I'm flying Emirates for the first time next month - Cape Town to Rome, via Dubai.

I know there are a bunch of "which is the best seat" threads, and I've done my research on seatguru - but is any particular aisle seat better than any other? (This is on the 777-300ER, Economy). I've booked the last aisle seat at the back before it narrows down to 2, on the theory that I can recline without bothering anyone. But the armrests on those are fixed, so if I end up with an empty row it won't help much. I wanted the row behind the exit rows, on the theory that they can't recline into me, but apparently they have the IFE boxes in the foot space.

My second query is regarding a stopever in Dubai - my flight arrives at 23:05, and the flight out again is only at 8:30. That's a long time to wait, especially overnight. Is it possible to buy a pass for the Business class lounge?

Sorry, can't help with advice about the seats. I would be surprised if you would be able to buy access to Emirates lounges but you should be able to pay for entry to the Marhaba lounge.

http://www.marhabaservices.com/Source/Lounge.aspx

Alba

hi, not sure about your 1st question, i always tend to book the first row usually 16/17c...meal service always starts at the front, yes u may have to put up with crying babies etc but get yourself some noise cancelling headphones.

re your 2nd question, 9hrs is a long time, ive got a similar stop over tomorrow - i will be checking into a nearby hotel instead. You cant buy a pass for the EK lounge, but i do know there is a lounge in terminal one (near gate 114 if im not mistaken) that you can pay to enter. If you have a visa waiver passport, you could just check into a near by hotel. Also is this the first available connection for your flight? if so would stpc cover you for accomodation/lounge etc?

It is the first available connection, so I was wondering if stpc would cover it - I'm not sure exactly what's involved in that, but even if I can just get a hotel room for 2 or 3 hours it would be great! It's a 6 hr flight before, and a 9 hour flight after, so being able to lie down for a while would really help.

I've emailed my local emirates office, and asked about the stpc; they haven't replied yet, but hopefully they'll be able to give me more info.

Oh, and on the seat question - I looked up the seat on seatexpert, which had it marked as a bad seat! So I've selected alternate seats

Hi ceejay_za,

Just send you a PM

It turns out that I'm in class L, not Y, so I don't get the STPC

Is the Marhaba Lounge worth paying for? I've seen a couple of mixed reviews. Maybe I'd be better off just finding one of the lounger style chairs somewhere and hogging that all night?

I would expect that booking in at the Airport Hotel in Terminal 3 would be quite expensive, although I can't find any figures.

"Quiet Lounges: For those wishing to take a quick nap, two quiet lounges are available on either side of the Sheikh Rashid Terminal near Gates 9 and 23 free of charge. Passengers can use the special reclining chairs here"

"Dubai International Hotel
Rooms: With 78 deluxe 5 star rooms, 6 junior suites, 2 royal suites, Dubai International Hotel is located on the third level of the Sheikh Rashid Terminal and offers a fantastic view of the runway and the Dubai Duty Free.

Deluxe single room costs as per the time slot are US $ 51/hour from 8:00 pm - 3:00am and US $ 41/hour from 4:00 am - 7:00 pm while Double rooms costs as per the time slot are US $ 62/hour from 8:00 pm - 3:00am and US $ 52/hour from 4:00 am - 7:00 pm.."

Ah, thanks! I didn't know that the Sheikh Rashid Terminal was Terminal 3, and was sure that the Dubai International Hotel was in Terminal 1!

The prices aren't that bad, I guess, but the time slots don't really work for me (I arrive around 23:00, and leave at 8:30). The quiet area should do fine, though.

Sheikh Rashid Terminal is Terminal 1!

Hmm... then the confusion continues! Anyone know what the hotel in Terminal 3 is called, or have a url for them?

I think it's simply called Airport Hotel.

http://www.emirates.com/english/plan...ort_hotel.aspx

There is a phone number near the bottom of the page. Or simply contact an Emirates office.

I've emailed Emirates to ask, but from what I can see from googling around, the hotels in Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 are both the "Dubai International Hotel". So I guess the prices would be the same for both terminals, as well.

(Oh, and when I said the prices weren't that bad - I didn't realise they were per hour I thought they were for the full time slot! So that's definitely out of the question.)