Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong

Neil Scrivener reviews the Plaza Premium Lounge by Gate 35 in Hong Kong’s International Airport.

Introduction

This is my review of the Plaza Premium Lounge in Hong Kong’s International Airport.

There is in fact four Plaza Premium Lounges in Hong Kong – the excellent Plaza Premium First Lounge – and ‘standard’ lounges by Gate 1, Gate 60, and this one by Gate 35.

Visited

June 2024 at 23:00

Opening Hours

This lounge is open 24 hours.

It’s worth noting that the Gate 1 and Gate 60 lounges are only open from 06:00 to 01:00.

Entry Conditions

There may be arrangements with airlines to access this lounge, but generally access for me was via Platinum American Express or Priority Pass.

It is possible to pre-book with a 2-hour visit costing HKG$640 (about £65) and a 5-hour visit costing HKG$840 (about £90). I have to say I am not sure if these high prices are worth it, to be frank.

It may also be possible to pay on the door, but lounge was pretty rammed when I visited!

How to Get There

This is pretty easy. Take a walk over to Gate 35, and you’ll find either stairs or an elevator in front of you – and you’ll head down a level to the lounge entrance.

Layout

There are two things about this lounge and its layout;

Firstly, the lounge is pretty small and cramped. Is has some high table seating for working/eating, some sofa seating and some dining seating – but not a lot.

Secondly, there was a large area marked as “reserved”, with nobody sitting there. This is something Plaza Premium lounges seem to do quite often – but it is bloody annoying, when the other areas in the lounge are so rammed.

So, here are some pictures of the small areas of the lounge it was actually possible to sit in!

Food and Drink

Drinks

Everything here is self-service, with a few fridges of soft drinks, some coffee machines, and a small amount of wines, beers and spirits…….and that’s basically it.

Food

The food sadly was not much better. The hot food consisted of a table with some very basic chicken nuggets and fish fingers….

There was a sort of central table with some sweets, crisps, etc – sadly this was probably the best bit.

Lastly there was a sad looking salad fridge, which also housed some half-opened bottles of wine…….all pretty bare looking for a 24-hour lounge!

Wifi

I found the Wifi here to be workable, with no major issues. I didn’t stay long enough to get the laptop out!

Showers

When I checked in I asked if there were showers free. I was told I could have a specific timed shower, but it would be in 2 hours….. so I elected not.

From the Plaza Premium website, this is what (apparently) the showers look like – but whether that is a reality or not, I don’t know!

Conclusion

To be frank, this lounge was so poor I decided not to waste my time visiting the Gate 60 Lounge. It was a real shame, as the Plaza Premium First lounge was so good!

The food and drinks were sad and abysmal, whether you compare the Plaza First, or the ‘standard’ Plazas in places like Singapore or Heathrow. I thought that perhaps this was due to the lounge about to close – but when I checked it was in fact 24-hours, I was really surprised!

The layout of the lounge was also a disappointment. I get that lounges are given what they have to work with – but to “reserve” large seated areas when the lounges are busy, seems to be to be inexcusable.

Waiting 2 hours for a shower was sad and unfortunate – and probably something that needs re-thinking!

How the Gate 1 and Gate 60 lounges compare to this I don’t know – but I’d be tempted to save your money and go to McDondalds if they’re anything like Gate 35!