- Introduction: The World’s Longest Flight, Via Ahmedabad
- Review: Etihad First Class 787 Washington To Abu Dhabi
- Review: Etihad VIP Room Abu Dhabi Airport
- Review: Etihad Business Class A320 Abu Dhabi To Ahmedabad
- Review: Hyatt Ahmedabad
- Review: Plaza Premium Lounge Ahmedabad Airport
- Review: Singapore Airlines Business Class A330 Ahmedabad To Singapore
- Review: Crowne Plaza Changi Airport
- Review: Singapore Airlines Business Class A350-900ULR Singapore To Newark
I got to Ahmedabad Airport at around 8:30PM for my 10:50PM flight to Singapore. The outside of the airport was packed with people waiting for arriving passengers, and at first I was confused about where I could enter the terminal. I asked several people who couldn’t understand me, though after asking about the fifth person I was pointed in the right direction.
Ahmedabad Airport exterior
I had heard horrible things about the lounge in Ahmedabad, so I was confused when outside the terminal I saw a sign indicating the grand opening of the Plaza Premium Lounge. Sounds promising, eh?
Ahmedabad Airport exterior
I had to go through security to enter the terminal, and once inside found it to be pretty empty. I didn’t take any pictures in the check-in hall given the number of people with machine guns, as I didn’t want to raise any red flags.
While there was quite a queue at the Singapore Airlines check-in counter, there was no one in the business class line, so I was checked in within a minute. Both the station manager and assistant station manager were standing around there, and couldn’t have been nicer.
They confirmed that the seat next to me had been blocked, but then again given how empty the cabin was, everyone had an empty seat next to them (still, you might as well market that and make people feel special).
I then headed towards immigration, where there was no wait at all. After that it was time for security. While there was no wait, it ended up taking about 15 minutes, as they had to put my bag through the x-ray four times.
They said there was “metal” in my bag, though I’m not sure what exactly they saw. After running it through four times and not finding anything, they let me through.
Once in the departures hall I followed the signage in the direction of gates 1-3, where the Plaza Premium Lounge is located.
Ahmedabad Airport airside
It was explained to me by the station manager that the Plaza Premium Lounge had just opened a few days prior, and hadn’t even had the grand opening party yet. This was clearly a point of great pride for the airport, since the previous lounge was so awful based on everything I’ve heard.
Ahmedabad Airport airside
The lounge is located in terminal 2, level 1, opposite gate 3. It’s open to eligible premium passengers traveling on all airlines from the terminal. You can also buy access to the lounge starting at 25USD for a two hour visit. Lastly, the lounge is open to Priority Pass members, so many travelers probably have access via holding one of several credit cards with lounge access.
As a reminder, the following are some of the most popular US credit cards that come with Priority Pass memberships (I’ve also listed the respective guesting privileges):
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
The Platinum Card® from American Express
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
The lounge is allegedly 2,131 square feet with seating for 65 people, though to me it felt really small. That’s probably just a function of most lounges being way bigger.
The lounge consisted of one main room. Inside the entrance were leather chairs arranged in rows, some chairs with ottomans, and some semi-private seats. There were also two communal tables.
Plaza Premium Lounge Ahmedabad seating
Plaza Premium Lounge Ahmedabad seating
Plaza Premium Lounge Ahmedabad seating
Plaza Premium Lounge Ahmedabad seating
I love these semi-private seats, since they’re nice even if you’re in an otherwise crowded lounge, and they also have easy to access outlets.
Plaza Premium Lounge Ahmedabad seating
Then further into the lounge was the dining area, which consisted of a few cafe-style tables with booths, as well as some tables with seats along the center section.
Plaza Premium Lounge Ahmedabad seating
Plaza Premium Lounge Ahmedabad seating
The lounge didn’t have much in the way of views, as it just faced the interior check-in hall of the airport.
Plaza Premium Lounge Ahmedabad view
On the plus side, I’m a big fan of Air India’s Maharaja, so it was cool to see him being carried around.
The Maharaja
Then along the far wall was the self serve buffet, which to drink had soft drinks, water, coffee, tea, and juice.
Plaza Premium Lounge Ahmedabad buffet
Plaza Premium Lounge Ahmedabad drinks
Plaza Premium Lounge Ahmedabad coffee & tea
To eat there was cereal, bread, pastries, cookies, and soup.
Plaza Premium Lounge Ahmedabad buffet
Plaza Premium Lounge Ahmedabad buffet
In addition to the very limited self serve food selection, there was an area along the other wall with a display case that had some food, including desserts, finger sandwiches, rice, chicken puffs, and egg rolls.
Plaza Premium Lounge Ahmedabad food selection
Plaza Premium Lounge Ahmedabad food selection
I ended up having an alright chicken puff (it was microwaved, so the center was really hot).
Plaza Premium Lounge Ahmedabad food
The lounge has two individual bathrooms, which were in awful condition. There was pee all over the floor (and walls), and there was no toilet paper or soap. C’mon, they should do better, especially for a brand new lounge.
Plaza Premium Lounge Ahmedabad bathroom
The lounge also apparently has a shower, though it was locked. Based on how poorly the bathrooms were maintained, I’m not sure I’d want to shower here anyway…
Another annoyance with the lounge is how the Wi-Fi registration works. While the lounge is supposed to have free Wi-Fi, you need to receive a code by text in order to activate it, and that code never sent, so no matter how often I tried. So I ended up just tethering from my phone, which wasn’t ideal.
My boarding pass indicated that boarding would start at 10:20PM (50 minutes before departure), but the inbound flight was late, and only arrived at 10PM.
So I ended up heading to the gate at around 10:30PM, and boarding started at 10:40PM.
Ahmedabad Airport Lounge bottom line
I’ve heard horrible things about the lounge at Ahmedabad Airport, so I guess the good news is that the new lounge is a significant improvement. I wouldn’t call this lounge “awful” — and would say it’s actually quite decent — aside from the poorly maintained bathrooms and the challenges with connecting to Wi-Fi.
The lounge is on the small side, but seems to be a huge improvement over the old lounge, which is closed in the meantime.
The good news is that Ahmedabad Airport is pretty easy to use (at least based on my experience) so I wouldn’t feel it necessary to arrive at the airport too early. It’s certainly much easier than Delhi or Mumbai. This lounge isn’t a bad place to kill a bit of time, though.
The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Business Platinum® Card from American Express (Rates & Fees), and The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees).
Food and facilities are very good. The lady on reception was bit rude and not quite helpful. Sitting area is good
Hi, are alcohol beverages available and included in the Plaza Premium lounge at Ahmedabad or not? I have priority pass via me AMEX Platinum card, and am travelling via this airport next month for flying to Bangkok....
thanks for your review , yes Ahmadabad airport very busy after mid night mainly 3 am onward singapore flight is was check in
Thanks buddy.. I will fly from there shortly.. Very helpful information. Good insight.. The last I flew in August 2018. The lounge was under renovation..
Holi made special by Plaza Premium Lounge Ahmedabad Airport Staff !#lounge made it memorable day for our kids by pampering them with special chocolate pudding and pastry. Excellent service and updated lounge! Special thanks to Mr. Nepal Chandra and team.
Indeed a step by step and a comprehensive guide to Premium Plaza Lounge! A blend of professionalism and personal advice to readers is what is shown through out your blog. Ahmedabad airport is improving day by day and debut of plaza premium lounge in Gujarat by launching it on Ahmedabad Airport is a step forward. I really appreciate your way of explaining the facilities of the lounge with photographs. All the concerns of a traveller...
Indeed a step by step and a comprehensive guide to Premium Plaza Lounge! A blend of professionalism and personal advice to readers is what is shown through out your blog. Ahmedabad airport is improving day by day and debut of plaza premium lounge in Gujarat by launching it on Ahmedabad Airport is a step forward. I really appreciate your way of explaining the facilities of the lounge with photographs. All the concerns of a traveller were answered to by your blog. Thanks for sharing!
You should try out BLR next chance you get. The airport is really amazing.
Beside the lounge, how do you think about the level of organization and order at AMD?
I wish they installed an urino in the restroom.
I was there two days after the Lucky's visit.
First I have to note that despite my flight was booked in C on Air India/ANA (AMD-DEL-NRT), I was told I wasn't eligible for the lounge access. Maybe Air India passengers are not eligible for the lounge? I'm not sure. (I am *G.) Instead, I was given a voucher for one drink and one snack in a designated cafe. The "cafe" was frankly terrible, and...
I was there two days after the Lucky's visit.
First I have to note that despite my flight was booked in C on Air India/ANA (AMD-DEL-NRT), I was told I wasn't eligible for the lounge access. Maybe Air India passengers are not eligible for the lounge? I'm not sure. (I am *G.) Instead, I was given a voucher for one drink and one snack in a designated cafe. The "cafe" was frankly terrible, and I was really relieved to find the lounge accepts Priority Pass.
Second, I actually used the shower booth, and it was surprisingly good.
Was there two days ago. Bathrooms were clean (no worse than the centurion lounge at SFO) and a wider selection of hot entrees were available. I'd place this lounge in the same quality and category as the centurion lounge at SFO - mediocre.
Sitting in the lounge now. I can attest that the wifi is not sending pin codes to US numbers (tried 2 different numbers). Ended up getting one of the staff to log me in with her number. The wifi connection page also states 500mb limit. Overall, agree with the review, underwhelming lounge, but better than the Premium Plaza lounge in HYD.
So you had no access to this (or for that matter any) lounge on the basis of your SQ Business Class ticket? Grüße aus Deutschland
Very convenient timing! I'll be flying amd-sin-ewr (J) in Feb. Good to know there's at least something
The poor state of the bathrooms is likely a funtion of it being in India.
Lucky, please try to correct your spelling of "alright" so you don't sound like an uneducated teenager?
I successfully connected to the free wifi with my non indian number.
The interface allows you to choose your country's provider in a drop down menu.
I had to drop the "0" from my cell number in order to successfully receive the code to register.
Hi Lucky, so did you report the poor state of the bathrooms to theLounge staff?
A few additions to the review...mostly trivial.in addition to what Lucky has mentioned the food choices include vada pav, samosa, and chicken biryani. Also no bottled water in the lounge though available for purchase right outside the lounge. If you ask at the counter they will give you a code for Wi-Fi as international mobiles will not get the code. Security restriction in place post 26/11 terrorist incident.
If it was a TATA Docomo provided Wifi in the lounge. Then any mobile number International/Indian can receive the code by text. TATA Docomo provide wifi access at most Indian airports and lounges. I have personally never faced any issue receiving text on my UK mobile number. I dont believe that to use the WiFi you must have an Indian number. That's a terrible idea if that's how it works in this lounge.
This lounge situation is very similar to Kolkata airport, the only restraunt was the lounge, pretty odd for the third largest airport in a country of over a billion people. Except this one was smaller and less crowded
I flew on Qatar J on 12th Sep from AMD had to use the awful old lounge..good to see new lounge.
Metal? I think they were looking for gold.
In order to connect with wifi you need cell number from service providers operating in India. International cell numbers won't receive any code.
This and LHR are my TWO home airports. Glad to see PP lounge finally in AMD.
Previous lounge was unbelievably poor offering.
I'm doing AMD-SIN-EWR in Jan and have padding my schedule so much to hedge against any issues. I'm flying into DEL on AI and get in at 11 AM. I'm connecting on Vistara to AMD at 6PM. I rather sit around in DEL than AMD it seems.