Location: Airside adjacent Gate 22 up the escalator
Hours: Approximately 0430 to 2030
Eligibility: First and Business passengers connecting to or from a Qantas or Emirates international flight on the same day. Qantas Gold, Platinum/One frequent flyers travelling on an OneWorld airline with a QF flight number, or with Emirates or Jetstar. First and Business OneWorld members if travelling on a Qantas domestic flight connecting to or from an OneWorld flight on the same day. OneWorld Emerald/Sapphire members travelling on an OneWorld airline. Emirates Skywards Gold/Platinum travelling on a QF or EK flight number. Qantas Club members travelling on a QF or JQ flight number.
General Impression and Facilities: This lounge is centrally located, well signed and easy to find. Friendly reception staff welcomed me, then pointed out the clothing and baggage storage behind them and directed me to make myself at home, peaceful chill music drifted throughout. Immediately I noticed the floor to ceiling windows overlooking the concourse. These made for good people watching after I helped myself to a glass of sparkling wine. The lounge provides a quiet relaxing place to escape the never-ending boarding calls and pages.
This lounge is small in comparison to the new ones on offer in airports like Singapore and Hong Kong, but the 165 seats are adequate. It did feel somewhat dated in appearance however. The colours of the lounge chairs are predominately khaki, black and red and this together with the dominating polished wood and grey/beige striped carpet gives an overall antiquated feel.
There are two business centres. One is located right of the entry and features two small private work stations with Apple iMac PC's and power points. The other features three private cubicles, with work desk, chair, Xerox work centre and shredder. The free Wi-Fi is fast and automatically connected without the need for a password. One big downside is the distinct lack of power points outside the workstations. If you had work you needed to do on your laptop, you would find this along with the low tables in the lounge areas a hindrance.
A comprehensive magazine and newspaper stand provides a good variety of reading material, and I suggest if you have a day time flight, head to the chairs overlooking the tarmac for a great view of aircraft take off and landings.
Dining: I arrived at 8.30pm so while outside a main meal time, there was an adequate spread.
The large appetiser section was full of dips, cheeses, cold meats, vegetables, salads and antipasto. Mains consisted of Thai sweet potato soup, hot pastries, curry and rice, meatballs with pasta and fresh parmesan and breads. Fruit and nuts, cheesecake, brownies and sweet biscuits were available to have with your tea and coffee, though the coffee was machine made. I like the added touch of jars of liquorice allsorts, jaffas and savoury nibbles. A sufficient selection of wine, beer, spirits and soft drinks was available in a self-serve fridge.
There are plenty of dining tables for two but only some for four, so families could struggle to eat together at peak times without having to move chairs and tables around. The same applies with the lounge chairs, plenty of twos, but for a group you may find you need to rearrange the furniture a little.
There's two TV areas and the remotes are left out, so if you're in early, grab one, sit back and watch the program of your choice.
Showers: Two unisex private bathrooms with shower, toilet, basin and Aspar toiletries are available, together with men's and ladies washrooms featuring Aurora Spa toiletries. There's also a disabled bathroom and baby change room.
Overall: I enjoyed the lounge, but was disappointed by the lack of Barista coffee and the shortage of power points. To charge my phone I had to leave it unattended in a workstation.
Note: There is a separate first class lounge for eligible travellers next to reception behind a frosted glass door.
Article & Pictures contributed by Kim Culyer of Doc Holiday