. The foot massage was so relaxing I actually fell asleep and in fact, I got around an extra 10 minutes of treatment time which I wasn’t complaining about.

Spa treatment room

If I wanted to I could have used the jacuzzi after my treatment but I couldn’t be bothered to get wet again and returned to the restaurant instead. There is also a relaxation room.

Qatar Airways First Class lounge Jacuzzi
Jacuzzi in spa

You can explore the lounge using the Google maps interactive picture below.

 

Conclusion and how to get in

Like Emirates, Qatar will now allow you to buy access to the First Lounge if you are in business class. When we visited this was 250QAR which is now about £54. Sadly this has just risen to 600QAR or about £130! So was it worth it either price?

The lounge itself is lovely and quiet even though we were there at the peak hours, although it was the weekend in Doha which may have had a bearing on it. There are lots of facilities although the lack of a free spa treatment even for those in first is odd. The food was nice enough but pretty average overall and the service was not up to the onboard standards even in business class. However, there was an excellent selection of premium wines and spirits.

The value for me comes in the quiet rooms though. There is a transit hotel in Doha but it is very expensive at around £220 for a full night and you have to book in advance. If you are willing to take the risk that you may not get a quiet room in Al Safwa at peak times immediately, this could be a useful alternative. The cheapest rooms in the transit hotel are around but obviously, with the lounge, you would get the use of all the facilities plus the food and drink.

You can read more about the lounge on Qatar’s website here.

Like our Qatar Airways First Class lounge review? You cad read more flight reviews here. 

 

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Michele

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14 comments
  1. Sarah Lea says:
    23/06/2019 at 8:12 am

    I’m traveling QR business class and I’m BA gold. Will I be able to access?

    1. Michele says:
      23/06/2019 at 8:21 am

      Only if you pay the fee. Qatar do not offer their main lounges to status holders.

  2. Ralf says:
    23/06/2019 at 12:54 pm

    I share most of your observations. Unfortunately did not try the indian dish..but I thought that all other dishes were rather bland (i think i tried them all:)) lacking any disitinctive seasoning. My service experience was not that bad as yours..although it was not great either. I never tried the sleeping rooms. But if they are full you end up on a comfy couch in one of the family rooms..which are nice..and almost idnetical to the family rooms in Al Mourjan if you are able to find them:) So is it worth the price? At 250.- dedinitely yes. At 600 for me a clear no. For the same money I would prefer to go into town and visit the bazaar or enjoy the rooftop terace and some good belgian beer at the Doubletree Hilton..also very popular with QR crews.

  3. Mike says:
    23/06/2019 at 4:22 pm

    I love the vastness – and emptiness – of the Al Safwa; exactly what some people hate about the place.
    Sadly, according to one of the regular bartenders, the price for paid entry went up as passengers from 2 particular countries were drinking their weight in Champagne, Cognac and Vodka; the usual story of a few ruining the experience for others.
    The quiet rooms are a gem. Each time, they offer me a bubble bath, but you do need to give them 20 minutes to prepare it; worth the wait after a long or ultra long haul.

  4. ADC says:
    09/09/2019 at 7:23 pm

    hi,
    i have a nine hour layover next month. lhr- doh mus. flying first. can i prebook a nap room?

    thanks in advance.

    1. Michele says:
      10/09/2019 at 10:59 am

      You can only request when you arrive at the lounge.

  5. Douglas J Main says:
    17/09/2019 at 9:23 am

    Hi Michele – we are flying to Doha next month – BA 1st to use up a 2-4-1 (pretty good value btw @ under £ 900 for 2 of us including EDI – LHR). The BA flight back leaves at 6.40 am, so rather than pay for an extra night in hotel in Doha, but having to leave around 4 am, I was considering paying for Al Safwa Lounge and using the quiet room to sleep (after enjoying a meal and some drinks the evening before).

    First of all – can we pay to access the Al Safwa 1st Lounge while flying BA ???

    Secondly – if we roll up at say 7 pm the evening before, will it be possible to get airside (i.e. will be able to check in) and if so can we stay in the lounge as long as we like (roughly 9 or 10 hours).

    I appreciate the price has gone up to around £ 130 (therefore £ 260 for 2 of us), however, we are planning on staying in a relatively upmarket hotel, therefore room rate will be a bit more than £ 260.

    I think it would be worth it just to try out the lounge.

  6. Paul says:
    17/09/2019 at 9:32 am

    If you’re flying BA F you will have access to Al Safwa. Enjoy.

  7. David says:
    06/10/2019 at 3:04 pm

    I paid 250 QAR to access the lounge earlier this year whilst on a Penang tier point run. I was able to use one of the rest rooms for a couple of hours which was really nice. I then had a meal and sat down to read a book with a couple of hours before my flight was due to depart. I was the only person in the entire facility (it was during Ramadan) and was therefore a little surprised to be approached and marched off the premises because apparently my six hours were up. Given that I was the only person in the lounge I did feel that this was a little unfriendly to say the least!

  8. Roger says:
    06/10/2019 at 3:26 pm

    Best part of going Qatar Airways and transiting through Doha, the GCC business class flights run as First Class and this access to the Al Safwa lounge. Otherwise the airport hotel is worth considering for a long layover.
    Best airline and lounge we have been to – Outclasses British Airways every time.

  9. Michael Schade says:
    17/10/2019 at 1:42 pm

    Qatar Platinum members are given access to Al Safwa when flying business class. This applies to Qatar operated flights only. This new benefit for Platinum card holders has been introduced on October 1st.

    1. Michele says:
      17/10/2019 at 2:45 pm

      Thanks for the update

  10. Manix says:
    29/02/2020 at 11:14 pm

    Been there 3 weeks ago for 9 hours on an AA award flight from DOH to FRA. Nap room is only available for 6 hours . Arrived at 9 pm, lounge was nearly empty, only 3-5 other guests, so you can use the family rooms till you get your nap room.Or you are invited to have diner in the restautrant and have some drinks.
    So, a 6-10 hour transit or layover is very pleasant. I myself had an 14 hour layover, rented a car for about 25 $, went downtown to Souq and Museum, returned to lounge to have diner and a nap. So everthing worked perfect for me.

    Regards
    Manix

    1. Michele says:
      01/03/2020 at 9:15 am

      Useful to know about the 6 hours. As you say it’s worth heading out of the airport for a look round if you can.

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