The standard advice says it is best to arrive at the airport two hours before departure. Anyone flying through Hamad International Airport in Qatar might want to double or even triple that.
It is not because there is any extra hassle getting through security at this gleaming, ultramodern facility. In fact, before the pandemic added new layers to every aspect of global travel, signing up for its e-passport system would get you through in a matter of minutes.
No, it is because you will want to spend that extra travel time enjoying what is probably the most luxurious airport on the planet.
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It might just be the coolest, too.
And as of 2021 it is officially the best, according to Skytrax, the organization whose annual "airport Oscars" had, for the previous decade, crowned Singapore's Changi the finest place on earth to board a plane.
Opened in 2014 with ambitions to turn the Gulf city of Doha into a global aviation hub served by Qatar Airways, HIA now handles more than 30 million travelers a year.
But passengers passing through its beautiful halls and lounges outside peak hours might think they are the first ever to set foot in the place.
Quiet and spotless
Every shining surface of its lavish departure and arrival areas was immaculate even before Covid concerns emerged. Recent passengers say cleaning staff can be spotted everywhere.
The place is utterly quiet. Apart from the Islamic calls to prayer that sound five times a day, HIA is a silent airport.
There are no jarring announcements to shatter the calm, and at certain moments it is so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Not that you would find so much as a dropped pin in this immaculately clean place.
The full HIA experience begins on approach, currently possible only by road, though a rail link is due to open in time for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
It is a grand structure.
Built on land reclaimed from the sea, the architecture echoes its coastal setting with a roof that rolls in waves of peaks and troughs from the concourse. A neighboring mosque resembles a giant blue drop of water.
Inside, departing passengers enter a spacious check-in hall, lit by day with bright sunshine pouring through dozens of diamond-shaped skylights.
It is here that they are likely to have their first encounter with what makes HIA so unexpectedly cool: the artwork.
Subversive art
Okay, art in an airport is not exactly a revolutionary idea, but when was the last time anyone actually mentioned coming across it?
At HIA no one will forget it in a hurry.
Some pieces are subtle, like the playful fake birds perched atop the information displays at the front of the airport.
Others stop everyone in their tracks.
Take "Lamp Bear" by subversive Swiss artist Urs Fischer, a giant, surreal, yellow teddy bear sitting beneath a black lamp. It is such a striking sight in the main departure hall that, before the pandemic, it drew an almost constant crowd of people snapping selfies.
Deeper in, near the far boarding gates, sits another eye-catching piece of radical contemporary art. "SMALL LIE" by celebrated New York pop artist KAWS is a newer addition, installed in March 2018 in an operation that involved removing an entire airport wall.
These are works that some enthusiasts might even travel here just to see.
An airport on the edge of Arabia seems an unlikely home for groundbreaking works of contemporary art. HIA hopes this element of surprise will help set it apart from rival aviation hubs.
"What makes HIA special is our innovative exhibition space," said Badr Mohammed Al Meer, the airport's chief operating officer, in 2018. "We like to say our airport is a gateway to art and culture."
The airport has around 20 permanent art installations. Anyone with a few hours to kill could do far worse than tracking them all down.
Surreal sculpture not your scene?
That is fine, HIA has plenty of alternatives up its sleeve.
An exclusive vibe
For ordinary passengers passing through the airport, there are plenty of standard restaurants and shops, along with numerous high-end boutiques. Gucci, Burberry, Coach, Rolex, Swarovski, they are all here and still open, unlike at other airports that have gone into hibernation.
Just want to sink into a chair? Even the public seating areas are lavish, all done in Italian style with chrome and leather.
Don't feel like standing on the moving walkways to reach your gate? There is a futuristic indoor train that will get you there even faster.
There is even a free door-to-door service to ease the stress for transit passengers. A uniformed staff member greets individual arrivals at the jet bridge, escorts them through security and delivers them to the gate for their connecting flight (or to a lounge if they have a layover).
There is also a fantastic gym, open to any passengers who want to book a session. It has an inviting 25-meter pool, a full set of exercise machines, two squash courts (though they can be converted into a golf area), plus hydrotherapy and spa treatments.
The sports complex adjoins HIA's Oryx hotel, a 100-room transit accommodation that matches the rest of the airport for quality and cleanliness. Guests can check in for eight hours or longer in standard rooms or large family suites with five or six beds.
Passengers lucky enough to fly business or first class with Qatar Airways are in for a real treat.
The Al Mourjan business lounge is the kind of place some weary travelers will probably have to be dragged out of to make their flight.
It is as vast as it is luxurious. It covers 10,000 square meters, including scenic water features, and can hold up to 1,000 passengers at once.
It is still quiet, with the atmosphere of an exclusive club. Guests can sit at individual tables fitted with tablets that provide departure information, so they don't miss their flight.
There is a full sit-down formal restaurant (with a separate room for celebrities and junior royals who don't use the Qatari emir's private airport), a bar stocked with premium spirits (alcohol is available at the airport and on Qatar Airways flights), and other more casual dining options.
There are showers, sleeping cabins, private family rooms, a games area usually kitted out with consoles and a foosball table, meeting facilities, prayer rooms facing Mecca, and a feeding zone for new mothers equipped with milk-warming facilities.
Arriving business-class passengers can also use a separate arrivals lounge with its own immigration desk.
Airport nirvana
Not swanky enough? Qatar Airways first-class ticket holders can head to the other side of the main concourse and ride an escalator up to airport nirvana: the Al Safwa lounge.
Designed to evoke Doha's prestigious Museum of Islamic Art (the work of renowned architect I. M. Pei), this departure lounge feels like a sacred place. With a capacity of 530, far more than it typically serves, there is plenty of room to find some solitude.
Guests killing a few hours can settle comfortably into booths fitted with enormous swivel chairs that would suit the craftiest of Bond villains.
They can dine in style, ordering from a four-course menu paired with fine wines from a cellar worthy of a French chateau.
If they fancy a movie, there is a private cinema. If they want to sleep, there are private bedrooms that can be booked in four-hour slots.
Best of all, there is a beautiful spa straight out of a seven-star resort. Anyone enjoying its tranquility could forget they are in an airport at all.
None of these lavish offerings went unnoticed by the aviation-industry reviewers at Skytrax, who lifted the airport to third place in their global ranking in 2018 and to first place this year.
Reacting to the news, Al Meer, the airport's chief operating officer, said the recognition was as much an "endorsement from our travelers for our commitment to excellent service" as it was of its ability to cope with times of crisis.
And with the world's biggest football event set to descend on Qatar late next year, he said the airport was preparing for its role as a gateway, Covid situation permitting, for tens of thousands of soccer fans.
"As the official airport partner of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, HIA is ready to create unforgettable experiences for football fans from around the world and to ensure seamless connectivity through the airport," he added.
