I had been looking forward to visiting Qatar Airways’ newest lounge at Doha for a while. I had wrongly assumed that, like the original Al Mourjan, you can simply buy access if you are on a business light fare. However, it turns out that at the moment you can’t buy access to The Garden.
Qatar Airways kindly allowed me to have access to review the lounge. If you have Oneworld status and fly business class lite with Qatar, you can access their frequent flyer lounges instead, which are pretty good. You can see my reviews of the original ones here. I will be checking out the new frequent flyer lounges near the Garden later this month.
Location and access
The Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Garden Lounge is located in the airport’s new north terminal expansion, overlooking the airport’s The Orchard Garden. If you arrive in the main hub of Doha near the original Al Mourjan South lounge you need to follow the signs for gates C, D and E gates. You can either walk or take the train for one stop. The North area has a main central area with a ceiling sculpture, and you will find signs for the lounge by the signs towards the C gates.
The lounge is open to business class and first class passengers except for Qatar Airways business class passengers who upgraded or who are travelling on lite fares. You can’t enter either Al Mourjan Lounge with Oneworld elite status, but there are other lounges provided for frequent flyers.
The lounge is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Lounge
The first thing to note about the lounge is the sheer size of it. It is enormous and when I was there, pretty quiet. There are two sides to the lounge. If you are facing the desks and go left, this is where the majority of food and drink is. If you turn right, it is much quieter but has private quiet areas and showers.
As you enter the restaurant and bar side, you are greeted by the beautiful wooden sculpture which also serves as a seat.
There is a relaxed seating area, including seats all along the open side of the lounge that overlooks the Orchard. You can hear the cascading water from here, which is very relaxing.
Next is the deli counter and the dining area.
Behind here is the buffet and a bar.
There were plenty of power points, including wireless charging. There are also QR codes at all the tables for the menu. These high tables would be handy for getting some work done.
If you head to the other side of the lounge, it has a beautiful water feature like the original lounge.
There are some snacks and drinks on this side of the lounge, but it is mainly seating.
I loved the open space of the lounge with its views of the Orchard and plenty of natural light during the day. I was there overnight, but it was pretty quiet on this side of the lounge.
Food and drink
The first option is the deli counter, where you can order food to your requirements, such as sushi, cheese or sandwiches.
I tried some sushi from the counter, and it was delicious – very fresh tasting, and it came with all the proper accompaniments. It was the perfect light snack between flights.
As well as the deli counter, you can also order food to your table using the QR code menu. I liked that you could customise sandwiches and salads how you want them.
Behind this area, there is also a buffet, which has salads as well as hot dishes, local delicacies and desserts. There was a bean-to-cup coffee machine and help yourself soft drinks.
As well as the buffet, there were other areas in the lounge by the bars featuring food, including this tempting salad bar.
The bar is situated to the side of this area. There are also several other stations throughout the lounge with alcohol.
Louis Vuitton Cafe
There is also a Louis Vuitton cafe, which you can access from within the lounge, but you do have to pay for the food and drink.
Naturally, the cafe was beautifully done. If you want to have a fine dining meal and have time to kill at the airport, this is definitely the place to visit if you don’t mind splashing the cash. With everything from tasting menus to caviar, it is a step above the usual airport restaurants.
Here is the menu:
Facilities
As you enter on the left side, there is an area with lockers to store your hand luggage.
The Dior spa is planned but has no firm opening date, according to the staff there. There will also apparently be a spa run by Qatar with manicures and pedicures, massage chairs, relaxation chairs, treatment rooms, and changing rooms. Both spas will only offer paid treatments, there will be no free treatments for business class passengers.
There is a games room to keep the kids (or older kids!) occupied:
There are also family rooms and a kid’s room for them to play.
If you want to freshen up, there are showers. These are better air-conditioned than the showers in the original lounge, which can get a bit humid and hot. Shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and body lotion are provided.
I visited the toilets and as you would expect they were spotless and modern. The toiletries featured were Diptyque, the same as on the plane.
The quiet areas were impressive. The spacious private rooms have two loungers with blankets, mineral water and a fridge.
Conclusion
I was very impressed with this lounge, and I think visually, it is the most stunning lounge I have ever visited. I loved the open, airy feeling, which was very relaxing. The lounge was never that busy, and I would certainly pick this lounge over the original lounge if I had the choice. I would imagine even when it was busy, it would still feel peaceful.
There is a great choice of food, and I particularly like the fact that you can make up your own platters, salads and sandwiches. It’s great that there are more hearty options but also plenty of healthy choices too. The staff were very helpful and friendly within the lounge with constant offers of more food and drinks to my table.
You can find out more about Al Mourjan The Garden on Qatar Airways’ website here.
