Review – Qatar Airways Al Safwa First Class Lounge, Doha

by Zac George
a large room with a round fountain and chairs

After a great flight from Sydney in Qatar first I was headed to Dubai and had quite a short transit in Doha. When I disembarked there was a staff member with a sign with my name on it, and she escorted me through security and into the Qatar Airways Al Safwa lounge, that’s great service considering the tickets were on different PNR’s.

The Al Safwa lounge is quite exclusive. To enter you either have to be flying first class on short and long-haul flights or connecting from first onto a business class flight, Oneworld Emerald’s cannot access the lounge with status.

a man walking past a desk

Qatar Airways Al Safwa Lounge Entrance

The lounge is massive! Not as big as the Emirates lounges in Dubai but still a very impressive size.

a display case in a store

Qatar Airways Al Safwa Lounge Duty-Free

The lounge has its own duty-free area.

a display of various products in a store

Qatar Airways Al Safwa Lounge Duty-Free

Electronics, perfumes, suits, cigarettes, and more are all for sale.

a room with a coat rack and a chair

Qatar Airways Al Safwa Lounge Duty-Free

Hugo Boss suits for sale in a lounge, seen that before?

a store with shelves of food and other items

Al Safwa Lounge Duty-Free

The lounge has a heap of seating in every section. Often while you’re sitting down a staff member will ask if you would like a drink and it would be brought to you.

a man walking in a room with chairs

Al Safwa Lounge

The lounge desk can help with any questions, flight details and can also store your luggage for you.

a man standing at a reception desk

Al Safwa Lounge

Yes, that is a waterfall like structure, it’s pretty damn impressive!

a large room with a round fountain and chairs

Al Safwa Lounge

The waterfall object is just stunning in the lounge. However, it’s had its fair share of problems such as flooding when the lounge first opened.

a large circular fountain in a building

Al Safwa Lounge

 

a room with a large table and chairs

Al Safwa Lounge Seating

 

a group of chairs and tables in a room

Al Safwa Lounge Seating

 

a display of books on a table

Al Safwa Lounge Reading Material

 

a chair and ottoman in a room

Al Safwa Lounge Seating

 

a chair and a table in a room

Al Safwa Lounge Seating

The sit-down restaurant has an a la carte menu, and it can seat 250 people. Not that the lounge would often see 100+ people.

a bar with a counter and chairs

Al Safwa Lounge Restaurant

The restaurant also has a manned bar and coffee on request.

a group of bottles of alcohol on a counter

Al Safwa Lounge Restaurant

The restaurant probably only had ten people there at the time of taking photos. There is also a smoking room right next to the restaurant which is an interesting location to put one.

a long booth with tables and chairs

Al Safwa Lounge Restaurant

 

a room with tables and chairs

Al Safwa Lounge Restaurant

There is also small snacks, tea and Arabic coffee available.

a table with food on it

Al Safwa Lounge Restaurant

The bar staff were pretty busy in the morning pouring drinks, even at 6:00 in the morning. The drinks weren’t for me by the way 😉

a man pouring champagne into glasses

Al Safwa Lounge Restaurant

There’s a second dining area at the other end of the lounge which is more self-service orientated, there a usually staff there but there was no need as it was quiet.

a restaurant with tables and chairs

Al Safwa Lounge

Self-serve juice, fruits, and pastries are all fresh and topped up regularly.

a group of plates of food on a counter

Al Safwa Lounge

 

a long booth seating with tables and chairs

Al Safwa Lounge Seating

 

a table set up with a flower and a vase of flowers

Al Safwa Lounge Seating

 

a food buffet in a building

Al Safwa Lounge Seating

 

a long table with chairs and napkins

Al Safwa Lounge Seating

 

a food counter with food on it

Al Safwa Lounge Food

 

a buffet line of food

Al Safwa Lounge Food

 

a tray of food on a counter

Al Safwa Lounge Food

If your flight is at a bus gate, there is a separate section for first passengers. They will have a separate bus, so there’s no need to walk down to the gate.

people standing in a room

Al Safwa Lounge Departure Gate

The corridors of the lounge are long but nicely lit and not dark.

a hallway with a large wall and a painting on the wall

Al Safwa Lounge Bathroom

There are a few bathroom facilities in the lounge, and there is staff in there full time making sure they are clean, when I entered they were spotless.

a bathroom with sinks and towels

Al Safwa Lounge Bathroom

 

a bathroom with a toilet and toilet paper

Al Safwa Lounge Bathroom

Another beautiful aspect of the lounge is the other wall waterfall.

a hallway with a man walking in the middle

Al Safwa Lounge Waterfall

 

a wall with a railing

Al Safwa Lounge Waterfall

The lounge has a business area with iMacs, and they are wirelessly connected to printers.

a desk with laptops on it

Al Safwa Lounge Business Area

Another cool part of the lounge is the games room, the room also has a Ferrari simulator, but it was broken when I visited.

a room with arcade machines and screens

Al Safwa Lounge Game Room

The lounge has some nap rooms; some have twin beds some has 1. You can only access the nap rooms if you’re transiting for 5 or more hours.

a bed in a room

Al Safwa Lounge Bed

 

a bed with a purple blanket

Al Safwa Lounge Bed

The rooms also had shower rooms which you used to have to pay for, but now they are free.

a sink and faucet in a bathroom

Al Safwa Lounge Bathroom

 

a shower with a white towel on a rack

Al Safwa Lounge Shower

 

a long hallway with two plants in pots

Al Safwa Lounge Spa

The spa area has a number of rooms for different treatments, a Jacuzzi, and a relaxation area.

a long hallway with lights

Al Safwa Lounge Spa

 

a long corridor with wood panels

Al Safwa Lounge Spa

 

a room with a massage chair and a table

Al Safwa Lounge Treatment Room

 

a room with a table and red chair

Al Safwa Lounge Treatment Room

 

a massage table in a room

Al Safwa Lounge Treatment Room

 

a group of bean bags with towels on them

Al Safwa Lounge Relaxation Area

 

a bathtub with a vase of flowers on top of it

Al Safwa Lounge Jacuzzi

As soon as my connecting flight to Dubai started boarding I was picked up by the same staff member and escorted down to aircraft, very impressive service.

 

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1 comment

Paolo February 28, 2017 - 10:51 pm

Interesting: I completely missed the self-serve/buffet area ( which I would have preferred) and only noticed the a la carte area.
My 2 visits here it has been empty and with a slightly sterile atmosphere. The business lounge ( Al Mourjan ? ) has more life without being crowded.

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