Review: Dublin Airport Executive Lounge – Terminal 1

Dublin Airport Executive Lounge

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This review forms part a trip I took with Joanna to Las Vegas and San Francisco (introduction and full details of the trip are here).

Other posts in this series include:


The Dublin Airport Executive Lounge is where Joanna’s mystery trip really started. All along she’d known that the first flight of our trip would be from Heathrow to Dublin but, from here on in, she wasn’t really too sure where I was taking her.

British Airways doesn’t have a dedicated lounge in Dublin Airport so the Dublin Airport Executive Lounge is where premium cabin flyers and oneworld elites flying from terminal 1 are directed to.

The lounge is located just past terminal 1 airport security (literally!) and, as long as you’re paying attention (which I wasn’t on my last visit to Dublin) the signage is pretty obvious and the lounge should be easy to find.

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Not only does the lounge act as a haven for most oneworld flyers but, as far as I could see from the signage, it also acts as a lounge for most other airlines that operate flights to/from Dublin Airport terminal 1.

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This is also the Dublin Airport terminal 1  lounge that can be accessed by those holding a Priority Pass or Lounge Pass membership.

a man in a suit talking to a woman

The lounge sits one level up from airport security and can be accessed via stairs or elevator.

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Once you’re through the door the reception desk is straight ahead of you and the lounge opens up to the left and to the right.

The area to the right is  the smaller of the two sections to the lounge although it still has its own beverage area…..

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….its own small food area…..

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…and it’s where the “family room” is located:

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The larger left hand side of the lounge looked brighter and lighter when we arrived so that’s where we chose to wait for our next flight.

There was seating up against the floor to ceiling windows…..

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…further seating set around some tables…..

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…and a small “business area” with a couple of iMacs, a printer and space for travelers to plug in their own devices and work.

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In the middle of the left side of the lounge were the main beverage and food serving areas….

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…with a selection of teas, coffee, self-pour wines & spirits, beers and non-alcoholic drinks:

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Food-wise, we arrived shortly before the breakfast items were cleared away and the lunch items introduced so we got to see both sets of offerings.

The breakfast selection included:

  • a selection of pastries & muffins
  • a selection of cookies
  • a selection of breads
  • a selection of jams/jellies/marmalades
  • yoghurt parfait
  • organic rice cakes
  • a selection of cereals
  • a selection of fruit

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When the lunch items were brought out they included:

  • a selection of small sandwiches
  • a selection of cheeses (with biscuits/crackers)
  • a selection of breads
  • a selection of small cakes
  • a selection of pastries
  • a selection of chips/crips
  • mini fruit cups

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The food was surprisingly good.

Not only was the selection of breads, pastries and cookies impressive for a lounge this size but they tasted very fresh and, in some cases, almost home-made (which I’m assuming they weren’t).

The staff appeared to go to great lengths to ensure than everything was nicely presented and that empty plates were removed and replaced in a timely manner. There was an attention to detail that I really liked….down to the lime and mint infused chilled water that was on offer.

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Bottom Line

I confess that I wasn’t expecting much from this lounge before we walked in (I never have high hopes for lounges that service as many airlines and lounge programs as this one) but we really enjoyed our stay.

Sure, the alcoholic drink selection wasn’t the greatest (I don’t much care about that) but the food on offer was tasty and fresh and the staff were friendly, polite and seemed to genuinely want to offer a good service – that puts this lounge above a lot of other lounges I’ve visited.

With the number of great Business Class fares I’m finding that originate from Dublin this is a lounge that should be important to travelers looking to make the most of the good deals – this will be the lounge where a lot of them will be visiting and it’s not a bad place to while away the time in Dublin Airport.

Having this lounge open to Priority Pass members is definitely a bonus for those not traveling in a premium cabin as it’s one of the nicer Priority Pass lounges I’ve visited this year…it’s certainly better than  the likes of Aspire at Heathrow T5 and the Swissport lounge at Larnaca Airport in Cyprus.

All in all it’s a big thumbs up for the Dublin Airport Executive Lounge. It may not be the largest or the flashiest of lounges you’ll find but it does very well with what it has.

 

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