Going Strong: Emirates First Class Lounge B

Emirates First Class Lounge Concourse B offers a quite sanctuary from busy Dubai Terminal 3 with exclusive a la carte dining restaurant, complimentary spa, showers and top shelf beverages just some of the perks of First Class life here..

This year I’ve passed through Dubai a couple of times a few times. Emirates has several First Class lounges in DXB. I have previously reviewed the First Class lounge in Concourse A, which is by far the biggest lounge in Dubai, and for that matter, I believe it’s the biggest First Class lounge in the world!

This time I decided to check out the other lounges in Concourse B & C. Emirates has not significantly refurbished these lounges since opening so it will be worth comparing against each other.

Access

You have complementary use of Emirates First Class lounges in Terminal 3, if you are flying First Class on that day or have Emirates Platinum status. Paid access is also possible. The prices depend on your class of travel. If you are travelling in Emirates Business Class, you can upgrade to First Class lounge for 150 USD. Otherwise, it is 300USD for up to 4 hours of flight departure.

Your boarding pass will indicate what access you have. With the complementary access there is no time limitation on how long you can stay or indeed, which lounges you can visit. You can visit all 3 should you wish and have ample time!

After security, you need to get up the elevators to get to the lounge. Beware, due to the vast size of terminal 3, it can take you some time to get to the lounges. Even though they are all signposted very well. Naturally if you were flying from a B gate, this would be the closest lounge to use. Find a buggy service!

Emirates First Class Lounge Concourse B Space

Unfortunately, I was focused on videos so did not take enough good quality pictures of the entrance area/reception where you have a round leather seating surrounding flowers.

Right after this, you have calm library like area with water features on both sides. Then you go further into the other zones..

As you can see the deco is more as less the same as other other Emirates First lounges. While that may have been great back in 2010s, it’s starting to show its age and looking rather drab these days. Especially with all kinds of awesome lounges popping up everywhere else.

Emirates First Class Lounge Concourse B Food & Drinks

There are various self-service buffet stations, as well as waiters on demand where-ever you happen to be sitting. You can order drinks and snacks from menus available through barcodes which I have included below.

I initially sat in a sofa area, where I had a waiter bring me some drinks..

Later, I passed through what looked like a very deserted Japanese sushi counter..

The main highlight for me was definitely the upscale restaurant within the lounge..

This is as formal as they come, with someone manning entry, presumably for crowd control in the busiest of times. You will be escorted to a table or can book a specific times for your meal.

During my visit during early evening, there was just 2 other passengers in the there. I was greeted by the entrance and offered to be seated where ever I pleased. With the tables all set up for you..

At this point, there was literally 4 waiters servicing just 3 passengers inside. Therefore I was attended to and looked after in a way I have never even experienced in a proper restaurant.

The menu were as follows:

I started my meal with the Foie Gras Terrine & the spiced salad ..

This was delightful!

Following that, I ordered the Slow Cooked Veal Cheek

Which was also excellent !

I finished off the meal with the Pistachio Frasier , which unfortunately I didn’t take a picture off.

Throughout the whole meal, I was simply blown away with the level of service and attention. It was like having your own personal waiter wait on you. The gentleman serving me, was very professional and softly spoken, checked in several times to make sure everything was ok, when and if I wanted my plates cleared and if I fancied anything else.

During the whole meal I had my water topped up no less than 4 times!

Emirates First Class Lounge Concourse B Spa & Showers

This lounge has several “Spa Showers”, which I did not use on this occasion as I showered on my hotel just prior to arrival. However, I did book myself in for a complimentary back and & neck massage.

These are all the complimentary treatments available..

In addition to this, the lounge also provides more extensive treatment option for additional prices. I look at a few options, and they seemed reasonable, but I did not want a full hour massage at the time.

One change I did notice is I believe the complementary treatments used to be 30 minutes before?

Emirates First Class Lounge Concourse B Nap Zone

Right next to the Spa treatment rooms, you will find the Quite Zone, exclusively signposted. There are a few a handful of small rooms where you can lay down for a nap in a reclined lounger chair as pictured below. You also get access to some blankets and pillows should you need them.

Note, if you had a longer overnight stay, they will check you into a proper hotel room, upstairs right above this lounge! You have to request the room from the reception on arrival. From the outset, Emirates provides additional hotel booking options when you manage your booking online, but if in case ‘s you did not utilize this 24 hours prior, its great to have this option too.

Overall Thoughts

This was certainly a fantastic First Class lounge experience. I got lucky with my timing with very few passengers using the lounge at that point. In terms of deco or facilities it is on the same level as Concourse A. Yes concourse A is bigger and has the benefit of direct boarding if you are departing from an A gate, but it also has the downside of also being potentially more crowded during busy times. Where as this lounge might not be crowded very much during those times.

However, another thing to make note of is just the amount of time that might be required to get to this lounge or to your boarding gates if you happen to be in some B or C gates. This is where you need to bear in mind, Emirates does provide a buggy service in the airport to escort you do your gate to make this faster. It wasn’t clear to my how I request one, so would be great if this was made more apparent.

If you are planning on visiting it might be worth thinking ahead in how you might want to spend your time between the dining/spa etc. You can check the latest menu which gets updated on Emirates site here. I certainly would look forward to visiting this lounge again!