Originally Posted by
Alphapapa
Did the receptionist at the KrisFlyer lounge give you a high eyebrow and "are you sure you don't want to use the NZ Lounge?" That's what I got a few weeks ago, the food is so much better there and its hardly exquisite cuisine. Just some dim sim, noodles etc. And they have Marlborough GH Mumm...I swear Dulcet will be the death of Air NZ
Wait... do they not have champagne in the SYD SQ lounge anymore? Nooooooooo!
For the longest time (at least for departures where the SQ lounge is open) that has been my pre-flight ritual for NZ flights - head to SQ for some champagne. It's not the best, but it's potable (and in a different league to that awful Dulcet, of course). Mumm Marlborough is also a lot better than Dulcet, as you pointed out, but I'd prefer the real thing.
I've not had any attitude from SQ lounge staff for at least a decade when choosing to use it rather than NZ. There was a while back there just after the lounge was refurbished that they were a bit over-protective of it. They do usually remind you that your flight won't be called, which you could interpret as a passive aggressive way of saying 'this isn't your lounge' but which is also legitimately useful information, so I think it makes sense to let pax know.