Tried & Tested

Lounge review: Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge

7 Jul 2012 by Tom Otley
Golden Lounge Sports-Bar-916

Malaysia Airlines has recently reopened a revamped flagship Golden Lounge at its hub at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

To reach it you have to negotiate the first of two sets of security (and immigration). The MAS Golden Lounge is in Satellite A accessed using the train. On arrival at the Satellite A  follow the signs to the escalator and take it upstairs.

The Golden Lounge has two seating areas. To the right as you enter is the Platinum lounge for Enrich Platinum members and First Class guests which I didn’t see, and to the left, the area for Enrich Gold members and business class passengers. In total this is 43,284 sq ft facility (according the press release), open 24 hours daily accommodates a maximum of 326 passengers in the Business Class zone and 64 passengers in the First Class zone.

Main-room-of-the-Golden-Lounge

The new lounge opened last month (June 2012) and certainly is large, with one of our party saying it was more like an Alliance lounge, by which she meant very spacious, and a little anonymous. As you walk in there is a sports bar on the left hand side as you enter with a large TV screen.

I thought this was an excellent idea, and if it hadn’t have been so early I might have spent most of my time here. On the right is the business centre where you can use the computers, a meeting room and get things printed out (free of charge). There’s a better selection of newspapers here than in the main lounge, so pop your head in before you go further. Then there are a few steps (with a ramp for those with wheeled luggage) and you are in the main lounge.

Malaysia Airlines View-windows

On the right is the cafe. Since it was breakfast time the food offering reflected that, with a full cooked breakfast available as well as cold options (cereals, yoghurts, sandwiches). A bit further into the lounge there’s a coffee area where you can order a large cappuccino which comes in a mug and is served by cabin crew who have been recruited to work in the lounge as part of their rotation. The idea is that it joins up the ground experience with the onboard experience for passengers.

The main lounge is over two levels, with windows looking out onto the runway and back to the main terminal. It was the first time I’ve visited the lounge, so I can’t comment on whether it has been enlarged, but it’s a huge area, not busy when we were there around 0900 on a weekday. Flight announcements are made, and there are several screens slowing departing flights, as well as other screens showing sport and the news. There are smart leather chairs in two colours, beige or a kind of dark brown. Carpet tiles are almost plain brown and the spot lighting on the ceiling along with tall lamps among each group of chairs gives the space a comfortable sitting room feel, despite the size of the room. Chiller cabinets have a wide selection of drinks, both soft and alcoholic, and there are a couple of cabinets serving tubs of Haagen Dazs ice cream. At the far end is a family area, the washrooms / toilets, with some shower cubicles as well. The smoking room is in the far left corner.

Verdict:

A very large lounge. Apart from the Sports Bar there isn’t much of a wow factor, but it is modern, spacious and comfortable with lots of natural light.

For more information, click here.

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