MEL Dom. lounges refurb Completed October 2018

[Pushka]

I ran into trouble in Rwanda. Love spicy and always add lots of extra chilli if it’s is available. Did this in Rwanda and thought my mouth was going to explode. Three glasses of water later I was still suffering

Milk, yoghurt or Lassi does the trick.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Milk, yoghurt or Lassi does the trick.

I know but the water was on the table, so I just threw it down. It was a shock - I have never been affected by chili before (apart from a pleasant tingle) and I always have it extra hot. I will be a bit more careful in future, instead of assuming I can handle any spice

 

[RooFlyer]

In a similar vein removing soft drink self serve and replacing with those fancy quench juices is probably seen as healthier (though I tried a rather sweet pink leomade thing recently in BNE that probably had a fair dash of the nectar of the cane).

The weird thing is though if they're trying to appeal to the health types by all this, having your eggs, bacon and sausages at brekky and the toasties and stuff like that on board in J seems to go against that grain (though you can always find some fruit and salad options it's true).

QF minion to boss: "We've enhanced the offerings to embrace low sugar, healthier offerings in our lounges, while retaining dishes that our customers love". ... Yada yada,buzzword, buzzword.

Boss ticks off required virtue list, hands up to Alan, who beams and ticks off a bonus KPI.

 

[kermatu]

I was in the J lounge yesterday afternoon as well. About 2:40 to 4. Crowded but found a seat at far end. There were a few people wandering around looking for seats on occasions. I must admit I thought it was still only a semi-finished lounge given how crowded and packed-in the seats are. Then I saw the spice temple thing is open, and this thread confirms -- this is it! I guess space limitations meant this was never going to be a miraculous change. But with all the WPs out there this is not going to be a very comfortable lounge.

Positives and negatives, albeit based on one visit --
- It's nice and bright. Decor ok, but I don't really care.
- Lots of solo seats. I got a comfy one but it has only a tiny table alongside and I had to tuck my legs in anytime someone walked past, so confirmed my view they've needed to jam in seats like sardines.
- All staff I encountered were great.
- It was noisy, even with a lot of carpet and some barriers to give some zone-like feel. It wasn't unbearable, however.
- Very disappointed that the spice station only has two options (same ones as posted in the menu above). While I like laksa and soups it's not what I want to eat on a solo seat with no table space and in business attire. I hope they offer some dry noodles too. Such a waste to have a kitchen and only provide two options. Just like the SIN QP.
- Lack of bathrooms is disappointing.
- I had two drinks from the bar. There were 3 or 4 staff working and I was served within 20 seconds both times.

The PER refreshed J lounge remains the more comfortable one for me where I've always found plenty of space, but food is poor (and I like pizza); BNE food is better but it's still small -- maybe half the time I can get a quiet space. Need more visits to MEL but so far I'm not that impressed.

That said, we are lucky to have such good lounges in Australia and it is good that QF is investing in them.

 

[kermatu]

I know but the water was on the table, so I just threw it down. It was a shock - I have never been affected by chili before (apart from a pleasant tingle) and I always have it extra hot. I will be a bit more careful in future, instead of assuming I can handle any spice

Dairy and sugar are best. So if you happen to have sweet lassi, that's the best. But rare. Water is actually the worst as it will not actually break down the compound. Have a mouthful of rice, potato or bread instead of water. A swig of booze (high alcohol only) can help. But perhaps not after every mouthful!

 

[justinbrett]

As one of those who can remember the original (Pre J lounge) days with the maybe 20 cubicle business centre, toilets andd about 6 showers down at the west end it would seem the plumbing locations may not have changed much.

I do - signed up for Qantas Club membership for the very first time at the front desk. Almost 15 years ago now.

Might be rose coloured classes, but I actually think the Qantas Club back then was better than any Domestic J lounge today - certainly in terms of food.

 

[Flying mermaid]

I do - signed up for Qantas Club membership for the very first time at the front desk. Almost 15 years ago now.

Might be rose coloured classes, but I actually think the Qantas Club back then was better than any Domestic J lounge today - certainly in terms of food.

thats my feeling as well, but it might be the number of years since that distorts things. Food does seem to come and go in the lounges and on the planes. They let it drop too far and then try and claw it back again.

 

[whughes3]

Don't forget that for some time in the early 2000's (after the Ansett collapse), the food situation in QFd lounges was pretty dire; sausage rolls and not much else!

 

[serfty]

The food (and wine) in the years between the demise of the AN "Golden Wing" and the advent of tbe DJ "lounge" was generally diabolical.

With the fewer WC facilities I suspect they have capped some pipes and used the space gor more seating.

 

[serfty]

sausage rolls and not much else!

Dont forget the ubiquitous sausagemeat balls and tomato sauce ...

 

[kookaburra75]

Don't forget that for some time in the early 2000's (after the Ansett collapse), the food situation in QFd lounges was pretty dire; sausage rolls and not much else!

I think you would be stretching the truth to call it dire Even before Ansett going under, the Golden Wing Lounge was miles ahead of the QP - for us old enough to remember such times (and even the Flight Deck Lounge).

But as others have said, we have it pretty good these days and just like to talk about what the young-uns call first world problems. But it is nice to be able to walk into a paid (through whatever means) lounge and for us road-warriors, find a seat and rest our weary legs - and even have a good drink

 

[JohnK]

Don't forget that for some time in the early 2000's (after the Ansett collapse), the food situation in QFd lounges was pretty dire; sausage rolls and not much else!

Please bring back those days. Pies and sausage rolls would be better than some of the slop that is served today.

 

[Matt_01]

As we are whingeing about the the new QF offering and reminiscing about the old days I seem to recall the QF lounge was once situated between the current gates 1-3, In those days gates 20+ didn't exist.

 

[Danger]

As far as I'm concerned, if there's one thing Qantas does right, it's lounges.

 

[serfty]

As we are whingeing about the the new QF offering and reminiscing about the old days I seem to recall the QF lounge was once situated between the current gates 1-3, In those days gates 20+ didn't exist.

Indeed that Bulge between Gate 1 and (unused) gate 3 was the QP in the later 90's. I watched the building progress of the 20+ gate area from the upper level.

 

[justinbrett]

Please bring back those days. Pies and sausage rolls would be better than some of the slop that is served today.

I miss the quality cheese you could get at any time in the Qantas Club (camembert etc). I know you can get a cheese platter in the J lounge (that usually comes out basically frozen), but no luck if in the standard club.

On a positive note, the beverages have improved - don't ever recall seeing beers on tap back then, and much better variety (mind you, back then Crown Larger was considered a premium beer - my how things change!) - not to mention the barista service.

 

[Flying mermaid]

As far as I'm concerned, if there's one thing Qantas does right, it's lounges.

not the international J lounge in Sydney .

 

[Daver6]

Since we're griping. In the PER J lounge once breakfast finishes there is no real food until the pizzas start. A gap of a 90 minutes which is really annoying.

 

[mviy]

not the international J lounge in Sydney .

At least you have a view unlike the international J lounge in MEL.

 

[Pushka]

Since we're griping. In the PER J lounge once breakfast finishes there is no real food until the pizzas start. A gap of a 90 minutes which is really annoying.

You have pizzas? Wow. Never seen that in Adelaide. We don’t have real food there. Breakfast seems to have the most offerings. No J lounge either.