Any opinions on the United Club in Melbourne? I'll have some time to kill before flying to Sydney and then on a later flight from Sydney to LAX.

My wife is 1K and I am Silver and we are on BF tickets. Are there any other clubs we can check out?

I heard the Koru Club in Sydney is nice.

Koru club in Sydney is very nice, free computers and wifi, hot food, plenty of drinks.

From memory since I was there in January, the MEL club is certainly a notch above domestic UCs with somewhat upgraded food offerings: I recall small sandwiches and bite-sized desserts in addition to the usual snack offerings. The lounge was quite crowded when we were there, though everyone appeared to be able to find seating and the staff handled it great - this was the height of the summer and the day after the conclusion of the Australian Open so likely close to peak traffic.

The SYD lounge is very large but also comfortable - self-serve beer/wine and espresso maker with a hot buffet of breakfast/lunch items.

Air New Zealand lounge in Sydney was quite fantastic when I was there a couple months back.

You probably will not have time to check out the lounge in Sydney if you're continuing on to LAX. Nonetheless, you can lounge hop in Melbourne if you have time. The united Club there was okay; better than most domestic United Clubs. Nonetheless, the offerings in the Koru Club were better- they had better food and even a game room.

And of course, there's Annie!

Actually I wanted to spend a week in Sydney as the bulk of my trip is in Melbourne and Geelong so I was able to split MEL to LAX into 2 segments by adding SYD as an additional destination. I think it only added $100 or so to the final cost. ^

The United Club in MEL isn't too bad, breakfast foods and a decent coffee machine. If you are after a power point, when you walk in go straight to the back and it's on the right. Wifi is from the Airport (ask the desk for a card) however I find sitting in the back of the club, Singapore Wifi is quicker through the wall.

The NZ lounge has more food than the United Club and larger, they will try to redirect you to the United Club though.

Neither have any views.

The flights SYD-MEL-SYD only serve coffee and maybe pretzels, so eat in the clubs before hand.

Sydney, the NZ lounge is great, Hot Dog Machine in the afternoons and they do have showers (Ask the desk for a Towel kit) if you would like to freshen up before the flight.

A shower is great on arrival before you fly onto MEL on the inbound too. Just don't waste time getting off the plane and up to the lounge as they tend to be busy in the mornings.

You will have enough time (if on Schedule) on the inbound to shower and have breakfast before the flight to MEL. Normally the MEL flight is delayed boarding, but given the load, departs close to on time.

Tip: When you clear the International Transfers in SYD, take the glass lift on the right up to the NZ lounge (outside the Emirates Lounge) rather than the escalators.

Please note the new Duty Free Tobacco changes which started on the 1st September. 50 Cigarettes (down from 250) Apparently a carton will carry a $97AU Duty if you want to go over the 50 limit.

Also See:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...australia.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...tc-merged.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...ad-merged.html

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I travel almost exclusively domestic, so the Star Alliance Lounge in Sydney is the nicest lounge I've ever been in (Comparing to UC's in the States). It was really nice to have a hot shower after the long flight from LAX and before continuing on to Melbourne. The private bathrooms were modern and spotless and I remember they had a wide range of hot and cold breakfast foods the morning I was there/alcohol etc.

Can someone please tell me what lounge is accessible to BusinessFirst passengers in Sydney Australia before the TPAC UA flight to LAX?

Thanks!

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...ne-sydney.html
Also, you can look at the *A lounge finder.

The lounge you will be directed to, and most likely want to use, is the Koru Club (Air New Zealand's) lounge. Some have reported getting into the Singapore Airlines lounge using their *G credentials but I have never had success.

The Koru club is nicer than UA's domestic lounges but not as nic,, IMO< as some other airlines' clubs (LH's Senators for example). They do have hot food, a good bar, showers, and free wifi. It seems to get somewhat crowded in the afternoon.

Take the advice above. Ignore the SQ Lounge next door, it isn't worth the headache. You SHOULD have access to both lounges based SOLELY on your BF boarding pass, but SQ is always playing silly buggers.

Dave

I did get access to the SQ lounge with *Gold credentials and concur it is not worth it. The Koru Club is MUCH better.