Originally as part of my flight around the world, we were scheduled to depart Cairo in the evening and arrive in Abu Dhabi early in the morning, giving us all day in Abu Dhabi. When our flights changed to include time travel, one of the casualties of the fix was that our Cairo to Abu Dhabi flight got moved to the next day, giving us a ~6 hour layover in Abu Dhabi. While we did consider leaving the airport and doing a few things, we eventually decided to just hang out in the Etihad Lounge Abu Dhabi Terminal 3. In this Etihad Lounge Abu Dhabi Terminal 3 lounge review, I’ll run through the food, wifi speed, seating and other lounge amenities so you can decide if this is worth a visit on your next trip to Abu Dhabi Airport / AUH.

Etihad Lounge Abu Dhabi Terminal 3 Airport Lounge location

Etihad has a few different business class lounges at their hub in Abu Dhabi / AUH airport, but I think that the Etihad Terminal 3 Business Class lounge is their flagship location. Once you enter Terminal 3, follow the signs and the lounge is across from Gate 35

When you get to Gate 35, you turn away from the gate and go down a short hallway. Then take a left turn and the lounge entrance will be directly in front of you.

You can access the Abu Dhabi Business Class Terminal 3 Airport Lounge for free if you’re an Etihad Guest Gold member, or you’re flying in Business on an Etihad operated flight. There is also an arrivals lounge as well as a separate lounge in the US preclearance area if you are flying to the United States. We were flying to Tokyo in Etihad Business Class which was how we got access to the lounge.

Abu Dhabi Business Class Terminal 3 Airport Lounge seating

There is a TON of seating at the Abu Dhabi / Etihad Business Class Terminal 3 lounge

There were also a few larger seats / loveseats that people used to sleep. When we first got there around 4pm local time, the lounge was virtually deserted, but it filled up as the evening progressed.

One thing that I found interesting was the relative lack of power outlets. A few seats had these boxes in the floor that only half looked like they were intended for customer’s use. The USB ports on two of the ones near us didn’t work, and only one of our international adapters fit into the box. Most of the seats we saw had no access to power outlets at all. That seems like a big miss for such a premium lounge.

Etihad Lounge Abu Dhabi / AUH Terminal 3 Lounge Review: food

When we got to the Etihad Abu Dhabi Business Class lounge, there was no food at all. I asked about it and was told that is when they do their daily refresh of the food. Around 5 or 5:30pm they started filling off all of the food stations. There are 3 different buffets like the one below. 2 of them were set to the same thing with a variety of breads, cheeses, drinks, salads and hot dishes.

The 3rd was more of a “dessert” buffet, including the red velvet cheesecake that reminded me of the trip my daughter and I took to the Hilton Beijing.

(SEE ALSO: [VIDEO] Great Wall Mutianyu Toboggan Ride review)

There was also a self-serve coffee machine, and I was told that you could also ask them to make a coffee for you. There was also an area in the Etihad Abu Dhabi Business Class lounge where you could sit down and eat, though unlike United Polaris lounges, the food is the same as the buffet.

There was a bar that served a wide variety of complimentary alcohol

Etihad Lounge Abu Dhabi wifi

The Etihad Lounge Abu Dhabi wifi speed was excellent.

As you can imagine, with that kind of speed, I had no problem doing anything and everything I wanted to do on the Internet. One mildly annoying thing was that every time my laptop went to sleep it would lose the connection, and I’d have to rejoin the wifi network again. My phone didn’t seem to have the same problem.

Etihad Lounge Abu Dhabi Business Class Terminal 3 amenities

The Etihad Lounge Abu Dhabi Business Class Terminal 3 is quite large, so it is not surprising that it comes stocked with a wide array of amenities. Right after you walk in, there is a small children’s and family room. It has toys, smaller seats and a video / TV screen with kids’ entertainment. I never saw anybody actually using it although there were several families and young children in the lounge.

There is also a business center with several computers and a printer.

Near the business center was “The Den”, which had smaller individual kiosks if you wanted to get some work done.

There was also a smoking room, restrooms including shower suites, a baby changing area and a prayer room.

The Bottom Line – Etihad Lounge Abu Dhabi Airport Lounge Review

If you have access to the Etihad Lounge Abu Dhabi Airport Lounge (likely due to flying Etihad Business Class), you’ll definitely want to make sure you carve out some time to visit. It has outstanding food, comfortable seating, fast wifi and a pleasant environment.

Have you been to the Etihad Lounge Abu Dhabi before? What did you think? Leave a note in the comments

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