380Flyer

Came across this article and have to say that I agree with the views pointed out by the author.

I don't like the idea of attendants standing around when passengers visit the lavatory to do their business. It seems awkward and rather embarrassing. To make it worst, the shower attendants are over bearing at the same time.

I though That Akbar Al Baker would have spotted this deficiency in their offering by now since he likes to be known as mar a perfectionist. It seems he has overlooked this major service failure and hasn't addressed this properly.

WHY I DISLIKED QATAR AIRWAYS AL MOURJAN BUSINESS CLASS LOUNGE

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Dubh

This is likely to get merged with the "real" thread, but I agree about the attendants. I watched one yesterday in Al Safwa jump in front of a local and mutter "opens inwards" as he actually went into the cubicle before him.

makrom

Yeah just give us ventilated toilet rooms please. This is an oversight that can't be compensated with a whole army of attendants.

mr_botak

Very true - in particular the small bathroom off the upstairs restaurant is a particular problem in this regard.

IAN-UK

It's a very silly article. The author seems anxious to strike an independent and rather contentious stance, but ends up sounding petty. It's all grist to his blog, of course.

I tried to make sense of two conflicting, consecutive sentences:

It is like sitting in a quiet spot in a modern airport terminal...You could be sitting anywhere as it is really disconnected from the whole feeling of being in an airport.

but failed.


On the lavatory/shower attendant thing. It's a level of service expected in that part of the world, and they certainly keep things spic and span. I've never felt the need to tip, and I'm sorry the blogger felt intimidated into doing so.

My only complaint about the showers is the ventilation/air conditioning.

SeeBuyFly

I found the shower attendant helpful, pleasant, professional and probably too well educated to be doing this job. I never felt any pressure to tip.

NZbutterfly

Use of the language finding the lounge "underwhelming" and some other lounges eg QF First in Syd "leave this lounge for dead" I thoroughly disagree with. And some hotel lobby's leave me really impressed!

I'm a fan. I think it's a really nice lounge.

EY has the same thing (at least in their F lounge) where someone hangs about. I don't mind it. What I do mind is if you go into a cubicle and someone has had.... well.... a "messy time". That is off putting, so I'm much happier knowing there is someone that can clean up after those events if the person hasn't already. (I don't think I've ever looked or taken notice of the availability of toilet brushes in lounge loos but they are certainly an essential part of every household!)

Dr. HFH

Was just in Al Mourjan a few hours ago, arrived at around 1630. No line for showers! I was the only one there!!

The attendant first inspected the room to ensure that it was ready while I waited. He then asked if I wanted a dental kit (I did), and asked if there were enough towels for me. Yes, it was very slightly awkward, as it was apparent that he wanted a tip; but what a change from AA's "No, those are the towels you get" to "Do you have enough towels or would you like more, sir?"

I don't know what this guy's agenda is, but it was pretty obvious (at least to me) that he has one. Personally, I find AM to be one of my favorite lounges. The major problems for me are 1) no ventilation in the shower rooms, and 2) no tarmac/runway views.

FlightDetective

Thank you for pointing that out. I definitely wasn't clear at expressing my thoughts in that part of the blog post. I've amended that paragraph now to better reflect what I was trying to say.

Appreciate the feedback!

Zolex

Other than the shower ventilation thing, the only thing that bothers me is that there are not much places where you can snooze a bit except for the quiet area. Other than that, the lounge is excellent!

Just spent a few hours in a quiet area cubicle and I did manage to get a few hours of sleep.

nldogbert

hmm.. I do agree with some of the posters, don't understand the objective of the author of the article on this - and just not liking the lounge because of the shower's?

For me, using it so many times, I have never bothered or even come across that I need to tip the guy showing me the shower.

To the author of the article, I really did not get the purpose of the article you wrote besides just to complain about the shower location and attendant (no one forced you to tip btw).

For me, yes it is not the best lounge in the world but I would put it among the top 3 at least when it comes to a J lounge. I prefer it to be an oversized hotel lobby compared to the "undersized" lounges that Etihad calls the premium experience.

Cheers!

keitherson

Luxurious, full-service, but soulless, empty, and filled with underpaid migrant workers ready to serve you. Like the country it's in and its national carrier.

FlightDetective

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the showers or the location of them even though I found the location to be unusual. The attendant obviously wanting a tip was unfortunate. Next time I will ignore this aspect and not tip.

My main point in the article is that it is like a large hotel lobby, with very little in the way of amenities in the lounge proper. It is seating, seating, seating and that is almost all there is. It has no personality.

As I said in the article, perhaps the wow factor comes from the restaurant and dining experience, both of which I didn't experience on my visit as I did not wish to eat.

I do agree it is a world class facility, however it was not to my taste at all. Perhaps on a future visit I will be hungry and wish to eat and if that changes my perception I will write a follow up article to that effect.

My review of Qatar Business Class is going online in about 6 hours time and I heap the airline with praise in that post.

Lefly

I do not agree with the article.
It's a very pleasant lounge with lot of possibilities to relax and have a nap during "medium" night layovers. Also, it isn't correct that there is only the restaurant, since there is also the sandwich bar.
To me, it doesn't lack anything basic for a lounge and I find not fair to compare it with other first class lounges, since it is a business one.

I never tried the showers, but about the restrooms personnel I have the same feeling about it.

ppp909

It's been a while since I've been in there but I can empathise with the review. The middle East reeks of servitude and personally I hate it. The migrant staff are paid poorly to suck up to the customers and it makes my skin crawl.
Having said that I've always experienced politeness when I've gone for a shower which I've returned with a grateful thank you.

As for the wider picture you have to remember that most qr travellers are changing planes; those in business will hang around in the lounge. And there will be a lot of them hence the need for a large, soulless lounge