Hamad Doha Airport

Style over substance. Arriving into Doha after a long flight it is hard not to be impressed by the beautiful refined architecture and sense of space, and of course it helps that the airport is still relatively new and fresh. There is decent free internet (although on first leg transit couldn't connect at all), the usual range of retail outlets (with a heavy emphasis on luxury brands) and a general sense of calm even when the airport is busy. My issue however is the airport really is heavy on catering to premium class passengers and fails on delivering to the average economy class traveller. If you have an 8 hour layover like mine, arriving late at night there is very little to do and little comfort available unless you are prepared to pay a premium for either one of the lounges or the eye watering expensive transit airport hotel if you need a room or access to a gym or shower. The general seating areas are uncomfortable with eames style leather benches with no reclining arms and no head rests to get comfortable in. The quiet area lounges are neither quiet or particularly loungey and astonishingly there are no shower cubicles in the restrooms. In a newly built airport I would have assumed that this would come as standard even if there was a nominal fee for use. Spending $50 to access a lounge just to have a shower is pretty poor in my opinion. The restrooms themselves are spacious, spotlessly clean and airy and plenty of them so I cant understand why there arent any showers in even a designated shower block. After having coffee and a meal in one of the several very nice restaurants it would be nice if there was something cultural to experience within the airport to get a better understanding of Qatar life which is lacking. The big bear art installation is indeed a nice novelty but it would be nice to have something more engaging along with this and with a sense of place for short term visitors passing through to enjoy. Qatar Airways are a decent airline and I would be happy to connect through this airport again however I would consider carefully on a stopover of more than 3 hours if so.

Airport looks fairly nice, lots of free seating but the security lines was absolutely horrible. Waited for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Unacceptable for a modern airport I think, this was for transfers, and the airport did not seem to have it under control at all. We arrived and there was several 1000 people waiting, I've never seen that many people waiting for security and I travel a lot. For that many people waiting I suppose the line did go pretty fast but 1.20 hr? Not okay, they only had a few of many security lines open, and I think that caused the problem. I usually have a stop over I Dubai when I travel to Asia, and after this experience in Doha, I will be choosing Dubai in the future as well.

Hamad International Airport is major change from the old DOH airport. But, I feel the airport is very dark, even at daytime, plus the directions of the gates are misleading. I love the variety of shops available, but pricewise it's kinda expensive. In November 2015 I travelled with my wife and six month daughter, I needed a baby trolley. I kept searching and searching, no sign of it anywhere.

Hamad International is an absolute pleasure of an airport. Looks and feels great with a quiet atmosphere. Toilets immaculate. We were late in arriving and close to missing our connection - a customer service agent took us from one gate to the other. Lounge is amazing. A good variety of shops and love the giant teddy!

Was excited to visit Qatar for the first time. There was one major problem on arrival. My wife and I had to queue for 3 hours to get through Immigration. The airport website suggested an acceptable 35 minutes but 3 hours is entirely unacceptable. The cause was obvious. A lack of staff manning the desks. About 2.5 hours in a desk was opened which speeded things up by 30 minutes. There was no information on timescales and the queue continued to grow as other flights arrived. My wife recently had a knee joint replaced in 2015 and is due to have her other knee replaced in March 2016. She found standing and slowly shuffling in the queue intolerable and painful.

Due to a disability I have issues walking long distances and standing for great lengths of time, and arrivals at Hamad Doha Airport is the only airport where I opt for 'assistance' due to the distance from arrivals and the length of time one has to wait at passport control - an issue Hamad is famous for. On the 22nd of January I was taken via wheelchair through a 'females' gate. After checking my passport, the lady official began shouting in Arabic at me and the airport worker who was pushing my wheelchair. She called over a policeman who questioned me as to the state of my disabilty. It was a very unpleasant experience. I asked someone what was happening and was told that the lady official had objected to me going through her gate because it was for Qatari females only.

Besides the great ambiance and cleanliness, it is a very easy airport to get around and transfer from. Very nice variety of shopping, although the duty free staff could be better. Excellent WiFi access and quality. It really is a fantastic airport to connect at.

Transited twice in January, travelling with Qatar Airlines from London to Perth. First time through the new airport. It's a nice, compact airport, much more user-friendly than Dubai. The business class lounge was excellent, very tranquil, good wifi and with (unusually for these days) a pleasant enough smokers' lounge. Transiting from London to Perth we did not pass through security, but did on the return trip. The combined experience of Qatar Airlines and Doha Hamad was extremely positive.

Be aware the transit area has a security screening and can be chaotic with long queues. Getting through the area may require an hour in line. If there is any chance of missing your connecting flight head to the airline desk and insist on a later flight. The chaos is caused by ground staff moving priority or late arriving passengers up the line. There can be confusion and travelers jumping lines.

Well organised airport. I especially love the easy to use free Wifi which is very fast. Plenty of facilities and shopping opportunities. Plenty of restrooms which are kept clean regularly. I am a little concerned however that given the growth of Qatar Airways, airport congestion will increase dramatically in the future just like Dubai which will impact the experience.