In the miles & points world, visiting the Qantas First Lounge LAX is kind of a rite of passage, along with staying at the Park Hyatt Paris Vendome, visiting the Lufthansa First Class Terminal, and flying Qatar Airways Qsuites.
Continue reading: Review: Qantas First Lounge Los Angeles (LAX)
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
The food is good. Other than the food, the space is a large, uninspiring, dated, standard issue, one each lounge. It is in desperate need of a remodel. Other than the food, I'd actually choose AA's Flagship Lounge at LAX over the Qantas lounge. Sadly, Flagship First Dining will not return to LAX. The new Delta lounges and the to-be-introduced AA lounges have a far nicer feel to them, albeit without table service.
I was lucky to visit two days after it reopened. I thought the food was great! I (when possible) always use the shower so I can feel fresh before I depart. Of all the showers I used that itinerary this one was my least favorite. But like you, nitpicking.
I could tell they were training some new staff. Not everyone returned. I spent time taking with the bartender. She was very friendly as was the Australian gentleman who welcomed me into the lounge. I took a walk down to the one world lounge and that place was busy and meh. Quickly went back and enjoyed the peace.
Many the food is amazing. But the the dining room looks like any company canteen, so uninspiring and dated. The seating area looks sterile and not cozy, can think of many other lounges that I would rather visit.
Haven't visited this lounge but it is on my list, I have been lucky enough to go to the QF F lounges in both Sydney and Melbourne when travelling with my dad who is QF platinum. They are both amazing, Singapore looks spectacular to! Great review Ben!
Visited the lounge just before the pandemic. Food, beverage, service were fantastic. Alas, it was essentially one giant room and was LOUD. Nowhere to escape from the noise. IMO a wonderful place to enjoy a meal, have a shower and drink a fantastic selection of wines and spirits but not a relaxing place.
I have zero experience with this lounge (nor will I ever), but I have to say that, without a doubt, that is the most appealing airport food I have ever seen in a lounge (setting aside CDG's La Première, that is, for the purists).
Do you know what the policy is re: Transcon F passengers on American entering the lounge. The fine print used to allow you to access when going from LAX - JFK in F though I had a lot of trouble getting the agents there to consistently honor that without a lot of fuss. Any idea how they are currently handling? With no Flagship Dining in LAX that could be a great hack to get some baseline F&B service before the flight.
There is a separate section within the dining zone for those who are actually flying First where the service is up a notch or three. Or at least there was just before Covid. Staff were lovely, knowledgeable and super attentive.
The Marc Newson design is always a joy.
I’d assume if you were desperate for QF buffet good (I’m not) and you have access to the Flounge you’d have access to the J lounge next door…..
Agree - very nice lounge. But that carpet makes me dizzy looking at it. The pattern is blurred (by design) and it makes your brain think your vision is blurred.
"alternatively, it would be nice if there were a much shorter snack menu, for people who may not be interested in a meal"
That doesn't make sense; wouldn't it be better to have a longer snack menu?
Also, nobody is required to have a full meal, people can just nibble on an appetizer or two...
Sorry to say but you admit "nitpicking" and you're right What's the point of mentioning the view or natural light when nothing can be done about that. You say its not qantas' fault, so why raise it? As to power outlets at the dining tables, you're not supposed to be sitting there for hours on end.
Inferior to Sydney & Melbourne First Class dining
quality & execution
Baking was awful (2 experiences there)
Many visits in Mel & Sydney over the years
Neil Perry can do much better
Seems like he gave up on his brilliant classics sadly
His Melbourne Restaurant Rockpool menu seems uninspired now.And that’s coming from someone who loves his food.
He help put Qantas on the map as a great airline serving excellent food
I fly on the A 380 soon again and will try the lounges again and see where they are at
For myself I don’t care if it’s a dark dungeon as long as the food and beverage are good!
I recently accessed the Qantas First Lounge in the beginning of October 2022. I agree with your overall assessment of this lounge.
One thing I found strange was the difficulty of finding eligibility access as a OneWorld Emerald. I was flying Fiji Airways as an Alaska Emerald. I called multiple times to Alaska, Qantas, and Fiji Airways. None have me a definitive answer with Fiji telling me I could ask at checkin.
As it turned out, we were able to enter. Oddly, a friend of mine traveling on the same Fiji flight, who is Emerald through AA, was denied access. He was told since AA has a Flagship lounge in Terminal 4, they could not enter. So either the checkin staff was wrong or you got lucky. It highlights the poor understanding by OneWorld airline staff of enter requirements for OneWorld elites especially with nuances for OneWorld Connect member airlines.
Sin is basically a small restaurant with a couple of small relaxing areas. The food as good not great. Certainly much much better food than the PP lounge next door though.
QF first lounges are definitely excellent and the top of the pile for airport lounges by a long way so any comments really are just first world nitpicking! That said, I wish QF would get rid of Neil Perry and the food would improve instantly. Feels like we QF customers have been complaining about this for so long but nothing ever changes. Although I do notice the infamous corn fritters for breakfast seem to be missing from your breakfast menu & the sundae has replaced the Pavlova - sacrilege, shock, horror!
Its probably time to have Marc Newsom rejig the design of these lounges - he's definitely better than this these days. The new designer of the Singapore lounge has done a great job. I'm looking forward to trying the AA Flagship Lounge in DFW in a couple of weeks but I suspect QF will still be at the top.
Unfortunately the inflight QF food and service does not match the first lounge which was always annoying but now that we are paying more than double for our fares post covid, the sub par performance feels even more like AJ continues to gouge us and play us for suckers.
The staff in all QF lounges is employed by Sofitel not QF and it is actually Sofitel who has the contract for lounge delivery be it Canberra or LAX. QF has done its very best to outsource as much of its business as possible over the last decade. In the Australian first lounges & also Singapore, they definitely have some 'snacks' things such as cheeses, crackers, nuts etc although its not huge. The point is that because of the timing of these long haul flights to Australia, (generally late at night from Asia & the US) most people want to eat, hit the plane and sleep which is why they offer the full meals in the lounge to give customers that option.
I think Ben you will also find that those small rooms can be booked by anyone for meetings or conference calls etc.
This QF First lounge @ LAX is far less impressive than the Virgin Clubhouse @ LHR.
I think the qf lounge is horribly overrated (noting I’ve only been once). Food was fine to good. Really basic bland shower suites. Surprised @Ben gave them a thumbs up.
No views of the tarmac.
Furniture looks dated.
I’d rate this lounge 3.5 as first class lounges go. Despite being packed I’d prob prefer quite a few amex lounge experiences to it.
I’d also prefer the American flagship lounges in ord and Dallas (for eg) even though they aren’t “F”.
I think the qf lounge is horribly overrated (noting I’ve only been once). Food was fine to good. Really basic bland shower suites. Surprised @Ben gave them a thumbs up.
No views of the tarmac.
Furniture looks dated.
I’d rate this lounge 3.5 as first class lounges go. Despite being packed I’d prob prefer quite a few amex lounge experiences to it.
I’d also prefer the American flagship lounges in ord and Dallas (for eg) even though they aren’t “F”.
You can’t be serious.
You can use the Biz lounge next door.
I’d also add that there was a recent media report here in Australia about a couple with complimentary Qantas Flounge access passes who were denied entry at LAX because that lounge is not available for freebie entry. Sad. Very sad.
I’m sure this lounge gets very crowded in the evenings, infested with OneWorld emeralds of all stripes like in Sydney and Melbourne, thus diluting the experience for those of us who actually fork-over for the big beds at the front of the 380.
Other than the food, I found the lounge pretty mediocre. Furnishings are dated, bathrooms/showers very sterile and overall uninspiring experience (aside from staff).
I’m sure I’ll receive remarks for expressing an opinion but I thought that was the objective of reviews.
Gorgeous lounge with great food, but I agree the service is hit or miss! On a weekday afternoon with only about 4 other people in the lounge in total, it took nearly an hour for our lunch to be served, and when we kept asking for our food (we had to leave), we were told "oh the kitchen took a break but will be back soon." Sounds like the service may be better in the evening when there are more people around. Otherwise don't expect to be noticed even in the dining area!
No, Michael. You're not alone in your opinion. The food is very good; but in every other way, it's akin to a business class lounge (albeit a decent one). The uninspiring furnishings are a late 90s/early 00's formulation, which explains the dated look (courtesy of the over-rated designer Marc Newson). Overall, it just lacks that indefinable 'WOW" factor elevating first class above business.
I assume your "iced coffee" is the US version, in Australia it contains a scoop of iced cream & is topped with whipped cream. The equivalent here of what you had is an iced latte
So you can get access to this lounge as an AA Plat Pro or AS MVPG75K flying LAX-SJD?
That IS an international flight.
Should be an entertaining fight with the lounge dragon.
😉
Although the menu looks good, it looks mass-market. I'd much rather be in the *A F class lounge.
Not sure what the big deal is. It looks like an airport lounge. Nothing special. The food looks like regular dishes you see all over the world these days. I agree with you regarding outlets and food. However, as you said it is difficult to deal with the outlets after the fact. Your comment about the barista is quite funny because whether you use the machine or they do, it's the same thing. Sure it seems much better than some, but on the other hand the quality at some is at a new low.
It’s furnished with a selection of classic design pieces from Knoll, Bertoia, Plattner, Saarinen. In what way is that “a 90/early00’s formulation?”
I'm rather pleased that the bathrooms are "sterile". That's much better than the alterantive!
Thanks, my RTW LAX SYD QF 1st got switched out for a DreamLiner on my day alone But email promises First Lounge So nice.
I'm OW Emerald (AA ExP) and had an international flight on AA leaving after midnight. The computer scanning my boarding pass would not let me into the lounge as it was tagged for the next day!!! The lounge assistant was friendly enough to let me in the lounge as a courtesy, but explained that AA flights leaving after midnight are no longer given access and need to go to the T4 Admirals Club. In all my years as OW Emerald, I've never had this happen before, so this might be a new thing. She stated if I was flying any other OW airline, entry would be allowed, but not AA as she mentioned AA wants passengers to now use the AA lounge, even if they are leaving out of TBIT.
Another note, the hours posted here are inaccurate. The lounge closes roughly at 11pm and food service stops roughly at 10pm. This is as of late October 2022.
Recently visited this lounge. Love the ambience and enjoyed the selection of drinks. Several of us were confused however as they were serving breakfast only at noon. The server said lunch starts at 12:45PM.
Glad your experience was good. Pre-pandemic, my visit there was way less than First Class as all of the staff (bartenders, dining room staff) disappeared for a good 45 mins after opening. Was so bad that I went to the Oneworld lounge next door instead. Being Australian, I'm wary for the treatment for us ethnic passengers as well.