If you have a long layover in Doha, you might be wondering about sleeping facilities. Doha Airport has sleeping rooms, which are branded as Sleep ‘n fly. They have two spaces in the airport. One in the South Node, and the other in the North Node. We tried both, although this review is mainly about the South space.

Location of the Doha Airport Sleeping Rooms

Perhaps an unpopular opinion, but I’m not the biggest fan of either Doha Airport or Qatar Airways. However, Qatar Airways can be good for earning status with oneworld and I wanted to renew my Sapphire status. Unfortunately, Qatar Airways decided to change my original itinerary which meant a ten hour stopover in Doha. As you might imagine, I was not excited about this in the slightest. I decided to use the time to try out the Doha Airport Sleeping Rooms: Sleep ‘n fly.

The Sleep ‘n fly sleeping rooms were fairly easy to find, even though signage is not a strengh at Doha Airport. The lounge is located next to the Duty Free Area in the South Node. I ended up asking a staff member at one of the shops for directions, and they were happy to help. You’ll go down a corridor, and see the entrance.

Doha Airport Sleeping Rooms Access and Prices

I do have a Priority Pass card through American Express and knew that I should be able to access the Doha Airport Sleeping Rooms: Sleep ‘n fly. I had read, however, that it was sometimes difficult to get access with a Priority Pass card due to lack of availability. Fortunately, I didn’t have any problems and the check-in process was much better than I had been expecting. If you have a Priority Pass card, you should be able (availability allowing) to access a Flexisuite Pod between 8:00am and 21:59pm. These are essentially small single cabins, but they offer complete privacy.

Upon arrival (at around 12:00pm local) the receptionist noticed I had a long layover and asked if I’d like them to swipe my card twice, so that instead of the standard 3 hours of access, I could instead stay for 6 hours. This was incredibly appreciated as I was definitely in need of some rest!

Of course, if you don’t have a Priority Pass card, you can still acess the sleep ‘n fly sleeping rooms. Unfortunately, this doesn’t come cheap – especially if you’re travelling with someone else and both want to be able to sleep. During the date and time we were flying, it would have cost $96 for six hours. Alternatively, we could have booked a Bunk Cabin for $145. This, however, is because we were visiting during the day. The price rises steeply for an overnight.

As an example, if you wanted to book an overnight (8 hour) stay the price would be $145 for a single cabin, rising to $231 for the bunkbeds. Of course, you could leave the airport and head into Doha itself where you would find much more budget friendly options, but I really didn’t want to leave the airport.

The Space

Access only includes your cabin, as well as a pillow and blanket. So if you think you’ll want water, or something else to drink, it’s probably better to bring this with you. I found the space to be clean, and although small, it’s well designed. The cabin feels similar to a business class cabin. The bed can transform into a seat, and you can choose the position which is most comfortable for you.

There is space to store a small cabin bag, and you’ll also find a sort of control pad on the wall. From here, you can adjust the temperature of the cabin, as well as control the seat. I found the climate control to be really good – especially as I enjoy sleeping in a cold environment, and the aircon worked well for this.

There is also a television, although I couldn’t work out how to use this – perhaps I just didn’t see where the remote control was! This said, I wouldn’t really want to use this area for anything other than sleeping, so didn’t have any desire to watch the TV.

Within ten minutes of arriving, I was ready to sleep. The blanket was thin, and similar to one you’d be given during an economy class flight. The pillow provided less support than I usually like, but it was okay. You can fully control the lighting through the control pad. When the lights are turned off, the space is completely dark.

To my surprise, I slept for a solid 5 hours and 45 minutes! I was worried the soundproofing would be poor. Fortunately, I didn’t really hear any noise – although it seemed the space was fairly quiet during my stay.

Doha Airport Sleeping Rooms Conclusions

The Doha Airport Sleeping Rooms: Sleep ‘n fly South lounge is a fun option. You don’t need to leave the airport, but can still have somewhere private to sleep. I liked the design, and found it easy to get some rest which was much appreciated during such a long layover. Therefore, if you’re able to access through your Priority Pass card, I’d recommend it and you will make a genuine saving. In fact, this was probably one of the best Priority Pass spaces I’ve been able to use.

This said, I’m not sure I’d be happy to pay the full price for it. $96 for a single cabin and a six hour stay during the day seems steep, although perhaps doable. The overnight rates, on the other hand, seem rather greedy. If you had a ten hour layover or longer, it would be possible to find a hotel outside of the airport. This space definitely isn’t equivelant to a hotel room, despite the price. Instead, you’re paying entirely for convenience – which is fine, but only if you’re willing to pay the premium.

Don’t forget to check-out our other lounge reviews!