Review: Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

July 12, 2017

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I’m a big fan of Qantas Lounges and one of the major benefits I get out of my oneworld Emerald status is that, no matter what cabin I’m booked into when flying out of Los Angeles, I get access to the Qantas First Class lounge at LAX’s Tom Bradley International Terminal.

Location

The Qantas First Class lounge at Los Angeles’ Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) is on level 5 of the recently redeveloped terminal one level above where you exit security – it’s approximately where I’ve placed a red dot on the image below.

Click image to enlarge

The simplest way to access the lounge is by using the escalators next to “Time Tower” (centre of the image above) to access level 5 and then following the walkway around to your right until you reach the lounge doors (you’ll walk past a number of other lounges on this level too).

If you happen to be visiting the lounge from Terminal 4 (as I was on this occasion) you can use the T4 – TBIT connector and the lounge is immediately on your right as you enter the international terminal.

Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

Access Rules

The lounge is open from 06:30 to 23:30 daily.

Access to the Qantas First Class lounge is based on either a passenger’s oneworld status or the fare booked. Entry is granted to:

Oneworld Emerald status holders + 1 guest per status holder – all must be traveling on the day of entry on a flight marketed and operated by a oneworld airline.
Passengers traveling in First Class + 1 guest – all must be traveling on the day of entry on a flight marketed and operated by a oneworld airline.

The Lounge

The check-in desk is straight ahead as you walk into the lounge…..

Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

….and, once you’ve handed over your boarding pass and been checked in, the lounge stretches out to the right in the shape of a rectangle (more or less).

At the near end of the lounge you’ll find armchairs and tables…..

Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

…and a self-serve tea and coffee bar area….

Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

…with some snacks:

Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

While at the end of this bar area is a printer connected up to the lounge’s free wi-fi.

Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

Just on the other side of a wooden partition that separates off this end of the lounge is the first of two main seating areas complete with comfortable red armchairs and tables:

Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

To the right of this area are the restrooms and a small self-serve bar with snacks:

Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

To the left of the first main seating area are a few white armchairs and sofas……

Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

…..and, up against the lounge’s floor-to-ceiling-windows, are some particularly comfortable relaxing seats:

Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

This area also has its own small bar with snacks (just incase the 10 second walk to the other side of the room is too much effort!).

Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

Further inside the lounge is the second of the two main seating areas with yet another style of chair:

Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

While these chairs are nice and comfortable this area suffers from a distinct shortage of power outlets so, if you’re hoping to relax and charge some a device or two, this isn’t the area for you.

Next up comes the last major area of the lounge – the dining area.

This is divided into two sections. The first looks like this:

Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

While the second, which is just on the other side of the wooden divide seen in the picture above, looks like this:

Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

To the right of the dining area is a really nice-looking bar…..

Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

…with chilled self-serve wine and champagne…..

Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

…and a very well stocked set of shelves and chiller cabinets from which the friendly bartender will happily serve complimentary drinks and cocktails of your choice:

Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

There’s also a high-end coffee machine behind the bar out of which comes some of the best coffee you’ll find at LAX – the bar staff appear to be very well trained in using it.

Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

Dining in the Qantas First Class lounge is a la carte and, while I’ve always found the service to be prompt and excellent, I recommend leaving yourself enough time to enjoy the meal so that you’re not rushing though it before you head to the gate.

A dining room assistant escorted me to one of the many fee table and offered me a menu (see below – click to enlarge).

I had been really looking forward to a glass of Penfolds Shiraz before my flight (I loved the Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz I’ve here before) but I’d noticed that there wasn’t any out at any of the self-serve areas.

Fortunately there was a Penfolds Shiraz-Cabernet on the menu:

That would do very nicely 🙂

It soon became clear why this wine wasn’t in the self serve areas – the waitress confirmed that the lounge had run out. Noooooooooooo! #firstworldproblem

She must have seen the disappointment on my face as she quickly said “hang on….let me check something”…before disappearing off to the bar. She was back in a few seconds with the last half bottle!

Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

It was so kind of her to check when she could have just stuck with the “we’re out of it” line and I really appreciated it….especially as the wine was delicious.

For my starter I chose the Tuna ceviche…..

Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

…which was very nice indeed.

For my main course I had the slow cooked lamb…..

Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

…which paired very nicely with the wine.

For dessert I ordered the cheese plate as I’ve liked it each time I’ve had it here in the past.

Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

It didn’t disappoint and was a good end to the meal.

Three nice courses, a delicious bottle of wine and not a cent spent out of my pocket – that’s why oneworld Emerald status can be addictive.

After dinner there was just one last part of the lounge I had time to check out – the shower rooms.

Access to the shower rooms is via corridor at the far end of the dining area (to the left) – there’s a small spa here too but I didn’t get to try that out on this visit.

A lounge attendant asked me if there were any amenities I needed (toothbrush, toothpaste, razor etc…) and then escorted me to a free shower room.

Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

The shower rooms are a very good size and the shower works very well (good temperature and good pressure).

Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

There’s plenty of room to get changed…..

Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

…and although I’d prefer it if the lounge offered individual-sized toiletries….

Qantas First Class Lounge Los Angeles

…what’s on offer is pretty good.

Thoughts

Negatives:

The lounge could do with more power outlets and the ones that you’ll find are US-style outlets so visitors from other counties will need an adapter.

That’s the only negative I can think of.

Positives:

Very friendly lounge staff
Comfortable seating
Good food choice
Good wines & champagnes which you can pour for yourself
Wi-fi speeds are good.

Bottom Line

As I probably let slip during the review, I really like this lounge. It doesn’t serve the best champagnes and it’s not as opulent as some First Class lounges but what it does it does very well.

With friendly and welcoming staff and a nice atmosphere this is a very nice place to relax, have a drink and have some food before a flight – I rank among my favorite oneworld lounges in the world.