Having arrived into the airport and finding out that we had been upgraded, we made our way to the lounge via the Duty Free, past the giant teddy bear lamp.

Big mistake!

THE LOUNGE HAS ITS OWN DUTY FREE SHOP!

Having entered the lounge, this is the view with my back to the restaurant area. The ceiling must be 20m high, and there are no other passengers in sight. The place is massive.

We didn’t have that long, so we headed straight for breakfast. There was one other diner here in what must be a 250 cover restaurant area. The staff outnumbered the diners 2:1.

I ordered a traditional Arabic meal which was like mushed beans – it was tasty but not very pretty to look at. It was about 0515 and we wanted to start heading to the gate at 0530. There was lots of options on the menu, and had it been later in the day, I would have sampled more.

There was a fully stocked bar, and the champagne of choice was the Veuve Cliquot Grande Dame 2006 which sells for £120 a bottle – half the price of the Krug they serve on board. It was too early for me, dear readers, so I cannot comment on the quality of the fizz.

Elsewhere in the lounge, there are little pods; I particularly like the special hanger for one’s jacket!

I never thought that I would set foot in this lounge but we were allowed in based on our upgrade. We didn’t have long, and it was very early, so I know that I missed out on a lot. It was completely different from the Concorde Room at Heathrow; it was vast – cavernous is a better word. The mind boggles at how something this size for so few people could have been signed off, but I guess that is the Middle East for you!

If you get the chance, take a look round – you won’t be disappointed!