- Introduction: A Quick Jaunt To Hawaii
- Review: American Airlines A321neo First Class (TPA-LAX)
- Review: Hyatt Regency LAX
- Review: American Airlines First Class To Hawaii
- Review: Four Seasons Oahu At Ko Olina
- Review: Hawaiian Airlines Plumeria Lounge Honolulu Airport (HNL)
- Review: Hawaiian Airlines A321neo First Class (HNL-KOA)
- Review: Four Seasons Hualalai, Big Island, Hawaii
- Review: United Airlines’ “Old” 787-9 Business Class (KOA-ORD)
- Review: United Airlines 737 MAX 9 First Class (ORD-BOS)
Prior to our flight from Honolulu to Kona we had the chance to check out the Hawaiian Airlines Plumeria Lounge, might just be the saddest “flagship” hub lounge of an airline anywhere? I can’t really complain since we accessed with Priority Pass, but it’s sad that this is also Hawaiian Airlines’ lounge for international business class passengers.
In this post:
Hawaiian Airlines Plumeria Lounge Honolulu location
The Plumeria Lounge is located in Terminal 1 at Honolulu International Airport (HNL). Once you’ve cleared security, just followed the signage toward the Wiki-Wiki Shuttle, as the lounge is located in the same area, near gate A18.
You should also eventually see signage explicitly for the Plumeria Lounge.
Just take the escalator up a level (to the third floor), and then the entrance to the lounge is right there.
Hawaiian Airlines Plumeria Lounge Honolulu hours & entry requirements
The Plumeria Lounge is open daily from 7AM until 6PM, so it covers a majority of the departures from the airport. As far as Plumeria Lounge access goes:
- The lounge is open to those flying Hawaiian Airlines business class to international destinations, plus those flying Hawaiian Airlines first class to the mainland East Coast (others flying to the mainland don’t get access to this lounge)
- The lounge is also open to HawaiianMiles Pulani Platinum members traveling same day on an international flight
- The lounge is open to Priority Pass members, and of course there are lots of great cards offering Priority Pass memberships
- The lounge sells day passes at the door for $40
As you may have guessed, a vast majority of passengers visiting this lounge do so via Priority Pass.
Hawaiian Airlines Plumeria Lounge Honolulu seating & layout
The Plumeria Lounge is just over 3,000 square feet, so while it’s not tiny, it’s not exactly huge given how many passengers potentially use the lounge. Hawaiian Airlines describes this lounge as “a special place for guests to relax and share memories of the sights, sounds, and flavors of the Islands.” That might be a bit of a stretch.
The lounge primarily consists of one big room, and when we arrived there were barely any empty seats. Roughly half of the lounge has seats in various arrangements intended for relaxing, along with a communal table along the windows.
The other side of the lounge has a bunch of dining tables.
There was also a sitting area near the entrance. When we arrived it was roped off, but there weren’t any open seats in the lounge. Just at that moment they opened this space, as I guess this is typically reserved for Hawaiian Airlines international business class passengers, and such a flight had just left.
Hawaiian Airlines Plumeria Lounge Honolulu food & drinks
The Plumeria Lounge has one of the most basic food spreads I’ve seen at any Priority Pass lounge, and that’s saying quite a bit.
The lounge had small saran-wrapped mini-sandwiches and whole fruit, packaged chips, and packaged gummies.
For those expecting hot meals, you’re in luck — there are instant noodles with hot water!
By comparison the drink selection was impressive, with a soda fountain, a coffee machine, and an ice machine.
There was also some self-serve wine.
Water was available in little rationed cups, as was POG juice. You’ve gotta love hydrating four ounces at a time…
Credit to the lounge, they did have some Hawaiian POG hard seltzer, which seems like a cute touch. There was also one beer from Maui, plus Heineken.
Hawaiian Airlines Plumeria Lounge Honolulu bathrooms
The lounge had pretty standard bathrooms, which were well maintained, but seemed quite small given how many guests there were in the lounge. There weren’t any shower facilities.
Bottom line
If you’re passing through Honolulu Airport as a Priority Pass member, the Plumeria Lounge could be worth dropping into, if you really want a beverage, or… well, actually that’s the only reason I can think of. But purely in terms of sitting in comfort, you’ll find a lot more space and better views in the terminal.
What’s perhaps more noteworthy is that I’d still consider this to be the better of the two Priority Pass lounges at the airport, as the IASS Lounge is even worse. Lastly, I find this lounge to be particularly disappointing as Hawaiian Airlines’ primary space for international business class passengers.
If you’ve visited the Plumeria Lounge, what was your experience like?
The most disgusting service I have come across anywhere around the world. Rude staff that bark at you to go to their second priority lounge, walked half an hour to find the second lounge to find it only had cereal and drinks!! We had two priority passes and the lady had the nerve to want to charge a 3 yld and said we to ensure we clean after ourselves upon exit. There was nothing on...
The most disgusting service I have come across anywhere around the world. Rude staff that bark at you to go to their second priority lounge, walked half an hour to find the second lounge to find it only had cereal and drinks!! We had two priority passes and the lady had the nerve to want to charge a 3 yld and said we to ensure we clean after ourselves upon exit. There was nothing on offer to eat and they want to charge a child! Never seen anything like it. This form does not allow you to choose 1 star, it illegally had it set to five stars! Something is seriously wrong with this company!
We flew first class from Honolulu to California and as such we were denied access as only east coast first class locations count. I have Priority Pass which did get us access. They told us we had to sit at the bar stools at the work table because they had to save the cushioned seats and low seats for International customers. They even moved people around at the work tables to squeeze as many as...
We flew first class from Honolulu to California and as such we were denied access as only east coast first class locations count. I have Priority Pass which did get us access. They told us we had to sit at the bar stools at the work table because they had to save the cushioned seats and low seats for International customers. They even moved people around at the work tables to squeeze as many as possible into this area. There were 26 open "reserved" seats which remain open for most of ou three hour wait.
Definitely felt like a second class citizen. Food selection was minimal. The did have good drink selection, but only one beer type and one brand of wine, a cab, and a chardonnay.
It's been a while since I went to the upstairs lounge at HNL. Based on the images provided in this review and the description, they've renovated it or changed it, it's looks very different. They never had that window table with bar stools before, the check-in desk was moved slightly and looks more current. The refreshments bar is bigger and in a corner. They also have more to choose from now. Last time I was...
It's been a while since I went to the upstairs lounge at HNL. Based on the images provided in this review and the description, they've renovated it or changed it, it's looks very different. They never had that window table with bar stools before, the check-in desk was moved slightly and looks more current. The refreshments bar is bigger and in a corner. They also have more to choose from now. Last time I was there it was the pretzel mix bags that they serve inflight and the little water and POG cups also served on island hops. I'm surprised they have sandwiches, wine, and instant noodles. There's also the lounge downstairs on the same level as all the gates, I think that used to be Aloha Airline's lounge because I remember walking past it when I was younger and it had the Aloha Airlines logo on the door. My most recent Hawaiian lounge experience was a few months ago at OGG returning home to HNL. I think the OGG lounge more closely resembles what the HNL Flagship lounge used to be like. At OGG I didn't see wine, sandwiches, fresh fruit, instant noodles. From what I remember it looks the same as before, though, it's been a while since I last went to the OGG lounge. As far as selection goes, definitely not the same as the new flagship lounge in HNL. Fortunately I had treats my friend from Kula bought for me, so I snacked on those in the lounge. At least you can fill or refill your water bottle in the lounge, there's a water dispenser, so you don't have to rely on the little water cups that they serve inflight. I haven't been to any super swanky airline lounges, but I've been to some that were more elevated than the Hawaiian lounges. Alaska's at SEA was pretty nice and they have a nice buffet spread, the food was alright. Been to United's SFO lounge, but I know it's been improved since I experienced it some 15 years ago, they definitely have more food options.
Sitting in the Plumeria lounge and I must say this is by far , not even close the worst business /first class lounge I’ve visited. For what should be the premier lounge for HA, it is somewhat embarrassing. I’ve been to multiple Delta, AA, United, Emirates and Virgin Atlantic . Most are almost posh, with variety of excellent hot food, salad , sandwiches , even cheese and crackers, with most having a bar. The only...
Sitting in the Plumeria lounge and I must say this is by far , not even close the worst business /first class lounge I’ve visited. For what should be the premier lounge for HA, it is somewhat embarrassing. I’ve been to multiple Delta, AA, United, Emirates and Virgin Atlantic . Most are almost posh, with variety of excellent hot food, salad , sandwiches , even cheese and crackers, with most having a bar. The only good thing about Plumeria is a decent wine selection.
Very disappointing ..
The only good thing about this
As long as no one who enters the lounge abuses the free alcohol. With all the crazy incidences in recent years. I think a lot of times people get ahold of alcohol before their flight in airport restaurants and bars and they have a little too much or they have a little, then buy more onboard or if in first class they order more for free with their meal. I know at one time Hawaiian offered free wine in economy.
Just flew first class on HA from HNL to JFK. HA's lay flat product is dated, but the Plumeria Lounge in HNL is a joke. I have traveled extensively and experienced many lounges both in the U.S and overseas. This is easily one of the most down-market lounges I have ever been experienced. It needs a complete makeover and expansion. Not a good impression of Hawaiian Airlines.
We visited their lounge a few years ago. They charged me an extra $50 because my son left and returned 10 minutes later. They didn’t even tell me they were going to charge me. They told me that no one could leave and return even though I had a PP membership. That has never happened to me before. I just got a notice on my Amex Platinum about the $50 charge while I was in...
We visited their lounge a few years ago. They charged me an extra $50 because my son left and returned 10 minutes later. They didn’t even tell me they were going to charge me. They told me that no one could leave and return even though I had a PP membership. That has never happened to me before. I just got a notice on my Amex Platinum about the $50 charge while I was in the lounge. And when I asked about it, the front desk person was extremely rude. I would never return to that lounge.
I'm not super picky when it comes to things, I'm grateful for the opportunity to be able to enter and stay in the lounge for a while. At least it's somewhere off the beaten path where you can kick back, have something other than water for free, refill your bottle after TSA, a little more comfy than the terminal. It may not be anything extravagant and that is a bit of a let down, but...
I'm not super picky when it comes to things, I'm grateful for the opportunity to be able to enter and stay in the lounge for a while. At least it's somewhere off the beaten path where you can kick back, have something other than water for free, refill your bottle after TSA, a little more comfy than the terminal. It may not be anything extravagant and that is a bit of a let down, but what really makes or breaks something for me is customer service, the experience and interactions I have with employees. Sometimes you walk into a store and there's teenagers and 20-something year olds working and they look bored out of their minds and they either look at you as an annoyance or burden or they don't even acknowledge your presence and when that happens, I'm like, peace I'm outta here. If I have a rude experience with employees, then I won't want to return. The lounge could be rundown and bare bones, but if the employees are nice and go out of their way to provide excellent service, they're helpful, and kind, and sociable, then I wouldn't really have much to complain about and might return. I could see how this HA lounge would be a disappointment, especially since it's the main location (hub airport, flagship lounge) not only that, but it's an international airport and the airline is international with long-haul flights out of that airport
First to say i was disappointed in the lounge that HA presented would be understatement. They have a great Business Class product only to be let down with what is on the ground. I would expect that type of presentation if you were flying in / out of Timbuctoo, not their flag ship airport. I would of thought there would have been some pride in "look at what we have to offer" . I am...
First to say i was disappointed in the lounge that HA presented would be understatement. They have a great Business Class product only to be let down with what is on the ground. I would expect that type of presentation if you were flying in / out of Timbuctoo, not their flag ship airport. I would of thought there would have been some pride in "look at what we have to offer" . I am not sure what the sales dept are doing, surely you would think they (HA) looking at trends, what other airlines are doing and offering to keep that market. Maybe money is to easy why bother. I remember i worked on a job once that we were valued on the complaints, not all we could do anything about it, however the boss was always looking at the trends, looking where to improve to keep ahead of the game.
Hawaiian Airlines Compared to Air Tahiti Nui makes HA look like cheap trash. My economy class flight to Tahiti was better than my first class flight on HA.
Just there for a 3 hour layover en route to SFO. The location was inconvenient to our Hawaiian flight, having to take a crowded shuttle or a 20 minute walk. The noodles and corn soup were good. It's so small though, they need to direct people to seats. One "gentleman" sat by himself at a table for 4 for a couple of hours. Not impressed overall.
I went there today and Mena is an counter agent, she didt let me in even I has priority pass, and there is a room, she said our priority card is the secondary, I even said that I just want to used a rest room for a min ( it’s near my boarding time) the problem is she don’t have customer mind at all, I been working in the customer service for more than 10 years and this kind of person is the one that make company look bad, really disappointed
The beer selection is great though. I'd raid those bikini blondes to reap max value and be happy.
I agree. A complete waste of space and Hawaiian Airlines should have done much better in their “home” airport.
Why even have a lounge when you can’t even provide anything for international business class customers … it’s such a dilution of the product and an embarrassment to Hawaiian airlines…waste of time and money for the airline
Who is the head of there product department for lounges ?…I think they will be finding a new job.
To be honest you get more outside the lounge to eat… don’t bother or waste your time ;(
I’ve peeked into the Hawaiian Airlines lounge back in 2018 and compared it with Delta’s Sky Club lounges at HNL, SEATAC and DTW, there’s no comparison after all, Delta Sky Clubs does have hot food, pastries, snacks, beverages for all ages, better seating arangements.
Typical for Hawai’i in general. They rise to the height of mediocrity in so many ways. They do so because they can. It’s Hawai’i. It’s gorgeous and wonderful and healing. So, people are gonna come anyway. The lounge is half a.., the infrastructure is broke, the hotels are awful and expensive and the service around the islands is passive/aggressive.
This lounge was pathetic before covid and remains pathetic. Doesn't Priority Pass have standards? $6 wine, btw. Barefoot would be better.
Looks about like the JAL lounge at HNL. I guess tourist don't know any better.
It's a sad excuse for a flagship lounge, even by low North American standards. But that said, it really is a HNL Airport 'thing' as one or two others point out. Hawaii has benefited so much from overseas and domestic tourism for the decades (literally billions upon billions of dollars! and yen!!), and it's a scandal that money was never set aside for proper airport maintenance, to say nothing of complete re-builds. Sure you've got...
It's a sad excuse for a flagship lounge, even by low North American standards. But that said, it really is a HNL Airport 'thing' as one or two others point out. Hawaii has benefited so much from overseas and domestic tourism for the decades (literally billions upon billions of dollars! and yen!!), and it's a scandal that money was never set aside for proper airport maintenance, to say nothing of complete re-builds. Sure you've got the Mauka Concourse, but what HNL desperately needed was the whole ugly concrete pile to be blown up and a new terminal(s) built. I've been to 6 out of 7 continents and HNL is one of the worst airports out of dozens I've passed through. So it's no shock that a lounge there would be....disappointing to say the least.
If only HNL is part of a continent.
I guess when you learn about "know your continents" the book said 4-6 years. And you're happy because it only took you 2 years to understand (which sadly you don't).
Ha Ha airlines is a LCC with an Ohana twist. You should be thankful there is a lounge at all ;)
It’s kind of embarrassing, that company had kind of a closed market I’m so pleased they have competition, maybe they’ll step it up and act like they appreciate their customers, and Hawaii.
Hawaiian airlines is actually one of the top rated airlines in the United States. I’m a gold member of Hawaiian airlines and platinum for American. Hands down hawaiian is far superior in customer service, flight attendants, on time, and overall experience. But if you don’t want to fly them because you didn’t get a pastry in their lounge, please do find another carrier and please don’t return to Hawaii.
Yikes, this is disappointing, especially when considering that the Plumeria Lounge is/was supposed to be their premium lounge with premium offerings relative to their standard "Premier Club". I recall they rolled the Plumeria Lounge out a few years back when they were making a big push to expand their international routes and wanted something more competitive befitting an international trans-pacific carrier. This is looking even sadder when you consider the efforts domestic US carriers have...
Yikes, this is disappointing, especially when considering that the Plumeria Lounge is/was supposed to be their premium lounge with premium offerings relative to their standard "Premier Club". I recall they rolled the Plumeria Lounge out a few years back when they were making a big push to expand their international routes and wanted something more competitive befitting an international trans-pacific carrier. This is looking even sadder when you consider the efforts domestic US carriers have been making to bolster their lounge offerings with renovations (notably Delta Skyclub and Alaska).
I get that Hawaii is a principally lower yield holiday market, but when you compare this with what ANA did with their honu A380s and updated HNL lounge, this makes Hawaiian look very uncompetitive for premium passengers to/from the key Japan market.
Have you used the sakura lounge it used to be run by Japan airlines and had decent food pre COVID now run by aa so you know how that would be also restaurants are still restricted
Delta has a great, albeit small, lounge at HNL with excellent staff, food, and drinks. Unfortunately it has no views.
Ha, I think its a Honolulu Airport thing. The Qantas lounge is equally (if not more so) sad and bad. Worse, its been like that since the 80's! Only problem is that plans have quadrupled in size and the number of people in that tiny little room is ridiculous. And its in a corner that you have to really really want to go there as it takes some good exploratory skills to even find the thing!
Yup, the Hawaiian Airlines lounges are the saddest lounges. I have to use it often and its pretty laughable. The lounges in Kona, Hilo, and Lihue have been closed for two years, with no announcement that they will open soon. The only redeeming factor is that the beer is usually cold. It's impossible to eat the sandwiches - its a dry dinner roll with a piece of ham and turkey. You're lucky if they have...
Yup, the Hawaiian Airlines lounges are the saddest lounges. I have to use it often and its pretty laughable. The lounges in Kona, Hilo, and Lihue have been closed for two years, with no announcement that they will open soon. The only redeeming factor is that the beer is usually cold. It's impossible to eat the sandwiches - its a dry dinner roll with a piece of ham and turkey. You're lucky if they have packets of mayo and mustard.
I've watched people try to make the instant cup ramen - not really possible because the hot water in the urn is not hot enough. People put the lukewarm water into the cup and wait, wait, wait, ..... the noodles never softens, so they just throw it away. It seems that Hawaiian Airlines doesn't care.
This looks amazing compared with the Hawaiian lounge on Maui on February 28, which had coffee, pug juice, crackers, a soda machine and perhaps something else (but not much else).
I’d be less upset if they didn’t have a lounge to begin with and more upset had I visited this dungheap. In comparison, it makes the average Admirals Club look luxurious.
Hawaiian really should be ashamed of this facility.
Although clean. Terrible and beyond basic for a lounge of this type. Many times they run out of the tiny chex mix leaving nothing to eat. In addition, you’re not allowed to bring outside food into the facility. Just last week we entered the lounge. To our surprise, the receptionist handed us a package of two small cookies each. Shame!!!
HNL seems like a 3rd world neglected airport, decaying over the 30 years I’ve traveled through it.
The problem with Hawaiian Airlines lounge is, they almost let in anybody. As long as your a Gold member and if they have someone else that is traveling with you, they’ll let them in also.
To me, the lounge should be reserved for First Class passengers. Especially if you are paying all that money for First Class.
The same thing happens when checking in at Las Vegas. The First Class line is combined...
The problem with Hawaiian Airlines lounge is, they almost let in anybody. As long as your a Gold member and if they have someone else that is traveling with you, they’ll let them in also.
To me, the lounge should be reserved for First Class passengers. Especially if you are paying all that money for First Class.
The same thing happens when checking in at Las Vegas. The First Class line is combined with Gold members. Took me over an hour to check in my bags, and I got there 2 hours early. The people that are traveling main cabin are checking in before me. I was ready to go to the main cabin check in line. Like I said.. You pay all that money to travel First Class, they should give more priority to the person who is over $2000 to $3000 a ticket, then the person who is paying $300 or no charge cause the are using Hawaiian Miles.
I like Hawaiian Airlines, but sorry to say they are doing thing ass backwards.
Have you never flown on an airline with frequent flyer programmes? Virtually any programme that has status levels gives status holders access to business class airport facilities. If they are in an alliance, it is mandatory. Because why should they give priority to you who only flies them one time, compared to the person who flies with them every single month?
Those of us that are frequent flyers are far more loyal to an airline than someone that flies first class. I fly both…and I find some first class flyers to be extremely tacky…last trip to LAX from Kona had the first class passenger in row 1 with feet on the wall the whole time and her friend left garbage all over the place. Yes, they let anyone in. Spending 2000 on a ticket doesn’t make you a better person
The furniture is also a little care worn. Plus the later you go, the less there is in the way of food and beverage.
I guess it's "reassuring" that nothing has changed since early 2020 when the pandemic was just getting started. My partner and I flew Hawaiian first class to Auckland, NZ and spent a few uncomfortable hours in the Plumeria Lounge. We had "access" to the small roped off area just inside the front door that was reserved for international first class passengers. That was arguably worse than the main section of the lounge, which was already overcrowded.
The sad thing is that this is *better* than their regular club lounge, which, AFAIK, only has POG juice, water, and Pau Hana snack mix (which the Plumeria Lounge should have as well).
When I visited, they had TWO types of instant noodles and TWO types of mini-sandwiches! Yay! /s
Oh, it was also very entertaining to see the reactions of people getting redirected to the other lounge: "But I paid for First...
The sad thing is that this is *better* than their regular club lounge, which, AFAIK, only has POG juice, water, and Pau Hana snack mix (which the Plumeria Lounge should have as well).
When I visited, they had TWO types of instant noodles and TWO types of mini-sandwiches! Yay! /s
Oh, it was also very entertaining to see the reactions of people getting redirected to the other lounge: "But I paid for First Class!!" "I'm a super loyal Platinum member!" "I can't believe you treat club members so poorly! (when being told that they could pay if they really wanted to get in)"
Sadly this is how the lounge was Pre-Covid. On the bright side it is better than the HA Premier Clubs which literally only have a soda machine, drip coffee dispenser and snack mix.
Experience was the same as yours. Kicked myself for walking to get there.
The lounge has been like this since at least 2018
That is the original premier lounge that was from the 90s.Looks like they change the furniture from comfortable to cheap and uncomfortable. So sad
Not just the lounges, all Hawaii airport experience is pretty disappointing.
Any possibility things are dismal because of Covid still? While it’s a crap reasoning, perhaps they used to better and are planning to get back to that. Seems like an even sadder version of “The Club”.
Nope, HA just has zero interest in providing a competitive lounge. They’re a “destination carrier,” not like all those boring airlines that focus on flying people to places that aren’t Hawaii, so they don’t need to worry about any of the ways they fall short.
No, this was pretty much the exact same spread as when I visited it in March 2018.
Totally agree with all the negative, disappointing comments about Hawaiian's plumeria lounge. For a premier lounge, it is nothing special, just a place to sit before boarding.
At the other end of the spectrum, premier lounge at Haneda/Japan was simply amazing. Luxurious setting, individual booths and tables. And the food, OMG, it was a restaurant quality buffet, hot entrees, make your own ramen-no instant packaging, fresh sushi selections, lots of arare snacks, wine, beer,...
Totally agree with all the negative, disappointing comments about Hawaiian's plumeria lounge. For a premier lounge, it is nothing special, just a place to sit before boarding.
At the other end of the spectrum, premier lounge at Haneda/Japan was simply amazing. Luxurious setting, individual booths and tables. And the food, OMG, it was a restaurant quality buffet, hot entrees, make your own ramen-no instant packaging, fresh sushi selections, lots of arare snacks, wine, beer, sake, coffee, tea, soft drinls. Lounge staff pleasant and professional, constantly replenishing the hot foods. It was like a fine dining restaurant. Staff even removed your empty plates.
Always go there extra early, to enjoy and stay in premier lounge.