Qatar Airways Lounge Review: The Best Is in Bangkok, Not Doha

Qatar Airways Lounge BKK is part of the Reunion Tour Trip Report.

Do you know where the best Qatar Airways Lounge is in the world? It’s certainly not the business class lounge in Doha. It’s also not the sterile first-class lounge in Doha either. By process of elimination and my personal experience, I declare that the best Qatar Lounge in the world is in Bangkok. Here’s why:

Flight Delayed

I had timed it perfectly. I was going to finish playing night golf by 11PM (see Night Golf Bangkok: First Time for Everything) then head to (somewhat) nearby BKK to catch my 2AM first-class flight on a Qatar a380 bound for Baku, Azerbaijan. Instead, I arrived at the airport to find a small mob of angry passengers. The flight to Doha was changed from 2AM to 8AM, yet no one was told that the flight was rescheduled.

TPOL’s Tip: If a flight is delayed, it does not mean that the passengers can arrive at the airport later. If the delay is resolved and the plane takes off on time, it would be the passengers’ fault for not being there. This is different than what happened here where the flight was canceled then rescheduled.

I was told to go the business class lounge where I would be very comfortable.

Lounge Itself

This is a small lounge that is only meant to operate for a few hours. It does not have places to accommodate passengers overnight.

My Rest Area

Fortunately for me, I found one of the places where I could sprawl out and sleep. Unfortunately, there were no blankets in the lounge and the AC was on full blast.

Food

The food was spectacular. I tried everything from the biryani in the buffet to the a la carte sushi and pad thai.

Drinks

I believe the normal bartender wasn’t available when I was there. Instead, it was a few workers who did their best to make cocktails.

TPOL’s Tip: A warm dirty martini is just warm vodka and olive juice.

I switched to champagne and Hennessy VSOP, a cognac not offered in either the business or first-class lounge in Doha!

NFL Week One

It didn’t matter to me that the flight was delayed. I had a makeshift bed, alcohol, and the disappointing Lions streaming. It was perfect.

Open Bar

I saw a passenger joking with the impromptu bartender that it was not his fault that the flight was delayed. The sarcasm was lost on the bartender who kept apologizing for the delay. I learned that my fellow lounge refugee was also from New York, though he was flying in business, not first to Doha. We struck up a conversation about everything and anything as lounge goers tend to do. Meanwhile, the drinks kept rolling in.

Our rendezvous turned into a small party among those forced to work overtime and us passengers. The collective group was disappointed when the now boarding flashed on the monitor, forcing us to hustle to the gate.

Overall

Qatar Airways could have told its passengers the flight was rescheduled. It worked out because the lounge, staff, and company were great.