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
May 27, 2022, 2:41 pm
#2612
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 2,155
Nobody can accurately predict whether you will find availability on the date/time you travel. If you have a long transfer the safest bet for a bed is to book the hotel.
May 27, 2022, 6:18 pm
#2613
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: London
Programs: Hilton, IHG - BA, GA, LH, QR, SV, TK
Posts: 17,008
There are some compromise "family rooms" further on from the spa, to the right. Although these rooms are supposed to be reserved for families to relax in, I've been assigned to them and slept (not-too-well) on the couches they're equipped with. I've also decamped from AS to al Mourjan and its "quiet rooms".
May 28, 2022, 9:06 am
#2614
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BKK
Programs: Mucci Chevalier de la Brosse a Cheveux Dore, SK *GfL, BA Gold, WY G, HH DIA, IC Plat Amb., Hertz PC
Posts: 3,722
Since they started flogging entry, it didn't take long for the world to understand that the lounge offered a far cheaper bed than the hotel, with the bonus of complimentary drinks, dinner and breakfast. That puts pressure on the availability of bedrooms, and midnight is a difficult time.
There are some compromise "family rooms" further on from the spa, to the right. Although these rooms are supposed to be reserved for families to relax in, I've been assigned to them and slept (not-too-well) on the couches they're equipped with. I've also decamped from AS to al Mourjan and its "quiet rooms".
There are some compromise "family rooms" further on from the spa, to the right. Although these rooms are supposed to be reserved for families to relax in, I've been assigned to them and slept (not-too-well) on the couches they're equipped with. I've also decamped from AS to al Mourjan and its "quiet rooms".
Last time I tried for the family section which was empty and still allows for food and drink (as opposed to the rooms) but this was disturbed by shouting and what not from downstairs as it is open air to the rest of the terminal, so I gave up
May 28, 2022, 10:16 am
#2615
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 2,155
Since they started flogging entry, it didn't take long for the world to understand that the lounge offered a far cheaper bed than the hotel, with the bonus of complimentary drinks, dinner and breakfast. That puts pressure on the availability of bedrooms, and midnight is a difficult time.
There are some compromise "family rooms" further on from the spa, to the right. Although these rooms are supposed to be reserved for families to relax in, I've been assigned to them and slept (not-too-well) on the couches they're equipped with. I've also decamped from AS to al Mourjan and its "quiet rooms".
There are some compromise "family rooms" further on from the spa, to the right. Although these rooms are supposed to be reserved for families to relax in, I've been assigned to them and slept (not-too-well) on the couches they're equipped with. I've also decamped from AS to al Mourjan and its "quiet rooms".
May 29, 2022, 3:09 am
#2616
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BKK
Programs: Mucci Chevalier de la Brosse a Cheveux Dore, SK *GfL, BA Gold, WY G, HH DIA, IC Plat Amb., Hertz PC
Posts: 3,722
Indeed, "First Class" has been eroded. Perhaps once they open the new J lounge things will change, but it is clear just from this forum that people are buying the bed rather than the lounge. Perhaps upping entry to match the cost of the hotel (or restricting the beds to F pax) will help...
But you are right, one can only hope things will improve! I think your suggestion of restricting the bedrooms to only pax granted entry by virtue of their ticketed far and not paid entry makes very good sense (should exclude status pax in Y/J too!).
May 29, 2022, 5:32 am
#2617
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: London
Programs: Hilton, IHG - BA, GA, LH, QR, SV, TK
Posts: 17,008
Not just the bed, but also full-board in terms of food and drinks..
But you are right, one can only hope things will improve! I think your suggestion of restricting the bedrooms to only pax granted entry by virtue of their ticketed far and not paid entry makes very good sense (should exclude status pax in Y/J too!).
But you are right, one can only hope things will improve! I think your suggestion of restricting the bedrooms to only pax granted entry by virtue of their ticketed far and not paid entry makes very good sense (should exclude status pax in Y/J too!).
But there's something to be said for limiting access to a scarce resource (the bedrooms) to passengers with some level of commercial importance to the airline: that, after all, was why those facilties were provided. I know that sounds elitist, but it's a distinction I can accept when I'm on the wrong side of a limit.
However I'm happy to see a wider group of passengers enjoy the other Safwa benefits: the place needs a degree of hustle and bustle to humanise the rather stark environment.
May 30, 2022, 2:05 am
#2620
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: BAEC Silver, GHA Discovery Titanium, Accor Silver
Posts: 57
I booked a business comfort fare in November, I expected access to the AM business lounge but when I click transit lounges included in manage my booking it also has a green included tick next to Qatar airways first class lounge with “you are eligible to access this lounge for free”. Is this right? I wasn’t expecting access to the first class lounge on a comfort business fare?
Last edited by I2sky; May 30, 2022 at 2:33 am
May 30, 2022, 3:16 am
#2621
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: South Africa
Programs: QR PC Platinum
Posts: 412
I booked a business comfort fare in November, I expected access to the AM business lounge but when I click transit lounges included in manage my booking it also has a green included tick next to Qatar airways first class lounge with “you are eligible to access this lounge for free”. Is this right? I wasn’t expecting access to the first class lounge on a comfort business fare?
It is not the Al Safwa First Class Lounge which is the actual first class lounge.
May 30, 2022, 3:21 am
#2622
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: BAEC Silver, GHA Discovery Titanium, Accor Silver
Posts: 57
Thanks! That explains it, did think it was too good to be true! I’ll check out the reviews for it but likely stick with the AM business lounge.
May 31, 2022, 6:06 am
#2624
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: London
Programs: Hilton, IHG - BA, GA, LH, QR, SV, TK
Posts: 17,008
The First Class Lounge suffers only in comparison to the Mourjan and Safwa facilities. It's a friendly space with an OK buffet, showers and comfortable seating - though it can get swamped in peak periods. On a short connection i favour it over Mourjan because its size makes it quick and easy to get a coffee/cold drink.
Jun 1, 2022, 6:16 am
#2625
Join Date: Mar 2022
Posts: 19
Got to have my in turn in Al Safwa yesterday and found it decent. Paid for access as I was flying business but had 7.5 hour layover (which became just over 8 hours due to the first flight coming in 45 mins early).
Got into the lounge at 5am. The staff member at the desk said I have 6 hours access and if I'd like to go in now or later. I went in there and then because towards the end I would leave early for boarding anyway. However, the time limit was never enforced or checked. Once you are in, nobody checks your pass. There were a moderate amount of people in there from 5-7am but nothing too busy. 7am to 12pm was very very quiet. Probably less than 10 passengers around at all times so it was very nice and quiet. Didn't want to sleep to adjust to my destination timings but got a shower easy enough. I believe they are by the Spa but those weren't available and I was directed to the family area where the toilets have a shower room. Mostly spent my time sitting in the pods relaxing and getting some work done. Overall, pretty happy with it and it made the long layover tolerable. Baggage lockers are a nice touch too so I could at least keep one of my pieces of hand luggage out the way.
My only very slight gripe (and very much a first world problem) would be that having some staff roaming around more frequently would be nice to check and see if you need anything.
Got into the lounge at 5am. The staff member at the desk said I have 6 hours access and if I'd like to go in now or later. I went in there and then because towards the end I would leave early for boarding anyway. However, the time limit was never enforced or checked. Once you are in, nobody checks your pass. There were a moderate amount of people in there from 5-7am but nothing too busy. 7am to 12pm was very very quiet. Probably less than 10 passengers around at all times so it was very nice and quiet. Didn't want to sleep to adjust to my destination timings but got a shower easy enough. I believe they are by the Spa but those weren't available and I was directed to the family area where the toilets have a shower room. Mostly spent my time sitting in the pods relaxing and getting some work done. Overall, pretty happy with it and it made the long layover tolerable. Baggage lockers are a nice touch too so I could at least keep one of my pieces of hand luggage out the way.
My only very slight gripe (and very much a first world problem) would be that having some staff roaming around more frequently would be nice to check and see if you need anything.