Recently flew from ORD to AUH and back on Etihad on their A350-1000. I am going to present this list as a list of Pros and Cons, along with the bottom line.

Pros:
-Check in at T5 at ORD was flawless and the airline staff was wonderful. My Precheck was recognized, luggage checked through to the final destination and my miles correctly credited to AA.
-The lounge situation is improved, utilizing the SAS lounge instead of the lesser Swissport lounge. The lounge was fine, with snacks, drinks and finger food on offer. Plenty of seating, nice views of the ramp and a pleasant staff. It is what I would expect at a remote outstation in a non-hub city and is along the lines of a Priority Pass-type lounge.
-Boarding was on time and a PDB was offered (but not a hot towel) and the crew and food was amazing on the way there.
-The hard product on the A350-1000 is 5 stars out of 5 for me. The sliding door provides nice privacy when sleeping and the footwell is large enough to sleep on my side.
-US Preclearance at AUH on the way back is a game-changing convenience, allowing us to land back at ORD as a domestic flight with no customs or passport control.

Cons:
-Terminal 5 at ORD is a nightmare. It's cramped, under construction and when the flight landed as a pre-clearance flight, we landed right back at the same gate at T5 and it was total chaos. The entire plane emptied out into the cramped concourse and we had to make our way downstairs to the cramped baggage carousel 12.
-There is no Uber service to T5, so everyone had to get on the train to go around to T2. That meant either waiting in a long line for the elevator with your cart, or lugging it up the escalator and onto the train. It was a preclearance flight, why couldn't Etihad drop us at T1/2/3? I am sure it's because of no gate space, but still. The ground experience on the return was as bad as it possibly could be.
-The flight on the way back ran out of breakfast food 2 hours before landing. This made no sense. For an airline that offers dine on demand, there should be more than enough food loaded at their hub.
-No slippers, pajamas or mattress pad. Should be offered on a flight this long.
-The soft product on the way there was better than the way back. I had to ask for service instead of being pre-emptively checked on.
-The Business lounge in AUH was crowded both times with not enough seating and the food was very lacking. This is one area where Etihad needs to step up its game. I actually left the lounge at one point and went into the airport to eat.


Bottom line:
For the price paid, it was good value and I would fly Etihad again.