Sydney International Business Lounge

I have been offered the opportunity to buy access to this lounge while in transit in Sydney. I'm weighing up whether to do this or not, and one question I have is about the barista coffee. I've seen a review that says this is only available in the morning up until 9.30, but there's no indication of time on the Qantas website. Can someone confirm for me what hours this is available please?

Both the domestic and international business lounges have barista-brewed coffee around the clock – the Sydney domestic business lounge used to close its barista service at 9.30am many years back but that's long since been upgraded to be on offer pretty much whenever the lounge is open.

I'm a Qantas Frequent Flyer member (bronze) and they've sent me an e-mail inviting me to purchase access. For the Sydney lounge it is  $69, which has some appeal on my flight back to New Zealand due to the length of the transit stop and the overall timing of the flight. Having a shower and a decent cup of coffee are the most appealing features. Comfortable seating and having a bite to eat are somewhat appealing, while the alcoholic drinks are irrelevant to me. In 5 hours at Sydney airport, I can easily spend $20 or $30 on coffee and snacks.

Ah yes, this is under the scheme we reported middle of 2016 (https://www.ausbt.com.au/qantas-is-now-selling-airport-lounge-passes). For a five-hour layover that's probably decent value for shower, food and drink plus a more relaxing space than the terminal.

Have a look on eBay or Gumtree, Selsy, search for 'Qantas lounge passes' or 'Qantas lounge invitations' and you will find a lot of these invites for sale and often cheaper than $69.

Take the offer. You could easily spend a lot more money on food, drink and coffee in the airport. Also, much more comfortable than sitting on a hard bench in a fast food place. 

I've been through Sydney airport T1 numerous times, and generally find I spend about $20 dollars on coffee and snacks, as I don't drink alcohol.  This is in one of the nicer food places, not a fast food joint. I figure because of the longer time, I might get an additional snack and/or cup of coffee, so maybe $30? There are even reasonably comfortable seats to be had, although there is competition at busy times, particularly so last year when they were doing the renovations.

The appeal of this offer is the shower facilities and perhaps a more comfortable and quieter environment for what is a longer transit than usual. Knowing that the coffee is proper espresso is a plus, but I'm still thinking about it. Another option is having a shower at the departing airport, which I'm currently investigating.

One prefers the idea of shower at transit airports rather than departure, particularly if the transit time is long. Apart from the coffee, just escaping to somewhere comfortable to sit is a plus.

It's worthwhile to be aware that showers are not always available. There can be a queue to get one. I can recall just giving up on one occasion as it seemed that all showers were occupied for  longer than my children at home.