What I Liked
- Precious little
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The Plaza Premium Lounge in Ahmedabad, India T2 is the bare minimum for what qualifies as an airline lounge. You can get a cup of tea, charge your phone and sit down - but nothing more.
Ahmedabad is the capital of Gujarat, India and has a population of about 9 million people. Like many cities in India, it is undergoing massive infrastructure development – including the building of a high-speed rail link to Mumbai.
Gujarat is a very religious state, and the sale of alcohol is highly restricted. Mahatma Gandhi and prime minister Narendra Modi both hail from Gujarat.
I attained entry to the lounge through my Priority Pass membership. This comes as part of the package with my American Express Platinum card. Through my card and my wife’s supplementary card, we can get 4 people into a lounge. This means that we normally save $50 - $100 on food each time we enter an airport.
We did not get $50 - $100 of value from the Ahmedabad Plaza Premium Lounge, as it is pretty terrible…
The lounge is a small rectangular room with a dining area at one end. As if often the case at Plaza Premium Lounges, they put some effort into decorating the space.
The decoration of the lounge is very similar to other (higher quality) Plaza Premium lounges worldwide. Check out my review of the Plaza Premium Lounge in London, Heathrow, T4, for a much better example of a lounge!
In term of the facilities, there is basically nothing. You got a room with some seating and some refreshments at one end. There is no natural light, although you do get a view of the check in desks at the airport entrance.
I view this lounge as a bad lounge, as it doesn’t have the things I want in an airline lounge:
This begs the question – how do poor lounges like this make money? The answer is simple…
Nearly all entrants to the lounge will come in via a priority pass membership – which they have already paid for. Each time a customer swipes their priority pass, then the lounge will earn a fixed amount from Priority Pass. As there are no other 3rd party lounges in Ahmedabad Terminal 2, Plaza Premium has little incentive to spend a lot of money on the lounge.
For this reason, most airports around the world have poor quality 3rd party lounges.
If you are interested in bad lounges, then check out my review of The Lounge at Dublin Airport!
I was there at 6am, and there was a very sad breakfast spread.
India is a country with a rich and diverse culinary history. I find it ridiculous that this lounge cannot provide a decent hot breakfast. As I explained above, they can make money without offering hot food – but I still find it disappointing.
I could not see any bar, but the priority pass website says that alcohol comes at an extra cost. This is standard in India, but I don't like it. Imported alcohol is expensive in India, but they should offer local alcohol as complimentary.
The images above display the coffee machine and the tea selection. I had a coffee, but it was not good.
The only justification for using this lounge, is if you have a Priority Pass card. This is a prime example of a global company cashing in. Little effort has been made, to make the lounge pleasant.
The Lounges in Mumbai Airport are definitely better! The Business Lounge is available to all business class passengers. Review here. The lounge was excellent. It’s a beautifully bright space with excellent food.
The Loyalty Lounge in Mumbai Airport is available to Priority Pass cardholders. That lounge is interesting! The buffet was fresh and lovely. However, the beer was watered down. Also, the lounge was decorated like a prison canteen!
Staying with Mumbai, I reviewed the Taj Mahal Tower. It’s an iconic hotel, opposite the gateway of India. There are lots of restaurants on site, with tasty food. The lobby is also nice and luxurious.