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THE ALVIATOR'S VERDICT
Tons of extra space available, working WiFi, top notch food and beverages, better seating arrangements, a more open and inviting setup, and readily available showers – this lounge brings Qatar Airways' ground experience leaps and bounds ahead of where it used to be |
5.0
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In November 2022, Doha Hamad Airport opened its North Expansion, including the opening of an indoor garden space called The Orchard. Qatar Airways and Hamad Airport complemented this area with a series of new lounges in April 2023. One of these was an additional 7,390 square meter lounge exclusively for Qatar Airways’ business class passengers, which complemented the current Al Mourjan lounge located by the original main concourse. This lounge was called “The Garden”, with reference to the fact that it overlooked The Orchard.
Doha Hamad Airport was in desperate need of an expansion when I last visited in 2019, with an overcrowded terminal and lounges, and WiFi bandwidth spreaded thinner than a sheet of paper. I was very happy to hear that the expansion had finally occurred, and wanted to check it out myself. So when booking a flight on Qatar Airways in 2023, I made sure to make a beeline to The Orchard, as well as Qatar Airways’ new “The Garden” lounge, in order to check them out.
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Lounge Access and Opening Hours
Qatar Airways’ Al Mourjan lounges are open to all Qatar Airways and Oneworld business class passengers (first class passengers can use the Al Safwa lounge), with the exception of those on a Business Lite ticket. Economy class passengers, as well as passengers on a Business Lite ticket, can purchase access to the lounge for QAR 450 (US$124/HKD 967/£96). I’ll include whether I think this price is worth it at the end of this post. If you’re a frequent flyer in economy class, you may be able to use the Al Maha lounge (the link is to the original lounge that opened in 2014, though there’s a separate Al Maha lounge in the North Expansion that I didn’t visit).
Due to the nature of Qatar Airways’ flight schedule, all Qatar Airways lounges including this one are open round the clock.
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Lounge (The Garden) Location
I was connecting from a flight on Qatar Airways’ A380 business class from London at 12 AM, and my onward flight to Hanoi on a 787-9 was departing at 2:20 AM, though a delay until 5 AM was announced once I got to Doha Airport. My flight from London landed at gate B1, so I decided I’d spend this extra time at Qatar Airways’ new lounge, hoping that I’d enjoy it.
The Orchard is located by the “upper” C gates (just before the further branch off to the D and E gates) – take a train to gates C30-43, and you’ll be dropped off just short of The Orchard. I’ve said it before and will say it again – Hamad Airport has some of the worst signage I’ve seen for a leading airport, where signs are sporadic and point you in vague directions. There were some bright lights and a couple of arrows signalling you to The Orchard, which indeed is a stunning space.
The Orchard, Doha Hamad Airport
Signage to the Al Mourjan (The Garden) lounge is even more ridiculous – there’s literally zero signage pointing towards a set of glass elevators, which are the only entry point into the lounge. Once I asked a friendly staff member for the entrance, my boarding pass was scanned, and I was escorted into a lift to be brought up into the lounge.
Entrance to Qatar Airways Al Mourjan (The Garden) Lounge, Hamad Airport
Perhaps Hamad Airport’s philosophy is to provide good staff training so they can cut costs on manufacturing sensible signage? I’d hate to do a scavenger hunt at this airport, though in this case I was just happy to be headed towards somewhere where I could get some rest…
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Lounge (The Garden) Seating and Atmosphere
The glass elevators led me to an impressive entry point with high ceilings and large potted plants, and I was pointed into the lounge by some friendly staff members.
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan (The Garden) Lounge Doha Entrance
This lounge has a capacity for 707 passengers, and I feel like they could’ve fit more if they tried. I struggle to believe that the original Al Mourjan lounge is larger in size, because this one felt so much bigger – the lounge was “L” shaped, with both wings feeling like they stretched a very long way. To the right was the main restaurant area, with lots of seating laid out in different ways, between round table seating, armchairs with side tables, and proper restaurant seating (I’ll cover the main restaurant area in a bit).
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan (The Garden) Lounge Doha
The signage throughout the lounge is also quite a bit better than in the rest of the terminal.
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan (The Garden) Lounge Doha Signage
The other wing of the lounge was mostly a “rest and relax” area, and most of it featured similarly configured armchairs.
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan (The Garden) Lounge Doha Seating
There’s definitely no expense spared on the decor, including a nice water fixture in the middle of this area.
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan (The Garden) Lounge Doha Seating
There’s a large variety of seating, which I value as one of the top 10 things I look for in an airline lounge. One of the complaints I had with the old lounge was that the seating was really impractically laid out if you’re travelling in a group, and I don’t have that complaint here – while still probably geared more towards solo travellers, you’re definitely more likely to find a space here where you’re comfortably seated in a group, due to the different configurations of seats.
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan (The Garden) Lounge Doha Seating
As the name of the lounge suggests, the lounge largely overlooks The Orchard, which is quite a tranquil area to overlook. The Orchard generally isn’t as busy as the main airport departures hall even during peak hours, due to many larger planes departing out of the A, B, and “lower” C gates.
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan (The Garden) Lounge Doha View
You’ll find universal power ports at about 80% of the seats in this lounge – most of the coffee tables next to armchairs are equipped with power, though there were a couple of sofas I settled down at which weren’t proximate to a power port.
Despite the fact that this lounge is marginally smaller, I far prefer this lounge to the main Al Mourjan lounge. It’s slightly better lit, and I feel like there’s a much better utilisation of space. I think it’s much easier for families to sit comfortably together due to the way the seating is laid out, the restaurant and bar spaces are more inviting as they’re not tucked away in partitioned ends of the lounge, and I also prefer this lounge’s warmer colour palette.
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Lounge Dining
The restaurant area is located in the right wing from the main entrance. You can sit in many places, though the “main” area features some restaurant style seating, including chairs and sofas (below is about half of the area, with the partition behind the sofas “mirroring” an identical-looking half).
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan (The Garden) Lounge Doha Restaurant
There are QR codes on the tables pointing towards an a-la-carte menu, though they were failing to load on my phone (I had a similar problem with the Qatar Airways QR codes at their lounge in London). Upon asking a staff member I was first invited to check out the buffet. I was only able to take photos a while afterwards when a subset of the hot food selection was unavailable, though the options not pictured include whole lamb shanks (!) and other meats.
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan (The Garden) Lounge Doha Buffet
As hinted at earlier, one of the highlights of the Al Mourjan lounges is that they feature a-la-carte dining, which sets them apart from many other hub lounges. It’s a treat to break up two long flights with plated main menu items. The main Al Mourjan lounge also features this, though for some reason something was up with the a-la-carte service the first couple of times I’d visited, so this was the first time I’d experienced this service in either lounge.
One of the servers then brought me an iPad and stood there as I ordered, meaning that I couldn’t take a picture of the entire food selection, though my friend Matthew Klint has a photo on his review of the main Al Mourjan lounge – it felt quite similar to the menu I was presented at Qatar Airways’ London lounge. I wasn’t very hungry but really wanted to try out the selection, so tested their meal quality with a fillet steak served with parsley chateau potato and bourguignon sauce, which was brought out after 10 minutes and cooked to order (medium rare in my case). While I personally wouldn’t have doused the steak in a sweet sauce, the steak itself was brilliant.
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan (The Garden) Lounge Doha Main Course – Beef Tenderloin
I also asked for a glass of champagne, which was Philipponnat Champagne Royale Reserve Brut (I don’t mind being photo ID’ed as the minimum drinking age in Qatar is 21, though I had to do that on two separate occasions, and finished my champagne quickly to avoid having to pull my passport out a third time).
What a treat to have a full a-la-carte selection, and the food quality is great too. I also much prefer that the a-la-carte menu is available in an easily accessible space in the middle of the lounge. The problem with the “old” Al Mourjan lounge was that the a-la-carte menu was only served upstairs, which was a cramped area where you could never find a space to sit – everything is a bit more spread out here, so the entire experience is a lot more pleasant.
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Lounge Bar
Speaking of being ID’ed, Qatar Airways’ Al Mourjan lounge (The Garden) has not one, but two separate bars, both located in the right wing. The first bar serves as the centerpiece of the wing (with a chandelier-like light fixture above it), and isn’t much of a cocktail bar of sorts, though rather does barista coffee, soft drinks, as well as a sushi bar (I’ve done some research about sushi culture in Doha, and am as confused as you are?).
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan (The Garden) Lounge Doha Bars
Meanwhile the other bar is closer to the end of the lounge, though you can really order a drink anywhere throughout the lounge.
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan (The Garden) Lounge Doha Bars
Despite my confusion, I decided to order some sushi at the bar. Since I didn’t have a menu on me and was seated at a different part of the first bar, I didn’t know what sushi was on offer, so just ordered an “assortment”. I was presented the following, which was as good as it would’ve tasted in a good (though not specialty) Japanese restaurant in Hong Kong or in the UK.
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan (The Garden) Lounge Doha Sushi Bar
I was also very tired at this point, so ordered an iced Americano. This bar does barista coffee, which I appreciate.
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan (The Garden) Lounge Doha Barista Coffee
There are also a variety of cocktails on offer, though I didn’t indulge myself during this post-midnight visit. I’m not going to question the choice of a sushi bar (I’m sure it’s either a statement of opulence or a part of Qatari culture that I’m missing), though the sushi bar, barista coffee, and alcohol selection are all very well-executed here.
Once again, the bar and barista coffee in the “old” lounge were also tucked upstairs (on opposite ends to each other). While the bar is still tucked in one end of this lounge, the entire setup feels more open here.
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Lounge (The Garden) Showers
Another complaint that I had with the Al Mourjan lounge pre-expansion was that there was always at least an hour-long wait for a shower. Not the case at this lounge – I was immediately escorted to a shower room. I imagine the opening of this lounge has relieved shower room wait times in both lounges, which is a huge plus, especially for a lounge run by an airline where so many passengers are connecting.
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan (The Garden) Lounge Doha Showers
The shower room itself was pretty, though my main complaint is that it lacked a toilet. The water pressure was great, and the shower room featured L’Occitane toiletries.
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan (The Garden) Lounge Doha Showers
The showers themselves are quite nice, though mainly I’m just thankful for the alleviation on the shower room waiting times, and really appreciated that there was no wait for a shower here.
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Lounge WiFi
Back in 2019 WiFi throughout Doha Hamad Airport was unsable, and the lounge shared WiFi with the airport. Hamad Airport seems to have fixed the problem in the meantime, and while not hugely impressive, the WiFi was definitely usable during my visit this time round. In fact, it clocked a (not great) 14.93 Mbps down, but a shocking 162 Mbps up – I didn’t feel like anything was uploading (or downloading) faster than usual, and felt like I’ve had better WiFi at leading airports. However, these speeds definitely wouldn’t deter me from having a long layover at Doha Airport in the future, which is not what I would’ve said in the past.
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Lounge (The Garden) Facilities
Not pictured in the above review are a game room, which I never used, and 24 quiet rooms. I wanted to get a quiet room so I could relax (and also so I could grab a photo for the review), though unfortunately the quiet rooms were all full throughout my stay, despite the fact that I went up to ask a few times.
A spa and a gym are on the way. Man, a gym would be a great way to spend a layover (provided you don’t lose track of time and run to your longhaul flight all sweaty)! Unfortunately these facilities were yet to open at the time of my visit.
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan (The Garden) Lounge Doha Upcoming Spa and Gym
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Lounge Service
Qatar Airways’ Al Mourjan Lounge (The Garden) is quite well-staffed, and the lounge attendants are more involved than they would be at your typical airport lounge. Qatar Airways employees in general are impeccably trained – for example, when I wanted to store my cabin bag in a locker, I was escorted to the locker room, handed a key card, and taught how to use it. Similarly, those serving me in the restaurant were very courteous as well – memorably, when enquiring whether I could grab a paper menu at the restaurant, the staff member I asked first escorted me around the buffet and showed me their food selection, before grabbing an iPad so I could have a look. When I was asking about my flight delay at the main lounge counter, the counter attendant apologised and advised me to take some rest.
I would’ve appreciated not having to be ID’ed twice in a short time span, and the lounge attendants did go past a couple of times in the middle of the night to ask which flights people were on (presumably to make sure nobody missed their flight or booked a refundable ticket to lounge squat), which can be annoying if you’re trying to get some rest. However, this is impressive and involved service for an airline lounge.
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Lounge Louis Vuitton Café and Dior Spa
Qatar Airways introduced two “first-time-this-has-been-done-anywhere” brand extensions within the Al Mourjan (The Garden) lounge when it first opened. The first is a Louis Vuitton Café, which features a premium paid a-la-carte menu within the main lounge. I have no clue why you would choose to eat here given that there’s an already premium a-la-carte menu in the main lounge (unless you have a bottomless pocket and a very specific craving), though menu items range from caviar to sushi, to other premium items. The café is also a little more intimate, and features more “tropical” finishes.
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan (The Garden) Lounge Doha Louis Vuitton Café
The Dior Spa is probably the more practical of the two, featuring premium spa treatments (though I’m also not sure what the point is once the spa opens in the main lounge). In this case it was closed during my stay.
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan (The Garden) Lounge Doha Dior Spa
Conclusion: Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Lounge (The Garden)
The Qatar Airways Al Mourjan (The Garden) lounge is a massive step up from the main Al Mourjan lounge. In a way, the expansion and new lounge ironed out many of the bare basics that were missing from a Doha Airport premium-cabin transit experience in the past, since the WiFi was fixed in the process, and there’s no longer an hour-long wait for a shower. However, this particular lounge also brought its own positives, including much more practical seating and a more open and inviting setup.
The a-la-carte options are great, and the coffee and alcohol here is top notch as well. I’d say this lounge is easily one of the best business class lounges out there (this is a statement I’ve not said about the other Al Mourjan lounge in the main terminal), and can’t wait for the spa and gym to bring this lounge over the top. The best thing about The Al Mourjan Lounge (The Garden) is that it brings its counterpart in the main terminal up the ranks as well, as it alleviates the crowding issue and the long waits for a shower room. My one complaint is that there still doesn’t seem to be enough quiet rooms for everybody, especially during peak hours.
I’d even say that if you have a sizeable layover as an economy class/Business Lite passenger, it’s worth the £96 to splurge for this lounge, considering the great food and beverage selection and readily available showers.
The only worse signage I’ve ever seen is at PTY. Walk far enough you’ll end up in MIA.
Think I turned back to the Al Mourjan lounge when I saw DXB in the distance
Do they offer nap rooms? While (IMO) a critical feature for hub lounges, it’s really hit or miss whether a lounge will have them.
The quiet rooms are the nap rooms. There are 24, though they were unavailable throughout my stay. If you do snag one, expect a sofa/flat surface, but not a duvet or mattress.
Great and comprehensive review; agree that signage to the lounge is terrible. My wife and I walked past it several times. Curiously, the shower drain was not working until I was dressing, which left half the room wet…teething problems? Apart from that, why fly with another airline?
Bonjour
Est ce que les plats et boissons sont payant au lounge garden quand on a un billet busness
Cordialement