REVIEW – Etihad First Class Lounge, Abu Dhabi (AUH – Terminal 3)

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Intro

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There was still no proper First Class Lounge available the first time that I flew on Etihad’s Apartments, instead we were treated to a roped off corner of the Etihad Premium (business class) lounge. I was really excited about the prospect of properly experiencing the new F lounge on this trip and given that our flight wasn’t scheduled to take off until after 2am, we were sure to have plenty of time to soak it all in.

We were collected from the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi, by our complimentary Etihad chauffeur, at around 9pm. I wasn’t expecting the hotel to extend our check-out so late but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask (it didn’t).

Etihad stopped offering complimentary chauffeur service on AA redemption tickets booked after August 2016 and even for their own Etihad Guest redemption as of February 2018.  However, when logging in to Etihad’s website and viewing your booking you may find that the chauffeur booking section is still active. If it is, you’re in luck! (It seems that Etihad’s recent cost cutting has made its way to the IT algorithm that checks chauffeur eligibility too…)

The drive in our Mercedes Benz S Class was very quick and very smooth. I’m not even sure if we saw a single other vehicle on the road.

Around 25 minutes after departing the Park Hyatt, we pulled up to the airport terminal and were greeted curb-side by a First Class Agent.

We were then escorted into the totally empty First Class check-in area.

The experience up until this point was utterly seamless, we had yet to encounter another passenger or set foot into anything that resembled a regular airport terminal. I was slightly worried that we would have issues checking in more than 3 hours before our flight but it transpires that these concerns were entirely unfounded.

The waiting area for the First Class check-in. In all of my travels, I have yet to see one of these used by anyone. Ever.

Upon being handed our boarding passes we were directed to a private security channel, immediately adjacent to the check-in area. We were through security and at the door to the lounge (which is also conveniently positioned immediately after the First Class security channel) less than ten minutes after arriving at the airport.

The only other time I’ve had such a flawless pre-departure experience has been when flying on a private jet.

 

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The Lounge

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Our boarding passes were checked immediately after passing through this door. We then entered the lift and had our boarding passes checked one more time upon exiting, before being permitted to enter the reception area of the lounge.

Here we were greeted by a host who offered to take any items that we would like stored, before escorting us into the lounge for a brief tour.

A concierge desk is located immediately next to the reception.

Given that it was quite late and we had yet to eat dinner, we opted to take a seat in the restaurant area.

We were greeted by an extremely polished and friendly waiter, who clearly had experience in fine dining. The combination of gentle playfulness and impeccable manners is something that is very hard to teach, not only was he welcoming he also knew the menu inside and out. His timing was excellent too, as soon as menus were put down he came to offer assistance, our glasses were also never left empty. In fact with each empty glass came a recommendation for another libation, suitable for the next course of our meal.

In short, this was proper restaurant service, through and through.

The menu was a gargantuan tome, worthy of the Great Library of Alexandria.

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As Kamara and I debated whether to order a soup or a starter, our waiter helpfully suggested that we should order both. Not ones to upset our host, we gladly took him up on his suggestion.

The drinks selection was almost daunting in its extensive grandeur. At this point in time Etihad still served Bollinger La Grande Année both on board and in the lounge. My camera blurred the page showing this, almost as if imbued with the knowledge of the savage cost cutting that was to be unleashed by Etihad mere months later.

Anyway I digress. To begin, we had a glass of Grande Année each, which was served table side, accompanied by an amuse bouche of stuffed fresh dates with yoghurt.

I was particularly struck by the quality of the presentation and tableware. This looked like a high-end restaurant in a city, not the dining section of an airport lounge.

After the champagne we decided to move on to one of my favourite cocktails: Aviation✈. (Correctly made with Crème de Violette: an ingredient often omitted entirely, in favour of additional Maraschino.)

My beef carpaccio was stunning in both presentation and flavour. The subtle hints of truffle and horseradish were perfectly juxtaposed. I thought that adding the cut red radish was also a clever way to play on the flavour profile of the horseradish, whilst adding a hint of freshness to the dish.

Kamara’s watermelon two ways was superb. It didn’t really stand out on the menu but we were glad the waiter convinced us to try it. A bold and inventive dish which shows real creativity in the kitchen. The kind of thing you’d expect from a restaurant with Guide Michelin aspirations.

We then shared a braised artichoke soup. An absolute revelation. The cheese parcels added a fantastic burst of texture and flavour, with vanilla foam and chilli oil interplaying beautifully to add complexity to the dish.

After clearing our plates our waiter presented us with a very refreshing orange sorbet each. A surprise dish and once again a nod to fine dining that one does not expect in an airport lounge.

I chose the grilled milk lamb as my main. It was served medium rare and had a beautiful freshly grilled flavour. The watercress risotto and caramelised garlic jus were both very original and utterly delicious.

Kamara opted for the confit quail with braised endive and onion cake. More of an old school flavour combination but well executed nonetheless.

After this monumental meal we  decided to skip dessert and enjoyed a rich and syrupy glass of Tokaji instead, before making our way to the bar.

 Some of the other seating areas dotted throughout the lounge, including the bizarrely exposed and disco-like ‘relaxation area’.

There were a few of these UK power sockets, with twin USB ports, dotted around the lounge. However, I would say that the majority of the seats do not have power, which is not great. Having said that, all First Class passengers will have plenty of time to charge devices during their flights and I can see why the designers wouldn’t want a bunch of messy cables strewn around the lounge.

Once seated at the bar we were very well looked after by the highly skilled and knowledgeable Polish barman. My ‘London’ cocktail was a refreshing combination of gin, rhubarb and blackberry. I asked for it to be made with half the usual amount of honey and this worked perfectly.

After we finished our drinks, the barman commented that his colleague in the restaurant had voiced a concern with him. We had been too full earlier and neither of them could bear to see us leave the lounge without trying their best dessert:

Hot chocolate cake with white chocolate mousse, served alongside a bitter chocolate rock, a layered crémeux cake filled with lemon cream and thyme and a sprinkle of olive oil powder.

It was astoundingly good. The kind of food for which decorum is put on hold. Hell, I’d probably commit a few minor felonies to get my hands on another one of these right now.

After an enormous multi course banquet, served with prestige cuvée champagne and bespoke cocktails, spanning a pair of venues; I did the sensible thing and retired to the cigar lounge for a Montecristo and a glass of bourbon.

The cigar lounge is well isolated from the rest of the lounge, the extraction mechanism is so good that you’d never know that it was there. Once inside, the room has a cool retro vibe, a lot more stylish and inviting than what you expect when you picture a cigar lounge. I was served by an attendant who passed me the cigar to smell before slipping and lighting it for me. I was then offered a drink. I’m not usually a cigar smoker so I went with the smooth sweetness of the Elijah Craig to offset my Montecristo.

1am in Abu Dhabi with a planned 8am arrival at my office in London… and not a care in the world. Plus I still had the excitement of Etihad Apartments to look forward to…

 

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Conclusion

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Back in 2016, when I first visited this lounge, Etihad was at its apex. Apartments were still a very new product and the lounge had only been open for a couple of months. The glow of invincibility surrounding this company was palpable, everybody wanted a piece of them.

The dining experience we had here would easily have cost upwards of £250 per person in a top London restaurant and would have been worth every penny!

Unfortunately a series of horrible financial decisions have led to a continuous deterioration in Etihad’s premium offering. The food and the service are now both markedly worse than they were during this review.

Hopefully this serves as a reminder of how to do a lounge properly. I’ve only personally visited one other better lounge since and that review will be coming very soon…