Review: Thai Airways First Lounge Bangkok Airport (BKK)

During my Allegris round the world journey, I had the chance to fly Thai Airways’ Boeing 777 first class from Bangkok to Tokyo. Prior to my flight, I visited the Thai Airways First Class Lounge, located within the Thai Airways Royal Orchid Prestige Lounge.

Look, I’ve gotta be honest, this facility made me kind of sad, as it pales in comparison to the ground experience that Thai Airways used to offer in Bangkok, up until a few years ago (which has since been turned into the Coral Finest Business Class Lounge).

Not only was Thai Airways’ old first class lounge nicer and cozier, but the airline also had a spa, and first class passengers received an hour-long full body massage, which was the best complimentary airport spa treatment out there.

The new facility is quite underwhelming, by comparison. While the lounge is (unnecessarily?) spacious and has a la carte dining, it otherwise has no special amenities, and I found the service in the lounge to be downright bizarre. So while it’s a pleasant place to pass some time, I wouldn’t rank this among the world’s best first class lounges.

Thai Airways’ exclusive first class ground services

Let me start by acknowledging the part of the Thai Airways first class ground experience that’s most impressive.

Thai Airways escorts first class passengers every step of the way in Bangkok (either by foot or golf cart), from when they arrive at the airport, to when they board. However, that’s not something I took advantage of on this trip:

• I was in transit in Bangkok on separate tickets, so I never went to Thai Airways’ first class check-in facility
• I elected not to be escorted to the plane, since I wanted to get aboard ahead of the other first class passengers, so that I could get some good cabin pictures

But in general Thai Airways offers a seamless and attentive first class ground experience, and it’s something the airline should be commended for.

Thai Airways First Class Lounge Bangkok location

The Thai Airways First Class Lounge Bangkok is located within the carrier’s Royal Orchid Prestige Lounge in International Concourse D, on level three, right near gate D4.

The lounge has a central location, and can either be accessed from the concourse (right across from gate D4), or from an escalator just past fast track security.

Thai Airways First Class Lounge Bangkok hours

The Thai Airways First Class Lounge Bangkok is open daily from 5AM until 2AM, so it just closes for three hours every night. In reality, Thai Airways only has three planes with first class, so there are at most three flights a day that have a first class cabin (typically to London and Tokyo).

Those flights either leave in the early morning or late at night, so you can expect this lounge will usually be empty (or at least nearly empty) in the middle of the day.

Thai Airways First Class Lounge Bangkok entry requirements

The Thai Airways First Class Lounge Bangkok is intended primarily for Thai Airways first class passengers, on the carrier’s limited number of flights featuring this cabin. However, the lounge can also be accessed by other Star Alliance first class passengers, should you be traveling on Lufthansa, SWISS, etc. Eligible passengers can bring in one guest.

Thai Airways First Class Lounge Bangkok seating & layout

When you enter the Thai Airways Royal Orchid Prestige Lounge and have an eligible first class ticket, you’ll be escorted to the left, where the roped off first class section of the lounge is located. The first class section takes up maybe one quarter of the total lounge space, I’d estimate.

One thing I have to give the lounge credit for is that I guarantee it’ll never feel crowded. It’s huge when you consider that you’ll typically share the lounge with at most half a dozen people or so.

As you enter the lounge, you’ll first see the dining area, with eight tables (the same number of tables as first class seats on a 777), seating two people each.

Then there’s an area of the lounge with comfortable leather chairs for relaxing. There are around 30 seats, so again, you’ll never feel like you don’t have enough space here.

Off to the side there’s another seating area, with the same types of chairs, but they’re along a wall.

Lastly, the lounge has a private room, which guests are welcome to use, if available. The private room has chairs and sofas, plus a TV.

As far as the view goes, the lounge just faces the interior of the concourse, so it’s not an inspiring view at all.

So yeah, I’m conflicted on the design of the lounge. At least it’s nice and spacious, though it’s lacking when it comes to amenities. You’d think they could have mixed up the seating a bit more, and maybe could have added amenities like a bar area, workstations, etc.

Thai Airways First Class Lounge Bangkok food & drinks

The Thai Airways First Class Lounge Bangkok primarily has an a la carte dining concept, but also has a small buffet. During my morning visit, the buffet had some sweets, canapés, cold cuts, cheese, salad, and fresh fruit.

There were two other small stations, one with Thai desserts, and one with nuts and whole fruit.

The lounge’s a la carte dining selection is extensive (I apologize for the quality of the menu pictures, but it was impossible to get pictures without shadows, due to how the menu book was bound). First, there’s an all-day dining menu, available any hour that the lounge is open.

Then there’s a breakfast menu, available from 5AM until 11AM daily.

Next, there’s a lunch and dinner menu, available from 11AM until 1AM daily.

There’s also an extensive drink list, including soft drinks, coffee, wine, beer, and more, which you can find below.

Upon arriving at the lounge, I was proactively brought “violet bliss” as a welcome drink, which is a butterfly pea flower tea, and it’s also the carrier’s signature drink. I also ordered a cappuccino and sparkling water.

I wasn’t very hungry, but figured that I should order something. I settled on the spring rolls and taro stuffed steamed buns. Both were reasonably good, though I wouldn’t say it was any sort of gourmet dining.

If I had been hungrier or it had been later in the day, maybe I would have had a different impression.

Thai Airways First Class Lounge Bangkok bathrooms & showers

The Thai Airways First Class Lounge Bangkok has its own bathrooms, separate from the business class section of the lounge.

The men’s room was beautifully designed and also spotlessly clean, and had a few sinks, urinals, and stalls.

The lounge also has a couple of luxuriously appointed shower suites, each containing a walk-in shower, a sink, and a toilet, with Euphoria toiletries.

Thai Airways First Class Lounge Bangkok service

The service in the Thai Airways First Class Lounge Bangkok really confuses me. Prior to my visit, two friends separately told me about how the service in the lounge isn’t good, despite it being stupidly overstaffed. I wondered how that could be… well, I can confirm it’s true.

During my visit, there were eight attendants in the first class lounge to serve people, despite the fact that there would be at absolute most eight passengers. I found their presence to almost me uncomfortable, since they just stood there looking at guests.

But what I found even stranger is that despite the high staffing level, the service wasn’t at all attentive or proactive. Let me just give a few examples (while acknowledging these are all minor points individually, but if you’re going to have staffing levels like this, service should be flawless):

• When I was brought food, I wasn’t provided with any cutlery; after I asked, it took them several minutes to bring it to me
• When I finished my meal, the staff didn’t come over to clear my plates or glasses until I specifically called them over to do so (and this was after I had been finished for several minutes, and pulled out my laptop to work)
• While in the dining area, at no point was I asked if I wanted a drink refill, or if I wanted to order anything else
• Eventually I moved from the dining area to the lounging area, and a staff member never checked on me to see if I wanted anything to drink there either

It’s strange, because all the staff were friendly, so I have to imagine this is a training issue. It’s something I hope the airline fixes, because it’s such an easy area for improvement. After all, Thailand is a hospitable country.

Bottom line

The Thai Airways First Class Lounge Bangkok is a mixed bag. The lounge is spacious, offers a solid a la carte dining selection, and has a couple of private rooms and showers.

However, service in the lounge leaves a lot to be desired, and there are no real special amenities. This lounge pales in comparison to the carrier’s former lounge, so if you’ve been to that, you can’t help but be a bit disappointed when visiting this facility. I sure do miss those hour-long full body massages…

What’s your take on the Thai Airways First Class Lounge Bangkok?