Emirates First Class Dubai Lounge concourse B

The brand new Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai Concourse B is the main Dubai First Class lounge, and indeed the first one you come to after check in. But not necessarily the one you want to visit, as it is much older. It's still got an amazing a la carte restaurant, and great bar, and good views.

However, because it's right after checkin, it get vastly more traffic, and it's also quite old and tired. Around the bar area, some of the furniture seems to have been designed in the 1960s, and it looks almost, but not quite, retro.

The Emirates First Class lounge in Concourse A is much, much, better.

Dubai Emirates First Class lounge review concourse B

The Emirates first class lounge in Concourse B is a lovely lounge, and vast too, with seats for nearly 800 First Class passengers. On a busy morning, it seems like all of them are here, and then some.

It does however have a great central location, right after the Emirates Chauffeur Drive drop-off point and first class check-in counters, after security and on the top level. Curiously, the entrance seems very small and doesn't betray how large it is inside, with a huge high-ceilinged lobby area.

As soon as you are past reception having flashed your first class ticket - or paid the $300 Emirates Lounge daypass rate for a 3 hour visit - you enter a place that seems like a Middle Eastern temple, with a fountain and castle walls. Enjoy the tinkling water sounds.

To the right is a large dining room with a la carte dining, while to the left are acres of seats. They do, genuinely, go on for ages, but are thankfully divided up into neatly defined areas, including a area overlooking the atrium of the hoy paloy below which wouldn't be out of place in a dentists waiting room.

There is a bar area on the right too, and a private wine store, where you can buy some really expensive bottles of wine.

At the far end is the day spa and hairdresser, which you really don't want to miss for the de-stress back massage: after the stress of walking so far through the lounge. It is truly a first world problem area.

Most of the chairs also face the windows which is great, unless you are desperate for some darkness to lie down and get some sleep.

There is a small TV room near the entrance, with a lot of chairs in racks looking towards a really rather small TV screen. It's a very good sleeping area.

A dedicated children's room complete's the lounge, with bright colours, and a grand total of three video game consoles.

When it is time to leave, in Concourse B there is no direct boarding from the lounge as in the A concourse: in generally, you end up going to the same gate as everyone else, unless you are using gates B13, B15, B17, B19 or B21 which have a small mezzanine side corridor.

Food

Food is quite good in the Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai Concourse B, as you might expect.

There is a dining room with a la carte service, and with red roses on every table. Seats are in two areas: one close by the entrance, and a separate seating area which is only opened up if there are many customers.

At breakfast time the Eggs Florentine or Eggs Benedict are worthy of note, while at lunchtime there is a good burger, or a Black Angus tenderloin steak, but it can take a good 30 minutes to cook it.

There is buffet dining too, if you are in a hurry, but the fridge here has a much smaller selection than the business class lounge.

Don't miss the separate 'Mediterranean' counter right by the entrance, with lots of Greek and Turkish staples.

Bar

There is actually a proper bar in the concourse B First lounge, unlike in the concourse A one. It is right in the middle of the lounge, and it is one of the most miserable places to sit. The problem is, few people sit at the bar, so you have a constant stream of waiters running up to the bar. It is wide and open. And even the bar looks like a 1960s cocktail bar in Clapham, with just a few odd bottles of spirits decorating the walls.

Oddly, Emirates First Class Champagne is not the best, and you need to slum it in Business Class for the good stuff. It's a first world problem. Champagne in the first class lounge, is Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial. However in Business Class there is Grand Vintage, Moet's Rose, and Nectar at the dedicated Moet & Chandon Champagne bar, which is often deserted.

There is a good serve yourself spirit bar however, if you go to the end of the lounge, where there is a standard shelf with all the usual mainstream spirits.

Wine is good, but the choice is very poor, with just one white and one red in most of the dining areas.

Business Facilities

There is a fairly functional business centre in the Emirates First Class B lounge, with several PCs and a printer. However, it was designed before everyone brought their own laptop, and it's hard to find a proper desk to plug one in.

There are power sockets near some of the seats, but there aren't very many. lights), where you can plug in:

Free wifi is good in the lounge, and much faster here than in the newer A lounge.

Bathrooms

Plentyful bathrooms in the lounge, and without the huge queues you get in Business Class.

Don't miss the day spa, where you can get a free 15 minute treatment. The massages are good. But wait times are long - often up to two hours, so you'll need to head straight here to book as soon as you arrive.

Access

There is of course free access for First class passengers on Emirates. Emirates Skywards Platinum frequent flyers and Qantas Platinum frequent flyers when travelling with Emirates. No access to oneworld flights if booked on the Emirates EK flight code. You can also buy a daypass, for a three hour visit if you have neither a first class ticket, nor the right kind of Frequent Flyer card. An Emirates Lounge daypass costs US$262.50 (£220GBP, A$370). However, there is a discount for Skywards members.

Video: Emirates First Class Lounge B

Emirates First Class Lounge B video - Click to play

Emirates First Class Lounge B video - Click to play