Earlier this year, I had to make a quick trip to Seattle. With out and back within a week, business class was the best way to proceed on this trip. Seattle is on the Pacific Northwest, is a long route, and while Air India is “considering” launching flights on the Delhi – Seattle route, these haven’t materialised. This left me with an old friend, Emirates, to do the honours. The other option was Qatar Airways, which involved slumming it out in an IndiGo codeshare part of the way. Ultimately, Emirates won.

Earlier in the same month, I flew the Delhi—Dubai sector in Business Class on Air India’s A350 and back, so I figured it would be great to compare both products in action. With Emirates, while I had many options, I just thought I wanted to spend time at home rather than at the airport on this trip, given the month was full of travel and I was hardly home.

Transiting at the Dubai Airport Terminal 3

I arrived from my Delhi—Dubai flight and headed to the transfer concourse, which is set up in the B Concourse of the terminal. Fortunately, there was a fast-track option for the airline’s premium guests.

I finished the security check in about five minutes and arrived on the other side. I still had a few hours to go, and my flight was boarding from the B Gates, so I decided to head to the lounge for a bit.

Emirates First Class Lounge, Dubai Terminal 3 Concourse B

Emirates operates three First Class Lounges in Dubai: Concourses A, B, and C. Since I would be flying out of Concourse B, I wanted to head to the Emirates First Class Lounge at  Concourse B.

Emirates First Class Lounge is accessible to first-class passengers of the airline and also to Emirates Skywards Platinum Tier members travelling in any cabin. Additionally, suppose you’re in Emirates business class. In that case, you can upgrade your lounge access for USD 175 (USD 150 if you’re a Skywards member), or if you’re in Emirates economy class, you can buy access for USD 300 (USD 250 if you’re a Skywards member).

I was headed to the First Class Lounge on this day because I had upgraded my flight to First Class.

It is not very difficult to find your way to the lounge with the signage across the airport.

Both F & J Lounges are located on the first level right across from each other, and there is the Skywards Desk situated under. Skywards members can use this desk for query resolution, but I head here once a year to pick up my bag tags. Emirates does not mail them to you but instead advises you to pick them up from here.

On the first level, you go left for the Business Class Lounge and Right for the First Class Lounge.

At last, 15 minutes after alighting from the previous flight and with two hours in hand, I arrived at the Emirates First Class Lounge.

As you enter, there is a large floral arrangement, with the reception right behind.

As you pass through, there is a large waterbody that welcomes you.

The news was that this lounge was under maintenance, something I only realised once I walked in. Emirates has reopened the lounge fully as of August 2024.

Unfortunately, this review is not a complete indication of the capabilities and offerings of the lounge, hence.

With that out of the way and having reconciled that a large part of the lounge experience was missing, I headed to experience whatever was on offer. The lounge is bustling in the morning, with the east-to-west connections at work.

A large section was dotted with sofas for those who wanted to wait. You could also bring your meal here or order it, which could be served.

Fortunately, the restaurant was functional. A staff member saw me approaching and pointed me towards an open seat. He asked for my choice between still and sparkling water and brought it along immediately with a glass of orange juice, which I also requested.

Emirates offers an a-la-carte option, with some options on the buffet set up at the lounge in case someone wants to grab a bite and get out quickly.

The buffet offered muffins, dates, Arabic coffee, Baklava, sliced fruit, cold cuts, and sashimi. Here is a look at the buffet options.

In terms of drinks, there were many top-shelf alcohol brands available for your morning tipple.

Here is the breakfast menu if you want to order an a-la-carte meal. Options include protein smoothies for the health-conscious and a fabulous Emirati breakfast for those who would like to try it out.

The Eggs Benedict and the Burgers here are excellent, but I was not hungry and was not up for a drink then, so I requested some eggs sunny side up with hash browns and sausages on the side.

And then, I saw heaps and heaps of assorted sushi and sashimi rolling out in a platter for some guests, which were tempting enough to pack in. At other times of the day, there is an excellent sushi bar in the lounge, but I believe they were rolling out Sushi and Sashimi as per orders from the kitchen during breakfast time.

If you are eligible to access the lounge, you are also entitled to a 15-minute complimentary spa treatment. The first step was to head to the spa to book an appointment. I headed over when I entered the lounge to secure a slot after breakfast.

The Spa Attendant presented me with the menu with all the current options available at the lounge. On the left are the complimentary options, and on the right are the paid Spa options. I went with one of the quick fifteen-minute treatments, and the spa attendant wrote up the appointment time on the back of my boarding pass and handed it back to me. He also tinkered with his computer to block a slot.

With that out of the way, I returned for breakfast at the lounge. I headed back at the appointed time and was led to an open spa room. This being a dry spa treatment, all we needed was this chair.

Soon, someone came to attend to me, and we got a Destress Back Massage done for me. I was pretty restless, but this massage made me feel better.

Some things I did not spot on this visit included the Cigar Bar and the elaborate Duty-Free set-up inside the lounge itself. What I did spot were more casual dining options set up for people who were seated far away from the dining area. There were fruits, coffee, juices, and so on.

There are also some workstations in case you want to access the internet or grab a print before you head onto the next flight.

Soon enough, it was time to head back out to catch my flight. I know there was a lot of time on the board, but with the US flights, there are pre-boarding secondary security checks, and I was done here, hoping to come back one of the days when the lounge was fully operational again.

Bottomline

Even when not fully operational, Emirates’ First Class Lounge in Dubai had enough and more for me to do for an hour and a half. The lounge attempts to offer a top-of-the-line a-la-carte dining experience, a relaxing spa, and many other facilities for the discerning Emirates customer. From what I’ve heard, now that the lounge is open again fully, there is also a fantastic assortment of wine.

Have you experienced the Emirates First Class Lounge in Dubai? What has been your experience?

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Pros

+ Large Spaces
+ Spa
+ A-la-carte Dining
+ Amazing winelist
+ Sushi
+ Calm and Quiet Spices

Cons

- Not fully operational in June 2024

Rating