Hello from Saudi Arabia, as I continue my review trip. The main reason I came to Saudi Arabia is to try Riyadh Air, which is the most well funded and ambitious airline start that we’ve seen in a very long time (admittedly it helps to be owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund).
The airline finally launched commercial operations as of a few weeks ago, and I’ll be flying the airline in business class from Riyadh (RUH) to Madrid (MAD).
Prior to the flight, I had the chance to check out the Riyadh Air Hafawa Lounge at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport. It’s rare to seen an airline offer a true flagship lounge experience at the time of launch, so that’s remarkable in and of itself.
However, Riyadh Air really knocked it out of the park with this lounge. This will unarguably make my list of the world’s best business class lounges, and in terms of lounge aesthetics, I think this might just be on Cathay Pacific’s level (which is the ultimate compliment).
While I’ll have a full review soon, I’d like to share some initial impressions of this 2,000 square meter (21,500 square foot) lounge, which has the capacity for 370 guests.
In this post:
The Riyadh Air Hafawa Lounge has gorgeous design
Like I said, this is just an initial impressions post, so I’ll save most of my commentary for the actual review. Let me start by sharing several pictures of the lounge space, to give you a sense of the design.
For a little context, the lounge is broken up into multiple themed areas, based on whether one wants to rest, socialize, dine, or enjoy immersive digital experiences. Across the board, the design is intended to draw inspiration from the landscape of Saudi Arabia.
The attention to detail in this lounge is among the best I’ve seen anywhere, and that even includes the lighting, the ambient music, easy access to a variety of charging ports, etc. This is clearly one of those lounges where every single detail was considered in the design.
I should also mention that for the time being, this lounge is a complete oasis of calm, given that Riyadh Air is just ramping up operations. This lounge was obviously designed for an airline with a lot more planes than what Riyadh Air currently has. In a world of overcrowded lounges, that’s quite lovely!
The Riyadh Air Hafawa Lounge has great food & amenities
The Riyadh Air Hafawa Lounge has a food selection that rivals the best business class lounges out there.
There’s an expansive buffet, which in and of itself would be a solid selection, with both hot and cold options. We’re talking mostly individually plated cold options, plus eight hot options that I found to be very high quality.
But that’s only the beginning, as there’s also an a la carte dining selection, which I found to be really high quality. Guests can order as much as they want, and are encouraged to have a three course meal. Given the late night and early morning flights departing the Middle East, it’s a great way to dine on the ground, so you can sleep onboard.
Then there’s a cafe area, with barista coffee, tea, and sweets.
Lastly, there’s the bar area, serving some pretty imaginative mocktails, including the signature “Lavender Haze.”
Yes, let me acknowledge that the lounge is “dry,” so there’s no alcohol. Obviously for many people, alcohol is an important part of the lounge experience, so that’s less than ideal. A nice glass of wine or a negroni would’ve elevated this lounge experience even more.
Beyond the great food, the lounge has some other solid amenities, ranging from private quiet rooms (each is its own room with a door)…
…to massage chairs…
…to well designed shower suites.
Bottom line
Riyadh Air launched operations in recent weeks, and has already opened its flagship Hafawa Lounge at Riyadh Airport. I must admit, this is easily one of the best business class lounges I’ve been to, in terms of design, amenities, and food. If the onboard experience is remotely as good as this, then I’m in for quite the treat…
What do you make of Riyadh Air’s lounge?
Seems odd that you don't knock it for a lack of views or windows - something you dinged the Chelsea Lounge at JFK for lacking?
I don't know how a dry lounge could be a top 10 lounge. It's just a very important oversight. I see the uniqueness of this, but Riyadh Air is just so obviously not for me, and many others. Also, I've been to Riyadh before, so I have somewhat of a legitimate opinion.
I am an American that has lived and worked in Saudi Arabia since 2015. I find the quality of life to be exceptionally high and the people incredibly hospitable and kind. And the safety and security is second to none.
Saudi Arabia is still in a transformation, but they sure are trying hard. As the best place I have ever lived (I've lives extensively on 4 continents for years) the effort and thoughtfulness have...
I am an American that has lived and worked in Saudi Arabia since 2015. I find the quality of life to be exceptionally high and the people incredibly hospitable and kind. And the safety and security is second to none.
Saudi Arabia is still in a transformation, but they sure are trying hard. As the best place I have ever lived (I've lives extensively on 4 continents for years) the effort and thoughtfulness have to count for something. The Riyadh Air business class review and this lounge review are just a couple of examples of the quality and effort the Saudis are putting out there to the world in an effort to better their image. Please give them a chance. You have to spend time in Saudi Arabia to appreciate it, and if you have never been, please refrain from criticizing much. It’s a truly remarkable place to be.
lotta skypub members gonna be disappointed with this partnership lol
All good but no booze is a huge downer
Looks like a lot of stark, wasted space and as clinical as the EK first lounge in Dubai which also has the worst shower rooms I have ever used.
this is very impressive but the extensive investment in the lounge makes me feel riyadh air is going to be in the existing terminals at RUH for a while despite their rapid growth, which is certainly unfortunate. they're not the worst, but it reminds me of the less-than-ideal situation at AUH back in the day before terminal A opened, with a bunch of mediocre and aging small terminals stressed by transfer passengers they were not designed for
I'm just here for the comments
Good to see the a la carte, people are tired of buffet slop. No one wants to eat reheated piles of dog chow en masse.
Dry lounge. Dry airline. Hard pass.
It seems like the Qatar first class lounge is nicer? Especially given the alcohol selection. Same with Emirates lounge even if it's not super nice the alcohol is quite top tier and you can find a quiet place given the size, even if it isn't modern.
This is a business lounge, not first so def not apples to apples.
Not a single window.
It’s quite obvious when someone sells out.
@ BjornFree -- a) There are windows, though not many b) when most flights depart in the middle of the night, natural light isn't such a big deal c) this is only a preview post, and not the full review d) there are plenty of widely well regarded lounges with very few windows, like the Al Safwa and Al Mourjan Lounge (or maybe you're going to argue those aren't good lounges?)
True, the AS and AM (not garden though) does also not get a lot of windows or natural daylight. But because of the high ceilings you don't get the same feeling of dark dungeons that some of the pictures here do convey.
Was there a play area for kids? Saudia's lounge in RUH is decent, not really up to the same standard as their Gulf rivals, but it has a fantastic play area for kids which really makes a difference when travelling with the family. And makes the rest of the lounge more peaceful and calm, as they're not bored and causing mayhem in the main areas.
Hopefully not. Lounges should not be day care centres. It’s amazing that people with very small children seem to have no concept that you pay to be in a quiet place of tranquility and then you’ve got the two-year-old running around screaming because they are so selfish sorry hopefully there’s no play area for young children.
That's exactly why great lounges should have play areas, keep the noise in a segregated area. If they're entertained they're not throwing tantrums and then they sleep better once on the plane.
@ Paul -- Yep, there was a play area for kids, and I'll have pictures of it in the full review. :-)
Ben, the lounge was designed by Yabu Pushelberg, the same designers at the original EDITION hotels, among other 5-start hotels.
TBH I'm a little underwhelmed by the design. It is cool and flashy, but it doesn't seem as elegant and beautiful as Cathay or Qatar.
It does give «nightclub immediately after closing or before opening» vibes at times
It looks like the government building from Soylent Green. Which makes sense, as the Saudi government likes to cut people into little parts.
I was thinking it looks like a modern multimedia art gallery. But now you’ve mentioned Soylent Green I can see that too.
For a moment, all that dark red-ish/purple-ish furniture made me think of Qatar Airways...
I thought they managed some kind of “royal exemption” and that part of the reason for Riyadh Air’s existence as a brand separate from Saudi was that they planned to serve alcohol?
Looks stunning but rather ‚dark‘. No daylight? Is the lounge also in the lower basement level? All I see are walls.
Looks stunning but rather ‚dark‘. No daylight? Is the lounge also in the lower basement level? All I see are walls.
Looks stunning but rather ‚dark‘. No daylight? Is the lounge also in the lower basement level? All I see are walls.
It’s amazing Ben and Nonstop Dan think their elite status will protect them in Saudi’s Arabia.
@ Jayson -- Pray tell, what laws did I violate in Saudi Arabia?
None! But I do fear for you in these places.
What’s amazing is how Ben talks about being gay and the intricacies on how that integrates with travel often except when he is gushing over how great Saudi Arabia is.
I wonder if he realizes how that totally invalidates any of his reviews. If you can’t even trust him to state the obvious, how can you trust anything he writes about?
@ BjornFree -- I'll address this in a post tomorrow, but this is a mischaracterization. I'm not "gushing over how great Saudi Arabia is." I'm reviewing one specific lounge and one specific flight. In the past, I spoke very poorly of Saudia, when their passenger experience was poor. Was I gushing over Saudi Arabia then? No. I was just objectively reviewing my experiences. Obviously I have my thoughts on the government, but I review airline...
@ BjornFree -- I'll address this in a post tomorrow, but this is a mischaracterization. I'm not "gushing over how great Saudi Arabia is." I'm reviewing one specific lounge and one specific flight. In the past, I spoke very poorly of Saudia, when their passenger experience was poor. Was I gushing over Saudi Arabia then? No. I was just objectively reviewing my experiences. Obviously I have my thoughts on the government, but I review airline products based on the quality they offer, and not based on their governments (even though I totally understand why that would impact whether or not people want to fly a certain airline).
I appreciate your response and am looking forward to your post tomorrow. You asked someone else” @ Jayson -- Pray tell, what laws did I violate in Saudi Arabia?”
Being gay is illegal.
@ BjornFree -- "Being gay" isn't illegal. Same sex sexual activity is. To be clear, I'm not justifying Saudi Arabia's laws or doing PR for the country, but I'm just explaining that I didn't violate any laws in Saudi Arabia, since that's what the accusation was.
Surely being gay, is a law-violation in itself ;in this awful country. After years of banning infidel tourists; the Government and Royals are plowing billions, trying to make Saudi into a tourist friendly destination. But this still remains incompatible to the country's fundamental strict theocratic nature.
*sigh* I just want daylight and apron views
Agree. Seems very claustrophobic and a bit 1980s disco. I’d just prefer big windows and light looking at planes.
Just my opinion.
Agreed, it's not the only thing I care about but it is number one