afmiami

Yes, I was there a week ago. Around midnight AM was super crowded, waiting for shower and quiet room space not available, so I asked about AS. Confirmed that the price is 600 QAR. As I had all night before my connecting flight, and a room was available, I decided to pay the new, higher fee. Had a nice sleep, and a good breakfast.

DTCFlyer

I've a QR flight in J using BAEC and was able to book. Just went for the Westin Hotel

Ivstan14

Hmm, when do you fly and are you on an award booking or a paid J fare? I'm curious about this because I have a 19 hour stopover with my own hotel reservation at the moment but would love to use the program. The rules specifically state it doesn't work for partner award tickets.

EDIT: Actually they specifically state you need to provide an eticket starting with their -157 code so I don't even know how you managed to book the hotel in the first place.

sriegert

just spent peaceful overnight (1 AM - 7:30 AM) in AS. Very nice Grand Dame on offer. I don't drink reds but still due diligenced the menu and the most expensive/highest rated reds were no more than $40 a bottle, has QR cut out the nice earlier vintages?

Dr. HFH

I completely agree on LGD. When I'm at AS, I find that it goes particularly well with French toast at breakfast, followed by a cappuccino. ��

Regarding your comment about the reds, isn't the taste more important than the price tag? If you told me that they replaced Chateau Talbot (possibly my most consistently favorite red, and which used to be available on BA) with Ernest & Julio Gallo, that would mean more to me than the price tag. What were the wines?

Neilgcal

Can anyone confirm if you can use the jacuzzi without taking a spa treatment? Ie for free?

Also am I right in reading there is only 1 shower available if you do not have a day room or pay for spa access?

just on the off chance, does anyone have any up to date food and drinks menus to see if the cost is well justified? We’re a party of 3 so quite a costly upgrade from the business lounge which is included in our ticket.

Thanks in advance.

subject2load

flying_pig

I've been offered many times a spa room to shower (ie: when asking for a shower, they send you to one of the treatment rooms with the massage bed and the annex shower room; you essentially get the whole thing to yourself until you are done). Never had a problem getting a shower immediately in Al Safwa (and must admit that I recently paid for access just for the sake of getting a shower, as I knew that Al Mourjan would be packed).

BLazarus22

Assuming upgrade option is available for award tickets issued by AA, would it be 1200 QAR for 2 pax (both OWE)? Layover is 8 hours so debating merit if possible.

CPH-Flyer

Award J tickets issued by AA are applicable. And yes it would be QAR 1200 for 2 passengers OWE has no effect on the price.

texex91

Does AS takes cash for payment or CC only?

CPH-Flyer

I have only been offered to use credit card. There is never an offer of "cash or credit card". But I have never asked directly.

But u could imagine they would very much want to avoid handling cash.

DTCFlyer

meehgz

Flew through DOH with an eight over layover spanning 7/27-7/28 (~11pm arrival, ~7am departure) on paid J tickets, D fare class (aka non-discount). Was with my SO and another couple, and we all opted to pay for access to AS. Confirming it was 600 QAR per person. Given our layover was just over 8 hours, we were eligible for STPC which would've been complimentary accommodations at the Oryx Rotana w/ group transfers included. We could've also stayed in the airside Oryx for a little less than what 2x entry to AS was, I think. We all decided the experience of going to AS was worth it, but I can totally understand how others would not come to the same conclusion. At 250 QAR, this was an obvious choice; at 600 QAR, the value proposition isn't there and you're opting to pay a premium for the experience instead.

Champagne was La Grande Dame, but the liquor choices were not suitable for a first class lounge. We weren't planning to drink any liquor, but the heavier drink of our group scoffed at the list

Food was fine, nothing too special.

Family rooms were cool. All were empty when we walked through, and none of us have kids, so we had no use for the area but I imagine it would be a great place to rally the troops if you were a family.

We used the sleeping rooms which were basic but were comfortable and very much served our needs. The beds can't be pushed together so my husband and I wound up sleeping in different beds! We did have to sign a paper when we signed out a sleeping room that said we weren't going to stay in the sleeping room for more than six hours (anything in excess would incur a fee, according to the paper - I don't recall the fee). Our check in and check out times (for the sleeping room) were noted/documented. We didn't test whether they would charge the fee - we clocked out at nearly six hours on the dot (maybe a few minutes over).

It was made clear to us at check in that we could stay in the lounge (though not the sleeping rooms) for the full duration of our layover. I don't know if that's because they knew we'd only be there at most seven hours (as in, I don't know if they'd be as explicit about this with someone that had, say, a 12 hour layover), but the sleeping room did seem to be strictly six hours.

Dr. HFH

That's really interesting. If anyone runs across that same provision, it would be great if you would post the fee here. Thanks!