bedelman

This was not my experience. 1) I saw a room labeled "luggage". It was locked and no one quite knew where the key was. 2) I was the only person in the lounge, and all staff (both upstairs and at sign-in below) suggested I could leave my bags with them and they'd keep an eye on them. I did so, without that much reluctance, and it worked perfectly for my purposes (running one edge of the airport)..

bedelman

Was in the lounge today. Updates since last visit:

1) No more cook-to-order food from a menu. Sandwiches from a menu, nothing that appealed to me.

2) Staff said no luggage could be left unattended in the lounge, and again the "luggage" room was locked and closed. Made it tricky to go jogging! Somehow i managed to find a way.

So only worsening, and no improvements, since my last visit. A shame. Good food and luggage storage (for jogging) go great together.

tropikey

Hello,

I'll arrive to DOH at 3.50 am. Is the arrival lounge already open at this time?

Additionally, since it's not possible anymore (as reported above) to leave luggage in this lounge, where could I leave my bag for couple of hours? How much does it cost?

remdk

tropikey are you in transit or arriving into Qatar? If you are just in transit you cannot use the arrivals lounges. If you are arriving into Doha as the final destination of your flights then you can use the arrivals lounges,which are open 24/7. If you are transiting and leaving the airport during the transit you may also use the arrival lounges. However if you are in transit and have access to the arrivals lounges (traveling in F or J) then you would probably be better served using the Al Safwa or Al Mourjan free baggage lockers before going through immigration etc.
There are left luggage boxes landside at the airport but I have no idea how much they cost.

tropikey

Hi, I'll be on loooong transit. As I have mentioned before, I'll arrive at 3.50 am and my next flight is at 2.20 am, so almost 24 hours later (both flights in J). It's ok for me, as I want to visit Doha (I did the same thing recently in AUH). However, before heading to the city, I'd like to take shower, eat something (even though I'll be after breakfast on plane) and wait until 7-7.30 am.
Then, after visiting the city, I plan to return to the airport at approx. 9.00 pm, go to lounge and again take shower, eat and rest.
Can I use the arrival lounge in such case a,d is it open so early in the morning?

plunet

If you're in transit but planning to exit, you can use either the main transit lounge, or the arrivals lounge but only as you exit. The arrivals lounge is to the left of the main immigration area, and it has a dedicated immigration counter within it for you to exit from. I walked through the arrivals lounge as I did my DIY Night Tour of Doha and although the arrivals lounge was OK, the main transit lounge to me would seem a much better place to go for a few hours before leaving the airport. As far as I know all lounges in Doha are open 24hrs.

tropikey

Thanks a lot :-)
When you mention "main transit lounge" which lounge do you refer to? Is it Al Moorman or some other lounge?

remdk

tropikey thank you for the extra information which now means I can give you an exact answer.
When your plane lands in DOH follow the route for transit passengers. This is almost the same route as for Arriving passengers. The difference is that usually Transit passengers go one way through Security and Arrivals in the opposite direction to Immigration. After security go to the Al Mourjan lounge, book your shower (I doubt there will be a long queue at 4.30), have a leisurely breakfast deposit your hand luggage and prepare yourself for an interesting day. Leave Al Mourjan and take the lift down one floor to the exit from security. Pass back through Security, You may be stopped, if so just say you are going to Immigration. Then follow the signs to Arrivals, and Immigration. There is an arrivals lounge to one side of the Immigration hall that you, as an arriving J passenger may use.

Citizens of Poland are not on the list of Visa on Arrival nationalities so I suggest that you apply for the http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/qatar...hour-visa.html. After Immigration, and customs, there is an Arrivals lounge, I think it is on the left. This like all lounges is open 24 hours a day. After that enjoy your time in Doha. On your return go directly to Immigration and security and back to Al Mourjan. Take your incoming and your outgoing boarding passes with you since they will both be needed.
Take a look at the dashboard widget 'About DOH Airport' since this will give you much more information about all the different processes as well as http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/qatar...tions-doh.html.

tropikey

Thank you so much for such helpful and detailed information :-)

plunet

The one bit of the above that could be confusing is that after going to the transit lounge, go down a floor and you 'pass back through security' you are effectively walking through the security scanners the wrong way, hence why you might get stopped. But if you explain you are on your way out to immigration it should be fine.

Another tip - the transit lounge has lockers, just on the right as you enter the lounge. You can use these to stash any hand luggage you don't need to take into the city.

enviroian

Thanks for the explanation however I'm still confused. Lol

Soon I'll be flying lax-doh arriving 1800 ish. I have a little under 3 hours layover. When I get off the plane I'll clear immigration and would like to shower before my next overnight flight to SIN. So I should start at the arrivals lounge airside then make my way to another business lounge closer to my departing gate? I'd like to enjoy a few cocktails prior to my next flight.

ETA I'm in paid business and one world emerald.

remdk

enviroian if you are in transit then you have no need go through Immigration. you should go through security into the departures area and since you are in QR J you can go to the Al Mourjan lounge and relax.
Read the Wikis under the dasboard widget 'About DOH Airport' for much more information.

enviroian

Thank you for the information.

andrewboj

Whilst citizens of Poland are not on the official list of Visa on Arrival nationalities they can still get a visa on arrival - http://www.eng.qatarembassy.pl/cat-1,sub-15.html. I have done this many times on a Polish passport. So if you can't get the free transit visa you could also pay QAR 100 for a visa on arrival.

dakaix

Doh, wrong thread...