The Qantas First Class Lounge in Sydney is one of the best airline lounges in the world, and arguably the most beautiful architecturally. Despite opening in 2007, the Marc Newson designed lounge continues to hold its own against the likes of The Pier First Class in Hong Kong and other newer first class lounges.
Walk straight ahead after passport control and security screening, head up the escalators and the Qantas First Lounge is the first door.
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Qantas First Class Lounge Sydney Review
The Qantas First Lounge in Sydney is beautifully designed and bright, with a wonderful sense of space from the open design and angled floor to ceiling windows.
Immediately at the top of the escalators is the service desk where agents will check your boarding pass and help with any queries.
There is also a wonderfully retro Solari departures board, the clickety clack of which is now exceedingly rare in airports around the world. Fortunately, they can also still be heard at the TWA Flight Centre at New York JFK Airport.
Split into ten sections by the wooden frames, which are reminiscent of the ribs in an airplane wing, there are different zones for lounging (with seating by Poltrona Frau), dining and even a library on the last section on the right.
And the lounge has a dress circle location to observe take offs and landings, with the CBD in the background.
Qantas First Class Lounge Food Review
Dining at the Qantas First Lounge is an excellent experience with staff trained by Sofitel and the menu by leading Australian chef Neil Perry.
Split across multiple dining rooms, there are tables for solo, duo and larger groups of passengers.
While the menu has evolved over time, I was glad to see the old favourites like the salt and pepper squid and Humpty Doo Barramundi. On the drinks front, a choice of four Champagnes and a range of Australian wines means all but the fussiest will find something to their taste.
The salt and pepper calamari was a generous portion and crispy, with the green chilli dipping sauce adding a bit of kick.
Humpty Doo Barramundi with red curry butter and stir fried water spinach was excellent too, with crispy skin and just enough sauce.
Possibly the most photographed dessert in Australia along with Peter Gilmore’s Snow Egg, the Qantas First Pavlova was refreshing and not overly sweet. The ratio of ice cream, strawberries, figs and meringue was perfect, and just the right note on which to conclude the meal.
Overall, the food was easily restaurant grade and compared favourably to other first class lounge dining rooms like American Airlines Flagship First Dining at JFK.
Spa Review
Qantas is one of the few airlines to offer spa treatments as part of their lounge experience. While the benchmark is the THAI First Class Spa in Bangkok with an hour long Thai massage, the shorter 20 minute sessions at the Qantas First Spa are still a great way to start a trip.
Bookings are currently being handled at the lounge itself, with the pre-pandemic standard of a call from the Qantas First Team the day before travel replaced by a rather generic email.
The spa is located at the far left of the lounge, past the washroom and shower facilities.
You’re invited to choose from four treatment options, and I went with the Dream Aligner hot stone massage.
Treatment rooms are serene and feature vertical gardens by Patrick Blanc, whose work adorns One Central Park in Chippendale, Sydney. My massage was very relaxing with hot stones, calm music and the aroma from essential oils.
While there are multiple treatment rooms, they aren’t all created equal. The one at the very end of the corridor is the most spacious with a U-shaped vertical garden.
Showers
Shower suites at the Qantas First Lounge are generously sized and luxuriously decorated with Carrara marble. While most passengers would be originating in Sydney, rather than transiting, it is always refreshing to shower before boarding a long flight.
Qantas First Class Lounge Summary
The Qantas First Lounge in Sydney is still one of the best first class lounges in the world with beautiful architecture, great food and a spa.
