Emirates Lounge Review in New York City at JFK Airport

Hopefully you read our other posts about our incredible adventure from Baltimore to the Maldives traveling like millionaires First Class on Emirates Airbus A380 and Boeing 777. If not, please check them out since that will give you some context for this article. The Emirates Lounge in NYC’s JFK airport is where our adventure started to get interesting. Bertaut surprised me with First Class tickets for the flight from NYC to Milan on the impressive Emirates airline (that he paid for using credit card points he’d been saving up for years), so we were invited to enjoy the Emirates Lounge before our flight. It is only available to customers flying in Business or First Class, or those with Platinum status, meaning they are frequent fliers with Emirates. We had never been guests of an Emirates Lounge, nor had we ever flown with Emirates, so we had no idea what to expect. I wish we had known, since we stopped at Qdoba on our way to the airport and stuffed ourselves before even stepping foot into the lounge. That was a huge rookie mistake that we will not make next time we have access to an Emirates Lounge. In hindsight, what were we thinking?

Upon entering the lounge, you immediately start to feel relaxed as you walk past the large selection of magazines and a tranquil fountain. The lighting is subdued and the environment is very calming and welcoming, with fresh flowers at each table.

We found ourselves some comfortable leather chairs in front of the large flat screen TV, set down our carry-ons, and headed straight to the bar for some champagne to get our dream vacation started off on the right foot. They offer a full selection of alcohol including white wine, red wine, champagne, and an impressive collection of liquor available for self-serving. They also had a selection of hot tea, hot chocolate, and a fancy coffee machine that could whip you up just about any kind of coffee you could desire. They had some small snacks at the bar including their signature dates, olives, nuts, and chocolates. The dates were divine and I had to stop myself from going overboard with those sweet little delicious treats.

After a few glasses of Veuve Cliquot had me feeling a little tingly, I decided to check out the food area. Even though I was full from my Qdoba, I felt like I couldn’t visit the lounge without at least having a small taste of the food they offer. Otherwise, how would I be able to write a thorough review (I said to myself to rationalize my overeating and departure from my pre-vacation-get-bikini-ready diet). This space-like station displayed the selection of chilled dishes that were available in the refrigerators under the serving counters.

In addition to the chilled dishes they offered a full buffet of hot dishes including chicken, salmon, beef, mixed vegetables, roasted potatoes, rice, and so much more. We didn’t taste any of that but heard from a fellow traveler that it was excellent.

They also offered a buffet of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and different kinds of breads such as focaccia and pretzel bread. I sampled the cookies which were fresh out of the oven with hot gooey chocolate chips melting in my mouth. I always have room for dessert.
We had a small taste of some fresh fruit, appetizers and dessert, but regrettably didn’t have enough space in our stomachs to sample the broad array of cuisine. Next time we visit an Emirates Lounge, we will come hungry and prepared to indulge to our hearts’ content.

The lounge staff were very friendly and helpful and eagerly posed for a photo for our blog. Ask them if you want recommendations on which foods to try. They helped me decide on my dessert choice and did well with their recommendation for the chocolate coffee meringue torte, which was decadent.

We also made sure to check out the bathrooms before heading out of the lounge, since this is very important for travelers who may be connecting from other destinations and want to shower or freshen up. The women’s bathroom was spacious and had many vanities and an attendant kept it sparkling clean. They offer showers but I was never able to get in to snap a photo since they were full each time I tried to sneak a peek. Normally lounge visitors are able to board the flight directly from the lounge, but for some reason we had to leave the lounge and make the short walk to our gate to board our flight.

Here is a short video of the walk around the lounge to give you an idea.

Where’s the best airport lounge you’ve ever visited and what made it the best? We’d like to know where we need to check out next! If you liked this post and want to get our tips to travel like a millionaire, please sign up for our email newsletter and RSS feed.