The Private room/1st class lounge: Whats your perfect design?

[SOPOOR]

Ever since my first and only visit to the old TPR. My first reaction when i walked in was "geez this place is small" I found the 2x small rooms with the lazy boy chairs to be practical but cheap looking.

Ive also recently been to the Emirates first class A lounge and was blown away by the size , but it felt kind of sterile and artificial. I visited every room and after a while , every empty room felt like a ghost house

The new tpr,
I found the chairs style to be not premium, loved the sleep rooms, a la carte was great, service top notch



So, if you could design your ultimate First class lounge, what would it be?

Eg
Layout
Size
Food: a la carte/buffet
Drinks
Service: personable/professional
Extra services: masseuse/cigars
More/less interactive stuff

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I think a lounge needs a bit of a buzz… a ‘soul’ if you like. Which I have never found in TPR.

Some oneworld F lounges do it quite well… the number of F pax is so small, but is bolstered by top tier elites. So there’s enough traffic to provide plenty of staff, and a good service offering. Think the Concorde Room, Cathay Pier/Wing F, even the QF F offerings.

Star alliance lounges like Luthansa or Swiss do it well for F.

Not sure why TPR has never quite ‘made it’ in that sense. They probably have enough F seats, but the lounge is a bit sterile, as you say. The Asiana F lounge was a bit the same.

So in answer to the question… it just needs some ‘life’… some more people!

 

[jamesatfish]

I think a lounge needs a bit of a buzz… a ‘soul’ if you like. Which I have never found in TPR.

Some oneworld F lounges do it quite well… the number of F pax is so small, but is bolstered by top tier elites. So there’s enough traffic to provide plenty of staff, and a good service offering. Think the Concorde Room, Cathay Pier/Wing F, even the QF F offerings.

Star alliance lounges like Luthansa or Swiss do it well for F.

Not sure why TPR has never quite ‘made it’ in that sense. They probably have enough F seats, but the lounge is a bit sterile, as you say. The Asiana F lounge was a bit the same.

So in answer to the question… it just needs some ‘life’… some more people!

I know this is a "can never please everyone" scenario but one of the reasons I like TPR is that it's the opposite of the Sydney QF F lounge in being quiet and not packed to the gills.

There's no queue for a seat at the dining section, nobody telling you to move on and work elsewhere if you get your laptop out, and it's easy to find a spot to talk with your travel companions or take a phone call / meeting without disturbing others or being disturbed yourself.

The exclusivity of the access rules are appealing also - it's nice that a First lounge is kept exclusive for First customers, in stark contrast to QF's LAX First lounge which prioritises status over cabin in terms of unlocking the top-tier experience.

What I'd really like though is a lounge that solves the 'last mile' problem when flying F. The Concorde Room is fantastic but you still need to leave 45 minutes before your flight, take the transit train or the long underground walk, and then mill around your gate waiting for boarding to commence. The EK experience where you can walk from the F lounge directly down to the plane to board is only beaten by Air France or Lufthansa providing car transport to the plane from the lounge when it's time to leave.

In short, keep it smaller and exclusive, keep the food & drink top-shelf and make it easy for me to get to my flight so I don't need to leave until the last minute, and I'd be happy.

 

[SOPOOR]

I think a lounge needs a bit of a buzz… a ‘soul’ if you like. Which I have never found in TPR.

Some oneworld F lounges do it quite well… the number of F pax is so small, but is bolstered by top tier elites. So there’s enough traffic to provide plenty of staff, and a good service offering. Think the Concorde Room, Cathay Pier/Wing F, even the QF F offerings.

Star alliance lounges like Luthansa or Swiss do it well for F.

Not sure why TPR has never quite ‘made it’ in that sense. They probably have enough F seats, but the lounge is a bit sterile, as you say. The Asiana F lounge was a bit the same.

So in answer to the question… it just needs some ‘life’… some more people!

I havent been through every first lounge in the world but its almost like a AI designed lounge, and missing the buzz

I saw a video of the etihad one , the top one where you get a private series of rooms to yourself and that appeared to have the soul

Im sure there is a lounge that ticks all the boxes, subjective as it may be

 

[MEL_Traveller]

agree maybe the QF F lounges can get a bit full at peak times. But that’s a function of size and capacity rather than the lounge itself? Lufthansa and Swiss do it quite well… F and HON members… so you still get a critical mass of pax to give it a vibe.

For me it’s more funds to enjoy a meal with other people around than all by yourself in an empty restaurant!

But then again, I prefer F cabins to be open rather than boxed suites!