The Emirates First Class Lounge at DXB T3
Upon deplaning, a distinctly non First Class experience. There was no First Class meet and greet, no EK representative nor signs for much of anything. Also, precious few flight/gate monitors. And since our flight was not for 6 hours, there was no indication of what gate or what terminal. No EK representative. No signs to Terminal 3. No priority security. No clue where to go. It's OK if you know the layout. But having only been here one time before, arriving and departing from Terminal 3, not so much. I knew I wanted to go to Terminal 3 but our choices were A, B or C, not 1, 2 or 3. We eventually found the First Class lounge for the B gates, but it was clearly the old one. We did finally get the info I wanted... our JNB gate was A4 and the Terminal 3 is the A gates. Jeez, is it that difficult?? Back down to the train and finally to T3 and the largest First Class Lounge on the planet.
Since we both declined the on board shower, our first stop was to get a shower... yet another distinctly un-first class experience. I can put up with a small and cramped shower rooms, but no ventilation or air conditioning in the shower rooms not so much. And the shower temp setting are either hot or scalding hot. It was so hot that one needed a shower after you got done with the shower. When you have to open your shower room door to get some cool air, something is wrong. Not even close to LH or TG shower standards, or even AA for that matter.
It took 15 minutes after the shower to cool down and become comfortable again. Next on the agenda was food... breakfast, although lunch would have nicer. But is was only 9AM and we didn't want to wait until the lunch was served.
After breakfast, we headed for the Quiet room and set up camp for the next few hours, where we were the only customers today. With padded walls, this place is eerily quiet, with no announcements or interruptions save for the call to prayer.
While Mrs. SFO napped, I decided to head out and explore this amazing facility, turning left to go to one end.
The other side of the Fine Dining room.
And the adjacent game room.
To a huge lounge adjacent to a number of gates (including our A4) at one end of the terminal.
Our Gate A4, still four hours to go.
Looking down on main concourse shopping area
And walking down the other side and the long straightaway easily 1km to the other end of the lounge.
Even a room for the little rugrats...
More seating and the business centre.
Back towards the middle of the lounge and the FCL's own duty free store.
Now on the left side of the terminal which is pretty much a duplicate of the right side. Another business centre.
One of many bars in the lounge.
With a huge lounge at the other end, same size as the first one.
Turning the corner and heading back...
Another game room.
Another Fine Dining room.
Another set of showers, no doubt as AC-free as the one we used.
One of two Cigar Lounges, comfy seating and full food menu service.
Many of the gates have their own private lounge and prayer room, with elevator access to the jet bridge (for the A380) and the departure area for other flights.
One of many bathrooms in the Lounge.
Time to explore the main level of the terminal.
At around T-50, we left the Quiet Room and headed to the lounge at the far end of The Lounge, to our gate.
