Long Connection at DOH - lounge access
 

I've had several long connections in DOH (8+ hours) and never had an issue with lounge access. However, my spouse and I have an overnight connection coming up (15 hours). I was thinking of getting us a hotel outside of the airport, but I'm now thinking of just booking a room at the Oryx hotel in the terminal. My question is whether we will be able to access the QR lounge during the entirety of our stay? We are traveling J connecting to F so I know we have access to the Al Safwa lounge for our connection. I'm thinking check-in, shower, then go to the lounge, have drinks and dinner before bed. Then up in the morning and breakfast in lounge before boarding the flight.

This saves the hassle of customs on arrival and entry/exit immigration as well as transport to/from the hotel. It also probably means at least an extra hour of sleep.

And yes, I know there are sleep rooms in the F lounge, but I believe they are limited to 6 hours of use.

Anyone ever used the lounge for a connection this long?

I have had a 14 hour layover-used the Oryx hotel. It is not great but did the job so I could sleep, shower and also used the Al Moujan lounge to eat.
I had a shorter layover flying in business to DOH from JFK, then in F on to BEY-so had FREE access to Al Safwa which was great for the 8ish hour layover. That time I was fortunate to get a sleep room as I am a woman.
This issue you need to be aware of is that even with access to Al Safwa, there is no guarantee you can get the sleep rooms-it is first come first served. I think they also separate men and women sleep rooms(but I could be wrong) so that complicates it further possibly as you may need to get TWO rooms.
If I had that long a layover I would book the Oryx in a heartbeat to guarantee you will have a bed, a shower and you can enter and exit the Al Safwa when you wish to eat.
I have current flight plans in February where I will have a 10 hour layover and when I am sure that I am still traveling(serious health issues with a very old mother at home) or not using my backup flights on other airlines I will book the Oryx rather than pay for Al Safwa access as I am flying in business.
Hope this is helpful while you make your plans

I have used the airport hotel and the lounge for 18-19 hr connections (sleeping during Doha daytime)...

I wouldn't want 15 hours in the lounge, use the Orynx airside it's OK and does the job and it's not too pricey.

I would consider £200+ for a 4 star hotel in DOH pretty pricey!

If I had 15 hours for an overnight connection and was eligible for a visa I'd go and stay in a nicer and cheaper hotel in Doha instead. I think the airport hotel works best for shorter layovers than this.

Agreed.
15 hours at DOH seems like torture.
15 hours in Doha seems like a fun adventure.

Some weeks ago I had a similar length (slightly less), daytime layover in AUH, rented a car, left the airport, had a few hours of sleep in a nice hotel (day rate), had a swim, shower and back to airport.
Much better than waiting it out in the airport, IMO.

Don't they provide hotel for the layover? I mean the airline unless it's a voluntary layover planned by passenger.

I have stayed at the Oryx and although it’s a rip off it did the job

I would suggest getting a visa (if needed) and entering Qatar and book a hotel there, it's much cheaper.

Fair point, last time I used it the cost was half that. Its a shame they still don't do the free layover offer though I believe it can still be bolted on for a small cost.

On a number of long layovers I've had (one was 26 hours), I've split my time between the lounge and Oryx airside hotel, there's no problem in coming and going between the two as you please.

Personally I don't like the additional hassle of dealing with an off-site hotel, others may have different preferences.

One issue I have with the Oryx is that it's not 100% sound proofed, so if you're a light sleeper you may be woken up by occasional airport PA announcements. I often use earbud headphones or earplugs in these situations.

Another option if you're travelling biz is to pay QAR600 for six hours' room use in Al Safwa. They will limit your room use to 6 hours, although I've topped and tailed that 6 hours with an hour either side enjoying the F&B facilities in Al Safwa. The rooms are basic but clean, although I don't find I sleep well in them. For more flexibility and a nicer room, the Oryx hotel may be a better if more expensive option.

Did you have any checked luggage? And if so, was QR able to check them through to your final destination? Curious if there's a maximum number of hours for airside layover, since yours was >24 hours.

No checked baggage, personally I try to avoid checking baggage if I can.

As far as I can tell, there is no physical limit imposed for staying airside as boarding cards aren’t checked at transit.

However from my own experiences, you won’t be granted lounge access without a boarding card, and similarly you won’t be allowed access to.an airside hotel room without one either. A printed itinerary isn’t enough.

In pre-COVID times you would almost certainly get away with this - assuming your passport gives you visa free entry to Qatar. But if Qatar's borders are closed to your nationality or origin, long layovers and certainly those more than 24 hours are unlikely to fall within the technical definition of a transit, and you could be denied boarding as you are deemed to have a layover but are not admissable to Qatar for the layover.

Good point, denied boarding onto QR is likely in this scenario under the current covid circumstances. I speak from my own experience on QR a few months ago. Although not in exactly the same scenario, mine was a back to back with a few hours' in transit for an airside meeting, QR wouldn't allow me to board as technically although I wasn't going through immigration, on a B2B I'd need the correct credentials to be able to landside even if I never intended to do that.

If you have the right credentials to allow you to enter Qatar (even if you don't intend to physically exercise that right), then I don't see a problem, but the current restrictions are very tight.