I have to agree with most of your review. I was also on the BAH-MNL leg recently. And like flightcrew1 I was a refugee from the too high Oneworld fares so decided to give Gulf a try.

I agree that the business class seat is nice and restful. I did manage to get a window seat when it mattered, the outbound to Manila which is overnight. The return is all daytime so I didn't feel much like sleeping anyway so being on the aisle wasn't so bad. I was also pleased to get pajamas. It saves your clothes for after you arrive and it's also good better to have pajamas on if you have a food mishap. I thought the food was adequate but it's just a fact of life nowadays that present day business class food is about the same as economy class food of a couple of decades ago. And in my case there was a tablecloth and cloth napkins so I guess YMMV.

I wasn't so impressed with the in-flight entertainment. But luckily I'm easy to please about movies and music. But honestly it wasn't that impressive of a selection. As for beverages, I noticed that after the meal service was done nothing was offered except for water or juice just before landing. I think you just have to ask for it, as unsatisfying as that may be for premium class.

The new terminal is bigger and shiny. For the outbound there was quite a long transfer security line after my comically short Dammam-Bahrain connector flight. It was so far back and crowded that you were blocked off from even having access to the fast track security. They need to try to keep a lane open for that. I ended up just waiting for a while then slithering my way through. I think this will be the norm for most evenings and early am times which are the rush hour for airports around here.

I also agree that the lounge was a bit of a missed opportunity. It's nice enough for now but with a new terminal and acres of space you have to think they could have done better. The food options are nice and extensive enough and I like the bar area. Smokers will be glad to know that there's a spacious outdoor smoking deck, although this time of year isn't the best for enjoying it. The real fail here is the bathroom and shower. It's kind of shabby in general. And there's only one shower that looked like it was added as an afterthought after the last toilet stall. The shower stall doesn't have it's own toilet so you have to go back out and do that business separately. Also the only place to get a towel is by going all the way back to the reception desk and asking for one. Didn't anybody at this airline scout around and see how their neighbor GCC airlines handle this? I see that with my AMEX card I can get into the airside hotel for a sleeping pod. I hope that comes with a better shower setup.