Review: Plaza Premium First Lounge Jakarta
- Konrad Tillman
- 22 hours ago
- 4 min read
Intro
Following an interesting flight onboard Pelita Air in Business Class, and prior to the midnight departure on Cathay to Hong Kong, I had the privilege of visiting the Plaza Premium First Lounge in Jakarta for the first time.
When I say privilege, this was probably the very best contract lounge I have visited in Asia, to the point where it sort of reminded me of a baby Chelsea Lounge (in New York). If you have a decently long layover in Jakarta, make sure you pay the extra 30 USD for entry into this lounge, as it is properly worth it.
Location+Access
The Plaza Premium First Lounge is located within the regular Plaza Premium Lounge, close to gate 6 in Terminal 3.
Upon walking in there is a desk where you present your lounge invitation, and where you can also inquire about paying the differential to the first class lounge. Access to the First Lounge is the following:
Those who are allowed in the business lounge can pay an upcharge of 500,000 Rupiah to enter the First Lounge
Those ticketed in Emirates First Class (and a few other airlines) are eligible for entry free of charge
Once you have settled the payment, you can easily find the lounge straight on the right-hand side after check-in. On this evening, I noticed just how packed the main lounge was, and decided that there was no chance I was spending 3 hours in there. Off it was to the completely empty First Class Lounge!!!
Seating
This place is straight vibes. I mean, to the point where it's like a mojito surfing a wave in Palawan. The lounge itself is basically one giant room, with a dedicated Italian restaurant in the back.
The restaurant in the back is excellent if you are planning to sit down and dine with the family. However, if sitting at a table isn't exactly your thing, staff will happily be able to serve you dinner at your booth/seats.
Not only is the lounge decoratively beautiful, but throughout the 3 hours there (until close at midnight), there must have been no more than 8 people. Now this is exactly what you want from a lounge.
Dining
We all know that dining at lounges in Asia isn't great (unless F Lounges), to the point where Burger King can sometimes be a better bet 😅. But throw that mentality out of the window at 90 mph here, as the food here is delightful.
If you happen to be in a rush, there are few self serve pasta stations near the restaurant...
However, the real treat is the à la carte menu. Not long after sitting down, the lovely server came around to distribute a menu and ask what I would like to eat. While most items on the menu were free, there were a few upcharges for cocktails...
Naturally, I had to start off with one of the pasta dishes, and my choice of pasta was fusilli. Take a look at that plating for a lounge, one of the nicest I've seen in my lounge times around the world
As the night progressed, I had to try out the chicken breast with cider apple sauce. It was cooked to perfection and was a perfect meal. Simply delightful!
Amenities
Considering the relatively small size of the lounge (seating for about 90 people), there aren't as many amenities as the large business class lounge that features a kids' room and more. However, there are a couple of private shower rooms and lavatories for those needing the facilities.
Additionally, fast and free wifi was available throughout the lounge.
Service
Now to the part which sets the Plaza Premium First Lounge above all business class lounges in Southeast Asia. The service wasn't good, actually; it was exceptional. Here are a couple of thoughts from my visit there:
Throughout my time, my drinks were topped off without having to ask. Heck, not only would they bring the bottle of wine to the table, but the staff would replace the sparkling water, which was a 5-meter walk from me.
They wouldn't check in every 10 minutes, but I caught them giving the occasional glance at all the passengers to make sure they didn't need anything. That's proper premium service right there.
When the flight to HKG ended up getting delayed, I headed back to the lounge, and the second I entered, the staff said, "Another glass of wine, sir"? Once again, exceptional service.
Overall, this was some of the best service I have experienced, and it truly resembled the great Indonesian hospitality. Honestly, the service might have been better than the dedicated Singapore Airlines First Class Lounge in the same complex...
Final Thoughts
If you happen to be traveling out of Jakarta and have an extra 30 USD to spend, I would personally be let down if you didn't pay to upgrade to the Plaza Premium First Class Lounge. There are almost zero contract lounges where I say that this is worth it, but this one is. With exceptional service, a la carte dining, and a practically empty space, I almost didn't want to fly to Hong Kong that evening!
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