The Garuda Indonesia Lounge is located in Terminal 3 at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta Airport. This is the airport’s newest terminal and is mostly frequented by Garuda itself, and some other international carriers.
I visited this lounge because I was departing on a SkyTeam partner airline.
The lounge is a mid-size average business class lounge which offers views over the terminal and the tarmac. There are a couple of dining tables, a few napping chairs, a lounge area for relaxing, a Muslim prayer room and a restroom/shower facility. The food on offer was very limited and mediocre. There was soup, a choice of two hot dishes, some bread, potato chips and a small fruit bar. Drinks on offer were soft drinks, coffee, tea and beer. Nothing really special to write home about and rather on the underwhelming side. The Garuda International Lounge serves its purpose but not more than that.
The Business Class Lounge in Vienna offers a nice view onto the tarmac but the design is more like a canteen than an exclusive Lounge. Food offering was mediocre and very limited. Most tables do not have power sockets. There is only one small toilet and two showers available inside the Lounge.
I found this Austrian Business Class Lounge to be underwhelming and lackluster.
The SWISS Alpine Lounge is located in Zurich Airport Terminal 1 Concourse A. I originally intended to visit the SWISS Business Lounge, but at the entrance I was informed the lounge was crowded, so I walked over to the new SWISS Alpine Lounge.
Indeed, this lounge is much quieter than the others at Zurich airport. That might come down to how hard it is to find. It is located at the entrance of Concourse A (left of the Transit counters).
This is a pretty impressive lounge with a cool design in warm wooden colours and many typical Swiss decorative elements.
I found this a very nice place to spend time, with friendly staff and a small open kitchen where a “daily hot menu” was prepared freshly for every guest.
The SWISS Alpine Lounge is open to business class passengers of the Lufthansa Group.
(SWISS, Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines)
The TAP Air Portugal Lounge is located one floor above the main departure hall with a panoramic view over the tarmac and runways. The lounge is open to TAP Air Portugal Premium passengers, Star Alliance partner airlines premium passengers and Star Alliance GOLD members.
I visited early afternoon and the spacious lounge was very busy but I was able to find a free table near the food buffet area. There is also a bar with chairs, a napping area, and restrooms with showers are also available. The bright green, white and red colour scheme is a bit odd in my opinion but easy to get used to. The Wifi was fast and there are electronic departure boards which display the boarding times of the flights.
The lounge offered a serviced bar, a self-service wine bar, a coffee bar, and hot and cold food items of a decent quality. The food items were restocked frequently but the tables were not cleared and cleaned adequately. I found this an OK place to spend some time before departure time.
Royal Orchid Lounge, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, open since November 2019:
ROYAL ORCHID LOUNGE:
Thai Airways offers their First and Business Class passengers a separate check-in located at gate Door 1 on Departure Level 4 at Suvarnabhumi Bangkok International Airport. Porters are available and separate areas for First and Business Class passengers are provided for check-in, security screening and Fast Track immigration.
After passing through immigration, an escalator takes passengers down to the lounge level near gate D1. The First Class lounge, and the former Business Class lounge (now used for Star-Alliance partner airline’s passengers), are located in the west zone on the left and the new Royal Orchid Prestige Lounge is located in the east zone on the right and is used exclusively for Thai Airways Royal Silk Class passengers.
The lounge was opened in October 2019 and is approx. 2000 sqm. The lounge offers various seating options (restaurant-style seating near the buffets) and lounge areas as well as rooms for child-care and showers.
There are two bars and a main buffet area plus 2 small corners with a more limited food selection. Comparing this new lounge to the “old” one, the food and drinks options are much more generous and more delicious items are available. Frequent visitors of the old lounge remember the triangle sandwiches and the hot dog sausages that were served for decades.
A fresher look and a wider choice of food offering is now available. This was urgently needed as there are plenty of excellent alternative lounges available at this airport.
I found the new lounge to be pleasant, even though it was a very busy night. This is not the most luxurious lounge that I have experienced but it serves the purpose well.
ROYAL ORCHID SPA:
Thai Airways offers a unique facility to its premium passengers which is the Royal Orchid Spa. This spa offers separate treatments for First Class passengers (full body massages in separate luxury rooms) Herbal Spa or Steam rooms and short neck/shoulder or foot massages are available for Business Class guests. There is a resting area where relaxing Thai music is played and healthy beverages are served. The relaxation and rejuvenation treatments offered a wonderful way to get in the mood before a long flight. I find this a fantastic place to visit, especially in the evening before long night flights.
The Thai Airways Royal Orchid Spa is consistently voted number one airline spa by Skytrax and I find it a true heaven in the busy airport world. I always enjoy this special THAI experience.
The Primeclass Business Class Lounge at Riga International Airport is used by the airport’s major carrier, Air Baltic, and other airlines which offer a Business Class product to their passengers.
The lounge is always available for Prioritiy Pass holders and entry can also be purchased for 40 Euro per person.
The lounge is located in the Schengen departure area offering 100 seats (830 sqm) with open views of the tarmac and runway. A bar, food options, a shower and restrooms are available. Food quality and choice was mediocre, the bar was often unattended and people had to search for staff to be served. The tables were also not cleaned and cleared frequently and some were dirty for more than 20 minutes.
I found this lounge experience to be subpar and I would not pay the money if I had to. Sometimes it can be better to find a quiet and comfortable space in the airport restaurant to get a drink and a snack rather than using a poorly managed lounge.
Here are some new pictures of the Al-Mourjan Business Class Lounge at Doha Airport. As I have reviewed Qatar Airways several times already, I simply show pictures this time.
The Pau Casals VIP Lounge at Barcelona Airport is located in the Schengen Zone Departure Area. It offers a modern stylish layout and a wide range of amenities.
There is a large self-service area consisting of a full bar, a coffee bar and hot and cold food items. There are quiches, sausages, cold cuts, soups and salads as well as a pasta dishes. I tasted a few items and they were all fine.
What I particularly liked is the very efficient staff working there. The food was replenished very frequently and the bar tables, as well as the lounge area of the lounge, were always kept tidy and clean.
The lounge is accessible for premium class passengers of airlines departing in the Schengen area and for Priority Pass holders.
I found my stay there more than pleasant and wish other lounges were kept so clean.
Sylt Airport is the airport on the German island of Sylt located in the municipality of the same name. The airport mostly caters for summer seasonal scheduled traffic serving major German cities as well as general aviation.
The airport is tiny and there is a maximum of about 6 departures during the summer season and even less during winter.
However, the airport features a small lounge which can be visited by passengers who have a status on the Lufthansa group, or their business class guests, or for a fee of EUR 10.
The lounge has some nice armchairs, a direct view onto the tarmac, and offers a limited amount of snacks such as nuts and protein bars. Coffee, tea and German sekt is available as well as ice cream during the summer season.
Despite the limited offerings, I liked the lounge. It was very relaxing, had free wifi and good coffee. Just shortly before general boarding of your flight the agent will personally escort the guests directly to the aircraft which is only a few footsteps away.
As I had already checked in online for my evening departure flight out of Warsaw’s Chopin airport, I proceeded directly to the Fast Track security line. This Fast Track line is not easy to find and is located on the right hand side of the terminal and provides Fast Track service to Star Alliance Gold members, LOT Business Class passengers and premium customers of various other airlines. There was no one else in line at security and within a minute I was through.
The LOT Polish Airlines Business Class Lounge is one level up from the main terminal, maybe a three minute walk from the security checkpoint. The lounge offers various seating options, including lounge chairs with or without tables and comfortable sofas. The lounge also has a mini business centre with some PC’s.
The food and beverage offerings where rather modest and made a bad impression. There was an area with snacks (chocolate bars and peanuts), a tiny plate with cold cuts and bread/crackers and two bowls with hot items. One contained overcooked rather unappetising looking broccoli and the othe contained small pieces of something which was probably once beef.I skipped both and went for a coffee only.
No calls for departing flights were made which I found pleasant and made the lounge a good place to spend a little time before departure.
SWISSTRAVELMANAGER 