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
Mar 29, 2023, 2:51 am
#3151
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 940
Al Safwa has been increasingly busy and getting a room to grab some sleep has been harder and harder of late - my approach for longer layovers has become booking one of the discounted hotels through Discover Qatar and just leaving the airport. Without a room to catch some shut eye there is no point staying in the lounge for that long. Leaving/coming back into the airport through the priority exit/entry is extremely efficient
That is - provided you don't have visa issues of course.
That is - provided you don't have visa issues of course.
I looked at the discover Qatar program a few days ago - there was only one hotel available and it was for a fairly exorbitant rate - this ticket was booked fairly late on due to a date change to be fair, so it may be that everything else is simply booked up already
Mar 29, 2023, 3:03 am
#3152
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 179
I book them at least 2 weeks out and have never had an issue snagging the Radisson (my preferred choice) for QAR149, but I always see plenty of the QAR99 ones available as well.
Mar 29, 2023, 3:39 am
#3153
Join Date: Mar 2017
Programs: QR Platinum, Star Alliance Gold (LH Sen)
Posts: 764
Mar 29, 2023, 4:55 am
#3154
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: London
Programs: Hilton, IHG - BA, GA, LH, QR, SV, TK
Posts: 17,008
I've noticed before that only one or two days out the website can return "no availability" or bonkers prices. I assumed that's down to some commercial logic, as normally there are dozens of hotels available. Rooms certainly shouldn't be sold out at the moment, post-World Cup and mid-Ramadan.
They recently introduced a "sort by" button with the default sort set to "recommended". Not surprisingly QR recommends the most expensive hotels at bed&breakfast rates.
Switch to sorting by price on a room only basis and you'll normally see perfectly nice places such as the Sheraton Four Points in Msheireb, by the souq (and airport metro link), at QAR99. That's £20 or so.
Faced with £1,000 per night rooms from Discover Qatar the clear solution is to make your own arrangements !
Last edited by IAN-UK; Mar 29, 2023 at 5:15 am
Mar 30, 2023, 12:59 am
#3155
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 179
I just checked as well, tomorrow and the day after, only one option with a crazy price, Select Apr 2nd and it appears wide open on Discover Qatar, where popular booking sites all have reasonable rates for most hotels for the 2 days in question
Mar 30, 2023, 6:09 pm
#3157
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Tokyo
Programs: JAL Metal Card (OWE), SAS Eurobonus Gold (*G), Marriott Titanium (LTP), Tokyu Hotels Platinum
Posts: 21,170
Mar 31, 2023, 1:25 am
#3158
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: AUH
Posts: 8,267
I’m not sure whether there is any scenario in which I would pay for the access.
Mar 31, 2023, 1:42 am
#3159
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 2,155
Making the price to pay for access lower than the cost of the hotel or other sleeping options is probably one of the main reasons why the rooms are never available now. Charge more or don’t let pay-for-access people use them. That problem is easily resolved if they want to resolve it...
The drinks menu is definitely "enhanced" currently, but it is still possible to get a nicely cooked steak if that’s your thing. I had this last night:
Nevertheless, add on the current hoardings and the crowds and the lack of loungers, and I found myself spending more time in AM than AS on 2 long connections this week.
The drinks menu is definitely "enhanced" currently, but it is still possible to get a nicely cooked steak if that’s your thing. I had this last night:
Nevertheless, add on the current hoardings and the crowds and the lack of loungers, and I found myself spending more time in AM than AS on 2 long connections this week.
Apr 1, 2023, 12:57 am
#3161
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: who knows!
Programs: FB PFL, TK Gold, PC Platinum
Posts: 442
Indeed.. downgrade in drinks and a reduction in the overall experience. Impossible to get a sleeping room and packed from 00:00-06:00.. Completely different from some years ago.
Apr 2, 2023, 1:30 pm
#3163
Join Date: Sep 2022
Posts: 103
They will allow you to check in earlier. I checked in 14.5 hours before my flight to Sydney. (The flight was at 8.40 PM, I checked in at ~ 6.30 AM). For context, I arrived in Doha on a Turkish flight at 5.30 AM (Completely different ticket). I also got a quiet room to sleep for 6 hours. Then spent some time in the Al Safwa, old Al Mourjan and the new Al Mourjan.
Apr 2, 2023, 1:56 pm
#3164
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 140
They will allow you to check in earlier. I checked in 14.5 hours before my flight to Sydney. (The flight was at 8.40 PM, I checked in at ~ 6.30 AM). For context, I arrived in Doha on a Turkish flight at 5.30 AM (Completely different ticket). I also got a quiet room to sleep for 6 hours. Then spent some time in the Al Safwa, old Al Mourjan and the new Al Mourjan.
Apr 2, 2023, 2:14 pm
#3165
Join Date: Sep 2022
Posts: 103
yes I had to. Since they were not on the same ticket, I had to clear customs, get my checked in baggage and then re-check them with Qatar airways. I didn’t choose to go out and explore Qatar, so went back right in.