When our Emirates B777 flight from Chicago touched down it was already 8:00 PM on Monday evening but the airport was still quite a busy place. Like all countries, the United Arab Emirates has rules about what can and can’t be brought into the country and everyone who arrives must pass through Dubai Customs. But luckily, the customs hall was large enough so that the waiting time for an officer on that night was minimal. In fact, it took me longer to walk from the plane to the hall than it did to clear the required customs formalities. Afterwards, I was looking forward to getting to the hotel. First and Business Class passengers are eligible for the airline’s complimentary Chauffeur-drive service. This ground-transfer service whisks travelers to and from the airport for a seamless travel experience and I had made arrangements before leaving the US. It wasn’t long before I found myself in a spotless Mercedes-Bens S 450 Sedan driven by a gentleman sporting a jacket and tie. He was fluent in English and happy to answer my questions on the short, ten-mile drive to the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel.
This is the world's tallest hotel, rising more than 1,165.feet high from ground level. Formerly known as the Emirates Park Towers Hotel & Spa, the Marriott consists of two, 77-floor twin towers. Elevated above the city, the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel in Dubai offers 1,608 elegant guest rooms and suites featuring stunning views of the Dubai skyline, along with deluxe bedding, marble bathrooms and 24-hour room service. Amenities include complimentary high-speed Internet, two-line telephones, individually controlled air-conditioning, interactive TV system with international channels, in-room safe, iron and ironing board, high-quality bathroom amenities, bathrobe, hairdryer, and daily newspaper upon request. The hotel also provides complimentary shuttle services to The Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates. This five-star luxury hotel offers five different dining venues, offering Indian, Italian, Japanese and Thai cuisine as well as a steakhouse. Of course, all I wanted to do was grab a shower after my long flight and settle down in my comfortable Deluxe King-bedded room. I was only able to log about 5 hours of sleep, either because I had already enjoyed six hours on the plane or because I was so excited to continue my journey. Either way, I greeted the next day at 2:00 AM raring to go!
The hours passed quickly, catching up with the world news on television and reading a good book. I skipped breakfast as I was still satiated after my trip over from Chicago and I knew there was much more to come on the next Emirates leg, The chauffeur driver met me near the main entrance at 7:30 as planned. Even though my flight to Auckland was not departing for another three hours, I wanted enough time to do a little bit of exploring at the Dubai Airport (DXB) and enjoy the Emirates First Class Lounge. My check in was quick and efficient and the dedicated First Class lines at security and passport control assured me of a speedy transit to airside. Everything in Dubai is larger than anywhere else and the airport is no exception. Pre-pandemic, it was the world’s busiest airport in terms of their international passenger traffic. The numbers were staggering. It was (and most likely still is) the busiest airport for Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 movements and the airport with the highest average number of passengers per flight. In 2017 alone, DXB handled 88 million passengers and 2.65 million tons of cargo and registered 409,493 aircraft movements! Terminal 3 has three concourses and is home to Emirates and its low-cost carrier flydubai. The terminal is the second largest building in the world by floor space and the largest airport terminal on Earth. Needless to say, I was very impressed with the size of the terminal and the multitude and variety of of high-end stores available for shopping.
After my walk around the terminal, I headed upstairs to the Emirates First Class Lounge in Concourse A. This is the airline’s flagship lounge and I can’t say enough about what a wonderful experience it was. The lounge was staffed with friendly, helpful and smiling associates who warmly greeted me at every interaction and were eager to provide exceptional service. And it’s one of the largest lounges I’ve ever been privileged to visit. But let me start from the beginning. This Dubai Emirates Lounge is not actually a traditional lounge per se; it takes up almost the entire length of the terminal below with an open roof. There were two Business Class Lounges on either end and the First Class Lounge was situated in the middle. This space was so amazing, it even had an in-lounge duty-free boutique! There were many places to sit with chairs, sofas and tables scattered throughout. You wouldn't get thirsty here as there were also several bars to choose from, as well as shower spas and sleeping rooms. Believe it or not, I even noticed a separate cigar lounge with appropriately over-stuffed leather chairs. The dining hall is replete with white tablecloths, menus and dedicated waiter service. I only had some juice, coffee and a small plate of fruit that morning as I was “saving myself” for the Emirates onboard dining experience. But it was still a treat to peruse the extensive breakfast menu offering all manner of eggs, along with waffles, pancakes and any number of breakfast side dishes. The menu also featured Smoked Scottish Kipper Fillets (served with potatoes and cherry tomatoes) and Salmon, Potato and Parsley Fishcakes. After relaxing for about an hour, it was time to depart and one of the lounge perks I found particularly appealing was the ability to board directly from the lounge onto the plane itself!
Emirates operated my flight to New Zealand with an Airbus A380 aircraft and the First Class cabin is located upstairs. I’ve been fortunate to enjoy flying upfront on the world’s largest commercial airplane before, with both Singapore Airlines and British Airways but was still very much looking forward to my ride with Emirates that morning. The suite layout and controls were the same as I described in my earlier post titled “My Emirates Experience.” But, the A380 cabin has fourteen seats as opposed to the eight found on the B777 so it's nearly twice as dense. And, the cabin is somewhat narrower than the First Class section of their B777, since the upper deck of the A380 isn’t as wide as that found on the B777. But these are very minor points that didn't bother me at all since the airline excels at providing premium service. I was fairly detailed in my first report about this trip so I won’t repeat myself, but will point out a few things I missed and the differences that made this First Class A380 journey very special indeed.
Previously, I neglected to mention the depth of the carrier’s spirits menu in the First cabin. It features a mix of niche, hand-crafted brands as well as popular and well-loved spirits, including the exclusive Hennessy Paradis. Created in 1979, Hennessy Paradis is so named for the Hennessy Founder's Cellar, where only the finest, rarest and oldest blends are kept. It is a cognac of remarkable depth and elegance, defined by its graceful, silky character that highlights its finely nuanced and harmoniously balanced aromatic qualities. Other brands served in First Class include the Dalmore King Alexander III, a unique single malt created by Master Distiller, Richard Paterson. Available exclusively in Emirates First Class, it’s the only single malt Scotch Whiskey in the world created using a unique six-cask finish. Belvedere Vodka; Johnnie Walker Blue Label Scotch Whiskey and Ron Zacapa Centenario XO Premium Guatemalan Rum round out the premium offerings onboard.
No review of my Emirates A380 journeys would be complete without a mention of the bar located at the rear of the upper deck for the exclusive use of First and Business Class passengers. This lounge can accommodate up to twenty-six guests at one time, with eight people seated around the horseshoe-shaped bar that featured two shelves stocked with all manner of premium aperitifs, spirits and liqueurs. Travelers in the premium cabins can indulge in gourmet canapés while drinking glasses of handpicked wines and limited edition fine spirits. Moreover, the bartender even prepared signature cocktails. The bar and lounge area was accessible from the moment the seat belt sign was switched off until preparation for landing. Unlike other so-called airline “lounges,” the Emirates A380 bar is fully tended for the duration of the flight. After takeoff, a great deal of effort went into transforming the space into an inviting and welcoming area. From applying soft mood lighting and setting out a tempting array of canapés, to displaying a spirits line up that any other bar would envy, the busy crew got to work as soon as the seat belt sign was no longer illuminated. Items such as cheese sticks, chips and olives, petite sandwiches, wraps and sweets were all temptingly arranged on display platters. I also found a menu perched at the bar. On offer were several more substantial hot snacks which could be served in the bar and lounge area or in the comfort of my own suite. Interestingly enough, I traveled on three Emirates A380s during this trip and on each occasion I visited the bar, I was the only passenger there! Talk about great service.
My flight to New Zealand from Dubai covered a distance of 9,003 miles in seventeen hours and twenty-one minutes and it was an altogether unforgettable experience. I was completely refreshed by the time we touched down close to 3:00 PM on Wednesday afternoon. I’ll tell you all about my visit to Auckland in a future post.
Until next time…safe travels.
Well, if you are to spend over 17 hours on a flight it really is best to do it in style - and it reads like you certainly did :-)