I had a roughly four hour layover in Abu Dhabi, as my flight from Washington arrived around 7PM, while my connecting flight to Ahmedabad was departing at 11PM.
As usually seems to be the case, our flight arrived at a remote stand. I didn’t mind this too much, since earlier this year Etihad announced that they’d start offering Mercedes S-Class transfers to first class passengers who arrive at remote stands.
Etihad 787 upon arrival from Washington
When I arrived I saw a Mercedes waiting, so I figured “great.” But nope, that was just for the three locals in first class, apparently.
Etihad 787 upon arrival from Washington
Unless the S-Class was recently redesigned to be more spacious, I don’t think I got a Mercedes transfer. 😉
Etihad bus from remote stand to terminal
Etihad bus from remote stand to terminal
While Doha and Dubai are generally beautiful airports and mostly good hubs for transfers, Abu Dhabi isn’t. The airport is supposed to have a new terminal opening soon, but at this point it seems to me like they might have just given up on finishing construction on it.
The transit security checkpoint was outrageously backed up, though fortunately there was a priority line for business class, so I was through in about 10 minutes. For those who didn’t have access to the priority line, I imagine the line must have been at least an hour long.
At that point I headed to the Etihad First Class Lounge, which I’ve reviewed before.
Etihad Airways first class lounge Abu Dhabi exterior
At the entrance my boarding pass was scanned, and then I took the elevator up to the lounge level, as it’s one floor above the main concourse.
Etihad Airways first class lounge Abu Dhabi entrance
The lounge is quite beautiful and was nice and empty when I arrived.
Etihad Airways first class lounge Abu Dhabi
Etihad Airways first class lounge Abu Dhabi
While this would be more than sufficient for my short layover, I decided to try something special this time.
In order to generate more revenue, Etihad began selling access to some of their “Residence” lounges around the world when they’re empty. They started doing so earlier this year in Abu Dhabi.
The Residence is Etihad’s three room suite with butler service on A380s, which I reviewed last year between Abu Dhabi and Sydney:
When you buy access to that lounge you don’t receive all of the enhanced service, though it’s still a pretty awesome experience.
In order to pay for this I went to the customer service desk inside the lounge, and asked about buying access to the “VIP room” (which is what they call it when you’re not in the Residence). The attendant went to check on the cost as she wasn’t sure.
Where to buy access to the Etihad VIP room
Within a minute she returned and swiped my credit card for $100.
Receipt for buying access to Etihad VIP room
She then escorted me to my private room. When I flew the Residence I got the main Residence room, which is a bit bigger, but in reality the room I got was also a room intended for the Residence, since they sometimes have two people flying the Residence at the same time.
Was this totally unnecessary? Yes. Was it totally awesome and brought back memories of my amazing flight in the Residence last year? YES!
The room featured a dining table with four seats.
Etihad VIP room Abu Dhabi Airport
Etihad VIP room Abu Dhabi Airport
Then on the other side were two comfortable couches as well as a wall-mounted TV.
Etihad VIP room Abu Dhabi Airport
Etihad VIP room Abu Dhabi Airport
Etihad VIP room Abu Dhabi Airport
The lounge also featured a private bathroom and shower, which is a nice thing to have.
Etihad VIP room private bathroom Abu Dhabi Airport
Etihad VIP room private shower Abu Dhabi Airport
If you were flying the Residence you’d get a full time butler looking after you. Meanwhile if you’re paying for access to the VIP room, you have a lounge attendant who checks on you every so often. So while it’s not as attentive, you are still getting special treatment.
Within a few minutes an attendant came by to present me with the menu and drink list.
Etihad first class lounge menu & drink list
The menu read as follows:
The drink list read as follows:
To start I ordered a sparkling water and cappuccino, which was promptly brought to me on a tray.
Etihad first class lounge — cappuccino and water
At around 8PM I decided to head to the spa for a treatment. While Etihad recently closed their Style & Shave Salon, their Six Senses Spa is still open, and first class passengers receive a complimentary 15 minute treatment.
The spa menu read as follows:
I decided on a 15 minute back massage, and there was immediate availability. The massage was excellent.
Etihad first class lounge massage chair
Once back in my private room I decided it was time for dinner. I ordered a glass of Italian sauvignon blanc to start.
Etihad Airways first class lounge — glass of white wine
For dinner I ordered the mezze with hummus, fattoush, moutabel with lamb sambousek, and potato kibbeh, as well as the tandoori paneer with naan, yellow lentil masala, and cucumber-mint raita. The entire meal was brought to me at once by two attendants.
Etihad Airways first class lounge — dinner
The mezze was good, though in my opinion there’s not that much variance in terms of the quality.
Etihad Airways first class lounge — dinner
Etihad Airways first class lounge — dinner
Meanwhile the tandoori paneer was exceptional. It was spicy and so flavorful. Mmmmm…
Etihad Airways first class lounge — dinner
The one general challenge to be aware of with the VIP room is that the private room has a sliding frosted glass door, and only a lounge attendant can open the door for you using a keycard. You’re not given one yourself, so when you decide to leave your private room (whether to go to the bar, to the spa, etc.) you’ll need to ask an attendant to open it again.
That’s not a huge deal, but I also got a lot of skeptical looks when I asked people to open it, since clearly they weren’t aware someone had paid to use that room.
Furthermore, there’s not a call button for an attendant, so while they try to check on you every so often, when you want to actually order you may have to leave the private room and go into the lounge.
Anyway, my private room had a departure monitor, which was convenient. The boarding pass indicated my flight was scheduled to board at 10:10PM, and my flight was departing from gate 28.
Etihad Airways departures board
So at around 10PM I decided to head in the direction of gate 28, which was only a short walk away.
Walking to Etihad departure gate Abu Dhabi
Unfortunately gate 28 is actually a remote stand, so I took the escalator down a level.
Walking to Etihad departure gate Abu Dhabi
Walking to a remote stand gate
Sure enough boarding did start at 10:10PM, though it was pure chaos. The gate area was small, and on top of that everyone decided they were going to be the first person on the bus.
Departure gate to Ahmedabad
While there was a priority line, there was no enforcement to ensure it was being used correctly, but rather everyone just assumed you could board via either lane.
Departure gate to Ahmedabad
It got significantly more dramatic once on the bus, which was filled to the brim. Once the bus door closed, a guy realized he had forgotten something in the terminal. He began banging on the window of the bus and causing a commotion. Then that caused an uprising among other people, who didn’t want to return to the terminal, so they told him to be quiet.
“We are on the runway, we can’t go back. We will miss the flight. Be quiet. Stop!”
That only made him bang on the windows harder.
It was a long drive to the gate, and by 10:25PM we arrived at the plane.
Etihad A320 Abu Dhabi Airport
Etihad VIP room bottom line
While Etihad’s First Class Lounge in general is quite nice, getting a VIP room was a special treat. It was totally unnecessary, even though this is one of the best airport lounges in the world.
So, was it worth it? This is completely unnecessary, of course, though it did bring back great memories of flying the Residence last year. Since I was traveling alone, being in the room all by myself was an isolating experience (which I quite like, especially between flights), though I imagine this could be even more useful if you’re traveling with friends or family, or have calls to make.
Unfortunately the rest of the Abu Dhabi ground experience leaves a lot to be desired, from the remote stands, to transit security, to Etihad’s inability to deliver on their premium cabin promises (including a private transfer when flying first class, and priority boarding when flying business class).
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