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
Feb 19, 2018, 12:22 am
#1367
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
Feb 19, 2018, 12:32 am
#1368
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: BOS/UTH
Programs: AA LT PLT; QR GLD; Bonvoy LT TIT
Posts: 12,753
I was going to ask exactly the same question, MSM. Why should someone get special privileges because s/he happens to fly on an aircraft equipped with different seats?
Feb 19, 2018, 2:15 am
#1371
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
Feb 19, 2018, 2:24 am
#1372
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: AUH
Programs: EY Guest Gold, Hilton HHonors Gold, Le Club Accor Silver, AAdvantage Gold
Posts: 552
Or at least F should be offered to more destinations.
I want to experience QR F but never really had the chance to due to the limited destinations they serve.
I want to experience QR F but never really had the chance to due to the limited destinations they serve.
Feb 19, 2018, 5:38 am
#1373
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 795
F doesn't stack up for QR as a product on more than a handful of routes, AAB has said that many times. For example, I was the only passenger in F on an A380 flight last week, and I had upgraded with qcredits. My reading of their publicity with the qsuites is to make their J product as good as or better than other airline's first class. I seem to remember AAB may even have hinted at eventually possibly getting rid of F.
AS is a nice lounge but I'm not sure it's layout would cope with all plats having access.
If the regional situation isn't sorted out to get short haul F passengers back in there then I would agree that some kind of change to access may eventually turn up. In the meantime, as frustrating as it may be, the ways to gain access are to buy a ticket or redeem into F. That's pretty much been the policy from day one though, and as animated as people feel about the upgrades situation, it probably only affects a tiny proportion of their customers. I've said previously that I can't see where the substantive cost savings come from this. And of course they could have dealt with it differently, eg making upgrades only available at the airport and therefore with original travel class lounge eligibility, or lounge eligibility maintained for qcredit upgrades (which are a reward specifically given to their more frequent flyers), but instead they have done what they have done and we all have to make our own decisions as to whether that is enough to change our buying behaviour.
I suspect the airline has plenty else on it's mind behind the scenes mitigating the effects of the blockade, and that this is a minor cost saving measure which either hasn't been fully thought through or not been implemented cleanly. That may of course change in time, but as savvy flyertalkers I'm sure we are all busy working out the next best balance for our individual needs and benefit, in just the same way that some have come to QR because of their probably unsustainable promotions in recent years.
AS is a nice lounge but I'm not sure it's layout would cope with all plats having access.
If the regional situation isn't sorted out to get short haul F passengers back in there then I would agree that some kind of change to access may eventually turn up. In the meantime, as frustrating as it may be, the ways to gain access are to buy a ticket or redeem into F. That's pretty much been the policy from day one though, and as animated as people feel about the upgrades situation, it probably only affects a tiny proportion of their customers. I've said previously that I can't see where the substantive cost savings come from this. And of course they could have dealt with it differently, eg making upgrades only available at the airport and therefore with original travel class lounge eligibility, or lounge eligibility maintained for qcredit upgrades (which are a reward specifically given to their more frequent flyers), but instead they have done what they have done and we all have to make our own decisions as to whether that is enough to change our buying behaviour.
I suspect the airline has plenty else on it's mind behind the scenes mitigating the effects of the blockade, and that this is a minor cost saving measure which either hasn't been fully thought through or not been implemented cleanly. That may of course change in time, but as savvy flyertalkers I'm sure we are all busy working out the next best balance for our individual needs and benefit, in just the same way that some have come to QR because of their probably unsustainable promotions in recent years.
Feb 19, 2018, 12:15 pm
#1374
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: CLT
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 709
Hi everyone, I've done some searching through this thread but haven't been able to find the answer, apologies if this has already been covered somewhere:
My wife and I land in DOH at 6am next week, coming off a flight in QR business class. Our connecting flight leaves roughly 19 hours later, at 1am the following morning and is in QR First class, which should provide access to the Al Safwa lounge. My question is this - can we enter the lounge at 6am upon landing, take a nap for a few hours in one of the sleeping rooms, then leave the lounge, go into Doha for a few hours, and then come back that evening, and be re-admitted to the lounge?
I wasn't clear on accessing the lounge twice, ease of leaving the airport to go into the city after we'd already entered the lounge, etc.
Thanks to anyone for advice!
My wife and I land in DOH at 6am next week, coming off a flight in QR business class. Our connecting flight leaves roughly 19 hours later, at 1am the following morning and is in QR First class, which should provide access to the Al Safwa lounge. My question is this - can we enter the lounge at 6am upon landing, take a nap for a few hours in one of the sleeping rooms, then leave the lounge, go into Doha for a few hours, and then come back that evening, and be re-admitted to the lounge?
I wasn't clear on accessing the lounge twice, ease of leaving the airport to go into the city after we'd already entered the lounge, etc.
Thanks to anyone for advice!
Feb 26, 2018, 1:39 pm
#1377
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: UK
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 53
I'm fairly sure the answer is yes based on earlier comments, but I just want to check for sure.
I will arrive in DOH on QR in J from Germany on Saturday at 2345; and on a separate booking:
I will depart DOH to MCT on QR in F on Sunday at 1925
On the basis of my F departure, will they admit me to AS and into a sleeping room some 20 hours before my departure?
(I've been to DOH many times, I've no desire to leave the airport)
Thanks in advance.
I will arrive in DOH on QR in J from Germany on Saturday at 2345; and on a separate booking:
I will depart DOH to MCT on QR in F on Sunday at 1925
On the basis of my F departure, will they admit me to AS and into a sleeping room some 20 hours before my departure?
(I've been to DOH many times, I've no desire to leave the airport)
Thanks in advance.
Mar 2, 2018, 10:55 am
#1380
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: GRR, USA
Posts: 3,298
from what I gather, if on a paid biz ticket to and from DOH, there is no opportunity to pay up for a peek inside the AS lounge? have lengthly layover of 10-11 hours so wanted to see this place for the first time.....