Emirates Business/First Class Lounge in Milan (MXP) Review

We recently flew Emirates first class on board the A380 from Milan (MXP) to New York (JFK) and were able to check out the Emirates Business/First Class lounge at MXP. It’s an elegant lounge with solid dining and one extremely convenient feature that most lounges don’t have. Here’s my full review of the Emirates Business/First Class Lounge in Milan (MXP).

Emirates chauffeur service to the airport

Since we were flying first class on Emirates, our complimentary chauffeur picked us up at our hotel, the Park Hyatt Milan (full hotel review to come). Note that Emirates awards booked with many partners don’t receive this service.

As you can tell by the photo below, the Park Hyatt Milan is right next door to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II (the world’s oldest active shopping mall). It’s also right next to the Duomo di Milano, another major landmark in Milan.

They picked us up in a Mercedes mini-van due to all of the luggage we had with us. We were getting ready for the final international flight of our month long, round-the-world trip consisting of 47,000+ miles and 21 flight segments so we had a lot of luggage on us at the time.

Inside the van, we had plenty of space and it was quite relaxing.

Our chauffeur drove like a mad man when we hit the highway. I personally didn’t mind because 1) I’m used to Brad’s crazy driving and 2) he got us there in a hurry (even though we were still hours early for our flight).

We arrived at Milan–Malpensa Airport and made our way to the check-in area, which was very empty.

At check-in, they gave us our boarding passes and slips for the ViaMilano FastTrack. In reality, the airport was pretty much deserted so we didn’t actually need expedited security access but we decided to try it out anyway.

After making our way through security, we weaved our way through the duty free areas. There were many signs clearly pointing us in the direction of the Emirates lounge so it wasn’t difficult locating the lounge at all.

We came across some interesting art on our way to the lounge, too.

Finally, after a bit of walking we made it to the entrance of the lounge, which is right at the top of the escalators near gates B50-55.

Upon entering, I first noticed the five Rolex clocks they had on the wall, which were pretty cool and exactly what you’d expect to find in an Emirates lounge.

Once I entered the lounge, I immediately was drawn to the brick fountain which sorts of acts like a partition between the dining area and the rest of the lounge. It’s also just a cool looking centerpiece.

We hadn’t eaten much since having an early breakfast so I first made my way over to the dining area. It’s a decent-sized area with a number of tables suited for parties ranging from 2 to five people.

There was a long counter with food and alcohol and then a circular table with lots of pre-made cold dishes, such as salads and salmon. I first wandered over to the buffet counter. They were serving a pretty diverse range of food which included pasta, fish, curry, rice, stir-fried vegetables and other items pictured below.

Ultimately, I went with the spinach and ricotta tortellini pasta with spinach and cream cheese sauce along with the chicken machbous and tomato rice. All three of these dishes were excellent. When it comes to hot food in airport lounges, I usually only find one or two dishes I can enjoy but in this case all three really hit the spot.

Beneath the counter, there’s also a full selection of beverages. In the refrigerator, you can find both sparkling and still water, sodas, and some juices. (Beer can be found in the refrigerator on the other side of the lounge.

There was a good spirits selection, too.

I then made my way over to the circular table to finish off my selections. I wasn’t very crazy about most of the items I saw there but still decided to try something out.

I went with the tuna niçoise salad and a piece of chocolate tart which was more of a brownie cake. I wasn’t crazy about the tuna niçoise salad to be honest but the chocolate tart was delicious.

Overall, I’d rate the dining experience at this lounge as very solid.

Lounge seating

After making our plates, we made our way to the open sitting area.

I was pretty impressed by the size of the lounge. It helped that it remained empty for a while but it felt quite spacious and open in the lounge even when it began to fill up. When airport lounges are filled to the brim, it quickly starts to detract from the lounge experience but that definitely was not the case here.

I also thought the lounge was very elegant and liked the contrasting color scheme of tan and navy found throughout the lounge. With the nice touch of the lamps, the lounge really had a nice ambiance.

Some of the art pieces were pretty interesting like the sculpture of these (Arabian?) horses pictured below.

Many of the seats have side tables that are equipped with outlets making it easy to get work accomplished just about anywhere.

We took a seat in the back of the seating area toward the entrance to one of the jet bridges. It was nice and quiet in this corner for a long time and a perfect place to unwind.

This section of the lounge also has its own alcohol selection and as mentioned it’s where you’ll find the beer, which features Corona, Budweiser, and a few others.

There’s actually another large seating area that’s a bit more secluded with many seats and a large TV.

When we visited nobody was in this room and the flight attendants were basically using this as a prep/meeting room. I entered snapping photos and two flight attendants just sort of looked at me with a blank stare so I smiled and just retreated without getting photos of the entire room.

The staff eventually roped off that room for boarding/SSSS checks so they might ask you to leave prior to boarding if that’s where you decide to park yourself.

Runway views

The Emirates Lounge at MXP offers some pretty good runway views. I was able to watch several take-offs including an Emirates A380. You can’t see the entire runway with your field of vision so you sort of have to anticipate the take off and be ready if you’re trying to get photos.

The servers came around every now and again to check on things. I didn’t feel like they were overly attentive but they still did a pretty good job of staying on top of dishes piling up.

If you need to get some work done there are five computers along with a printer in the middle of the lounge. It’s not exactly a private work station but at least it’s something.

There are also some reading materials that can be found near the entrance of the lounge as well as toward the back of the lounge.

Emirates Business/First Lounge in Milan (MXP) bathroom

The bathroom was very nice. Inside there are two shower rooms and an ablution, which I believe is an area used for religious cleansing.

Boarding from the Emirates lounge

One of the coolest features about this lounge is that you’ll be boarding the airplane directly from the lounge. Not many lounges offer this (especially at non-hubs), so it’s something that makes the lounge a bit unique. Boarding directly from the lounge allows you to completely relax in the lounge and not have to worry about your next move. I know it’s not always practical/possible, but I wish more airlines were capable of implementing this.

Brad was hit with the SSSS before we boarded so he actually had to enter the special line before we all boarded. Once they finished up the SSSS passengers were actually allowed to board before others. Actually the first person to board was a VIP flying first class who got the royal treatment but I wasn’t able to recognize who he was.

The boarding experience was very quiet and it sort of felt like everyone was making a slow march into a lecture hall or something. It was odd but a nice departure from the busy activity at the gates you’re usually subjected to.

Final word on the Emirates Business/First Lounge in Milan (MXP)

Overall, the lounge is solid all around. It’s an elegant lounge with tasty dining options, comfortable and spacious seating, and plenty of alcohol choices. Also, the ability to board directly from the lounge upgrades this lounge experience making it even more relaxing. For a first class and business class lounge located outside the Dubai hub, I think they did a wonderful job with the lounge.