Al Maha Lounge at Hamad International Airport in Doha [Review]

While Qatar Airways’ Al Mourjan Business Lounge and Al Safwa First Lounge garner a lot of attention from transit passengers at Doha’s Hamad International Airport (DOH), not all of us fly premium classes or have the status to gain entry to these glamorous lounges. Enter Al Maha Lounge: Doha’s primary Priority Pass lounge.

As I typically only fly economy on departing flights from Doha, my home airport, I am more than familiar with this lounge. Let me take you on an in-depth tour to see if it’s worth the stop the next time you pass through Qatar.

Al Maha Lounge Location

After passing through immigration and the security scan, you’ll descend down the escalators into the Duty Free Plaza South area. The escalators to Al Maha Lounge are located to the left past the iconic “Untitled Lamp Bear“ sculpture.

Don’t miss your chance to grab a selfie with the 23-foot-tall yellow teddy bear.

After passing the sculpture, look for the escalators to the left and the signage for Al Maha Lounge.

There is almost always a gatekeeper at the bottom of the escalators to either verify your entry credentials or guide you to the appropriate alternate lounge. At busy times, there will be a queue that is held just to the right of the escalators.

Hot Tip:

Do not confuse Al Maha Services with Al Maha Lounge. Al Maha Services offers meet-and-greet services on arrival, departure, or transit and may include lounge access to a different lounge.

Gaining Entry to the Al Maha Lounge

Al Maha Lounge is open 24 hours a day. You can gain access through several lounge networks or buy purchasing a day pass.

Priority Pass

Eligible Priority Pass members can access the lounge for 4 hours with children under 5 admitted free of charge. Access may be restricted at peak times (5 to 7 p.m., 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., and 4 a.m. to 7 a.m.).

I gained entry with the Priority Pass membership included with my Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. This is a fantastic card for lounge access as it also includes access to Capital One Lounges.

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Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

The Capital One Venture X card is an excellent option for travelers looking for an all-in-one premium credit card.

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

The Capital One Venture X card is an excellent option for travelers looking for an all-in-one premium credit card.

Welcome Offer

Earn 100,000 bonus miles once you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first 6 months from account opening - equal to $1,000 in travel.

100,000 miles

UP's Offer Valuation*:

$1,800

Annual Fee

$395

APR

Purchases: 19.99% - 28.99% (Variable)

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.

Excellent (740-840)

Why We Like This Card

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is the premium Capital One travel rewards card on the block.

Points and miles fans will be surprised to see that the Capital One Venture X card packs quite the punch when it comes to bookings made through Capital One, all while offering the lowest annual fee among premium credit cards.

Depending on your travel goals and preferences, the Capital One Venture X card could very well end up being your go-to card in your wallet.

 

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 10x miles per $1 on hotels and rental cars purchased through Capital One Travel
• 5x miles per $1 on flights and vacation rentals purchased through Capital One Travel
• 2x miles per $1 on all other purchases

Cons

• $395 annual fee
• Does not offer bonus categories for flights or hotel purchases made directly with the airline or hotel group, the preferred booking method for those looking to earn elite status

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Card Highlights

• LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn 100,000 bonus miles once you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first 6 months from account opening - equal to $1,000 in travel
• Receive a $300 annual credit for bookings through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options
• Get 10,000 bonus miles (equal to $100 towards travel) every year, starting on your first anniversary
• Earn unlimited 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel
• Earn unlimited 2X miles on all other purchases
• Enjoy access to 1,300+ lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
• Use your Venture X miles to easily cover travel expenses, including flights, hotels, rental cars and more—you can even transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
• Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
• Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck^®

Financial Snapshot

• APR: Purchases: 19.99% - 28.99% (Variable)
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

Capital One Miles

 

Hot Tip:

If the lounge is at capacity, you may be directed to the newer Al Maha Lounge North in the Duty Free Plaza North area. Priority Pass does not list access to this lounge separately, but I have been able to access it with my membership.

Other Lounge Networks

Those with a Lounge Pass membership can access the lounge for 3 hours. Those with DragonPass, DreamFolks, MasterCard Airport Pass MENA, or Nice Airport Lounge Access have 6 hours of access.

Day Rates

Lounge access for a block of 6 hours can be purchased for:

• 230 QR (~$63) or 12,632 Avios per adult
• 115 QR (~$32) or 6,316 Avios for children 2 to 11 years old
• Free for children under 2 years old

Additional time can be added as follows:

• 140 QR (~$38) or 7,689 Avios for 3 additional hours
• 230 QR (~$63) or 12,632 Avios for 6 additional hours
• 460 QR (~$126) or 25,264 Avios for 12 additional hours

To pay with Avios, enter your Privilege Club details when you book your service online.

Hot Tip:

If you have an extended connection, you may want to consider the in-terminal Oryx Airport Hotel or 1 of 2 Sleep ‘N Fly Sleep Lounge locations (available to eligible Priority Pass members).

First Impressions

I have rarely visited this lounge when it is not packed to the gills. There’s almost always a wait for entry, and once you gain access, finding a seat is like finding a needle in a haystack. On recent visits, my family generally has split up, with my husband taking the kids to the nearby “Other Worlds” bronze playground sculpted by Tom Otterness and me hitting the lounge for snacks and drinks to take away.

That said, having visited this lounge several times, I almost always turn left from the front desk, meaning I enter what I’ll call the main lounge area. This area tends to be overcrowded with nearly every seat full, so I’ve recently been turning right from the front desk into what I’ll call the secondary lounge. Both lounges offer identical food and beverage, but you may have more luck finding a seat or a group of seats in the secondary lounge.

My visit around 11 p.m. in early May 2023 was par for the course with my previous experiences — though I didn’t have much of a queue to gain access, the lounge was quite busy, and I grabbed one of the last available seats.

Seating

Main Lounge (Left)

When entering the main lounge to the left of reception, a large greenery wall will be on your left with some pairs and single sets of low leather seats and tables. To your right are seats with lamp lighting suitable for groups of 4.

To the right of when you enter this part of the lounge, there is a partitioned quiet area with loungers and a sofa. This area is not super-private.

The seating closest to the water feature starts to get a little funky with these blue revolving chairs.

There is an infinity-style water feature in the center of the main dining area. It’s surrounded on one side by dining tables and chairs as well as a drink station with bottles of water, cans of soda, and a self-serve coffee maker.

There is additional seating with a TV past the dining area at the rear of the lounge.

Secondary Lounge (Right)

You can also opt to turn right at reception to enter the secondary lounge.

The initial seating on this side was also grouped in pairs of low leather seats with tables and had an unobstructed view of the concourse below.

Across from this seating area was a TV nook with sofas and additional single seats.

The seating opened at the rear of the lounge to a drink station with juices and coffee.

This side of the lounge is shaped a bit like an upside-down L. On the back wall to the left was additional seating toward the buffet at the far end.

Hidden just before the buffet, off to the left, was a small area with several dining tables and chairs.

Most larger clusters of seats had outlets built into the tables. I found the multi-adapter outlet too loose for my plug, but I was able to charge my phone via the USB ports.

Food and Beverage

The food and drink options were identical on both sides of the lounge, so for the purposes of this review, I’ll just touch on the displays from the main lounge.

Buffet

On both sides of the lounge, the first available food to nosh on was a selection of muffins and juices.

Walking further into the main dining area, the buffet started with a variety of prepackaged sandwiches and wraps. Options included a cream cheese, cucumber, and tomato sandwich; a coronation chicken sandwich; a beef and roast bell pepper wrap; and a tuna tartare with tomato sandwich. If you needed to pop in and grab something quickly, these would have been your best options.

Note that for breakfast service, this area typically has fruit salad, yogurts, and a prepackaged cheese platter.

A variety of mezze and cold salads was on display, including hummus, quinoa tabbouleh, peppered chicken salad, and potato dill salad. There were 2 cold dessert options: deconstructed black forest cake and espresso coffee mousse.

For hot options, there were kettles of tom kha kai soup and tomato soup, as well as a creamy mushroom pasta dish.

Foccacia, rolls, and pita were on offer to round out your meal.

At breakfast service, you can usually put together a bagel with egg sandwich from the hot station and the bread station.

I cobbled a plate together and enjoyed the hummus with pita and deconstructed black forest cake quite a bit more than the coronation chicken.

Drinks

Plenty of still and sparkling water and soda (Coca-Cola and Schweppes products) was on display throughout the lounge. The drinks were not as cold in the open chiller as you might expect from a closed refrigerator.

Alcohol was available but was not displayed at the first drink stations I came across.

Hot Tip:

If you typically pop a drink or 2 in your bag before a flight and are departing on a flight from Doha to the U.S., you will have to undergo a secondary security screening at your gate and will likely not be able to take those drinks through with you.

Each side of the lounge had a self-serve coffee station.

The coolers found in the back of each lounge had more accessible beer and wine. This cooler in the secondary lounge had World Cup-branded Budweiser (there is an abundance of supply due to a last-minute alcohol ban at the 2022 event) and 2021 Santa Julia Shiraz-Malbec. I was told these were the only alcohol options.

Amenities

Baggage Room

If you care to store your luggage rather than tote it around the lounge, there was a Baggage Room in the main lounge to hold your items.

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is provided through the airport, not the lounge. You could connect using your boarding pass, via WhatsApp, or with your Qatar Airways login details.

Speeds were adequate at 13.5 Mbps.

Family Room

Do your kids like to watch Al Jazeera? Then you’ve found the family room.

Each side of the lounge had its own family room, but these were really just private rooms with not much for kids to do other than not bother other guests in the lounge.

The family room in the main lounge had an employee gatekeeping it, and I was advised that I could not enter as I was not with my family.

A guest in the family room in the secondary lounge had moved their chair behind the door, preventing further entry into that area.

Hot Tip:

If your kids need to burn off some energy pre-flight, there are 5 play areas throughout the concourse: 1 each in Concourse A and Concourse B and 3 in Concourse C.

Smoking Room

While the airport indicates that it is a smoke-free facility, there is a smoking room in Al Maha Lounge, with additional smoking rooms available throughout the terminal.

Bathrooms

Each side of the lounge has gender-segregated restrooms, as well as a baby-changing area.

The female restroom had individually enclosed stalls with a bidet hose, which is quite common for public toilets in Qatar.

The sink area in the secondary restroom was kept quite clean, but there was nothing to dry your hands with — no paper towels or hand dryers. There was a box of tissues at the sink, but I can’t imagine that this was for drying your hands.

Showers

If you needed to shower, these were available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Clean towels were prearranged in each shower room.

Staff and Service

With the exception of the hot main entrée being scraped clean in the main lounge, the staff did a great job of keeping the food and beverages well-stocked.

Dishes and trash were also picked up swiftly and unobtrusively.

While I did not have any memorable interactions with the staff, I think that speaks a bit to the level of service — team members were available if I needed them but otherwise did not interfere with my visit.

Final Thoughts

If you’re flying through Doha and do not have status or a premium cabin ticket to access the fancier Qatar Airways lounges, but you do have a Priority Pass membership, Al Maha Lounge is your best (and only) option for a quick bite and drink.

If the lounge is busy, you can quickly grab a prepackaged snack and soda and be on your way to your gate (or take the train to the new ORCHARD area in the Duty Free Plaza North area at the end of the C gates).

Otherwise, grab a seat, pop on your headphones, and try to relax ahead of your flight.