Emirates First Class lounge DXB
Transit in DXB was a bit of a pain. Arriving at Terminal 1 we needed to walk to Terminal 3, and it took us about 25 minutes walk through the very long, warm corridors. Sadly no escort from LH was waiting for us with a small cart, as we had expected from TG in our original routing. There were in fact no one at the exit of the plane, not for us, not for anyone.
At the transit counter, there is one line dedicated for First Class passengers. No waiting area, no sofas, nothing different than from any other airline. Where is the bling-bling?
Or did we had too high expectations?!
After a few long minutes, the check in agent finally managed to issue new boarding cards with our Skywards numbers registered. We then headed for the security control where the First Class lane was the only one opened and therefore used by everyone....
So far not a great start for our first time in DXB, and not exactly a First Class feeling...
New boarding card
Through a pretty lazy security control (computers could stay in our bags, liquids not removed either, and we kept shoes and jacket/shirt on), we entered an overcrowded terminal with little room to move around. Puzzled.
I was surprised to see such a narrow Terminal. It was so far from what I was expecting! It was hot, narrow, and of course extremely busy; a bit like a popular shopping street or a bazaar!
Anyway I read that EK is now building a dedicated Terminal for its A380s, and based on our experience, that is very much needed. Hopefully it will increase the First Class experience.
As we had arrived with 45 minutes delay, we had less time than anticipated to walk around and check out the airport, and the lounges, so after a bit of shopping, we decided to head for the First Class lounge indicated on our boarding pass to get a shower and change (by that time I was still in my comfy LH pj top).
We found the First Class lounge by gate C23 (our departure gate), and boy what a disappointment that was. The lounge, very large, and over two floors was overcrowded with literally only a few seats available. For one minute there I thought we'd ended up in the Business lounge... Sadly we had not..It was also very hot in there... There was four people standing in line to wait for the only shower room to be available. One shower room for the whole lounge? Unacceptable. I asked if they had shower in the spa and first received a smile (embarrassment) and then a head shake (uncertainty) as an answer, up until a floor manager went by and replied with a blunt "no you have to wait here". Even more so when you've entered the shower room, as it gives a smaller impression than the onboard restroom on the A380 (read later). On this one LH, is so much better!
Yes, yes we were in the First Class lounge
Lounge view
Dining area
Seating area
45 minutes later, I was fresh and ready for a small breakfast. Unfortunately the spread was nothing to write home about. There was cereals, a few breads and toppings to choose from, but again nothing impressive at all. At no time we were offered to seat more privately or to order any a la carte food, probably because the lounge was full. Anyway we were still pretty stuffed from our LH dinner, so we did not proactively search for food, and we did not miss it either.
The only good thing about that lounge that morning was the Apron view, showing our beautiful A380.
Our whale!
In the end, we had only a glass of juice, quickly checked emails and that was it.
So did we got it wrong? Did we went to the wrong lounge? Any recommendations for our next trip?
