Qatar strikes again, Singapore's new lounge is (almost) perfect

If Qatar is the best airline in the world owes it to several factors: the QSuite and its hub in Doha, elected respectively best business booth e  best airport in the world, as well as its 5-star service offered ashore and on board.

The lounge at Singapore's Terminal 1 only confirmed what everyone has been saying for years: Qatar is simply on another level, playing in its own category and we in Italy can only regret the failed attempt to transform Meridiana into Air Italy And in Qatar made in Europe.

Location

The lounge is located at T1, in the C1 gate area near the Emirates lounge and the Premium Plaza. The directions to it are, as with all other lounges in the terminal, very present.

This is the terminal used by almost all premium carriers, not Star Alliance, Is the one attached to the Jewel and the one that offers the largest number of waiting rooms. This is definitely the best of all the ones I have visited, basically all except Emirates.

Access

Qatar is a member of the OneWorld alliance, and is also one of the core members of IAG the group that controls British Airways, Iberia and Vueling. To enter this lounge, one must be a Qatar business or first class passenger or a passenger of any of the alliance airlines.

Access is allowed in any class of travel, provided they are connecting flights marketed and operated by Oneworld on the same day of travel or before 6:00 a.m. the next day if you Arrives in First Class or Business Class on a scheduled flight longer than 5 hours.

The boarding pass of the arriving long-haul flight must be kept for lounge access. Simply put, you can only get in if you are traveling in business or first, at least one leg. Conversely, if you travel in a lower class, even if you have the top level, you will not have access and will be invited to visit the other OneWorld lounges in the terminal. In my case we were traveling in business class with Finnair, so open doors.

The reason is that this lounge is exclusively designed for elite passengers, with a capacity of less than 90 people.

The lounge

This hall was opened in the midst of the pandemic, in February 2020, and remained open less than a month before closing and reopening on June 29 this year. It is basically still running in.

As soon as you step into this waiting room you are treated like a VIP, Qatar has decided to almost totally eliminate First Class from its planes and treat its business as if it were first class, and for many travelers the Suite is superior to many first classes around the world.

"We are now redefining the new standard for business class lounges. We want to ensure that the ground experience offered to our passengers is on par with our iconic five-star airline experience. As the first Qatar Airways lounge to follow this design concept, it will serve as the new standard for all our premium lounges in the future."

An attendant welcomes the guest and escorts him to the lounge. If you want to have lunch/dinner, you are assigned to a second attendant who escorts you to the table and takes care of the guest as if you were in a starred restaurant. Needless to say, all staff wear the iconic Qatar flight attendant uniforms.

Past the entrance hallway, which is very nice with the LED wall, you enter a quieter section with soft lighting, comfortable seating, and a small corner with drinks.

In the center of the lounge is a circular bar, with a bartender inside who makes cocktails and serves drinks for all guests. Really very nice, and above all, the bartender is a real master in preparing mixed drinks.

There are also armchairs enclosed in bulkheads that totally isolate from the rest of the room, ideal for completely isolating yourself and working or taking a nap.

The main part of the lounge is the one precisely with the circular bar, which also houses the buffet.

There are two areas devoted to the restaurant. The mise en place is trendy, certainly not lounge.

Then there is a second, quieter section with armchairs and side tables. Coffee tables that to make life easier for guests have built-in wireless charging, but also all the outlets you may need.

L's only downside is that the lounge does not have a view to the outside world, but even here instead of a window to nowhere, Qatar has set up a fake garden with cacti and colorful plants.

Services

The lounge is not very big, it is only 200sqm, the space for guests however is really a lot and the distances between seats definitely above standard.

There is a small business corner with two PCs connected to a printer.

Then there are the bathrooms, which are shower rooms. There is an attendant in front of the door to seat the guest and then prepare the bathroom for the next guest. The bathroom as mentioned is complete with everything, it is almost as big as a single room in a boarding house in Rimini.

Food&Beverage

Qatar clearly wants to take its guests by the throat.. The Doha-based carrier has 3 daily flights to its hub: at 2 a.m., 3 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. And there is a different menu for each phase of the day.

To understand this, one simply has to admire how the buffet is set up, let's say one is almost ashamed to serve oneself so as not to spoil the picture drawn by the chefs.

As soon as we were seated, we were brought a warm washcloth and a welcome glass, as if we were aboard the QSuite.

We therefore went for a la carte service. The menu, unfortunately, is digital only and is accessed by the QR placed on the coffee table. I opted for the tempura shrimp and chicken skewers, an Asian delight. Marika instead has on the slow-cooked veal cubes and the sushi platter.

Needless to say, the china and all the tableware are the same as that used aboard Qatar's planes.

For the main course, I did not pass up a filet rare, perfectly cooked. While Marika stayed in India with the chicken curry dish.

For dessert, hot chocolate cupcake with ice cream sphere vanilla and fruit. Marika, being more line conscious, preferred to stay lighter with fresh fruit.

Of course, we couldn't help but accompany such a dinner with plain water, so after an excellent Singapore Delight cocktail, we relaxed by drinking: me some Veuve Clicquot and Marika some Bollinger Rosé. Both bottles were uncorked for us. All with attentive service to the smallest details, such as refilling glasses as soon as the bubbles dropped below the guard level.

In conclusion

You don't become the best company in the world by accident. This lounge is basic in services and offers nothing exotic, but the restaurant is the real highlight; a dinner of the same standard in S'pore would not have cost less than 300SGD, or perhaps more given what we drank.

Of course, Qatar in this lounge only thinks of business travelers or above, leaving out even its top tiers, but with only 86 seats capacity is a logical choice. Ensuring this level of service, attention to detail, and care does not make it possible to work with thousands of passengers every day.

The verdict

It is deliberately small and exclusive, one might say for many but not for all. Few passengers pampered, served and revered as in a starred restaurant. We are not in its main airport and probably not even in the most important one in terms of traffic and passengers, however, it is really on another planet compared to all the other lounges in this airport.

9

Rated Location

9

F&B

10

Services

8

Pro

• The hall
• The restaurant
• The service

Against

• A small spa is missing