The disgraceful state of the MEL Lounge with no end in sight

Status
Not open for further replies.
S

smit0847

Established Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Posts
4,041
Anyone who has been in the MEL Lounge in the past few weeks will have observed the massive amount of hoarding and closed areas - I would estimate 2/3 rds of the Lounge is closed off.

Lounge staff told me last Friday that the original completion date was 20 December however late-January was a much more realistic time as they said construction was well-behind schedule.

While I expect the completed new lounge to be enormous and spectacular, I cannot understand why they closed off two major sections at once given how much it limits space. Wouldn't it be better to close and then open sections in stages to limit the impact? It was like a train station in there on Friday night - I took a mate in there for his first time ever and he commented 'this isn't as good as I thought it would be'. Seating has just been chucked anywhere, windows blocked off, the toilets are now hidden behind a wooden tunnel and the business centre has vanished.

I have asked the VFF rep on here when the Lounge will be finished a week ago and have not received a response.
 
That's very very poor!

Well given that most of the construction industry goes on break for about a month I would be going for Feb
 
There's not a huge amount they can really do. They have to close it to expand, and at this time of the year, business travel is ramping down. I'm sure they'd rather have the lounge closed during the lead up to the festive season rather than affect more business travellers.

And just hope that it's awesome when it re-opens, new and much larger.
 
Given they are extending the entire glass facade looking onto the runway I'm not surprised they have to close most of the lounge to get that done.

At least they didn't close the entire lounge - as Drewbles said there isn't much they can do.
 
Your definition of "end in sight" must be different to mine. Seems pretty clear that it will be fixed when the lounge expansion opens and that's a matter of months away. I can live with it til then if its in the interest of expanding the lounge.
 
Exactly. The lounge had to be expanded. What else could they have done? Other than clean those toasty machines a bit better :shock:
 
It's barely been open 2 years in its current form. Might have been better to get it right the first time. Still can't believe they aren't doing separate J/Plat lounges - the food choices on offer are pretty average compared to the QF J lounge. And if the Mel lounge will be anything like the new SYD lounge I'm not looking forward to it. The layout and crowded furniture in SYD is just awful. It's cold, unappealing, and the white and grey is bland.
 
smit0847 said:
Anyone who has been in the MEL Lounge in the past few weeks will have observed the massive amount of hoarding and closed areas - I would estimate 2/3 rds of the Lounge is closed off.

Lounge staff told me last Friday that the original completion date was 20 December however late-January was a much more realistic time as they said construction was well-behind schedule.

While I expect the completed new lounge to be enormous and spectacular, I cannot understand why they closed off two major sections at once given how much it limits space. Wouldn't it be better to close and then open sections in stages to limit the impact? It was like a train station in there on Friday night - I took a mate in there for his first time ever and he commented 'this isn't as good as I thought it would be'. Seating has just been chucked anywhere, windows blocked off, the toilets are now hidden behind a wooden tunnel and the business centre has vanished.

I have asked the VFF rep on here when the Lounge will be finished a week ago and have not received a response.
Click to expand...

Obviously we don't like it when things of the construction nature interrupt our guests experience.
Yes the library section of the MEL lounge was recently closed off, and we've tried to mitigate disruption as much as possible.
Rest assured it will be completed asap and bigger and better!
Thanks for your patience.
 
Velocity Frequent Flyer said:
Obviously we don't like it when things of the construction nature interrupt our guests experience.
Yes the library section of the MEL lounge was recently closed off, and we've tried to mitigate disruption as much as possible.
Rest assured it will be completed asap and bigger and better!
Thanks for your patience.
Click to expand...

What about the state of the toasty irons :?:
 
Struggling to Redeem Your Frequent Flyer Points?
The Frequent Flyer Concierge team takes the hard work out of finding reward seat availability. Using their expert knowledge and specialised tools, they'll help you book a great trip that maximises the value for your points.

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

hope the revised lounge allows you to go through security before you enter the lounge so you don't have to leave early to get through security, and then find out that the flight is delayed as the boards are inaccurate. Only major airport lounge that gives you this experience in Australia. If this is coupled with sub standard lounge then time to use the alternative.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Enhance your AFF viewing experience!!

From just $6 we'll remove all advertisements so that you can enjoy a cleaner and uninterupted viewing experience.

And you'll be supporting us so that we can continue to provide this valuable resource :)


Sample AFF with no advertisements? More..

Recent Posts

Currently Active Users

Total: 1,523 (members: 34, guests: 1,489)
Back
Top