Emirates Sydney Lounge
The Emirates Lounge Sydney is best described as a mid-range Sydney outstation. There is good food, lots of seats, free flowing champagne, and a pleasant tinkling fountain. It doesn't wow as London does, and doesn't have the views that Hong Kong does, but it is still has a great seats and a good view of the aircraft.
Emirates passengers also have access to the Qantas lounges and vice versa. If you are in Business Class, this lounge might have slightly better food, and indeed Champagne, than the Qantas offering. However, in First or with Platinum status, the Qantas First lounge is by far the best.
The Emirates Sydney lounge can how get packed in the evening, when all the New Zealand and Dubai flights are back to back. At these times, finding a seat can be a problem.
Sydney Emirates lounge review
The Emirates Lounge in Sydney is down in the basement, at the end of what can be a walk to get to it, now that Sydney Airport have closed the closest entrance and make you walk through the lefthand duty free maze, via the shopping hub, down a long corridor, and then through the second older duty free hub. A maze, it is indeed.
Then, in the main part of the terminal, head to main departures level and it is two floors below the Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand lounges. Access is via the slow lift that goes to the lounge above.
The lounge is big - and it needs to be - because there are three flights to Dubai - one via Bangkok - plus a daily flight to Auckland, and another one to Christchurch. Thankfully, these are staggered throughout the day, but even so, with five daily flights, three using an A380, this lounge can get packed, particularly late at night when all those on the A380 from Auckland pop in, and join those on the A380 to Sydney.
The lounge is an older style Emirates Lounge, from the Emirates Beige era, before Emirates Bling took over. However, it is exactly what you would expect from other Emirates lounges, the same decor with lots of wood, beige leather armchairs, and lots of small coffee tables.
At least there are windows, although the view tends to be of aircraft noses, because the lounge is low down.
As you enter you seem to be in a world of Triangles, with the lounge branching on each side. On the right is the dining area, including a triangular 'shelf' where you can dine and gaze over the rest of the lounge. Carry on around in the circle, and there is a triangular TV area here, and indeed at reception where you come in.
In the centre of the lounge is a rock with water bubbling over it - the aclaimed Emirates Water Feature no less.
Further around are the daybeds in the middle of the lounge, which are particularly welcome if you've spent all day in Sydney, and an evening in the lounge before the last night flight.
Next along is a magazine rack, then an area on the left with nine seats boardroom style.
Finally, on the far left are seats very spaced out, and another bar cupboard, which is both the most sociable and the quietest area of the lounge.
Indeed, the Emirates Sydney Lounge is quiet - really quiet. So much so that if you have a rollaboard, you'll hear the wheels clicking over the tiles as you walk around the lounge.
There are plenty of armchairs however, so it is rare you have to sit next to anyone.
And here's a factoid for you - this lounge used to be the Sydney United Airlines lounge, until major cutbacks (and the fact it was lousy) made United use the Sydney Air New Zealand Lounge. Now it is all Emirates.
Food
Food is great, with a decent breakfast available for the horrendously early 6am flight to Dubai, and the later New Zealand flights. You can get a decent cooked breakfast, with eggs either scrambled or baked en cocotte, plus hash browns and mushroom frittata. Alas no bacon, and the sausages are... chicken. Halal it definitely is.
Later in the day for the evening 7pm Bangkok and Dubai flight there are the usual hot selections which are refreshed for the 10pm Dubai flight.
For something hot, try the trays on the counter, with normally a couple of curries, a pasta, and then something you down't see in every lounge: small steaks, lamb, or fish you can choose. The Emirates Sydney Lounge makes for quite a decent dinner.
The round cooled refectory area has European-style deli plates, with lots of made up salads and light bites. The Chicken Caesar salad in the Sydney Lounge is particularlly good, with dressing in a little jug on the side which helps to keep the salad fresh.
Thankfully, unlike most other Emirates lounges, there aren't lots of waiting staff pouncing on you as soon as you look at the food or take a plate away. They maintain a discrete distance.
Bar
The bar is the usual Emirates selection, with three whites, typically including a Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc, along with a Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris plus three reds of South Australian origin.
Absolute top marks must go for the bottles of champagne, no Aussie sparklers here, it is the proper French stuff: Verve-Cliquot no less, and better than the Moet served on the plane. However in the mornings it isn't chilled, unless you open a bottle from the fridge yourself.
There is an equally good range of spirits, with a dozen bottles of mid-level spirits.
Bathrooms
In lounge, and good, with decent showers.The showers are at each end of the lounge, and however there is no queuing system, and they aren't cleaned all that often either.
However, at least there are two - but there is a bit of a trek from one end of the lounge to the other incase you find one is already in use, or worse, has already been used and not cleaned.
Business Facilities
Computers are fairly good, with four desktop PCs with a lightning fast internet connection, and a printer.Alas, the old dedicated business centre closed a few years back.
The Wifi is pretty good too, although here the wifi password is displayed on the tables on the usual brass holder. It's not particularly fast, but more than usable.
Alas, the old dedicated Business Centre is closed, and the computers are in the main part of the lounge. There is a magazine rack with all of the Aussie papers, and a vast range of magazines, although all of them are the Dubai edition.
Alas, power sockets are a bit of a rarity in the lounge, and you have to hunt them down.
There are also three TVs in the lounge, with the sound kept really low. There is a remote, with a list of channels, next to them.
Access
There is Access to First & Business Class on Emirates and Qantas, plus Gold and Platinum Skywards & Qantas Frequent Flyer members.
A Emirates Sydney Lounge daypass can also be purchased for US$100 (A$130) when travelling with Emirates, or on an Emirates codeshare flight operated by Qantas.
Remember you have to go down into the basement, by the transfer security line, to find the lounge.
You can get access to the lounge on Auckland-Sydney-Dubai flights, but you have to go through security (but not passport control).
Note that the lounge staff can do a full passport check, if you printed your own boarding pass, but have yet to see a human before entering the lounge.
Video: Emirates Lounge
View photos of Emirates Sydney Lounge
Sydney Airport Guide
| Emirates Sydney Lounge | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rating |
Video walkthrough and Image gallery by Loungeindex.com
| |
| Pros | Amazing food Good free bar |
|
| Cons | Feels quite dated. In the basement |
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| Location | Terminal 1, airside, lower ground floor | |
| Terminal: | Int | |
| Opening hours | 0400-1000 & 1600-2145 | |
| Cost | Daypass US$100 (A$130) | |
| Phone: | +61 1300 303 777 | |
| Lounge for: | Emirates | |
| Access | Emirates First & Business Class, Gold and Platinum Skywards & Qantas | |