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We spent a majority of our time at Taoyuan Airport checking out all the Hello Kitty goodness, though we also spent a bit of time visiting EVA Air’s lounges. EVA Air has four lounges at Taoyuan Airport — The Garden, The Infinity, The Star, and The Club.
If my understanding is correct, The Garden is for EVA Air Diamond members, The Star is for Star Alliance Gold members, The Infinity is for business class passengers, and The Club is for EVA Air Silver members. I’ve reviewed The Infinity and The Star several years ago, so I figured it’s time for an updated review. If you aren’t an elite member or flying in business class, there are still a couple options available in Taipei for those with a credit card with lounge access.
All of these lounges are located one level above the main concourse in Terminal 2, just past security and immigration. The escalators are just beyond the immigration checkpoint.
Escalator to EVA Air Lounges Taipei Airport
At the top of the escalator is The Club to the left, and then past that is The Garden.
EVA Air The Club Taipei Airport
EVA Air The Garden Taipei Airport
The Infinity and The Star share an entrance, which has a pretty cool robot butler. I’m not sure what exactly the robot is supposed to do, but it’s pretty cool nonetheless.
EVA Air Lounge entrance Taipei Airport
EVA Air Lounge robot butler Taipei Airport
I first visited The Infinity, which is the business class lounge, located to the right of reception.
Entrance to The Infinity Lounge Taipei Taoyuan Airport
I’m really conflicted about what to make of the lounge’s decor. On one hand, I appreciate that they’re going with a theme. On the other hand, that theme seems to be somewhere between the 1970s, a gentlemen’s club, and Tron.
There’s a long entryway with rows of seating to the left.
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge entryway Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge seating Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge seating Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge seating Taipei Taoyuan Airport
The lounge gets progressively more interesting the further back you go. There are chairs with dining tables, and then all kinds of flashing lights.
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge seating Taipei Taoyuan Airport
There’s a big display of sorts in the back of the lounge, which changes colors every couple of seconds.
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge seating Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge seating Taipei Taoyuan Airport
For reasons I can’t explain, the decor has sort of grown on me since my last visit a few years ago. It’s not that I actually like the decor, per se, but rather that it’s a nice departure from the typically boring outdated lounges I otherwise visit (this lounge, on the other hand, is outdated but not boring). 😉
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge seating Taipei Taoyuan Airport
Back near the entrance was a business center with a few PCs.
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge business center Taipei Taoyuan Airport
That’s also where the restrooms and shower rooms were located. Each of the lounge’s shower rooms is named, ranging from “Metro Forest” to “Smile Zone” to, ahem, “Fantasy Flow.” Alrighty then…
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge showers Taipei Taoyuan Airport
In the back right corner of the lounge was the buffet spread, where breakfast was being served.
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge buffet Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge buffet Taipei Taoyuan Airport
I’ll let the pictures of the food mostly speak for themselves (I passed on the “fried fiber”).
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge buffet Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge buffet Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge buffet Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge buffet Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge buffet Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge buffet Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge buffet Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge buffet Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge buffet Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge buffet Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge buffet Taipei Taoyuan Airport
However, I feel obligated to point out that they had a freezer with Movenpick ice cream. I had a scoop, and damn, was it good.
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge ice cream Taipei Taoyuan Airport
There was also a selection of self serve liquor, wine, and beer.
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge drink selection Taipei Taoyuan Airport
Then there was some TWG Tea, as well as several types of coffee machines.
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge tea selection Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Infinity Lounge coffee selection Taipei Taoyuan Airport
After briefly checking out The Infinity Lounge, I headed to The Star, which is the Star Alliance Gold lounge on the opposite side of reception. My assumption was that this is the “premium” lounge, given that typically Star Alliance Gold lounges are better than business class lounges.
Entrance to The Star Lounge Taipei Taoyuan Airport
The Star had a long hallway leading into the lounge, with newspapers, magazines, and a business center along the way.
EVA Air The Star Lounge entryway Taipei Taoyuan Airport
Compared to The Infinity, the decor in this lounge was downright boring (perhaps with the exception of the faux-sky ceiling, which you’d expect to see in a cheesy Italian restaurant).
EVA Air The Star Lounge entryway Taipei Taoyuan Airport
I will say that this lounge was much less crowded. There were rows of leather seats along the interior of the lounge.
EVA Air The Star Lounge seating Taipei Taoyuan Airport
Then further into the lounge there were different types of leather seats.
EVA Air The Star Lounge seating Taipei Taoyuan Airport
Then there was a big area with dining tables set up in rows.
EVA Air The Star Lounge seating Taipei Taoyuan Airport
There was also a TV area.
EVA Air The Star Lounge seating Taipei Taoyuan Airport
The buffet was back towards the entrance of the lounge, and looked remarkably similar to the selection in the other lounge.
EVA Air The Star Lounge buffet Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Star Lounge buffet Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Star Lounge buffet Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Star Lounge buffet Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Star Lounge buffet Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Star Lounge buffet Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Star Lounge buffet Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Star Lounge buffet Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Star Lounge buffet Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Star Lounge coffee Taipei Taoyuan Airport
EVA Air The Star Lounge drink selection Taipei Taoyuan Airport
This lounge also had ice cream, though rather than having Movenpick ice cream, they had Haagen-Dazs. Interesting. I prefer Movenpick, though is Haagen-Dazs considered higher end, or…?
EVA Air The Star Lounge ice cream Taipei Taoyuan Airport
After checking out both lounges it was time to head to the departure gate for the flight to Singapore. I covered the rest of the ground experience in the previous installment.
EVA Air Lounges bottom line
Ultimately the highlight of Taoyuan Airport are the themed gates, in particular the Hello Kitty one, of course. 😉 EVA Air’s lounges at the airport are decent, though nothing special. There’s something quirky about this airport, and that theme extends to The Infinity Lounge.
I wouldn’t plan a long layover or arrive at the airport early in order to visit EVA Air’s lounges, though they’re not at all an unpleasant place to pass time.
Personally I think I prefer The Infinity Lounge to The Star Lounge, as the decor is a bit more fun. However, it also seems to be more crowded, on average.
Ben
about how long to get from one of the eva lounges to the other terminal thai gate?
can go with out passing security again ?
Anyway you put it or compare it, Eva Air lounges are much better than any standard US lounges. Your view can be understood, however. Chinese food is not as appetizing to you as a Westerner. As a Chinese (though very accustomed to western food), I will choose Eva's lounges over United Polaris any time.
Would love to see a review of "The Garden". Very curious to see how EVA treats its top frequent flyers and whether it's more like a first class lounge with much higher quality food.
EVA Royal Laurel class is considered one of the best trans-pacific business classes for a reason. EVA seems to not compromise on quality for each detail including everything from the seat to the amenities to the food to the wine/champagne....
Would love to see a review of "The Garden". Very curious to see how EVA treats its top frequent flyers and whether it's more like a first class lounge with much higher quality food.
EVA Royal Laurel class is considered one of the best trans-pacific business classes for a reason. EVA seems to not compromise on quality for each detail including everything from the seat to the amenities to the food to the wine/champagne. But the Taipei lounges just don't seem to live up to that on-board standard.
I visited both lounges today and Star was much less crowded (3.30 pm).
Chose Infinity for the showers but it was pretty crowded with a baby who was not happy
Star was more relaxing and had some reclIners in the back of you wanted sleep.
Btw - they flipped the ice cream around with Movenpick now in Star - maybe they read the review ?
Note the dynamic queue for the showers. I arrived at 5:30 AM with an 11 hour layover and requested a shower with a noted 1.5 hour wait and some 10 or so people in queue. Well 1.5 hours later the queue was some 6 people. The staff noted for the second time the afternoon departure. A few well placed questions resulted in the staff admitting the individuals with a short layover were moved to the...
Note the dynamic queue for the showers. I arrived at 5:30 AM with an 11 hour layover and requested a shower with a noted 1.5 hour wait and some 10 or so people in queue. Well 1.5 hours later the queue was some 6 people. The staff noted for the second time the afternoon departure. A few well placed questions resulted in the staff admitting the individuals with a short layover were moved to the top of the queue. A few minutes of complaints to the staff and the queue was some 2 people. A few minutes of complaints to the manger and the queue was some 0 people. I intentionally booked the long layover with the intention of participating in the free tour but in the end the free tour was a missed opportunity of sorts. The train to the city is an excellent option. Note the number of individuals in queue at the time of coordinating the shower and indicated the dynamic queue is not acceptable (or risk waiting hours for a shower). And yes the shower names are confusing at best. The showers rooms are quite nice and the products in the shower rooms are quite nice. In the end I took a shower in the morning and yet again in the afternoon. A long day walking the city is better ended with a nice hot shower.
Being Taiwanese I guess I'll chime in on this one. No lounge in TPE is worth arriving early for. If flying on Star Alliance, head to the SQ lounge for the food, it's minimal but the quality is better than the cafeteria fare in the EVA lounges (You can also eat at the Plaza PP lounge). Then head to The Infinity to take a shower. They have stupid names for those shower rooms but the...
Being Taiwanese I guess I'll chime in on this one. No lounge in TPE is worth arriving early for. If flying on Star Alliance, head to the SQ lounge for the food, it's minimal but the quality is better than the cafeteria fare in the EVA lounges (You can also eat at the Plaza PP lounge). Then head to The Infinity to take a shower. They have stupid names for those shower rooms but the shower rooms are MUCH NICER than The Star, and The Infinity showers also has more hot water than The Star, which on 2 occasions I have showered cold/lukewarm. The Star has hideous furniture, and The Infinity has disgusting lighting like an arcade or nightclub. Grab some ice cream and head out. I prefer Movenpick.
China Airlines has a nice lounge in T1 for SkyTeam flyers, and Cathay Pacific has probably the best lounge in TPE, also in T1 for the OneWorld flyers. The Cathay Lounge blows all of the EVA and CAL lounges out of the water.
Umm the photos make this look better than it is. It is not super clean, food is not special, drinks either. This is way better than the lounges that used to be herein Taipei, but not great at all. In-fight on either CI or EV is way better than on the ground.
You know you're a frequent traveller when you visit the Infinity lounge and think its "ok". Just from the pictures it looks INCREDIBLE and gorgeous. Guess you're used to that though Ben hahah.
BTW- Haagen Dazs is very high end. Premium ice cream around the world thats for sure! ;)
According to the ice cream brands, for most people in Taiwan, Haagen-Dazs is considered higher end than Mövenpick.
Star gold lounges are usually much better than business class lounges?
Are they aware of who is paying the bills? Star golds are just exercising status, usually gained from another airline. Meanwhile J pax are actually paying 3-6 times as much as the star golds in cold cash.
Seems like the J lounges should be the very best. Except F lounges, of course.
You should've checked out SQ lounge!
Timely - I'm heading there later this week. And thanks Jacob - might end up using those lockers if I go meet up with my friend in town.
The biggest difference that I've noticed is the shower rooms.
In the Infinity lounge you get a fairly huge room with a toilet and a nice shower.
The Star has the smallest shower room I have ever been in (except the SAS lounge at CPH). The dressing area is tiny and there is no toilet, but the shower itself is decent sized.
So be sure to get a room in the business class lounge.
Lockers are available at INFINITY lounge!
I was there Sunday morning (The Star lounge). I was not really impressed with the food selection and it was hard to get a seat. EVA Air is a great airline, but I find their lounges sub-par compared to China Airlines, Singapore, Cathay, JAL or Korean Air. Still better than any US "regular" lounge...
@Charles. You got me there. I guess I prefer some awesome dumplings in the food court and geeking out over the Hello Kitty displays
Compared to China airlines (CI) lounge, which one do you prefer!
* typo above "if i'd"
@dmodemd, i sure would have liked this lounge a lot better it i'd encountered the talking toilet
I don't know if you've previously reviewed it, but Cathay has an excellent lounge in Taipei - basically a scaled down version of their lounges in Hong Kong - for one world travellers.
@Raj, while I agree with you in principal these are NOT good examples of international lounges and I could easily name a dozen US lounges I would rather be in that any of the EVA's mediocre TPE offerings.
To my understanding, one or two of the EVA lounge serve fresh made noodle. But that could possibly be the Garden.
@KL, I agree about the fried fiber--it's delish. Had it served with Congee on China Airlines and at several hotel breakfast buffets.
I prefer Movenpick--it's very popular and ubiquitous in Taipei, I'm aware of at least one Movenpick restaurant at the Nanjing Fuxing metro station.
You didn't mention the Japanese electronic toilets... always a plus!
More about the robot in some other reviews. I forget its name and functions but it only understands and speaks Mandarin I believe. We tried to say Hello and nothing....
Haagen Dazs > Movenpick
That is all I say
This place looks great IMO. I wouldn't mind a long layover there.
God bless international lounges. They put US lounges to such shame without even breaking a sweat.
Movenpick? Sold. I know where I'm going next time at TPE.
I've been there numerous times. Being a native Taiwanese, I enjoyed this lounger more so than any others I;ve been to, including all of the states' plus Centurion.
Interesting...I was in TPE several times recently, and the star was always more crowded than the infinity, and it sounds like you had the exact opposite experience.
Regardless, IMO the star and the infinity are pretty much the same.
Next time try the fried fiber. Really! It is the Asian version of beef or fish jerky, just somewhat more dehydrated and processed in a way that makes it easy to sprinkle on rice. It's actually quite tasty.