Bahrain International Airport, Bahrain
Introduction
This is my review of the surprisingly impressive Falcon Gold Lounge in Bahrain, the home of Gulf Air.
I had previously reviewed the Gulf Air lounge in Dubai, and it was terrible – but this was refreshingly good – albeit with some comedy moments!
Opening Hours
This lounge is open 24hrs.
Entry Conditions
The lounge is open to people traveling Business Class on Gulf Air.
The lounge is also open to Falcon Gold Members (Gulf Air’s rewards scheme) – and possibly other airlines Gulf Air is in partnership with.
This lounge may also be available to those traveling on Etihad, as it seems that Gulf Air have some form of joint partnership.
How to Get There
Once you’re through Security, take a look to the right (with Security behind you) and you will see an escalator to the right, above some duty free shops. At the top of the escalator you’ll find the entrance to the lounge.
Layout
This is actually a pretty big lounge, and has a modern decor, and pretty good selection of modern furniture.
There is plenty of casual and sofa seating which overlook the apron of the airport.
There are two seated areas with dining tables. The first is close to the entrance, by a small food and drinks station.
The seconding dining area is next to the buffet area – which also includes some children’s seating!
There are not one, but two areas to work from – both great for taking calls and doing work quietly. One is sort of an actual work area with divided sectioned off area – whilst the other is in the end of the dining area.
There is also a TV/sleeping area, which has some sort of screens/control next to the beds.
There is a bar area, complete with pool table.
And finally, close to the bar area is an outdoor terrace and smoking area.
All in all, this is a lounge with an impressive layout to start with – it sort of reminds me of the Star Alliance lounge in LAX!
Food and Drink
Drinks
On the drinks side there is a (small) fully served bar. The bar offered a good range of beers, wines spirits, soft drinks, etc. The bar was certainly well stocked – and I had a small Cognac. .
There are also a number of self-service fridges and coffee machines dotted around the lounge. I was happy to have Coke in the lounge – having had a week of drinking Pepsi!
Food
There are a couple of places to grab food. There are a few food stations, which have a small variety of various muffins, pastries, and the like.
There is a much larger dining area, which has a whole host of food. This includes hot options, curries, breakfast items and so forth. There was a large range of food and I was quite impressed.
Now – this where it gets good! It wasn’t manned when I visited – but there as an ice cream station and candyfloss machine! Possibly more aimed at kids – but still, it’s nice to see something different!
Wifi
The Wifi in this lounge I found to be really good and super quick. It was impressive!
Showers
Now….. cue comedy moment.
Checking in, I asked if there were showers and was duly given a basket of items to take to the shower.
That’s not the funny bit….. THE shower was located in the men’s toilet (I presume there is the same for women). On the face of it, it looked like nothing special, and the shower head was sitting in a hook next to the taps.
But there was a problem…… The hose for the shower was too short to sit in the upper hook! Even at full stretch it was 2 inches short of reaching the upper hook! Completely shoddy, and I presume like it since the lounge was built!
Conclusion
Generally speaking this is a pretty good lounge. It is well thought about with lots of different areas – whether you’re there to relax, sleep, work or eat and drink! The showers are a bit of a comedy moment, and indicative of some of Gulf Air’s often shoddiness – but that shouldn’t overlook the fact this is otherwise a pretty good lounge – with great food and drinks choices!
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