Review: Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai Concourse A
- Konrad Tillman
- Apr 7
- 5 min read
Intro
Prior to my flight from Dubai to Mahe onboard Emirates First Class, I visited the Emirates First Class Lounge in Concourse B and the one in Concourse A which I will be reviewing now.
As I spent plenty of time in the Concourse B Lounge, I figured why not try out the infamous Concourse A Lounge. Needless to say, this lounge is much better in many ways, but surprisingly, the dining was the worst part. Still, this lounge is dated and needs a refresh though, no excuses here.
Location+ Access
Emirates has three first-class lounges at Dubai International Airport, one in each of the concourses. Passengers in First Class can access any of the three, but my recommendation is to access the one closest to your gate as it can be quite the trek to get back (15 minutes) unless you have a very long layover...
The Lounge in Concourse A is extremely easy to find no matter if you are connecting or departing originally from Dubai. There is signage across the whole airport, but the lounge is located close in between gates A12 and A13.
Unlike the lounge in Concourse B, the First Class lounge is the only lounge on Level 2, while the business class lounge is a floor up on Level 3.
Conditions for entrance are as follows:
Passengers flying in Emirates First Class
Emirates Skywards Platinum Members (flying in any cabin)
You can buy access for the following:
Business Class passengers can upgrade their lounge to First for 150$ (125$ if you are a Skywards member).
Economy class passengers can buy First Class lounge access outright for 300$ (250 if you are a Skywards member).
Around The Lounge
Once my boarding pass was scanned and my credentials verified, I headed to the right and almost dropped in shock by the lounges' own duty-free. Not sure if this is any different from the main duty-free downstairs though.
Moving on, this lounge is massive. Without a doubt, this is the largest First Class Lounge in the world as it supposedly spans the entire length of the concourse. Seating is plentiful and the furnishing is a tad bit nicer than the one in B gates, but not up to par with Al Safwa.
If you are feeling thirsty, there are drinks stations, a bar, and coffee machines placed throughout the lounge for your convenience.
Cigar Room/Smoking Room
The only main amenity I will be touching on for this review is the Cigar Room, located near the showers and duty-free. The reason for this is that the amenities such as nap rooms, and the spa are virtually the same (maybe a bit larger due to the size of the lounge) as the one in Concourse B.
For those who smoke, you'll be happy to know that Emirates has a beautiful Cigar Room where you can sit back, enjoy table service champagne, and have a smoke or two before your flight. The ambiance here is what I would love to see from the entirety of the Emirates First Lounge as the decoration is top drawer.
Showers
Seeing as there was no hot water in the lounge in Concourse B, I made the decision to take a shower in Concourse A and it was spectacular. For starters, there was someone at the showers who took my boarding pass, and actually showed me to a shower suite while asking which amenities I wanted.
Aside from that, it was a much nicer and more spacious shower suite. You shouldn't have to worry about waiting in line, as there are roughly 8 shower suites (I think) across the corridor.
Dining
Somehow still peckish, I headed off to the dining room located in the back right (somewhat the back right, it's such a big lounge) and sat down for breakfast. Overall, I found the dining room to be a little less well-appointed than the other lounge, and the service to be even slower to the point where I had to get up after 10 minutes to flag down a waiter...
Once shown to my seat, I was shown the menu for the morning. Unlike many other lounges (looking at you Polaris) there is more than just breakfast served, but rather an all-day menu. This is fantastic as many passengers may not be in the breakfast time zone, so it works out for everyone.
Due to the delay in ordering, my champoffee and perrier were brought out 15 minutes after sitting down, along with a glass of red wine recommended by the Emirates staff.
I shall commend Emirates on their wine selection, as depending on the day, you might have no idea what you are going to get. They have some sublime bottles in the back, that is for sure.
However, after waiting 35 minutes since I sat down, my steak frites were finally served. Unfortunately, the steak here was extremely overdone and dry, which was a shame since the other lounge got it perfect every time.
Service
I won't touch on service too much about this lounge as I didn't spend too much time here, but I found the same overall sense of service as the other lounge. The staff were nice in general, but the service wasn't polished to a First Class level. The exception was the lovely man working in the cigar room, who was on it, and poured champagne right at your seat.
Other than that, it could be a lot better and doesn't represent the onboard experience whatsoever.
Final Thoughts
Looking back at my time in both Emirates Lounges, I would view the Emirates First Class Lounge experience as the best business class lounge (similar to the onboard BA product). The lounge is large, the dining options are extensive, and the cigar room is a beautifully designed part of the lounge, but there are too many negatives. In general, the lounge is quite a sterile space, the unpolished First Class service shows, and the lounge doesn't have that exclusivity feel to it. Granted, Emirates does have to serve a lot of passengers daily, but if they were able to turn the design of the Cigar Room into the whole lounge, it would potentially provide a good ambiance.
Note: In no way I am saying that the Emirates Lounge isn't good, it's just for an airline that markets the heck out of their First Class, it doesn't compare to the incredible onboard experience.
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