Qantas Airways

Never in many years of travel have I experienced such a bad First Class lounge. Was there mid- morning no food selection to speak of just cereals. Plenty of champagne though. Tiny area with not enough seats for the 4-5 flights that leave around 11am. Received a very late boarding call resulting in us holding up the plane as it was ready to leave. Compared to most Qantas lounges in the world this was disgraceful. Qantas need to re-think how they treat their platinum members especially considering that this lounge also caters for the EVA air flight and JAL.

I was an Air New Zealand Business Class ticket holder and I was surprised the plane did not depart from T1 like most Star Alliance flights but discovered ANZ code share with JAL hence T2. Anyway I arrived from T1 on the inter terminal shuttle and asked at the transfer desk which lounge I could use and I was directed to the Qantas business lounge. I had a shower and used the internet stations. The choice of food was okay - nothing specatular. For a 30 minute use the lounge did the job well.

I have written before extolling the virtues of this lounge and there are none better. Have just finished a delicious breakfast of eggs benedict with smoked trout two of the best lattes I have ever tasted and fresh OJ. The staff here are warm friendly and helpful. It is the best way to start a 14 hour flight to the US.

To be honest the QF domestic Business class lounge is not much different from the QF Club. Aside from fewer people and prettier light fittings almost everything else is the same. The so-called Neil Perry signature food selection amounts to little more than a plate full of fancy party pies. The obligatorily QF Club carrot and celery sticks also adorned the Business class lounge buffet too. I visited the lounge mid-morning and it certainly could have done with a good vacuum clean. Also noted that the tiles in the male toilets had been stripped off revealing the besa-brick construction (very attractive!).

I think this is the case where the hype is better than the reality. Whilst the Qantas First Class lounge in Sydney is very nice with its openness and design the lack of attention to detail lets it down. The first impression upon entering the main lounge - a dirty floor going up the escalator to the top floor. Toilets - not only was the floor filthy beyond belief but two out of the four toilet stalls were either not flushed or had excrement in them. When I informed reception of this they told me that they just had a lot of flights leaving. Is this suppose to be an excuse? If they knew this then someone should have been right on it. Nearly half of the computers did not work. One had a virus warning flashing on the screen! The restaurant had an excellent selection of food which was tasty and made to order. The wine selection was the best I have seen. Also the spa centre was brilliant! I had the best face and neck massage that I can recall. Although my wife was less impressed with her manicure. Overall this is a very good lounge but is let down by a lack of attention to detail.

Friendly and enthusiastic staff good service clean and well maintained and plenty of space. Good food choices - all in all a sense of really being appreciated.

What a surprise compared to the hideous Admirals Club in Terminal 4. Hot meals (chilli con carne chicken stir fry etc with rice and noodles) choice of 3 beers good red and white wines and spirits bar. Plenty of PC's to catch up with emails courteous attentive staff. Great shower rooms although the water outlets need replacement. Plenty of space in a quiet relaxing environment. Can get a little crowded when 2 hours from 4 flights departing. Overall especially in terms of lounges in the US very good.

The ambience is active but quiet. From the telephone call the day before asking us what time we would be arriving so the kurbside porter could help us with our luggage to the boarding of the plane all needs were met. My partner was wished a Happy Birthday from every staff member who met us at check in at the Lounge entrance and after our meal in the Lounge restaurant where my partner was presented with a small birthday platter of fruit. All this occurred by a mere mention of the event during my telephone conversation the day before.

This lounge is immaculately maintained - as was stated previously can become somewhat irritating as they will pounce on a finished glass of drink or cleared plate - can't really complain though. The catering is slightly above basic with some hot foods and soups and the usual au dourves biscuits cheeses and anti pesto. There is no bar but rather a self serve fridge as in Melbourne and Sydney international business lounges and a few post-mixes dotted around the lounge. The wine-bar area and the open round tabled seating area near the main food area are great for socialising while the darker quite areas are adequate but the lounges are not as comfortable as they appear. Plus the big floor to ceiling windows which run around the far side of the lounge are great to watch the goings on of the terminal below. The showers are incredible probably the best I've seen in a non first lounge. On the downside the lounge as with QF/BA First Thai United Lounges a fair walk from the QF/BA gates and up a set of escalators and very hard to find. But it handles to steady flow of numbers very well and never feels full despite the time of day.

The staff were attentive and friendly. As there is no airside pharmacy in Sydney international a staff member actually took my script had it filled at a pharmacy in another part of the airport had it cleared by security and delivered to my table. Now that's service! The menu is the restaurant is short sharp simple and of excellent quality. The facilities are great I like that you can choose to use either Mac or PC in this lounge. They have a very nice day spa hard to get into but when you do very much worth the effort. The bathrooms are not that great but you really are not there to spend too much time in there. It's wonderfully spacious with plenty of places to sit. The only annoying factor was the number of children in the lounge. All in all a great place. This lounge is the only reason that I will continue to use Qantas it's a great benefit for platinum frequent flyers- Qantas inflight service could learn a lot from this lounge.