Qatar’s hub in Doha is massive, almost exclusively serving Qatar flights (it takes 5km to walk to each gate). It is one of the most direct and quickest ways to get from Australia to Europe, and typical connections are about 2 hours.
However, this time flying back from Switzerland, as I was travelling by train between cities to get to the airport, I opted for the afternoon flight from Zurich to Doha, arriving at 11:30pm Doha time and then the onward flight to Sydney at 8am. This meant I had 8 hours in Doha Hamad Airport to spend. I toyed with the idea of the airport hotel, and then I stumbled upon buying access to the Al Mourjan Business Lounge.
In this post:
How to get access to Al Mourjan Business Lounge?
Qatar offers the option to purchase access to the Al Mourjan Business Lounge (and rumoredly also for the first class Al Sawfa lounge) from their modify my booking page. They also offer access to the lesser first class lounge (not to be confused with Al Sawfa) and business class lounge in Doha airport. Access to the Al Mourjan lounge cost $142 AUD and they stipulate it is for a maximum 6 hours.
Location
The Al Mourjan lounge is directly next to the transfer counter after passing through security, it is located close to the famous Lamp Bear. There are attendants down the bottom of the elevator scanning boarding passes, but as an Economy flyer with paid access I was asked to see the counter at the top of the stairs. This is where my ticket was time stamped (presumably to enforce the 6 hour rule… however no one was ever going to check).
Traditional Food in Al Mourjan Business Lounge
There are two eating areas in the lounge, the first is on the entry level and has a small self service counter but mainly focuses on ordering fresh sandwiches.
The second area is where i headed first which was on the mezzanine level. When I arrived at midnight the place was full, and there were only a few seats left in the dining area. There were two buffett’s set up serving predominately hot stewed lamb and vegetables, as well as tabbouleh, hummus and babaganoush in small bowls with flat bread. The food was fantastic (particularly compared to the economy class food I had over from Zurich). This was followed by a dessert bar with over 15 types of cakes and middle eastern sweets.
I returned back to this area for breakfast, six hours later (and the place had completely emptied out), where they had spiced potato and chicken with labnah, as well as croissants, waffles and fruit.
Children’s Area
There is a tucked away family space and game room that I did not visit.
View
Within the lounge there is a large reflexion pool, with soft trickling water making the lounge relatively peaceful. There is no real view area, with the outlook over the terminal having clouded glass for privacy.
Sleeping area
By far the best part of the lounge is individual day beds, there are about 20 of them with their own lights and tables. When I started looking at 1am there was only one free which I grabbed with my tea and book. I’m sure if i arrived any later than this wouldn’t have been an option. I used the bed for the next few hours and slept very well. Unfortunately I was unable to find any blankets to go with the day bed, using my trusty uniqlo puffer jacket I keep in my carry on. There were no power sockets in this area and only limited drinks (soft drink cans and water), which I think was done intentionally so people don’t set up camp all day.
Toilets and showers
There is one main shower area, which when I was there had no queue. The only thing missing is were toothbrushes, which I would have appreciated.
Wifi
The wifi was a one click easy to connect to, it did not require SMS or boarding pass.
Power and USB
There are lots of seating options, and most have USB plugs and international sockets at each chair. They also have individual screens next to each seat to check flight departure times.
Summary of the Al Mourjan Business Lounge
Overall, if you have a long stopover in Doha then i would always buy access to the lounge. Purchasing food outside the lounge is prohibitively expensive (as a British tourist at security noted when they were throwing away the water she had just bought for 8 pounds). Combining the very good food, constant access to beverages and the sleeping area this was certainly worth the money.
