A large lounge with a lot of seating and excellent table service dining but otherwise feels a bit empty. Good for short visits but not enough entertainment for lengthy layovers.

View other posts in this series:

• Qatar Airways A350-900 Q-Suites
• Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge (this post)
• Ritz Carlton, Part 1 – Arrival and Villa
• Ritz Carlton, Part 2 – Resort Facilities
• Ritz Carlton, Part 3 – Restaurants
• Ritz Carlton, Part 4 – Kids Club
• Singapore Airlines 737-8 Business Class
• Bonus: Video Review

Access

The lounge is conveniently located just past transit security. We were able to get in with our AA-issued business class award tickets on Qatar Airways.  The attendant at the bottom of the escalator scanned our connecting boarding passes and welcomed us to come inside.

Qatar Airways limits access only to those flying business class (most award or paid flights). However, note that the cheapest paid flights Qatar Airways offers do not allow lounge access; they expect you to buy up to the full experience. Thankfully all awards issued by their partners (including AA) includes lounge access. Note if you have oneworld Sapphire or Emerald elite status, you’ll be welcomed to a separate lounge.

Initial Impressions

We knew we would end up staying here a long time.  Our flight arrived at around 6:00PM and we wouldn’t board our connecting flight to the Maldives until 2:20AM.  The kids enjoyed the large water display near the sit-down restaurant and it felt good to stretch our legs coming off a long flight.

There was a large crowd by the foot of the stairs leading up to the restaurant, as we arrived when many other flights were coming in.  Naturally the kids said they were hungry and so we provided our boarding passes to the attendant to put our names on the waitlist.  The attendant said we would be called when it is our turn to enter, but note you need to remain within earshot.  If you are not present when your name is announced, you will be skipped. It took a good 15-20 minutes for a table to open up for us.

Food

Options for food seem to be generally contained to two areas – the main dining room by the staircase visible when you first enter the lounge and the lighter dining area near the rear of the lounge.

The large staircase and chandelier in the main dining room added to the ambience.  The décor felt warm and inviting.  There were many food options between the buffet and the menu.  A server will stop by to take orders for drinks and dishes from the menu.

The kids were excited to see a simple pasta with red sauce was available on the menu, but they were even more excited to see pasta in a cheese sauce was available at the buffet.  After a flight where they did not eat too much, they definitely made up for it here.

I had the chicken biryani, arguably one of my favorite dishes when I am in South East Asia, and it definitely hit the spot.

Jenn opted for the pan-seared salmon, mainly because the kids also enjoy salmon.  But with so much pasta consumed, the kids had little interest in salmon.

There is also a small sushi bar in the main dining room.  It doesn’t have many options, but the best seemed to be the unagi roll and the smoked salmon roll.  It would have been nice if they also offered sashimi or nigiri but we were happy enough to see some sushi options.

The downside of the main dining area?  It’s so popular that everyone wants to eat there. Try to avoid the rush of other passengers.  By the time we were done eating, the dining area was wide open.  But when we arrived, we had to wait in a long line and ultimately felt a bit cramped in the table we were assigned.  The table was only designed with two adults in mind but we had to get cozy to fit the two little ones on top. If you arrive at the same time as many others, it might be a good idea to check out other areas of the lounge first and come back when less crowded. Unfortunately, the kids needed food right away.

The smaller dining area on the opposite side of the lounge had a variety of sandwiches and salads to choose from, as well as some tapas-style options.  The kids weren’t a fan of the sandwich options found here, which seem tailored to more adult tastes.  This dining room certainly seemed much quieter than the main area.

Showers

We arrived at the showers around 8:30PM and thankfully there was no wait needed to access the showers.  Jenn took Char into the women’s showers while I took Alex into the men’s showers.  The shower attendant quickly got us set up in a room and I was glad to see there was no problem with allowing me to be in the same shower room as Alex.

It’s always appreciated when I’m able to take a shower after a long day of travel and I was quite pleased with the shower services here.

The shower was big and could comfortably fit both me and Alex in it at the same time.  There was also a separate area for the toilet, which is nice to have in a shower room.  The only real complaint I have is it would be nice if they had a vent in the room.  By the end of the shower, it was a tad difficult to breathe with how hot and humid it was in the room and we were glad to escape it.

Service

Service all throughout the lounge seemed polished and professional. We had pleasant interactions with everyone and staff seemed genuinely engaged in their jobs.

The server at the main dining area was incredibly friendly and tried to get to know us a bit better.  He also offered to make a special drink for us, similar to a mimosa.  When he mentioned it was made with orange, I expected it to be sweet, but the blood orange in the drink made it a bit more on the bitter side but still delicious.

The men’s shower attendant also seemed very friendly, wanting to fist-bump Alex and engage him in conversation.  Since Alex is fairly shy, I had to assist in getting him to speak up.  The shower attendant also proactively brought extra supplies for Alex to use.

Kids Area

We did visit the kids area of the lounge.  Unfortunately, it was fairly empty.  They have a play kitchen with no kitchen supplies and a chalkboard with no chalk. The kids played make believe kitchen and then clearly needed a nap as they were running out of steam after all the travel.

Immediately across the way was a game room with a PS5 but no controller and a foosball table with no ball.  My hunch is all of the items are hidden away to avoid theft and perhaps it’s possible to play any of these if you track down the right person, but we didn’t attempt.

Seating Options

There are plenty of different types of seats available here.  We ended up spending most of our time where all the daybeds are located.  These daybeds are first come, first served and do not require speaking to staff. Each child took a bed and had a nice nap on them.  Just be advised this area isn’t particularly quiet.  All the noises of the airport could be easily heard from here so if you require silence to go to sleep, you won’t do well here.

There is a section in the back of the lounge with dedicated beds.  We did not get a chance to use these since they were all taken.  In fact, there did seem to be somewhat of a problem where guests will leave a bag to claim the bed and go elsewhere in the lounge.  I can understand if someone needs to use the restroom, but it seemed many beds were occupied using this “trick”…

Baggage Check

They do have a baggage check here just to the right after entering.  This can be helpful if you want to drop off your bags and then have a walk around the lounge or the airport. We did not make use of the room for this trip but it is nice to have the option.

Recommendation: Yes

Overall I think the lounge has some upside, but I’m not completely sold on it when the layover is long.  This isn’t a lounge where you will have constant entertainment.  Instead, I view this lounge as one where you can get a good meal, take a warm shower, and then hopefully find a comfortable space to take a nap.  If you can’t find a spot on a long layover to take that nap, this lounge might feel lacking.  I think the perfect amount of time here is somewhere around 3-4 hours if you intend on eating and taking a shower.