Melbourne International Business Lounge Dungeon Food

[AustraliaPoochie]

Gruel?

 

[KSC]

Hopefully at some point if there’s an extension/renovation of the international terminal a better space can be found.

They might dig lower to another realm beyond dungeon .
Will be interesting when they do move / renovate Melbourne.

 

[Malus]

Was in there in Feb. Buffet style food options were terrible (including some dodgy wet slimy looking ham) and looked well picked over/like they had been sitting a while. The hot dinner was a ghastly looking canteen style curry slop and travelling companion said it didn't taste great. Saving grace was the barista coffee and that the lounge wasn't busy so sat in the half to your left as you walk in. It's a gloomy space, not very appealing at all.

 

[serfty]

They might dig lower to another realm beyond dungeon .

The AirNZ Lounge??!?

 

[jase05]

The AirNZ Lounge??!?

MEL NZ cops a bit of flak and maybe I’m in the minority but I like it and prefer it to the SQ J lounge.
I haven’t been in the QF dungeon since well before Covid but posts on here don’t fill me with the belief that much has changed from how poor it was back then.

 

[serfty]

MEL NZ cops a bit of flak and maybe I’m in the minority but I like it and prefer it to the SQ J lounge.
I haven’t been in the QF dungeon since well before Covid but posts on here don’t fill me with the belief that much has changed from how poor it was back then.

I was referring to digging Lower ...

FWIW, I occasionally visit the QF J lounge at T2 before and/or after visiting the FLounge, but not to eat.

 

[KSC]

I was referring to digging Lower ...

FWIW, I occasionally visit the QF J lounge at T2 before and/or after visiting the FLounge, but not to eat.

Is it to laugh at our poor souls that have no entry to the pearly gates of the F lounge?

 

[DC3]

Is it to laugh at our poor souls that have no entry to the pearly gates of the F lounge?

The Walk of Shame.

 

[serfty]

Is it to laugh at our poor souls that have no entry to the pearly gates of the F lounge?

Not at all, it's to use the lounge as provided and have a bit of grounding.

Sometimes, one wants to pour their own drink.

The Walk of Shame.

There is no walk of shame. There is appropriate use of available facilities.

 

[dajop]

People complain about it being a dungeon with no natural light … but the decor, layout etc and condition of the lounge is entirely reasonable for what it purports to be. Prime QF real estate is preserved for the First Lounge, as it is for the Business Lounge in the domestic terminal (vs Qantas Club). When I visit I head left rather than straight ahead as entering that part of the lounge feels lighter and isn’t so busy.

Breakfasts usually seem OK iMHO. It’s just when the breakfast disappears you get the “slop” (some form of curry, stew or tagine), that really misses the mark. We shouldn’t expect first style dining but some basic edible food (apart from salads and toasties) shouldn’t be that much of a stretch for the lounge.

The upside is that it lends itself to some fun games - like “find the protein”. The time waiting for the flight passes so quickly playing this game - using the spoons provided to fish around the gravy for the one or two pieces of meat that may or may not be there.

 

[mviy]

The SYD Int J lounge has natural light. I don’t think it’s unreasonable that when someone has paid these days what ~$15k (or whatever it is) for return to LHR in J that the lounge provided should have some natural light. They do it in SYD, why not MEL?

 

[justinbrett]

People complain about it being a dungeon with no natural light … but the decor, layout etc and condition of the lounge is entirely reasonable for what it purports to be. Prime QF real estate is preserved for the First Lounge, as it is for the Business Lounge in the domestic terminal (vs Qantas Club). When I visit I head left rather than straight ahead as entering that part of the lounge feels lighter and isn’t so busy.

Breakfasts usually seem OK iMHO. It’s just when the breakfast disappears you get the “slop” (some form of curry, stew or tagine), that really misses the mark. We shouldn’t expect first style dining but some basic edible food (apart from salads and toasties) shouldn’t be that much of a stretch for the lounge.

The upside is that it lends itself to some fun games - like “find the protein”. The time waiting for the flight passes so quickly playing this game - using the spoons provided to fish around the gravy for the one or two pieces of meat that may or may not be there.

I disagree, nobody calls the QF LAX F lounge a dungeon, even though it also has no natural light.

There's ways and means to work with what you have, the LAX lounge does it much better.

 

[serfty]

People complain about it being a dungeon with no natural light … but the decor, layout etc and condition of the lounge is entirely reasonable for what it purports to be. Prime QF real estate is preserved for the First Lounge, as it is for the Business Lounge in the domestic terminal (vs Qantas Club). When I visit I head left rather than straight ahead as entering that part of the lounge feels lighter and isn’t so busy.

Back in the 90's, the First and Business Lounges were adjoining between Gates 1 (Defunct) and Gate 3 (Think AKL lounge decor). When the "Dungeon" opened the First section was also there occupying that area to the left

 

[anat0l]

The SYD Int J lounge has natural light. I don’t think it’s unreasonable that when someone has paid these days what ~$15k (or whatever it is) for return to LHR in J that the lounge provided should have some natural light. They do it in SYD, why not MEL?

Perhaps because QF got a better spot at SYD compared to what they have been given at MEL?

Not saying QF can't do it (or won't do it), but how would you negotiate a new space at MEL that would have appropriate amounts of natural light?

Also, the amount of natural light coming into SYD T1 J Lounge is kind of muted because of its positioning so "far in" from the outer edge of the terminal building. Some might argue it's like looking through the door slot of a prison door. If QF had any negotiation power, I'd say expand the lounge by building out that void all the way to the edge of the building.

I disagree, nobody calls the QF LAX F lounge a dungeon, even though it also has no natural light.

There's ways and means to work with what you have, the LAX lounge does it much better.

There's no "natural light" but it does have a window to the rest of the terminal, which helps a bit, since natural light does come down into that part of the terminal they look into. In fact, even if there was no natural light streaming into that atrium, it still helps a bit as it makes the lounge space generally feel like it's not some sort of locker box.

Not sure what QF could realistically do to the MEL T2 QF J lounge space to make it better in terms of light. Perhaps they should add more plants? The newer design motif of wood and stone would also probably help. I seem to recall that the LH Lounge in LHR T2 has no natural light (no windows to the outside, or back to the terminal for that matter). I think they may have made a wall which is a huge LCD screen and done something like put a waterfall on it; maybe that's an idea, except it would be super bright most of the time.

Not sure where else in MEL T2 there would be room for QF to carve out a lounge.

 

[DC3]

I feel it will be partly comedic.

Yes, it seems to be going that way, tending towards a light-hearted little romp.

 

[DC3]

Gruel?

You certainly know your gastronomical delights, Poochie.

 

[KSC]

Qantas can take one look at the Qatar lounge in Singapore which also has no natural light to figure out how to make the place feel less dungeon like, in the same space.
The right amount of warm lighting would bring life to the place.

Besides the ambience there is many dining places that are underground they can draw inspiration from, which people don’t complain about the lighting.

However they can improve the food tomorrow. Aunty Vanessa needs to increase the food budget from $1.02 per serve to $1.20 per serve.

 

[RealtimeY]

MEL lounge is a 'dungeon' to me because it feels like it's underground.

You can do a lot with limited natural lighting (QF/CX), lounge design has come a long way in the last >20 years since the SYD and MEL J lounges (formerly Qantas Club) were built. The problem is that they've only done minor facelifts in that time and even the domestic Qantas Clubs look nicer now.



2006 virtual tours of the SYD International Business and First lounges. I'm pretty sure some of the furniture hasn't changed in that time.

Qantas Club Lounge

 

[dajop]

Back in the 90's, the First and Business Lounges were adjoining between Gates 1 (Defunct) and Gate 3 (Think AKL lounge decor). When the "Dungeon" opened the First section was there as well occupying that area to the left

That makes a lot of sense.

The more I think about, the more I can see the dungeon description being accurate for section where the bulk of the catering and the bulk of the people gravitate to. This section on the left is much lighter and less dungeon like feeling, so maybe that's why I don't mind it so much, because that's where I always sit.

 

[moa999]

Qatar lounge in Singapore which also has no natural light

There is some natural light in QR SIN through mostly frosted windows.

One could definitely do more with even fake windows (aka BA SIN F room) or better lighting (like CX Pier).

But it's a tough underground spot and I suspect QF is waiting on a better area as part of future MEL terminal expansions (and I suspect similar in SYD)