Marhaba Lounge Dubai

[2infinity]

Travelling BNE to ATH via DXB on 18/05/2016 in cattle class (no lounge membership)

I have a 5 hour layover in DXB from 5am - 10am. No point leaving the airport.

So 5 hours in Terminal 3. I've done some research and discovered that you can pay to go into the Marhaba Lounge. Unfortunately their website is pretty terrible. It doesn't say how much it costs or much else for that matter. It has mixed reviews on Tripadvisor.

Has anyone used this Lounge?

Can you indicate how much it costs, what's on offer in side (eg: hot food, alcohol, showers etc). Is it worth it or should I just stumble around the terminal?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[BriarFlyer]

I used this lounge in 2014; sorry I can't help with the cost as I used a Priority Pass freebie. It was very crowded, so much so that I grabbed the first free seat I found and didn't venture further in search of food or drinks. I made use of the free Wifi and the shower, which was my main point of visiting. There was a wait for the shower -- my name was put on a waitlist and maybe half an hour later my turn came up. That cost extra, but not much in AUD, and after the long-haul I found that well worth the visit. But then I didn't have to pay for entry as well.

 

[daft009]

some of the marhaba in other terminals will usually be less empty.
just need to ask the staff when entering if it looks busy.

I too used a priority pass freebie, the first one was totally full, staff directed us to another which was quite close to capacity too but we managed to find seats.

didn't use the showers, however the hot food/drinks were good, just not too much selection.
I vaguely remember, sandwiches, stir fry noodles and some other asian style hot dishes.
some small cakes, muffins etc too.
we mainly stuck to sandwiches, juice/water & coffee.

toilets were good & so was the wifi.

normal Dubai terminals suck, boring, long queues even for male toilets!
definitely worth going into a lounge.

 

[2infinity]

.....so an update. It cost US$57 (approx. AUD$75). Wasn't too busy at the time I got there, which was early morning. Beer, wine & spirits available along with juice and soft drinks. Food offerings were pretty simple and not that great. I was mainly interested in getting a few drinks. Don't judge me. I didn't enquire about the showers but I think they were an additional charge, US$15.

Was it worth it? for an individual I would probably so no. However, there were 2 of us and we were offered a look around before deciding. When I went back to pay, the girl who offered us the look around must have gone on a break or something and I spoke to someone else. Unscrupulous me came to the fore and I said it was just me. So AUD$75 for 2 was reasonable. Kicked myself when I went back in. Could have gotten away without paying completely. Oh well.

 

[jastel]

Is there a max time limit...I think i recall that you were only allowed 2 hours or something?
I declined entry because of the time...ie not enough.

There are showers in the terminal I found, no towels/soap of course.

For such a big terminal I couldnt find much in the way of simple food...all fancy restaurants, no take aways.

 

[2infinity]

Is there a max time limit...I think i recall that you were only allowed 2 hours or something?
I declined entry because of the time...ie not enough.

There are showers in the terminal I found, no towels/soap of course.

For such a big terminal I couldnt find much in the way of simple food...all fancy restaurants, no take aways.

Yes, think it is for 3.5 hours max entry time, but having said that, there was no way for them to police it and I didn't see anyone going around doing such. I had a 5 hour lay over, probably 4 to 4.5 spent in lounge. No policing.

There is a McDonalds down one of the ends if you are after a takeaway. Take away sandwich shop in the middle somewhere. Pretty sure I saw couple other takeaway food outlets the opposite end to McDonald's. I suppose it depends on what terminal you were in, but McDonald's is everywhere, so there was probably one in every terminal. Dubai airport is not a cheap place.

 

[daft009]

there is also a shake shack in one of the terminals which is worth a try, over maccas.

Dubai generally is not a cheap place. not a fan at all of the city or the airport either.
I'd pick Changi everytime over Dubai.

 

[jastel]

Thanks will look harder next time...or change terminals...it was QF2 at midnight or so, so maybe they were shut?

 

[PineappleSkip]

Used the Marhaba lounge in former T1 many times. It's OK, that's all. Last time I paid entry it was 4 hours max. The price quoted earlier sounded about right.
Are you connecting EK-EK? What are you looking for from a lounge? The best value I got in DXB T3 was using the business centre. 4 hours of free wifi and a desk for AED40 and the price of a takeaway coffee.
The 'business class' lounge also did paid entry, about the same offering as Marhaba, the best choice likely to depend on what is handiest to your departing flight. It's about a mile walk from one end of the B gates to gate C1

Cheers skip