This is this Midlifer’s Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge Review. The lounge is located at the Hamad International Airport in Qatar’s capital Doha.
Table of Contents
- The Background
- Hamad Airport Lounges
- The Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge
- The Rest of the Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge
- Final Comments on Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge
The Background
I had spent almost three weeks in Egypt, Oman and in Qatar. In Qatar itself I spent just four days and part of the excitement of that short trip was flying by Qatar Airways Qsuites Business Class from Doha to Montreal, Canada.
CHECK THE MIDLIFER’S POST & VIDEO ON THE QATAR AIRWAYS QSUITES FLIGHT DOHA – MONTREAL
There is something special about flying business class with an airline from its home base, so I was curious to find out about the lounge.
The flight was mid October, about a month before the FIFA World Cup 2022 began so that country was in football organizational fever.
We arrived at the airport very early as our flight was leaving Doha at 8.30 am.
The Hamad International Airport, being the home turf of Qatar Airways, has a separate entrance for business and first-class passengers.
Just inside the entrance one official checked for my Ehteraz app to ensure I had a negative PCR result. And then I walked to the business class counter. The business class check in area had lots of officials willing to help, and one of them quickly came over to me and accompanied to an entry counter. In fact, most counters were empty at that point.
After the check in formality, I walked through the immigration facility and then to the Al Mourjan Lounge.
Hamad Airport Lounges
The airport is massive and functions 24/7. It has 12 lounges, including one for unaccompanied minors and another for mariners.
And the Al Mourjan is certainly one of the, if not the, largest business class lounges in the world and is very aesthetically designed and built.
The Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge
Finding the lounge itself is a mini-challenge though the signs are very helpful. In any case, it certainly is a long walk.
And when you arrive at the lounge, your entrance eligibility through the scanning of the boarding pass is done at the base of the connecting elevator/movator.
Please check whether you are eligible to use the lounge here.
I arrived at the lounge before 7 am and the statement that it is one of busiest times seemed true.
One lounge associate told me that the main restaurant is full but the 2nd, smaller one serving sandwiches has space. It worked for me because I didn’t want to eat too much.
As I have mentioned before, this was the conclusion of my trip during which period I had consumed a lot of food, without much physical activity. So, now I was on the low side of my hunger, and I wanted to save space for the meals during the flight.
Even that eatery was almost full, but an associate managed to secure two spots.
They have a QR code for the menu and I ordered a roast beef slices in rye bread sandwich and a cappuccino.
As mentioned, the place was crowded and it took a while to get the food.
In the meantime, I walked around the eatery to see what else they were offering. They had a number of made-to-order sandwich options, various types of breads, vegetable options as well as desserts including fruit platters. Of courses juices, water and hot drinks such as tea and coffee were also available.
There was also alcohol. Usually, I would have gone for it despite the early hours of the day but that day I decided not to.
The seating arrangements were mixed: there were the usual table-with-chairs seating for multiple people groups, two people seats and the raised table seating options. I had the latter.
I think it would be good if each of the seat in the raised tables had a number allocated to it so that those serving the food will know who ordered what.
The sandwich was good though I think the coffee came from one of those giant machines.
After breakfast, I did not want to hang around there because people were waiting outside. So, it was time to take a look around the lounge itself.
The Main Restaurant
My first task was to visit the main restaurant.
That restaurant is located at the next level so I took a set of stairs.
It was packed, with people and food. There were cold platters like salad options, western items such as breads, eggs and much hot food items.
Of course, there was also alcohol.
The Rest of the Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge
The lounge had lots of space for travellers to rest.
Between the entrance and the walk to the 2nd restaurant there were ergonomically designed chairs and what was interesting was that each had a charging outlet which is very good. In a lot of lounges one has to go in search of charging outlets.
And there was even more seating available. There was seating along the corridors and on the raised level.
There were rooms for smokers, prayer rooms and the business section.
In the men’s toilets, employees cleaned the booths every time someone used them. I found it very good idea.
One of the key features of this lounge is its long water pond, inducing a sense of calm amidst the hustle.