Nov 5, 2015, 11:11 am
Last edit by: CPH-Flyer
READ BEFORE COMMENTING IF YOU ARE NEW,
Hamad International Airport (HIA) offers passengers a number of different lounges.
This thread, is specifically for the Al Safwa First Class Lounge. Information on the other Lounge options at HIA, can be found here.
Does Al Safwa have a web page?
Yes: http://www.qatarairways.com/global/e...-al-safwa.page
Dining Menu
https://www.qatarairways.com/content...-dining-en.pdf
Where can I find Al Safwa Lounge?
The Lounge is located on Level 3 of the airport.
Can I use the Qatar Airways Al Safwa Lounge?
Access is based on your underlying fare bucket. This means that upgraded tickets, maybe except upgrades with QPoints (see post 2735), are not granted access.
Access is thus restricted to Qatar Airways First Class, and OneWorld First Class passengers :
- either holding a First Class boarding pass* for their next flight
- or holding a First Class boarding pass from their previous flight.
Additionally, Privilege Club platinum club travelling on any business-class fare are welcomed into the lounge. This is a facility introduced recently and one that could just as easily disappear.
- Guests are not permitted.
* Operational Upgrades to First do not give access. Upgrades with Qpoints may do give acces (see post 2735 - Sept 2022)
Arrival access on mid and long haul? (eg. coming from LHR in F)
YES
Ex. CAI-DOH-HEL
Arrival access regional F? (eg. coming from CAI in F)
Yes.
Caveat, if your underlying J fare is P, then the no lounge access for business light kicks in. And there is no access.
Privilege Club Platinum members are currently allowed in the lounge when travelling on any QR business-class fare: that could change. Other Oneworld Emerald members are directed to the Platinum lounge(s) when travelling in any class, and the Al Mourjan lounge when travelling on relevant business-class fares. Yup, it gets complicated.
What does the lounge look like?
Reports on the Lounge, can be found here and here. Photographs of the lounge, can be found here.
Is there a Spa?
Yes, there is a full Spa, but you will have to pay for treatments. A full list of treatments available can be found here
What about the sleeping rooms?
Stargold in http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/28199729-post1177.html suggests that access to sleeping rooms is as follows:
'* No reservations allowed - always first-come first-served
* Only available if the remaining time until the flight departure is more than 4 hours
* Passengers are allowed maximum six hours' usage - for any further usage, a fee of QAR 450 is payable for a second block of six hours.
* No F&B of any kind except bottled water in the sleeping rooms.'
What changes can I expect during Ramadan?
Ramadan affects QR and you in many ways so please look at ramadan to see how you are affected.
Updated: 19/11/2023
Hamad International Airport (HIA) offers passengers a number of different lounges.
This thread, is specifically for the Al Safwa First Class Lounge. Information on the other Lounge options at HIA, can be found here.
Does Al Safwa have a web page?
Yes: http://www.qatarairways.com/global/e...-al-safwa.page
Dining Menu
https://www.qatarairways.com/content...-dining-en.pdf
Where can I find Al Safwa Lounge?
The Lounge is located on Level 3 of the airport.
Can I use the Qatar Airways Al Safwa Lounge?
Access is based on your underlying fare bucket. This means that upgraded tickets, maybe except upgrades with QPoints (see post 2735), are not granted access.
Access is thus restricted to Qatar Airways First Class, and OneWorld First Class passengers :
- either holding a First Class boarding pass* for their next flight
- or holding a First Class boarding pass from their previous flight.
Additionally, Privilege Club platinum club travelling on any business-class fare are welcomed into the lounge. This is a facility introduced recently and one that could just as easily disappear.
- Guests are not permitted.
* Operational Upgrades to First do not give access. Upgrades with Qpoints may do give acces (see post 2735 - Sept 2022)
Arrival access on mid and long haul? (eg. coming from LHR in F)
YES
Ex. CAI-DOH-HEL
Arrival access regional F? (eg. coming from CAI in F)
Yes.
Caveat, if your underlying J fare is P, then the no lounge access for business light kicks in. And there is no access.
Privilege Club Platinum members are currently allowed in the lounge when travelling on any QR business-class fare: that could change. Other Oneworld Emerald members are directed to the Platinum lounge(s) when travelling in any class, and the Al Mourjan lounge when travelling on relevant business-class fares. Yup, it gets complicated.
What does the lounge look like?
Reports on the Lounge, can be found here and here. Photographs of the lounge, can be found here.
Is there a Spa?
Yes, there is a full Spa, but you will have to pay for treatments. A full list of treatments available can be found here
What about the sleeping rooms?
Stargold in http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/28199729-post1177.html suggests that access to sleeping rooms is as follows:
'* No reservations allowed - always first-come first-served
* Only available if the remaining time until the flight departure is more than 4 hours
* Passengers are allowed maximum six hours' usage - for any further usage, a fee of QAR 450 is payable for a second block of six hours.
* No F&B of any kind except bottled water in the sleeping rooms.'
What changes can I expect during Ramadan?
Ramadan affects QR and you in many ways so please look at ramadan to see how you are affected.
Updated: 19/11/2023
QR Al Safwa First Class Lounge
Nov 12, 2016, 4:29 am
#946
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Singapore
Programs: BA Gold. KrisFlyer Gold
Posts: 732
After about 30 visits to Al Mourjan this year, I had my first ever experience of Al Safwa this week, and, WOW, what a lounge. From the truly personalised service to the nap rooms to the genuinely first class wine selection, I was seriously impressed.
Perhaps the best thing about the place for me was the original Keith Haring artwork hanging on the wall to the right of the entrance. Clearly someone in Qatar Airways senior management has a wicked sense of irony!
I was even lucky enough to have my plane to Dubai changed to the 'all first class' A319. Which, with 4 passengers and 6 cabin crew on board, was predictably outstanding.
Perhaps the best thing about the place for me was the original Keith Haring artwork hanging on the wall to the right of the entrance. Clearly someone in Qatar Airways senior management has a wicked sense of irony!
I was even lucky enough to have my plane to Dubai changed to the 'all first class' A319. Which, with 4 passengers and 6 cabin crew on board, was predictably outstanding.
Dec 3, 2016, 3:45 pm
#949
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: MSP
Programs: AF Plat, DL Gold
Posts: 366
Lounge access
Apologies if this has been answered but my family of four will be arriving from ORD in J and then two of us will be flying F to DXB while the other 2 are flying Y to DXB. Can our whole family (mom, dad, and two 7-year olds) access the First Class lounge or just the 2 of us in F? Thanks in advance.
Dec 3, 2016, 4:24 pm
#950
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 3,944
batmandds welcome to the QR forum. You will find the dashboard a great help in getting answers rapidly.
Access to Al Safwa lounge is for holders of QR or OW first class boarding passes only. No guests are allowed. But you should be able to use the First Class lounge and invite guests. Regarding guests in the First class lounge, much depends upon your OW status since the lounge is primarily aimed at OWEs. Al Safwa has a much, much higher standard than the First class lounge.
If you are thinking that the two adults would travel in F and the two children in Y then you can almost certainly forget it! It is very unlikely that QR would permit two unaccompanied seven year old children to travel alone!
Access to Al Safwa lounge is for holders of QR or OW first class boarding passes only. No guests are allowed. But you should be able to use the First Class lounge and invite guests. Regarding guests in the First class lounge, much depends upon your OW status since the lounge is primarily aimed at OWEs. Al Safwa has a much, much higher standard than the First class lounge.
If you are thinking that the two adults would travel in F and the two children in Y then you can almost certainly forget it! It is very unlikely that QR would permit two unaccompanied seven year old children to travel alone!
Dec 3, 2016, 4:47 pm
#951
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: MSP
Programs: AF Plat, DL Gold
Posts: 366
batmandds welcome to the QR forum. You will find the dashboard a great help in getting answers rapidly.
Access to Al Safwa lounge is for holders of QR or OW first class boarding passes only. No guests are allowed. But you should be able to use the First Class lounge and invite guests. Regarding guests in the First class lounge, much depends upon your OW status since the lounge is primarily aimed at OWEs. Al Safwa has a much, much higher standard than the First class lounge.
If you are thinking that the two adults would travel in F and the two children in Y then you can almost certainly forget it! It is very unlikely that QR would permit two unaccompanied seven year old children to travel alone!
Access to Al Safwa lounge is for holders of QR or OW first class boarding passes only. No guests are allowed. But you should be able to use the First Class lounge and invite guests. Regarding guests in the First class lounge, much depends upon your OW status since the lounge is primarily aimed at OWEs. Al Safwa has a much, much higher standard than the First class lounge.
If you are thinking that the two adults would travel in F and the two children in Y then you can almost certainly forget it! It is very unlikely that QR would permit two unaccompanied seven year old children to travel alone!
Dec 3, 2016, 7:14 pm
#952
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: El Gouna , Hurghada (HRG)
Programs: BAEC:Silver ,IHG:Spire Amb ,QR:Silver,HH:Diamond
Posts: 374
Apologies if this has been answered but my family of four will be arriving from ORD in J and then two of us will be flying F to DXB while the other 2 are flying Y to DXB. Can our whole family (mom, dad, and two 7-year olds) access the First Class lounge or just the 2 of us in F? Thanks in advance.
perhaps about to die 
,and on the flight he was nothing short of embarrassing " vocally to FA "are you offering a service on this flight ? I've had no towel or welcome drink !" . but his DYKWIA attitude got his kids into al safwa and into the F cabin for disembarking . YMMV
Dec 4, 2016, 4:22 pm
#953
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,762
chance to get a nap room
We would be arriving from DXB around 8:30pm and then departing to BKK at 3am (both flights are in F) - is there a good chance to get a nap room between 11pm and 2am for a few hours of napping? (assuming we first go eat after entering the lounge).
Dec 5, 2016, 11:07 pm
#955
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,762
Other than the nap room, is there some quiet area with low light and comfy chairs in the lounge?
Dec 15, 2016, 4:45 am
#956
Moderator: American AAdvantage, Signatures
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: London, England
Programs: UA 1K, Hilton Diamond, IHG Diamond Ambassador, National Exec, AA EXP Emeritus
Posts: 9,765
Quite simply the F->J connection means you hold a business class boarding pass for departure from DOH, and this is the primary determinant of which lounge you can access.
The reverse is true for J->F - you hold an F boarding pass out of DOH, so you can use Safwa.
Long-haul incoming F is a specific exception which overrides the default position.
The reverse is true for J->F - you hold an F boarding pass out of DOH, so you can use Safwa.
Long-haul incoming F is a specific exception which overrides the default position.
Dec 15, 2016, 4:56 am
#957
Moderator: Qatar Airways
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: LHR/NCE/MIA
Programs: BAEC GfL & GGL, SQ Gold, Amex Centurion, Mucci des Chevaliers des Bons Mots et Qui Savent Moucher
Posts: 8,948
Do keep your SYD-DOH boarding pass in your pocket, just in case the Lounge Reception team question you.
M
Dec 19, 2016, 2:08 pm
#960
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 2,685
Got redirected to al Safwa from al Mourjan today because of "renovations". Other passengers at al Safwa were being redirected the other way for being at the wrong lounge, so al M wasn't completely closed. I'm QR plat, probably made the difference.
Flying in business.
Flying in business.