A friend dropped me off at Dubai Airport Terminal 1 shortly after 11AM, plenty early for my 3:10PM flight to Mumbai. I had a bit of work to catch up on and also wanted to review a couple of lounges, so I left plenty of time.
Dubai Airport Terminal 1 check-in hall
Unfortunately this turned into a bit of an issue at check-in. Even though the Jet Airways check-in counter was open, they insisted I couldn’t yet check-in for my flight (and for whatever reason I couldn’t check-in online). However, after asking again and explaining I only had hand baggage, they eventually let me check-in, after a roughly 20 minute wait.
Jet Airways check-in Dubai Airport
Dubai’s Terminal 1 is quite empty during the day, so there were no queues at immigration or security. I found myself airside within five minutes of when my boarding pass was issued. Once airside I had to take a train to get to the part of the terminal where the lounges and gates are located.
Dubai Airport Terminal 1 airside
I followed the signage in the direction of the lounges, which are all located in one area on the second level of the terminal.
Dubai Airport Terminal 1 lounges
I was amused by the solution the airport had for pretending that the Qatar Airways lounge never existed on the lounge directory — that’s quite an interesting situation.
Dubai Airport Terminal 1 lounges
Jet Airways uses the Marhaba Lounge for their premium cabin passengers, which is also a Priority Pass lounge, so can be accessed with any number of credit cards with lounge access. As a reminder, here’s a table with some of the major credit cards offering Priority Pass™ memberships, as well as their respective guesting rules:
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
American Express Platinum Card®
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card
At the entrance I presented my boarding pass and invitation, and was promptly admitted.
Dubai Airport Marhaba Lounge Terminal 1 exterior
The lounge itself was reasonably decent, at least compared to some of the other outdated lounges I’ve visited in the Middle East in the past. The furniture was at least reasonably modern and in good condition.
Near the entrance was a small seating area with maybe a couple of dozens seats.
Dubai Airport Marhaba Lounge seating
Past that was the biggest part of the lounge, which consisted of dozens upon dozens of seats. Most were arranged as small dining tables with two seats each.
Dubai Airport Marhaba Lounge seating
Dubai Airport Marhaba Lounge seating
Then off to the side were some padded leather chairs for relaxing.
Dubai Airport Marhaba Lounge seating
In the back of the lounge was yet another small room with maybe a couple of dozen seats.
Dubai Airport Marhaba Lounge seating
The weirdest part of the lounge was what was past that. There was a glass door leading to another room with no signage, which had plenty of seating.
Dubai Airport Marhaba Lounge seating
That led to yet another room. However, as I got there an associate came running up to me to ask which airline I was flying. When I told her Jet Airways, she said I wasn’t allowed to use this lounge. Very odd, as there seemed to be a lounge within a lounge, though there’s not actually any signage as to where one lounge ends and the next one starts.
Dubai Airport Marhaba Lounge seating
When I first arrived the lounge was fairly full, but it emptied out quite a bit by 1PM.
Back towards the entrance of the lounge was a self serve buffet. There was a selection of liquor, water, soft drinks, and wine.
Dubai Airport Marhaba Lounge drink selection
Dubai Airport Marhaba Lounge drink selection
Dubai Airport Marhaba Lounge drink selection
Then there was a reasonably decent food selection.
Dubai Airport Marhaba Lounge buffet
There was salad, pasta, finger sandwiches, wraps, yogurt, sweets, whole fruit, etc.
Dubai Airport Marhaba Lounge buffet
Dubai Airport Marhaba Lounge buffet
Dubai Airport Marhaba Lounge buffet
Dubai Airport Marhaba Lounge buffet
There was also a selection of about half a dozen hot dishes. I generally try not to eat hot food in contract lounges, so I only took a few pictures — the food for the most part wasn’t my taste, but didn’t look bad.
Dubai Airport Marhaba Lounge buffet
Dubai Airport Marhaba Lounge buffet
Dubai Airport Marhaba Lounge buffet
Dubai Airport Marhaba Lounge buffet
Then there was a selection of Arabic coffee, juice, and packaged carbs.
Dubai Airport Marhaba Lounge buffet
I spent about an hour in the lounge getting caught up on work, and then headed over to the nearby SkyTeam lounge so I could review that, given that it’s also part of Priority Pass.
With my flight scheduled to depart at 3:10PM, I headed to my departure gate at around 2PM. My flight was departing from gate D18, which was a ways from the lounges. It was about a 10 minute walk, and that’s with walking at a very fast pace.
Dubai Airport Terminal 1 Concourse D
Dubai Airport Terminal 1 Concourse D
There were two Jet Airways flights departing just minutes apart (one to Delhi and one to Mumbai) from adjacent gates, which caused a bit of confusion among passengers. At 2:15PM boarding began, a full 55 minutes before departure. There wasn’t an announcement, but rather they just started letting people onboard, so I quickly followed, in hopes of snagging some cabin pictures.
Dubai Airport departure gate
Marhaba Lounge Dubai bottom line
There are Marhaba Lounges in Terminals 1, 2, and 3, which I believe makes them the largest operator of contract lounges at the airport. Ultimately this was a perfectly fine contract lounge. I’ve certainly been to nicer contract lounges, though I’ve also been to much worse ones. At least this lounge had reasonably modern furniture, was clean and spacious, and had functioning Wi-Fi. I wouldn’t arrive early to spend any time in the lounge, though it’s also not a bad place to kill some time.
Stay tuned for the next installment, to see how the SkyTeam lounge compares.
The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Business Platinum® Card from American Express (Rates & Fees), and American Express Platinum Card® (Rates & Fees).
Membership is free and takes no more information than commenting as a guest. Earn status points for good contributions, and see fewer ads as your status grows.