Top 5 airline lounges

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  Lufthansa First Class

  © Lufthansa

Make your holiday start when you reach the airport with our guide to the world’s top airline lounges. From spa services to cocktail bars, pool tables to limousine transfers, these lounges have it all.

1. Lufthansa First Class Terminal, Frankfurt

Lufthansa is the first airline to create a terminal dedicated to the needs of the first class traveller. You’ll find the terminal a short walk or buggy ride away from the main building, and your experience starts with your personal assistant whisking away your travel documents and introducing you to the delights of the lounge. Not only is there a full service restaurant, business area with workstations and the usual soft furnishings, but the cigar bar and range of 80 different whiskies will help the time pass. And if you need to freshen up then six bathrooms are available, complete with Lufthansa rubber duck.

Once your flight time approaches there’s nothing as tiresome as a walk to the jetway. Instead your PA will find you and escort you down to your limousine (a Mercedes S-class or Porsche Cayenne) where the driver will take you directly to your plane. Surely the best way of starting your flight in style!

2. Qantas first class lounge, Sydney

The Marc Newson-designed Qantas lounge in Sydney is the epitome of modern design. From the vertical ‘garden’ with 8,400 plants that welcomes you into the lounge to the use of oak sculptures that break up the formality of the space, the whole environment is fresh and informal, yet wholly luxurious. The restaurant offers an a la carte menu, and the business centre provides workstations, meeting rooms and secretarial services.

The Qantas lounge doesn’t just focus on corporeal needs: the entertainment zone has four plasma screens and Sony Playstations while the library features international magazines and newspapers as well as a selection of board games. But the star of the show must be the view: a 180 degree panorama of the city and Botany Bay.

3. Thai Royal First Lounge, Bangkok

Thai service is legendary, and nowhere more so than Thai Airways Royal First lounge at Bangkok. If you’re in transit you’ll be met by a buggy and escorted to the lounge where you’ll find your own private room with television, workstation and comfortable sofas. Food, drink and spa services are amongst the very best, with sufficient staff to provide a level of service comparable with a five-star hotel.

The spa provides a full one hour Thai full body massage (shorter sessions are available for those with less time) which is guaranteed to leave you pummelled but refreshed. A dressing gown and slippers are provided as part of the service, you can shower both before and after your massage and you’ll have a choice of massage oils. And all with that fantastic Thai service.

4. British Airways Concorde Room, London Heathrow

Concorde may no longer be flying but the name lives on at the Concorde Room in Heathrow’s Terminal 5. Available only to first class ticket holders, celebrities and CEOs of multinational corporations, the Concorde Room is an oasis of calm away from the hustle and bustle of the main terminal. Turning right after security gives you an exclusive route into the BA lounge complex (more lowly travellers have a lengthy walk) where the Concorde Room provides bar, restaurant and relaxation areas with inimitable British style.

If you’ve got time, the cabanas (bookable in advance through BA’s You First service) are a private place to snooze, shower or read. Or why not relax on the terrace with a drink and spectacular views across the airport and beyond? Spa services are not forgotten either: the Elemis Travel Spa has massage chairs and a range of treatments to keep you feeling great.

5. Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse, London Heathrow

Virgin’s flagship lounge at London Heathrow is a unique blend of funky luxury, outstanding service and fantastic fun. Entering via the Grand Stair you’ll find a 14 metre cocktail bar, a full service restaurant and porter, concierge and shoe shine service. Entertainment is not forgotten, with a multiscreen video wall showing a range of TV programmes, and the inner child catered for by a pool table and retro video game consoles.

The best thing about the Clubhouse is the Cowshed spa: Bumble and bumble New York trained hairdressers provide hair styling services and the treatments range from facials to manicures. And to complete the experience you can top up the fake tan in a St Tropez booth, relax in the sauna or chill out in the hydro spa.

Do you have a lounge we should add to our list? Tell us in the air travel forum or review your favourite airline today.

By Mark Stephens