Ahead of our long journey to Abu Dhabi and onwards to Kuala Lumpur, we were invited as Etihad business class passengers to make use of the recently relaunched ‘The Martello Lounge’, formerly known as ‘The East Lounge’.

I was keen to see how the lounge had fared since we last had a chance to review it back in late 2023, and despite the passage of time, I’m pleased to report that I could still easily remember where it was – nestled in the corridor between Terminals 1 & 2.

After a brief stop-off in duty free to secure my post-arrival beverages for Malaysia, we backtracked past security and down the corridor, easily finding our way to the new, very classy, burgundy signage.

We were quickly welcomed inside and asked if we were already familiar with the lounge. After I mentioned our familiarity with the previous lounge ‘name’ at least, the agent told us it was much the same other than the name change, and with that we set off in search of some comfy seats to while away the hour until boarding.

In truth, it probably is just a name change, but I’m sure it’ll be helpful in encouraging paying customers (as opposed to those of us, like ourselves, granted access by virtue of cabin or frequent flyer status), in a way that ‘The East Lounge’ didn’t – it always felt to me like you could, or should, only go there if you were actually flying east.

Inside, as before, a corridor leads you out into the open lounge area, alongside a staffed bar ready to serve any beverage of your choice day or night on one side, and the hot food selection on the other side.

As with the other Dublin Airport lounges, there is allegedly a 2 alcoholic drink limit, though I’ve yet to be called out on it (admittedly having not gone more than one or two over) and it feels like more of a safeguard against obvious drunken behaviour – however, mileage may vary.

In terms of food options, there’s plenty. The essentials of a full Irish hot breakfast was available, along with a range of other options. Meanwhile, water, coffee, and soft drinks were readily available self-serve, and as with my previous visit and given the time of day, I made good use of the coffee machine to the tune of several double espresso’s.

You won’t go short of different types of seating either, and I was glad to see that once again, like on our previous visit in ‘The East Lounge’ days, the timing of our Etihad flight early in the morning seemed to coincide with an otherwise quiet time for the lounge – with maybe 15 others, including none other than a former Irish president (who would go on to also share the first row of the plane with us!).

For those who prefer to get on and do some work, there’s also a long countertop with stools – that nobody was in a mood to use during our early visit, so instead it made for this very artsy picture, below.

Bathroom facilities are located further down, behind the bar area. If I had one piece of feedback, it would be that these are quite small and you could (and we did, in both facilities) easily find all cubicles in use at any one time.

Before long, it was time to head on, back up past security and onwards to our gate for our flight to Abu Dhabi – full of caffeine and as much hot breakfast as can be tolerated at 7am!

Truthfully, you probably wouldn’t choose to arrive needlessly early for any of the current lounges at Dublin Airport, but if you do, or you just fancy treating yourself to the best option going, there’s no doubt that The Martello Lounge is definitely the one to go for.