Review: Emirates’ business class lounge at Jeddah Airport
The new business and first lounge from one of the world’s most awarded airlines offers extraordinary service.
The new business and first lounge from one of the world’s most awarded airlines offers extraordinary service.
Location
Aviation enthusiasts have much to geek out about at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport. This airport is massive, sprawling over 105 sq km and incorporating several terminals. You might spy a series of giant Bedouin-style tents – they’re not a mirage but the Hajj Terminal, which processes the surge of pilgrims passing through this Red Sea gateway city during Hajj season to reach the Holy City of Mecca. The airport also features the world’s tallest air traffic control tower. Terminal 1, which opened in 2019, has a strikingly curvaceous design (from the air, it resembles the swords featured in the kingdom’s national emblem). After breezing through the formalities, I make my way to Emirates’ first dedicated lounge in the Middle East outside Dubai. It opened in mid-2024 and sits opposite my departure gate. With its opaque, curved glass outer shell, it looks like an Aladdin’s cave.
Seating
Although my A380’s departure is just 2.5 hours away, the 190-seat lounge is pleasingly quiet upon arrival (it becomes busier but not oppressively so). Arabian-inspired dividers and seating arranged in colour blocks help break up the space, which includes chairs with easy access to charging points and dining tables adorned with a single red rose in a vase. Moments after stepping inside, I start to experience this lounge’s best feature, its Arabian-style hospitality.
Food and drink
Before even settling into a seat, I’m asked if I’d like a coffee. The lounge pours two types of Saudi coffee – saffron and cardamom – into tiny white Royal Doulton cups, but I pass in favour of a hot chocolate. “I’ll bring it to you,” says the attendant. Her colleague helps me settle my bags into their own seat and drags a small coffee table before my knees. I head to the hot food, piling cannelloni, Cajun-spiced potato wedges and prawn machbous (spiced rice) onto a plate. “I’ll take that for you,” says another attendant, whisking it to my tiny table. To maintain the buffet’s pristine state, his colleague wipes clean the food tongs I’ve just used.
I order mushroom soup with parmesan wafers without leaving my seat; a bottle of water and a glass of ice is also delivered. I return to the buffet for sweets: yes please to the chai panna cotta and tiramisu (the latter, which bears little resemblance to the Italian classic, is the only culinary disappointment). A box of luxury Bateel dates is popped in front of my face and the ones stuffed with candied orange peel change my life. As you’ll also expect after spending time in Saudi Arabia, no alcohol is served here. Beverages include fresh and bottled juices, and fruit-infused water.
Refresh
The women’s bathroom contains a prayer room and two marble-tiled showers. Surprisingly, both shower rooms are available, with no need to book or waitlist. Towels and amenity kits are available upon request.
Work and tech
Several guests are working on laptops throughout the lounge, its subdued atmosphere – even with several televisions – is conducive to getting work done. The wi-fi (password required) is strong; around the rest of the airport, it’s impossible to log on without sending a phone number to receive a code. An array of newspapers and business and sports magazines is available.
Extras
The lounge can be accessed up to four hours before your flight.
The writer visited the lounge as a guest of Emirates.
The verdict
The best part of this lounge can’t be conveyed in a photograph. What sets it apart is the extraordinary service – you’ll be waited on, hand and foot, without ever feeling like it’s too much. It’s a next-level experience.
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