Lush New Al Mourjan Garden Lounge Doha
Experience the latest addition to Hamad International Airport’s offerings – the brand-new Al Mourjan Garden Lounge! Since its inauguration in 2014, HIA has ascended to become the Middle East’s second-largest airport hub. In the 2022 expansion, a noteworthy feature emerged – a sprawling 10,000 square meter tropical oasis, aptly named The Orchard Tropical Garden.
A pivotal element of this expansion is the creation of one of the world’s largest airport lounges on the mezzanine level surrounding The Orchard. The magnificent Al Mourjan Garden Lounge, also known as Al Mourjan Business Lounge – North, boasts an expansive 7390 square meters of space.
As we delve into this new space and design, a sense of familiarity pervades. The question that lingers: Does it truly embody the exclusive sanctuary that Qatar Airways asserts it to be? Let’s explore !
Access & Location
The lounge is located on the northern expansion of the airport. You can get a train from the central Lamp Bear, which will whizz you there in a mere couple minutes. Alternatively it can be reached by walking 15 minutes through a whole lot of departure gates.
Follow the signs for the C gates – which would lead you to the lounge.
Once you arrive at the location, you will get another elevator up to the lounges onto a vast lobby area. This is also the access point for many other lounges on the North side of Hamad Airport too.
One such lounge you will go past is this..
Yes, this is the first and only Louis Vuitton Lounge in the world! It opened in the same timeframe. I might write about this in another post!
Entry to Al Mourjan Garden is strictly limited to those flying Qatar or another OneWorld Alliance carrier in Business or First Class only. If you happen to have purchased a Business Class Lite ticket, you are out of luck !
Al Mourjan Garden Lounge
Right at the offset, Qatar has kept the same design elements of as the original Al Mourjan Business Lounge. The way it is named, would also suggest, they see this as perhaps the same lounge in two parts.
Al Mourjan Business Lounge – The Garden
That is how it is officially transcribed on the wall tiles along with the beautiful Oryx head embossed ..
After you enter the lounge splits off in two directions.
On the right hand side you have the main formal dining area, bar, family rooms, game room, Spa & Gym
As you enter this area you will find the first seating zone with some plush leather chairs, all which have access to a heavy marble affect side tables with a relaxing lamp.
For the Middle East the decor is stylish yet minimal. I’m not sure how having vast high ceilings can lend to any cosy atmosphere but you have some spaces for this.
Behind that, you will see various types of seating spaces for dining..
You have a choice of high stool chairs, which are mostly intended for guests eating from the self help buffet..
Then there are formal tables scattered throughout this back area..
When you take a seat looking out, the vista of the curved roof of the Orchard garden is jaw dropping. The distant sound of of the waterfall in the background is soothing.
Sitting closer to the edge provides an alfresco dining atmosphere..
Despite a capacity of over 700, that were only a handful of other guests during lunch hour.
The lush green scenery really is strikingly stunning! If this design reminds of somewhere else, I shall dive into this later on !
If you prefer sitting away from the light filled mezzanine level areas, there are more subdued seats inside..
Catering At Al Mourjan Business Lounge – The Garden
Qatar Airways Business Class passengers enjoy gourmet dining – arguably some of the best lounge catering in the world! It is no different with this new lounge.
Carefully curated options are sure to satisfy any needs. Let’s start with the selection of dishes available as part of the self service buffet options, and then move onto the A la carte menu.
First up we have an appealing combo of beef tenderloin steak and lamp lions..
There was the classic chicken macboos, and a hammam fish dish alongside this
then there was an incredible (both smell and taste !) aloo gobi with a super frangrant red onion pilou rice..
There was also a pasta veg dish, which probably was the least exciting option!
Alongside the mains there was a numerous selection of desserts and treats..
And many lite bite options too..
Finally this was some of the sushi selection from the sushi selection
A La Carte Menu Options
As fantastic as the food selection is, you get more formal a la carte menu to dine from too.. this was the menu for October 2023:
As you can see there are some similarity and overlap with the menu choices and those available on buffet.
Everything here is fresh to order with a very attentive and personalised service. The menu is also identical in the main Al Mourjan Business Lounge.
Al Mourjan Garden Lounge – Left Part
The left side of the lounge is mostly dedicated to actual lounging.
The centre piece here is a large shallow water feature that has individual leather seats, each with a side table on both sides..
This spans a large central portion of this lounge, with more seating options on either side and towards the end..
There are more private and quiet booth type seating here too. There are a few spots to be found where you can make yourself cosy. During my 4 hour visit, the entire space felt very relaxed in any case.
Again view out to the Orchard Water Garden is spectacular from here too…
As alluded to earlier, you might be forgiven for wondering if you are actually in a airport in another country entirely ! As any AvGeek would testify, this bares a striking resemblance Singapore’s Jewel.
So who copied who? Singapore definitely got there first. It was a fitting evolution of Changi airport and reflection of the garden/forest/bringing nature indoors theme runs throughout Singapore itself with sites like Marina Bay Sands. Qatar refutes this off course, and implies Singapore took inspiration from it’s design plans 6 years prior.
Perhaps the very nature of such an indoor garden with lots of plants, the design needs to be a curved glass roof that warrants such a grid-like pattern? But what of the water feature integration? There are many sources debating this topic, but let’s not get bogged down on that.
Having a garden as a focal point for a lounge is brilliant and not only provides a stunning backdrop but integrating that with a water feature goes hand in hand to creating a sense of wellbeing.
There are several refreshment stations and light bite positioned here too..
When I was seated in one of the more private seating areas after having lunch in the other part of lounge, I even had waiter service by my seat with staff eager to bring drinks and even food orders right to you !
Private Quiet Rooms
If you need a totally quiet and private space to recharge, there are 24 quiet rooms in this part of the lounge for your convenience. These are all first come, first serve.
The only requirement is there is a 6 hour limit and you must also have at least a 6 hour layover to use it !
There are both single rooms..
And doubles for those travelling together
Each room features leather lounger chairs with those classic velvety blankets, side tables, storage for your luggage and a small wardrobe area..
There is also a small table/vanity area with lo rise seating.
You also have a mini-fridge with a few drinks as well as bottled water with glasses.
While these are very useful, it is a real shame they decided not to have proper beds in these rooms!
For context, the smaller single rooms could have easily fit a single bed like that of Lufthansa First Class Terminal and bigger double room could have easily fitted a Double/Queen size bed !
Showers & Restrooms
There are multiple restrooms in the lounge which are all immaculately kept with a permanent attendant for it’s upkeep..
Some people might not like this, as it can sometimes feel intrusive having someone in there all the time. Personally it doesn’t really bother me if it means I always get a clean and welcoming space..
And Qatar sure tries to do just that with fresh orchids inside!
There are several shower rooms available, again on first come first serve. You have to put your name down by the small reception counter for it to get your slot…
Unfortunately, the shower rooms in this lounge are much smaller than the ones in the original Al Mourjan. They are still however equally high spec
The showers are fully kitted out with luxurious towels, Diptique amenities and other essentials such as hygiene pads/dental kits etc
Overall Thoughts
This striking space really solidifies Qatar Airways strong lounge offering across the board. The sheer size whilst being cleverly zoned and the Orchard backdrop, makes the whole space feel zen like.
Even though I perhaps visited during the quietest period of the day. Between two “flagship” business lounges and the multiple frequent flier lounges Qatar has also opened, I cannot imagine this space would get too crowded, like the original Al Mourjan tended to do primarily between 10pm-2am time frame where many Qatar Airways flights arrive and depart.
This is easily one of the best Business Class lounges in the world. My whole 4 hour experience with all the facilities from the dining, ambience right down to more staff than actual guest indeed felt like I was in a First Class lounge.