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It’s been a long time coming and faced a number of long delays but the Etihad First Class Lounge & Spa Abu Dhabi finally opened its doors today.
Without having visited the lounge in person (clearly!) I’m not in much of a position to comment on what the Etihad First Class lounge in Abu Dhabi is like so, what follows is all the information and pictures Etihad has supplied so far.
The Etihad First Class lounge Abu Dhabi measures a little under 18,300 sq ft (1,700 sq m) and offers up panoramic views of Abu Dhabi international airport. It’s made up of 16 “unique zones” including:
- An à la carte restaurant
- Showcase bar
- Fitness room
- Cigar lounge
- Six Senses Spa
- Style & Shave barbers
- Nail bar
- TV room
- Secluded relaxation room
- Prayer room
- Children’s play room
I count 11 different areas in the list provided by Etihad which, presumably, means that there are also 5 separately defined seating/lounging areas too.
Passengers booked into Etihad’s ultra-luxurious “The Residence” have been allocated their own separate space located adjacent to the main lounge entrance.
Etihad First Class Lounge Abu Dhabi – Image courtesy of Etihad
This space comes with a dedicated Savoy-trained Butler, custom-made Poltrona Frau Italian leather armchairs and sofas, a separate shower room stocked with a range of Acqua di Parma products, a prayer room, and private dining facilities.
The main part of the Etihad First Class lounge is hardly underserved with a General Manager, Concierge, Maître d’Hotel, Savoy-trained Butlers, chefs and mixologists all their to attend to guests’ needs.
According to Etihad:
The Executive Chef brings with him immense experience from a long career with leading hotel brands including Ritz Carlton, Shangri-La, and Intercontinental. His team of skilled Sous Chefs, Demi Chefs, and Chef de Partie create superior haute cuisine dining served at an à la carte dining area.
Menus are changed frequently and feature a choice of Arabian, Indian and international cuisine made to order at any time of day. The kitchen prepares all dining in-house using the freshest, locally sourced, seasonal produce. Guests will also be able to experience a unique five-course Emirati tasting menu, developed by chefs from Mezlai at the prestigious Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi. A casual dining and bar snack menu is also provided.
Etihad First Class Lounge Abu Dhabi – Image courtesy of Etihad
And there’s no reason to worry that the lounge will be dry!
A bespoke cocktail menu has been specially developed in partnership with leading London-based beverage consultancy Fluid Movement. The signature mocktail drink is the Abu Dhabi, which uses Middle-Eastern flavours such as aromatic cold brew coffee infused with cardamom and sprayed with delicate rose water.
All mocktails and cocktails featured on the menu are one-of-a-kind and have been named after Etihad’s leading destinations including New York, Melbourne, Shanghai, Paris, Mumbai, Sydney and London. Using ingredients inspired by these cities, cocktails and mocktails are all hand-created by specially trained mixologists, using syrups and garnishes such as candy floss and dehydrated rhubarb. The bar also offers a selection of ‘modern classics’, such as the Mach 10 Mojito. Negroni lovers will be delighted to know their favourite aperitif is mixed, barrelled and aged behind the bar.
Etihad First Class Lounge Abu Dhabi – Image courtesy of Etihad
The area of the lounge I’m most interested in trying out (because it’s not exactly something you find in other lounges around the world) is the Cigar Lounge. No effort seems to have been spared here with a choice of 9 different cigar brands (including all the well known ones like Hoyo de Monterray, Cohiba, Bolivar, Montecristo, Arturo Fuente and Romeo Y Julieta) and a specially chosen whisky or cognac pairing for each.
The Six Senses Spa has three treatment rooms (all with shower facilities) and while First Class passengers can enjoy a single complimentary treatment, those traveling in The Residence are offered two.
Etihad First Class Lounge Abu Dhabi – Image courtesy of Etihad
The Style & Shave area is just what it sounds like…an area where you can get a number of hair and shave services (for men) while a “nail bar”, also inside the Style & Shave area, also offers hair and nail services …presumably mostly for women.
Both Style & Shave and the nail bar offer one complimentary express treatment as well as a shoe shine service.
One of the lounge areas not on Etihad’s list of 11 (mentioned earlier) is the Relax & Recline area which features a video wall composed of 27 individual screens as well as “soothing sound & lighting”. You won’t be watching CNN International here!
Etihad First Class Lounge Abu Dhabi – Image courtesy of Etihad
The last area probably worth mentioning is the Fitness area which has been kitted out with “state-of-the-art Technogym treadmills and cross trainers” with male and female washrooms and showers just next door.
Lounge Entry
Per Etihad, the passengers eligible for entry to the new lounge are as follows:
- Passengers booked into “The Residence”
- Etihad First Class flyers
- Etihad Guest Exclusive
- Etihad Guest Platinum members (plus one guest)
- Etihad Airways Partner (EAP) airline First Class guests
- EAP ‘Invitation only’ members (plus two guests)
- EAP equivalent Platinum members (plus one guest)
I think I already know the answer to this but I wonder how tightly defined “Etihad Airways Partner” is? DO they just mean Etihad’s equity partners (Alitalia, Air Berlin Virgin Australia etc…) or do they mean all their partners (which would include American Airlines)?
I strongly suspect that they only mean to admit top-tier guests from their equity partners but how great would it be if Executive Platinum membership got you into this lounge? 🙂
Bottom Line
This lounge has a lot of hype to live up to and, although we should definitely wait for the first “real people” reviews to come in, it looks like it’s going to be a pretty amazing place to relax before a flight.
I’m lucky enough to be traveling on Etihad First Class towards the end of the year (courtesy of some pre-devaluation AAdvantage Miles) so I’ll get to see what the lounge is like first hand but, in the meantime, if anyone visits the lounge in the next few weeks, drop a comment under this blog post and let us know your thoughts.
