For the past month or two, Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) have been renovating their Executive Lounge in Terminal 1. This lounge used to be the bmi lounge until that airline was absorbed into British Airways. At that point, the lounge reverted to airport operation and is the lounge used by many different airlines serving Terminal 1.
There are two halves to the lounge and one half is closed while the other half is being renovated. On my recent visit, I was happy to see the first half is now open and the other half is now being renovated.
Arriving At 8:30pm
The lounge closes at 9pm so I arrived right before it closed. The person on the desk gave me an indifferent welcome and when I asked if I was the only guest, he nodded in agreement. When I asked when the second half would reopen, my query was met with a “who knows” response.
It appears the staff are unhappy about something. Life? The universe? Probably the shameful state of the lounge itself which must elicit scathing comments from all and sundry.
What Are They Doing?
Quite frankly I expect more after a renovation. Saying the DAA lounge is a huge disappointment is an understatement. Nothing adorns the walls apart from one painted up with clouds. Seating is the same as before and it’s a pretty cramped space.
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- Cloud wall with charging points
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- Seating and more places to charge
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- Bland and boring
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- Even more horrible seating
Considering this is the lounge used by most airlines in Terminal 1, it is pretty dire. British Airways, Iberia, Finnair, SAS – you name it and this is the lounge you will use. What is going on?
DAA Food and Drink
Relatively recently, the DAA upgraded the food and drink offering in the lounge. Late in the evening the offering is sandwiches, crackers and cheese and a couple of tins of quite nice biscuits.
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- Drinks and coffee
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- Sandwiches and cheese
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- Crackers
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- Ugh, really?
At closing time, all the food is dumped straight into a bin. Staff next bring out trays of food covered in foil presumably for breakfast the next morning. Having food sit there for around 7 hours is mildly questionable but I am sure they know what they are doing.
A True Upgrade In The Toilets
Toilets are located outside the lounge. The new renovation sees brand new hand basins, new urinals and new tiles on the walls. It looks very good and is a definite improvement.
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- New basins in the mens
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- Curious urinals
Intriguingly the urinals have a dividing line down the middle. This has the potential to cause unwelcome splash back. A privacy divider between each one would probably be a good idea but considering the state of the lounge, good ideas are few and far between.
Overall Thoughts
I am really hoping the DAA Executive Lounge is a work in progress and it is going to be refurnished and the walls hung with some pictures. At the moment it is a real let down and a bit nose wrinkling. Airlines pay the operator for people to use this lounge and I hope it is a nominal fee right now.
My next visit will be in August so I hope to be able to write a post cooing over how amazing the lounge looks post renovation. It appears the main enhancement is the provision of charging points. This is needed of course, along with making the space welcoming to relax in. Thanks for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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I’ve never seen these types of urinals either but I believe the spine down the center deflects splashback onto the sides of the urinal instead of onto you. Don’t know how well it works in practice though, did you have a chance to try it out?
Oh really? I tried it out but I casually used one side in order to avoid the spine part. I’ll have to give it a proper road test next time I’m there. If I end up drenched, you’ll be hearing from me! 😉 Thanks for the comment!