Qantas First Class Lounge – LAX Los Angeles – Tom Bradley International

This was our kick-off lounge for the ‘Round The World Trip, so I was quite hopeful it would be as great a Lounge as I had read elsewhere. But sadly, I was overall rather disappointed with the Qantas First Class Lounge. One of the main problems with most of the Tom Bradley Lounges is no view of the tarmac, so they are a bit claustrophbic from the start. Qantas does have a few airy windows of various parts of the airport… but nothing impressive to really look at.

What I do like, is the Bar Design, the open Kitchen (like a real restaurant) and the roving snacks not on the menu, a real nice touch. On the spring menu, the Hamachi Crudo was quite tasty and fresh (though over-salted), but everything else a bit unmemorable. Nice Lounge food, but was hoping for great.
   The main room is rather dull and broken up haphazard. The bathrooms feel like my vet’s clinic room without a stainless steel operating table, the white tiling is very asylum institutional. The doors on two of the Men’s Rooms were quite difficult to close due to wear and tear. The showers were clean but overall a little run down. The lounge is not that old, so I was surprised it felt so frayed at the edges.

Since my ticket allowed me access, I journeyed over to the One World Business Lounge, and it felt a better design and space to hang out and relax, though the food & beverages are better at the First Class Lounge.

In the end, if I want that true Qantas First Class experience, need to be on their home turf and book a flight out of Sydney. The best lounges tend to be at an airlines main hub, Lufthansa has Frankfurt, Air France at CDG, etc., and I will assume it to be the case here. But thanks to Qantas for making a good showing at Tom Bradley.