Over the last couple of years, the stuffy airline lounge has undergone an image overhaul of epic proportions. Gone are those boring, sterile spaces dominated by shag carpets, vinyl-covered couches and unpalatable food, staffed by bored attendants with perfunctory smile pat in place.
The new generation of lounges is plush redefined. Scattered across some of the busiest airports of the world, they offer a mind-boggling array of uber-luxe services and top-of-the-line amenities. The lounge has suddenly morphed into a place that not only makes waiting for that delayed flight a whole lot more bearable, but also a place that’s inviting in itself.
In my last few travel-saturated months, I’ve had the privilege of sampling the offerings of a few such hedonistic havens and, trust me, they spell decadence with a capital ‘D’.
Qatar Airways’ Al Mourjan Lounge, Doha
Qatar Airways’s business class fliers get a state-of-the-art Formula 1 simulator (you read that right) in the lounge’s games room. Here’s where all your Lewis Hamilton aspirations can take flight. Located on level three of Doha’s Hamad International Airport, this 10,000 sq.m. lounge is kitted out in minimalist Arabesque décor with traditional Qatari calligraphy on the walls, and offers everything from multicuisine dining to a garden to an array of ‘quiet rooms’ where one can catch a quick power nap. For those who can’t stay too far from business, Al Mourjan comes equipped with a number of private conference rooms and fully equipped business centres.
Qantas’ First Class Lounge, Sydney
With the airline’s signature tomato-red hue dominating the rich room, the Australian national carrier’s First Class lounge at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith International Airport is the splendid baby of the collaborative marriage of the airline’s Creative Director Marc Newson and architecture firm Sébastien Segers Architecte DPLG. Offering everything the discerning traveller needs and then some, this lounge has a couple of private sleep suites, a spa, a 30-metre vertical garden, and a restaurant menu created by the legendary Chef Neil Perry of Rockpool fame. For those with a yen for a cup of freshly-brewed coffee, the lounge’s resident barista whips up a mean skinny latte.
Virgin Atlantic’s Clubhouse, London
Imbued with Richard Branson’s eccentric chic, the award-winning Upper Class Clubhouse at London’s Heathrow International Airport is much more than a mere airline lounge. Try this for starters: a 14-metre-long cocktail bar unlike any other in the world, where expert mixologists stir up everything from a de rigueur Bellini to a more au courant molecular cocktail. Vintage arcade games and pool tables at The Den to keep you entertained. For some much-needed downtime, book yourself for a facial at the Clubhouse Spa or perhaps a pre-flight hair cut at the salon, — very cheekily named Blo. And for those with a predilection for a full English breakfast, the Clubhouse’s chefs will whip one up as you watch the airside action unfold from The Loft that affords stunning views of the tarmac below.
Turkish Airlines’ CIP Lounge, Istanbul
This 3,000 sq.m. gargantuan business class lounge at Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport can service 2,000 people a day. In numbers, the CIP lounge may be impressive, but experiencing it up close and personal is another matter altogether. Boasting of an olive garden and an olive bar, the dominant olive leitmotif is everywhere you look. Be it in the billiards hall, the dining area, the library or the fully-equipped business centre. But the piece de résistance has got to be the mini cinema that it houses, showing both local Turkish and international movies with a box of popcorn completing the experience. And speaking of decadence, here’s a little insider tip: you get wi-fi even in the lounge’s shower cubicles.
Singapore Airlines’ SilverKris Lounge, Singapore
Now, Singapore’s Changi International Airport is a show-stopper all on its own, one of the world’s best airports. So, no big surprise that the SilverKris Lounge is one of the most luxurious on this list. Cashing in on its recent rebranding as a ‘home’, the lounge features unique spaces modelled on the kind of living rooms, dining rooms and kitchens one might find in a luxury apartment, replete with tastefully selected art pieces and knick-knacks strewn about. But the USP is the range of especially designed productivity pods that enable one to work in privacy and comfort, while noshing on delectable jazzed-up Singapore streetfood classics like Hainanese chicken rice and char kway teow, all lubricated by ultra-potent freshly-made Singapore Slings.
Emirates’ First Class Lounge, Dubai
With its Le Clos Wine Cellar (replete with a sommelier on call), spa, cigar bar and multiple dining options, you’d be forgiven for mistaking this lounge for a seven-star hotel. Yes, the First Class Lounge is Emirates’ way of introducing you to the airline’s unique brand of hospitality slap bang in the middle of the bustling Dubai International Airport. But taking the whole ‘Shopper’s Paradise’ moniker of Dubai to a whole other stratosphere, the lounge has its very own duty-free section, which means that you don’t have to step out of the luxe confines of the lounge to go shopping.
Raul Dias, Mumbai-based food andtravel writer, is an ardent devotee ofthe peripatetic way of life.
