There are some incredible First Class airline lounges to be found in airports all over the world, from Sydney to Frankfurt and Hong Kong. But which is the world’s best?
Our members are divided on the answer to this question. The popular Qantas First Class airport lounges in Sydney and Melbourne are often rated as among the world’s best, but they are not the only contenders vying for the title. Other highly-rated lounges include the Cathay Pacific Pier lounge in Hong Kong, The Private Room in Singapore, Thai Airways’ lounge in Bangkok and Lufthansa’s offering in Frankfurt.
Commanding sweeping views over the airport and the Sydney skyline, Qantas’ Flagship First Lounge in Sydney is widely regarded as one of the best in the world. Melbourne is not far behind. Both lounges feature a la carte dining, extensive food and wine menus, spa treatments and other fantastic features that make them a hit with Qantas flyers.
Cathay Pacific’s new “The Pier” lounge in Hong Kong has quickly risen in popularity since opening in June this year. As well as a well-served dining room, Cathay’s own flagship lounge features a retreat complete with day suites and foot massages on offer.
Singapore Airlines’ First lounge in Singapore, called “The Private Room” (TPR), can only be accessed exclusively by First Class passengers. So it’s not surprising that this lounge is known to be peaceful and quiet. But for such an exclusive lounge at the home airport of a premium international airline, our members feel that the facilities do not compare with those offered by Cathay Pacific or Qantas. Instead, it’s simply viewed a quiet place to have a meal before a flight.
TPR is spacious. It’s well appointed. It’s usually empty. Service is polite enough. But that’s about it.
I find the restaurant average, the buffet particularly tired… although I suspect that’s because there are so few passengers that the food sits there for too long. It lacks architectural splendour (like QFs), interior design (LH), food (LH), service (LH et al). And there’s no ‘wow’ factor (massages, lively bar, interactive staff).
The Lufthansa First class lounge in their Frankfurt hub receives a mention, as does the Thai Airways lounge in Bangkok. However, at least one member believes the Thai lounge is overrated. They describe the lounge as crowded, with aged décor and furnishings.
Though not a First Class lounge, the well-equipped and very large Turkish Airlines lounge in Istanbul receives a nomination. One member feels it is even better than Singapore’s top lounge.
If you wanna talk Star Alliance then for me the TK Business lounge at IST is far superior to SQ’s offering. It even has sleeper rooms. And yes TK don’t have an F lounge at IST but that’s because it doesn’t offer F cabins anymore on any of its aircraft.
Do you have a favourite airport lounge? Contribute to the lounge discussion HERE.
