MEL Dom. lounges refurb Completed October 2018

[kpc]

Will check it out this pm

It's all about 1st impressions....lounge is only 3 days old, smells new but it is nearly full at 3pm on a Sun afternoon, carpets are dirty and many tables with uncleared cutlery. Food options have definitely not been upgraded, allowing for the fact the noodle bar is yet to open. It will be like a zoo at peak periods I fear. Tarmac views are great however. My 2c

 

[boomy]

There is another section with more seating that is not open yet. The first stage opened Friday is very open space and I’m not sure it’s the best idea for a business lounge.
Not worried about seating capacity as I rarely had any issues finding a seat in the old lounge and the new one, once completed, will be bigger.
What I am worried about is food quality. In recent years hot food in J lounges became so bad with almost the same disgusting slop served each day. So far from the refurbished lounges pizza concept in PER is a win but the Mexican in BNE is a fail. I really hope a noodle bar will upgrade the food quality in MEL, at least until they open some PP restaurants in Dom terminal.

 

[kpc]

There is another section with more seating that is not open yet. The first stage opened Friday is very open space and I’m not sure it’s the best idea for a business lounge.
Not worried about seating capacity as I rarely had any issues finding a seat in the old lounge and the new one, once completed, will be bigger.
What I am worried about is food quality. In recent years hot food in J lounges became so bad with almost the same disgusting slop served each day. So far from the refurbished lounges pizza concept in PER is a win but the Mexican in BNE is a fail. I really hope a noodle bar will upgrade the food quality in MEL, at least until they open some PP restaurants in Dom terminal.

Yup @boomy ....there is a walled off area behind the bar approx where the old J check in area is so there should be a lot more space when that opens up i agree the food options are apallingly bad...

 

[Pushka]

Yup @boomy ....there is a walled off area behind the bar approx where the old J check in area is so there should be a lot more space when that opens up i agree the food options are apallingly bad...

So many times searching in the hot meal platter for anything other than the gravy!

 

[kermatu]

It's all about 1st impressions....lounge is only 3 days old, smells new but it is nearly full at 3pm on a Sun afternoon, carpets are dirty and many tables with uncleared cutlery. Food options have definitely not been upgraded, allowing for the fact the noodle bar is yet to open. It will be like a zoo at peak periods I fear. Tarmac views are great however. My 2c

Thanks for the pics.

 

[KitKat]

Thanks for the pics.

seems there is no longer self pour wine? or soft drinks? station

 

[kpc]

seems there is no longer self pour wine? or soft drinks? station

There is for wine....not sure about soft drinks

 

[JessicaTam]

There is for wine....not sure about soft drinks

Well that's ok then.

 

[KitKat]

There is for wine....not sure about soft drinks

Phew......

 

[kamchatsky]

I am trying to work out whether to fly VA or QF from MEL-SYD this week given the status of the lounges. Last time I was at QP MEL it seems to be very narrow with no natural sunlight. It seems the VA lounge is much better than QP.

I wonder if the new QF J MEL lounge is better than the MEL VA lounge. At least with VA Iounge always get a seat.

 

[kpc]

I wonder if the new QF J MEL lounge is better than the MEL VA lounge.

Yes!

 

[Kiwi_Flyer]

seems there is no longer self pour wine? or soft drinks? station

Self pour wine at the bar. At other stations self-serve tea, coffee, water. Other drinks, including soft drinks, are not self-serve and need to be requested at the bar.

 

[RichardMEL]

There are also those "refresh" stations too like in BNE ....

the J lounge is superior for the simple fact of the natural light from the tarmac views and when the increased seating is open and the noodle bar it should be a winner I reckon.

 

[bullerdude]

The J lounge certainly looks to be far superior to the QC, which helps to provide a good differential for business and WP travellers.

But for us in the QC is certainly a downgrade with no natural light and increased noise (based on this thread).

VA Lounge could edge above with the natural lights and big windows.

 

[levelnine]

But for us in the QC is certainly a downgrade with no natural light and increased noise (based on this thread).

If you were a MEL-based QC member, I'd be seriously reconsidering the value you get from your membership after the QC refurbishments.

I genuinely believe Qantas has significantly narrowed the difference between the terminal and the QC given that the terminal has natural light (including terrific seats for plane spotting), high ceilings and plenty of seating. By comparison, on a busy morning/afternoon, the QC is as loud as, if not louder than, the terminal, lacks natural light and seats can be hard to find. For the price of your annual QC membership, you could purchase a lot of food and drink of equal, if not higher, quality than what you'd get in the QC.

 

[Daver6]

Was in the J lounge this morning from about 7:20am to 8:40am. Wasn't that impressed with the lounge at all. Was pretty fully. Not many free seats, apart from those silly round shared things. Line for coffee was lengthy. I realise this is a work in progress, but the BNE and PER J lounges rank ahead of this one for me as it currently stands.

 

[boomy]

Need to keep in mind the lounge is not yet finished therefore it feels crowded ATM. I believe the final product will have more food and seating options. Having said that they will have to deliver something far more impressive to top the BNE J lounge.

 

[RichardMEL]

I am under zero illusions here. The space they have to work with was always going to mean this will be crowded at peak times - even with the final extension and noodle bar area in November. BNE J has so much more room than the old BNE J it's not funny because they could totally extend out and create far more space. In MEL this is just not and never would be an option.

I will be passing through tomorrow morning so will see it on a weekend footing, but would also expect it to be quite busy. It's still an improvement on before, but it can never be as good as BNE is imho.

 

[Matt_01]

Visited yesterday evening at at peak hour, it was pretty crowded to the point that it seemed more crowded than the old lounge. Lets see what happens when it is finished.

 

[FromTheRail]

Just arrived in the lounge, very quiet at 5:20am, a lot nicer than the old lounge was, will see how busy it gets before my flight to Hammo at 8:45