Dubai Terminal 3 Emirates Business Lounge

I was greeted with a pleasant surprise upon arriving at Dubai International Airport this morning. Expecting the cramped quarters of the old lounge, where a head count of more than 250 meant you were almost sitting on top of one another, I was treated to a New and Greatly Improved lounge.

http://www.dubaiairport.com/DIA/English/TopMenu/News+and+Press/Arab+News/Emirates+Terminal+3+at+Dubai+International+A+new+era+in+Dubais+aviation+history.htm

http://www.emirates.com/english/plan_book/dubai_international_airport/emirates_terminal_3/lounges/business_class.aspx

This lounge still isn't as nice as the Qatar Airways Premium Lounge in Doha, but it serves as a nice alternative for destinations that can't be reached via Qatar Airways (like Australia...). There is heaps more seating space, more choice for type of seating (chair, sofa, lounger, etc.), and more power outlets for those who carry laptops. Best yet, they've added WiFi access.

Even with the quoted 1200 seats from the Dubai Airport website, though, I still had trouble finding a place to sit at 6 in the morning. My original plan was to fly to Dubai the evening before and stay in the airport hotel, but then I was unable to get on the late evening flight and instead ended up leaving Doha at 3.45 am. There were some tables, but I wanted to sit in a 'squishy' chair.

Another thing that could be added, as the lounge is spread out over such a distance, is a cloakroom where you could check your bags instead of having to pack them all over.

While they've set up a main dining area, and smaller counters serving condensed versions of the same food, there is only one bar set up in the entire lounge. This was really surprising, because all the food counters are staffed, and had the non-alcoholic fare readily available for serving.

For breakfast, I enjoyed a nice snack of beef pastrami, freshly-baked kaiser rolls, edam cheese, and horseradish sauce. There was a good assortment of Western breakfast, Arabic, and Indian hot foods available.

In short, though, the lounge is a great improvement over the "intimate" setting of the old lounge, and the chairs aren't decorated with that red and white checkered fabric which seemed more fitting for a Croatian sports bar (Croatia's flag is red and white checkerboard) than for an Emirates lounge.