Al Safwa First Lounge
At the top of the escalator was the reception desk where they scan your boarding pass in order to allow access. There were a few passengers in front of me and judging by the amount of time it took to process their entry, they were probably purchasing access to the lounge. I assume the computer terminals at the reception desk were being used to process these purchases so an agent walked up to me with a handheld device to scan my boarding pass and let me through. Entering the lounge I was struck by the vast sense of space thanks to the very high walls throughout the lounge. If I were to estimate, it was perhaps about 3 stories high on average. Enhancing this effect of space was the choice of construction materials, with walls clad in cream-colored sandstone throughout and the flooring also matching in color. To summarize, it felt like walking into a Giorgio Armani store but of museum proportions. The first thing I did was head to the locker area to store my belongings before setting out to explore the lounge.



Concierge desk

Main area

Effective use of light and water elements


Lockers for belongings


The centerpiece of the main lounging area is the high fountain, which consists of a very thin but uniform stream of water projected down from the ceiling into a metallic basin. To a non-physics major like me, it somehow manages to defy at least a few laws of physics to be able to get water to behave in such a controlled manner without splashing on the surface of the basin. Another aquatic feature of the lounge is the waterfall along the wall of the corridor which features the display of the Museum of Islamic Art. Slight problem, the displays were all empty the day I was there. If any of you have visited the lounge in the last month or so, do drop a comment below if the art is back! The giant Keith Haring hanging on the wall was there at least and provided a pop of color in an otherwise restrained environment.



Waterfall along main corridor

Closeup of fountain, very hard to photograph as it’s so tall

Empty display of the Museum of Islamic Art

Keith Haring


Other facilities include the business centre which was empty and featured numerous individual offices with iMacs on one side and PCs on the other. The offices were separated by frosted glass walls and gave off a very sophisticated vibe.



Entrance to business centre

Personally I would have done the fading effect the other way, frosted in the upper half for more privacy

I assume pre-pandemic the island and it’s rack were used to display business publications and journals


Speaking of facilities, it was time to check out the toilets. Entry was through automatic sliding doors and the selective germophobe in me already loved the fact that I wouldn’t have to touch a handle when leaving the toilets with clean hands. This is the one area that deviated from the overall color scheme of the lounge, it featured dark marble on the walls, countertops and partitions. Everything was spotless and resembled a 5-star hotel toilet, with pyramids of terry cloth hand towels placed next to the Diptyque hand sanitizer, soap and lotion at each sink. A toilet attendant was present at all times and while this was obviously the reason for the cleanliness of the facilities, I was slightly uncomfortable being observed entering a stall and also not being able to discreetly leave a stall without the attendant knowing how much time I spent in there, if you catch my drift…Speaking of drift, what also made me uncomfortable was the attendant going in to clean immediately after I vacated the stall, while I was standing there washing my hands.



Entrance with automatic sliding door

Meticulously placed towel pyramid and Diptyque products

Dark marble walls


Scattered throughout the lounge were numerous seating options, all furnished in a very sophisticated design language. Due to the sheer scale of the lounge, I found the seating areas lacking in coziness however. It must be a tough balancing act to design a space that is visually and spatially stunning (which they have obviously succeeded in doing) and yet also feature seating that is cozy, inviting and less austere. Intimate is probably not a keyword they had in mind when designing this lounge. As an example there is a large indoor terrace overlooking/above the terminal concourse (adjacent to the entry reception) which features endless rows of seating. I doubt this lounge ever gets so crowded to justify this kind of density in seating and I never saw a soul on this terrace during my entire stay at this lounge. (It was a good place to make phone calls or watch videos without headphones) Perhaps a few plants between the rows would have helped de-densify the space and break the monotony. All in all, the lounge was furnished in a stylish and sophisticated way with a distinct high-end feel. Compare this to the very outdated style of the Emirates First lounge in Dubai, which in terms of interior design and space utilization is lagging far behind.



Love these lamps!

vitra furniture

Perhaps missing a rug underneath to add some texture contrast and warmth?

Welcome pop of colour

For those who don’t want to face the world…