A firsthand look at Starlux Airlines' first class lounge in Taipei, a space-themed, oddly designed experience that doesn't quite match the airline's excellent onboard product.
That red and yellow is giving me McDonalds vibes...
That is, by far, the most expensive espresso machine I have ever seen in a lounge. It's a Spirit from Kees van der Westen, a boutique espresso machine maker from the Netherlands. It's about $30,000USD - https://procoffeegear.com/products/kvdw-spirit
That's reflective of how high end coffee gets in Taiwan....
In contrast, the chairs look like they were bought from Ikea during an uninspiring season.
Most F cash passengers will fly from origin to destination on a nonstop as time is king. Your US to Japan via TPE case in F is super rare.
I fly ex London almost exclusively EK F, via Dubai. Is that a fringe case in your book?
Would I fly BA first because it’s direct? No way. Would I consider ANA or JAL F to Tokyo. Yes, but I waste Skywards. Would I consider SQ or CX to HK and Singapore? Over Emirates? No.
"Most F cash passengers will fly from origin to destination on a nonstop as time is king. Your US to Japan via TPE case in F is super rare."
What an odd thing to assert.
@ Edward -- Sure, flying from the US to Japan via Taiwan is rare, but what about people who want to fly first class to Thailand, Vietnam, etc., where there are no nonstop first class flights?
That indeed is bizarre. Was Bollinger La Grande Annee also available at the lounge?
@ Motion to Dismiss -- Moet was the champagne on offer in the lounge. I'll have the full drink list in the review. 🙂
Taiwan lounges seem to range from bad to weird.
They have some fairly decent credit card lounges actually, but then the actual airline lounges are quite average, they're very 7/11-esque, but at least Taiwanese 7/11 level, which is better than in America.
I'd say Cathay actually has one of the best lounges in the entire airport still.
Mostly agree, CI lounges have decent food but not very functional furniture. BR lounges have better furniture but terrible food (7/11-esque is an apt description…but it’s a Taiwanese 7-11 from 15 years ago). Ironically, the BR lounge at BKK is nicer than the ones at TPE.
At the end of the day they’re fine and I do appreciate how they attempt to do some crowd control (not granting credit card holders access during peak hours), but it’s not lounges I’d go to the airport particularly early or schedule a long layover to use.
We loved our stay in Taipei, but did notice that lighting and use of colour was particularly “vibrant” everywhere. The EVA Air main lounge is a bizarre shape too, and at 5.30am can be lit up in a zillion watts of neon tubes, which is not soothing at that hour.
In Taipei we found a large (and apparently famous) vegetarian restaurant, which had the best vege food we have ever had anywhere…it really was sensational and we made repeat visits….but the decor and lighting…!!! A trillion watts of white light, bouncing off the white walls and floors and furniture. You needed sunglasses to read the menu. Our generally “tasteful” hotel had subdued lighting mostly then suddenly an area with operating theatre level lighting, and odd intrusions of clashing colours. I think “unusual’ design choices are part of modern Taiwan.
As we transited through the airport a few times, we searched for and found a more generic lounge than the blasting light EVA lounges, that had unusually dim lighting and dull brown furniture. The food was slim pickings and unappetising, but at least your eyes could have a rest.
Wow - is that a Spirit by Kees Van der Westen? My apartment complex recently purchased one for the lobby for guests and residents, and it easily cost upwards of 50k with all the peripherals. Nice!
I get the lounge - there’s a strong Japanese influence in Taiwan and the mangaesque colors and abstract design is typical of modern Taiwan. While I dung find the lounge comfortable, similar to the Riyadh Airlines lounge, it is cool and has a distinct personality.
Ben, this is a throwback for me to a long time ago when you described one of the BR lounges as "Tron meets The Love Boat".
We visited that lounge. It was true.
I guess the design was signed off by the big boss to suit his tastes rather than a design we might all associate with an F lounge.
It does rather look like you were put back in the closet!
"signed off by the big boss to suit his tastes rather than a design we might all associate with"
That's whole premise behind Starlux existence. This is big boss revenge project.
Can't you just go thru immigration to go to the other lounge?
It looks like the bar on the Starship Enterprise.
This is indeed a disturbing universe
Ben, in your last preview installment you said "After Air France, I’d argue that Starlux has the most consistently excellent first class ground experience of any airline in the world, in terms of the consistency with which you’re looked after."
Would you still describe Starlux that way after your F Lounge experience in Taiwan?
Looks more like a shared office space concept, with the communal areas, small private rooms, and with a theme that's questionable at best. But, there certainly is something to be said about the arrival to plane experience and a small, but private space.
I think all three TPE airlines are moving to Terminal 3 next year. I wonder if the Starlux lounges were just stop gaps until they could build proper ones? They are all tiny and odd.
The Taoyuan Airport Corporation stated that their original plan was to turn T1 into a SkyTeam (CI) Terminal, T2 into *A (BR) terminal, and T3 into OW and non-allianced (JX) terminal. But then CI, BR, and JX all requested to be moved to T3. So it remains to be seen who gets to move and what process the airport will use to decide.
But yes, it does sound like JX have been anticipating the move to T3 from the beginning, and likely see their current lounges as somewhat transitory.
why is the chaotic calorie count on the menu so funny to me?
"Does that small lemon wedge have 600 calories, or how do we arrive at that number?"
One tablespoon of butter is literally 100 kcal haha *crying emoji*, so if they had 2 tbsp of butter with that fish, you're already at 200 calories before counting the fish :')
Chaotic and conflicted is right - the whole idea/concept is a head-scratcher.