Acting as a second office for business travelers, airport lounges must meet a variety of personal and professional demands. Space; quality dining; and plenty of options to refresh, whether resting, stretching or showering, are a few of the qualities these five executives cite regarding their favorite lounges.

Qatar Airways’ Al Mourjan Business Lounge at Doha’s Hamad International Airport features 24 quiet rooms, seven spa treatment rooms, a fitness studio and views of The Orchard’s soothing landscape. “The best thing is being able to sit and relax without being cheek-by-jowl with other passengers,” shared George Morgan-Grenville, founder/CEO, Red Savannah, who said the lounge’s nearly 80,000 square feet fulfill his space requirements.

Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong’s flagship carrier, offers six lounges throughout HKG, with The Bridge as the pinnacle. Reserved for business- and first-class passengers, the service in the 27,000-square-foot lounge “rivals the best of restaurants, carrying efficiency, but [it] comes with warmth and genuine human interaction,” said Kristen Millar, global brand director, The NoMad Hotel Group. The Bridge features two wings: one dedicated to Asian flavors, which includes a custom dim sum cart, and another for international cuisine. “I love that Cathay has moved away from vast buffets and instead chose to double down on a more culturally focused à la carte menu,” added Millar.

© Cathay Pacific

Soundproof phone booths, a wellness area and a terrace with a retractable roof rank among the outstanding features at the 39,000-square-foot Delta One Lounge at New York’s JFK. The various nooks, ensuring the lounge never feels overcrowded, and the three-course meal at the sit-down restaurant are favorite features of Laura Davidson, founder/CEO, LDPR. “I arrive three hours early just to have an amazing (free) dinner in the lounge,” she said.

The Lufthansa First Class Lounge at Munich Airport, designed with exclusivity in mind, including a private security entrance and personal assistants to help with connections, leads Jonathan Marsico, CEO and cofounder, Ship&Play, to label it “the gold standard for comfort and service.” He appreciates the dining, quiet rooms, private offices, and shower and spa facilities for resetting in between long-haul flights, touting the nearly 11,000-square-foot space as “not just a lounge — it’s a reset button for your whole travel experience.”