Is Qatar Airways Al Safwa First Class Lounge in Doha’s new Hamad International Airport the best airline lounge in the world? It is certainly one of two. We also love the Etihad First Class Lounge & Spa in Abu Dhabi. The Al Safwa First Class lounge is only accessible to passengers who fly First Class on Qatar Airways metal or a Oneworld airline (so it is not open to Oneworld Emerald members who fly Economy or Business Class).
The lounge’s scale, architecture, and design are amazing. The lounge space is massive, with very high ceilings that make it seem even larger than it is. It features a beautiful minimalist design, with predominant light sandstone colors, creating a peaceful and exclusive ambiance.
From the reception, a very long and impressive hallway leads to the lounge’s central area. The hallways feature artwork from – amongst others – Keith Haring, as well as a water wall, making you feel at a museum rather than an airport lounge. Several side corridors open into additional spaces, including a prayer room, a spa (where, unfortunately, you have to pay for treatments and showers), a mini-hotel with several sleep rooms (complimentary to passengers that have a layover of at least six hours), a duty-free shop and a business center with several iMac workstations.
At the end of the hallway, you enter the lounge’s central seating area, a triangular space with a spectacular, tube-enclosed water fountain. There are several types of seats present in this area, featuring a design that ranges from comfortable to artsy. There’s also a ‘terrace’ under the roof of the airport’s terminal with some more seats. There is far too much space for the number of passengers that the lounge needs to accommodate, so it will never feel full.
The lounge’s restaurant and bar are located adjacent to the seating area and feature plenty of tables. The space is quite bright because of the very large windows that not only embrace the Arabian sunlight but also offer nice views across the airport. The restaurant has an open kitchen, and you can choose from several buffet stations or dine a la carte. I was there during breakfast time (our Qatar Airways Airbus A380 flight to Paris left at 8:00 am), but I did not eat too much since I did not want to kill my appetite shortly before my First Class experience.
It was a 15-minute walk to the gate from the lounge, where the Airbus A380 was ready for boarding. The waiting area at the gate was divided into a lower and upper space for Economy and First/Business Class passengers, respectively.
Review by our friends at Luxury Travel Expert
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