Much like the Qsuite, I had read a great deal about the cavernous Al Mourjan business class lounge, located in Doha's Hamad International Airport.
My opinion, unfortunately, is a resounding 'meh'. Why, you ask?
There are many reasons as to my indifference of opinion towards this lounge.
It is many things; it's chic, it's huge, it's airy, it's luxurious, it's divided into a number of distinct areas with distinct purposes, and it's clean. All of these things are great.
It is also many other things; it's too warm and humid, it's too crowded, it's lacking in sufficient showers, it's full of wasted space, it's artificially lit with barely any natural light, it's noisy, it's spartan and impersonal, and so on and so forth.
It's strange, because it is definitely an impressive space but I think it greatly suffers from an even more impressive deficiency when it comes to form following function, or, to be more blunt, it's all fur coat and no knickers.
It's a lounge yes, in name only. You can't actually lounge in many of the spaces. The majority of the seating is too upright, too formal, too corporate, and too chic for its own good.
I had the opportunity to spend a couple of hours in the Al Mourjan lounge on a recent layover en route to Bangkok with Qatar Airways. You enter via an escalator and are greeted by a huge (and very beautiful) reception counter that looks as though it's made from hammered, polished steel, and then a massive molten-looking silver sculpture which is indeed impressive.
I arrived at around 0600hrs, and it was packed. There was barely a spare seat anywhere in the entire lounge. Not off to a great start. I spent a good fifteen minutes exploring its nooks and crannies before finally finding a spot which overlooked a large electronic display reeling off seemingly random lines of text in some kind of attempt to appear artistic.
Side note: Doha Hamad International seems to have a lot of modern art floating about, all of it is fairly unattractive and incoherent, with the exception of the Keith Haring piece hanging in the Al Safwa first class lounge, which I cannot access without paying. And that teddy bear is just the worst.
The chairs in this area were a striking cobalt blue, and swivelled on the base. While they looked absolutely great, they weren't especially relaxing, having no arms or recline. Next to these is a strange screen-cum-tablet that doesn't seem to do a lot other than have a laggy interface. I fiddled with it a bit, then turned it off as it didn't do anything of use.
I decided to go and see if there was a shower free; I was told there was not, so I put my name on the waiting list and was told it'd be ready in about 30 minutes. So instead of sitting around waiting, I decided to have another wander and take some pictures. I do really love the water feature and the very grand spiral staircase that leads to the second level and its buffet and a la carte dining areas.
I wandered down to another dining area towards the end of the lounge. Unsurprisingly this was also incredibly busy, and not at all relaxing. It felt more like a fancy canteen. I wasn't particularly hungry either, so I wandered about a bit more.
The raised platform in the middle of the lounge had more comfy looking chairs but not a single one was free. Are you sensing a theme here? How this lounge can be some kind of flagship space when there's barely a seat free is just such a strange notion. Even BA's Heathrow lounges in T5 aren't this busy. In this area there was also some greenery which was a nice touch. This was the only area with any kind of plants, which adds to the fairly spartan feel of the space as a whole.
Another massive bugbear is that the only place to actually lounge on actual lounging style chairs is in a strange side room which are segregated by strange non-permanent partition walls that face on to the only glass that looks outside. Oddly, this is a quiet area to apparently get some rest, which seems strange given the abundance of daylight pouring into the room.
There was also a 'business area' for doing business in. There was no business being done; it was totally empty. The same with the games room. There was no gaming being done. This is actually a shame as I am an avid gamer; if this was stocked with the latest consoles and games I would happily spend time in here mashing some buttons.
I went to check on my shower, being told it'd be another 15 minutes, bringing the waiting time up to 45 minutes. I chose to sit near the shower area so I could keep an eye on what was going on, again in another good looking but not especially relaxing chair. Why aren't there any sofas or armchairs here? Honestly.
After waiting a further 20 minutes, my shower was ready. I was taken into the room by a very chatty chap who was really enthusiastic in doing his job which was great. He showed me where everything was and asked me if I'd like any more towels. I told him one was sufficient.
The shower was actually really good with excellent pressure, but the room seemed to lack any extraction or air conditioning and so became very, very humid. I was more sweaty after showering than I was before showering, which seems counterintuitive! I also think there are only two showers per gender in two areas of the lounge. I don't think that's enough.
Over and above the shower room, I felt the entire lounge was too humid, as was the airport as a whole.
Weirdly, after I'd had a shower, I emerged into a completely empty lounge. Literally everyone had left. It was completely surreal. Dozens of flights much have all been scheduled to leave within 20 minutes of each other to result in such an exodus.
Obviously I can't be a total Debbie Downer about the Al Mourjan, that would be unfair because it is chic. It is huge. It is airy. It is impressive. It is exclusive. It is exceptionally clean and tidy. It is amazing for eating and drinking. I just think it is not very relaxing.
Interestingly, Al Mourjan is Arabic for 'coral'. I've no idea why it's called this; there's nothing coral-esque about it.
Apparently there will be an extension to Doha Hamad International at some point this decade, and this will include a second lounge for Qatar Airways' business class passengers. I just hope they get it right; it needs to be more relaxing with more natural light.
I've got an eight-hour whopper of a layover in Doha at the beginning of April. I think I'll buy access to the Al Safwa first class lounge.