I decided to turn my 4 hour layover in Doha into a little excursion to see why Hamad International is acclaimed by many as the worlds best airport! So join me as I wander round!
When you leave the security checks after landing in Doha to enter the transit area the very first thing you see is a large green area. Almost looks like you have gone outside! The Qatar Airways staff I asked as I was disembarking the plane said this was similar to the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore. I have never been so I do not know but I am sure I can confirm or deny when I go in September for the Formula 1!
I was then saw they had an Adidas shop so wanted to see if the goalkeeper gloves were any cheaper than normal (there were 30% less). So this became a little bit of shopping too! To get there I had to get on the metro that goes above the walkways in the terminal.
And the first thing you see after getting off the metro? The famous teddy bear statue that has crowds of people around it taking pictures (including me).
The one thing I will say about Hamad International is that while it is spacious and extremely clean, easy to navigate and everyone is extremely friendly. The food and drinks are very expensive compared to what I am used to in Hong Kong. But I am in an airport so I can let it slide! All in all I can see why Hamad International is considered one of the worlds best by many if not the best! If you get a chance to have a layover here, take it, the exploration is fun!
I would have to disagree with this as a personal experience. Yes, it’s very clean and efficient, but that’s all it has going for it in my opinion. As busy as the airport is, the lack of seating is absurd. And while there is seating, it is only accessible shortly prior to departure time. Along with this, there was hardly enough seating in the gate area for everybody. I ended up sitting on the floor. After you’re in the gate area, you have no access to anything outside, and no restrooms. It’s absolutely ridiculous and I fail to see the reasoning behind it. Dubai is the same way.
Every time I go through the Middle East while traveling I will 100% choose Gulf Air and Bahrain every time. I have nothing against Qatar Airways but that is a discussion for a different time.
Well the reason for the gate seating being blocked in is because at other airports I have seen this they normally do not do a security check in the terminal for everyone, they only do it at the gate. A perfect example of this is Kuala Lumpur. But tbh I found there was plenty of seats, maybe I was just not at a busy time. Not sure.
It was quite impressive and perfect for gifts for my family who are obsessed with football after they hosted the World Cup. Got some replica football and mascot type gifts for like 50-60% off cause the World Cup was a while ago.
Honestly no idea, I know when the football World Cup was on they put some of the teams jersey’s on it. But no idea honestly. Just some statue that people were obsessed with so I took a picture.
