Review: Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge Doha

On my recent journey en route back from the Maldives, I paid a visit to the Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge at Doha’s Hamad International Airport.

Even though I was flying First Class on this journey, I had already visited and reviewed the Qatar Airways Al Safwa First Class Lounge a few times, so I thought I would take one for the team here and review the business class lounge as well. 

Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge Doha – Access

The sprawling Al Mourjan Lounge is located airside, on the upper level of Doha Hamad International Airport. The lounge is accessible through a single set of escalators leading up from the ground floor.

The lounge is available to passengers travelling in business class and First Class on Qatar Airways and other Oneworld airlines. Of course, if you’re flying Qatar Airways First Class on either your inbound or outbound flight, you’ll also have access to the superior Al Safwa First Class Lounge.

It’s worth noting that Oneworld Sapphire or Emerald members will only have access to the lounge if they hold a business class ticket, not on the basis of their status alone.

Furthermore, Qatar Airways business class “lite” tickets do not have lounge access. All other fare categories, including award tickets booked on points, are fair game.

At the top of the escalator is the lounge entrance. You’ll gain access by presenting your boarding pass at the reception counter in front of the lounge.

The counter resembles a reflective boat shape, and the mirrored surface here is a recurring theme throughout the lounge.

The lounge takes up more than 100,000 square feet spread across two levels. The sheer size of the lounge feels as though it goes on forever.

To put things in perspective, the lounge is near the size of 10 Olympics swimming pools and can accommodate over 1,000 passengers at any given time.

Not only is the lounge quite impressive in size, it also allocates that size in a unique way, allowing you to endlessly discover new spaces and features within the lounge as you move through.

Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge Doha – Seating

The Al Mourjan Lounge carries a sophisticated ambience, highlighted by its bespoke designer interiors. Marble, bronze, and reflective surfaces adorn the entirety of the architectural space, accented by subtle touches of Arabian heritage like traditional calligraphy.

The lounge was designed to emulate a serene resort-like experience, drawing inspiration from the elements of sunlight, water, and nature. The high ceilings and open concept allow ample light from the airport terminal to fill the space. 

The centrepiece of the lounge is a water feature that spans the entire width of the main room, producing a spa-like calming effect, with small droplets constantly falling from above to create gentle ripples in the water.

As one of the largest airport lounges in the world, the options for seating are essentially endless. 

The primary seating area is open-concept, with plenty of relatively private individual seats spread across the lounge. Small leather lounge chairs can be spotted in groups of two, and sometimes four, scattered throughout.

Solo rich-blue contemporary butterfly chairs are sprinkled around the primary space of the lounge, many of which are stationed beside a side table with USB and charging outlets.

These same chairs can be seen in red on an elevated platform of the lounge, grouped around a decorative partition, which provides added privacy.

Throughout the lounge are beverage stations, which consist of a cooler with all types of soft drinks, water, sparkling water, and iced tea.

Blue, red and winged purple chairs can be found solo, in groups of two, or even in groups of four. Whether on the elevated platform or down below, seating options are essentially endless – although things can still get quite busy during peak times! 

Closer to the entrance, you’ll find more private nooks where you can relax and perhaps take a nap.

Doha Airport operates around the clock, with a bulky schedule of flights coming and going even at nighttime, and lots of passengers connecting with overnight layovers who might want to get some rest in one of these nooks.

In addition to these semi-private nap pods near the entrance, there are also a few dedicated nap spaces in the lounge, which we’ll touch upon later on.

Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge Doha – Dining

There are two dining areas at the Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge: a restaurant and a café.

The restaurant is located on the upper level, where you can access the space by means of a spiral staircase just to the right of the main entrance using the elevator. 

Once upstairs, the space is filled with plenty of seating, mostly for groups of two, but chairs can be easily moved to create a table of three or four if need be.

It was quite crowded at around midnight when I was visiting the lounge, and the restaurant had actually reached capacity. As a result, I had to wait a few minutes to be assigned to a table.

Once seated, you’ll have the option of an à la carte menu available via a QR code on the table or a buffet with a wide range of internationally-inspired items.

The buffet featured plenty of main courses, appetizers, desserts, and even a sushi counter.

I helped myself to a plate of sushi, which was a fairly good quality for sushi found in a Middle Eastern airport lounge (although I wasn’t a big fan of the sushi with cream cheese inside, as I’ve never understood the concept there).

I also ordered chicken biryani as a main course from the à la carte menu, which was quite delicious. I wrapped up my meal with a nice cup of tea and some ice cream for dessert.

In addition to food, there are alcoholic beverages you can order here at the restaurant. Now, I had already indulged in a few glasses of Krug 2004 on my previous flight and was planning to indulge in a few more on my next, so I skipped the liquor during this lounge visit.

There’s also a self-serve beverage station offering a variety of soft drinks, coffee, and tea, as well as some light snacks.

Overall, I had a very high-quality dining experience here in the Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge. If you have a layover here – even if it’s a long layover nearing 24 hours – between Qatar Airways flights, you certainly won’t go hungry.

Meanwhile, the second dining area is located on the main level of the lounge, at the far end of the grandiose space.

This is more of a café environment with a smaller and more casual seating area. Two- and four-person seating is available, as well as some banquette seats and long communal high-top dining tables.

Here, you’ll find a lighter selection of light snacks, soups, and appetizers via the buffet. There’s also a smaller à la carte menu with sandwiches, salads, and desserts.

Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge Doha – Nap Areas

There are two dedicated nap areas in the lounge, given the number of ongoing flights in and out of the airport and how many people need to sleep at once. One is located in the back of the business centre, and one is down a hallway from the café.

I thought it was a bit unconventional to place the nap areas in the back of other unrelated lounge features, but I suppose that’s just the model that Qatar Airways has gone with for this seemingly never-ending lounge.

The nap area in the back of the business centre consists of recliner chairs inside small cocoons, which make for a semi-private quiet space.

You can certainly post up here and grab one of the eye shades from your business class amenity kit, or ask the crew for one, so you can sneak in a nap.

In the back of the café is another designated quiet area. This napping zone is quite spacious and more dimly illuminated than the one near the business centre, so it’s perhaps more conducive to sleeping.

There are a series of private enclosures, inside which you’ll find a few couches and chairs available for you to rest. 

You’ll also find a communal area with another drink station and a monitor to keep track of flight information.

Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge Doha – Showers

There are two sets of shower rooms in the Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge. One is accessible via the main public space, and another one is positioned in the back of the café in the quiet area.

If one of these is full, which is often the case given the amount of foot traffic at this lounge, you can always check the other one to see if showers are available.

Inside these shower rooms, you’ll find a walk-in shower, sink, vanity, toilet, and luxurious Diptyque amenities.

Aside from these shower rooms, there are several spacious bathrooms placed throughout the lounge for general use.

Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge Doha – Other Facilities

The Al Mourjan Lounge offers a comprehensive business centre with a wide range of workstations, computers, printers, and meeting tables. 

For those looking for a quiet space to work alone, there are private workstations equipped with computers, along with plenty of communal workstations.

There are two game rooms within the lounge, one in the café and one in the business centre – another example of the rather unconventional layout of the lounge’s various features.

The games room in the café is more geared towards kids, with plenty of space to run around and entertainment options such as games, a foosball table, and play areas. 

The lounge also has a smoking room and a baggage room as additional facilities.

Conclusion

The Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge in Doha is one of the most impressive business class lounges around the world.

You’ll basically find all of the essentials for daily life, including top-notch dining, extensive seating options, entertainment in many forms, and showers to keep you refreshed in advance of your onwards flight, all housed within an impressive interior that’s just as stunning as it is sprawling. 

For an airline as globally far-reaching as Qatar Airways, with thousands of passengers transiting through Doha at any given moment and often on long layovers of up to 24 hours, the Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge is perfectly suited to meet passengers’ every need as a temporary sanctuary en route to their final destination.