- Introduction: An Unexpected Round The World Trip
- Review: Ukraine International Airlines Business Class 777 New York To Kiev
- Review: Hyatt Regency Kiev
- Review: Vietnam Airlines Business Class 787 London To Ho Chi Minh City
- Review: Vietnam Airlines Lounge Ho Chi Minh City Airport
- Review: Vietnam Airlines Business Class A350 Ho Chi Minh City To Shanghai
- Review: Cathay Pacific Lounge Shanghai Airport
- Review: Cathay Dragon First Class A330 Shanghai To Hong Kong
- Review: Hong Kong Airlines Lounge Hong Kong Airport
- Review: Hong Kong Airlines Business Class A350 Hong Kong To Los Angeles
My flight from London was scheduled to arrive at 5:20AM, while my flight to Shanghai was scheduled to depart at 7:50AM, so I had a 2hr30min layover.
We seemed to be one of the first arrivals of the morning, and when I showed up at the international transit security checkpoint there weren’t even any staff there. So when the ground staff saw me coming they asked me to wait for a moment so they could get two security personnel to screen me. They showed up quickly, and in the meantime a handful of other passengers got in line behind me (a vast majority of the people on my flight seemed to be terminating their travels in Vietnam).
SGN Airport transit security
Once past security I took the escalator up a level and followed the signage towards the Vietnam Airlines Lotus Lounge, which the airline uses for their business class passengers.
SGN Airport transit security
The terminal was still very quiet, with most shops closed.
SGN Airport terminal
After walking for about a minute I found signage for various lounges.
Vietnam Airlines Lounge signage
The Vietnam Airlines Lotus Lounge is located on level three of the terminal, just across from a Burger King.
Ho Chi Minh City Airport terminal
Vietnam Airlines Lounge entrance
When I first arrived there wasn’t even an employee at the desk, as they just seemed to be setting up for the morning. He showed up within about a minute, and told me there would be a boarding call for my flight.
Vietnam Airlines Lounge reception
Vietnam Airlines Lounge reception
I think I’ve visited just about all the lounges at the airport at this point, and this one was surprisingly nice. It had tons of natural light, and great views of the taxiway and runway. The beautiful sunrise I was witnessing didn’t hurt either.
Vietnam Airlines Lotus Lounge seating
The lounge had a variety of seating options. Along the center of the lounge were rows of dining tables with 2-4 seats each, some communal tables with high-top seating, and just rows of chairs facing one another, separated by coffee tables.
Vietnam Airlines Lotus Lounge seating
Vietnam Airlines Lotus Lounge seating
Along the windows were more rows of seats facing one another.
Vietnam Airlines Lounge seating
There were also some cute seating areas that had four seats each, with a little roof covering them. That really added quite a bit of style to the lounge, in my opinion.
Vietnam Airlines Lounge seating
Vietnam Airlines Lounge seating
In the back corner of the lounge was a business center with some PCs and a printer.
Vietnam Airlines Lounge business center
The lounge was in an “L” shape, and the buffet was along two walls by the interior.
Vietnam Airlines Lounge buffet
Along one side of the buffet were the drinks, which included liquor, beer, wine, soft drinks, juice, a Pepsi soda fountain, and a Nescafe coffee machine. The liquor and wine selection was pretty basic.
Vietnam Airlines Lounge buffet
Vietnam Airlines Lounge alcohol selection
Vietnam Airlines Lounge drink selection
Vietnam Airlines Lounge soda fountain
Vietnam Airlines Lounge coffee machine
As far as the food selection goes, there were both cold and hot options. Cold options included cereal, salad, fresh fruit, pastries, croissants, and cake.
Vietnam Airlines Lounge food selection
Vietnam Airlines Lounge food selection
Vietnam Airlines Lounge food selection
Vietnam Airlines Lounge food selection
I’m not sure what exactly all the hot options were, so I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.
Vietnam Airlines Lounge food selection
Vietnam Airlines Lounge food selection
Vietnam Airlines Lounge food selection
Vietnam Airlines Lounge food selection
Vietnam Airlines Lounge food selection
Vietnam Airlines Lounge food selection
Vietnam Airlines Lounge food selection
The lounge had bathrooms that were basic but clean. There was one shower room located inside the men’s bathroom, which had wall-mounted toiletries and a towel. There was no toilet in the actual shower room.
Vietnam Airlines Lounge bathroom
Vietnam Airlines Lounge shower room
Vietnam Airlines Lounge shower room
I spent about an hour in the lounge using the fast Wi-Fi. Otherwise I just had a cup of (fairly decent) coffee and enjoyed the views of the apron and runway in the distance.
Vietnam Airlines Lounge view
I decided to head towards the direction of my gate at around 6:30AM. My flight was departing from gate 26, which was about a five minute walk from the lounge.
Ho Chi Minh City Airport terminal
As I approached the gate I had a view of the Vietnam Airlines A350 that would be taking me to Shanghai — what a beauty!
Vietnam Airlines A350
The gates at the airport are one level down from the main concourse, so I took the escalator down.
Vietnam Airlines departure gate
Vietnam Airlines departure gate
There weren’t any gate agents at the time, though the two pilots were there, and couldn’t get onto the plane. So they had a seat, made a couple of phone calls, and 10 minutes later were let on the plane.
Vietnam Airlines departure gate
While my boarding pass indicated that boarding would start one hour before departure, in reality boarding started at 7:10AM, 40 minutes before departure.
Vietnam Airlines Lotus Lounge bottom line
I think I’ve visited just about all the international lounges at Ho Chi Minh City Airport at this point, and the Vietnam Airlines one is my favorite. That’s simply a function of the great views and the amount of natural light. The food and drink selection was alright as well.
On top of that I love how easy international to international connections at the airport are. Very few people seem to connect at SGN internationally, so I’ve repeatedly found this to be an easy process. If given the choice, I’d gladly connect here again and spend some time in one of the best airport lounges in this part of the world.
You might want to amend your post to include that there are 2 shower stalls located in the female bathrooms at the Lotus Lounge, I see some comments about this. I’m using the lounge right now and the first thing I did when I arrived was use the showers.
How strange for an international to lounge to have just one shower which is located inside the men's toilets! Bad luck if you are a woman! Interesting last century approach to the value of women, even when they are paying customers!
If you’re thinking of buying a ticket and you are flying economy, DON’T!!!
The young ladies in the first lounge were beautiful but because they shut early and my flight was delayed I moved to Lotus 2.
The manager there was on a power trip and wanted to hold on to my boarding pass. I felt very uncomfortable parting with my boarding pass and when I asked for it back, he was very...
If you’re thinking of buying a ticket and you are flying economy, DON’T!!!
The young ladies in the first lounge were beautiful but because they shut early and my flight was delayed I moved to Lotus 2.
The manager there was on a power trip and wanted to hold on to my boarding pass. I felt very uncomfortable parting with my boarding pass and when I asked for it back, he was very insulting and derogatory.
I purchased the ticket and he was discriminating against me because I wasn’t business class. If they only want business class holders, why sell to economy ticket holders.
Maybe Vietnam airlines should train their staff on anti discrimination laws.
I love Vietnam but the normal people. When it comes to young lads who want to exert authority and feel they are superior, I don’t believe there’s a place for them in hospitality.
After all, they’re just the floor manager.
No brains required just decency.
The lounge has some + plus points. But I want to add a minus- point , that is about missing of a handicapped restroom in the lounge . A person with a wheelchair can not access to the restroom here. That seems like a discrimination to handicapped people who you may thought are not welcome or not “be able” to be here . Please correct it by making one handicapped access restroom here. Other than that, the lounge is good .
@Mint,
Business class flight out gets you in. No day passes to my knowledge. No use on arrival unless you're flying out to another city same day. I've often seen what appears to be Vietnamese "big shots" in the lounge and wondered if they were actually flying business.
Rick
Did you pay to enter to the lounge? Or have to fly with business class?
If I fly with Economy class can I use it for free?
I was at Orchid March 2019 and I was shocked to see people oblivious to the roach infestation. I saw them on the walls, under chairs, and in the bathroom. I lifted one chair and 5-6 scattered. I told the front desk guy and he just said thank you.
Careful with the lounge food at SGN. I've called at the Apricot Lounge 3 times recently, and twice I saw cockroaches...
Eric +3
As a frequent traveler to Viet Nam, I found the post about the lounge spot on. I have used this lounge several times, and it is quite an improvement over the old one. You typically don't qualify to use airline lounges on arrival. For anyone departing on Vietnam Airlines flight in a premium cabin (domestic or international), it's a great facility. Great post!
Lucky is pretty much the opposite of what Anthony Bourdain was. I'm pretty sure you wont see Lucky eating anything local from a street vendor. It's got to be a place where you can get credit card points.
What's the point of travelling everywhere when Lucky doesn't even bother learning the basics of a country's culture? Even a random person off the streets of LA would likely know what pho is. It is literally the most well know Vietnamese dish.
If only US airports could learn how to organize international transfer in a more effective and professional fashion
I went to Vietnam with Colonel James Braddock to look for missing POW's. We ran into General Trau, and some bad stuff went down.
The price of the food on airport quite shocked me. Prices same like in US with wages 4times less. What a rip off
Yes, it's a pretty good lounge compared to the old one. There is also a Priority Pass lounge in both domestic and international terminals for those not flying in a premium cabin. In country, I only ever fly Vietnam Airlines.
@bill
Ordering a salmon with tomato basil sauce (lunch) and shrimp noodle soup (dinner; Cantonese dish) on KE LAX-ICN and salmon with pesto cream sauce (lunch) and potato crusted orange roughy (snack) on OZ LAX-ICN isn't exactly stepping out of one's comfort zone.
I frankly don't care anyway because I don't read this blog for food recommendations.
Just curious as I am flying from this airport next week. Did you take a shower after this long flight?
How was the shower room in terms of convenience.
@Kevin A quick look at the trip reports from the past would reveal this to be quite false, particularly in the case of the Korean carriers.
Personally, I never bother with the airline lounge(s) at SGN, just head straight to the massage lounges. Last time I was there I spent four hours in the lounge. Incredibly value for money.
@debit.
Lucky rarely eats Asian food when flying J or F class on Asian airlines so let that speak for itself re: his level of knowledge re: Asian food.
Had a similar experience with the international to international transfer, although when I went there lines at immigration were clogging up the entrance to the transfer room. Immigration desks were not staffed, I was baffled at how this could happen !
I found the lounge to be quite nice although a bit crowded during the night time peak (when Europe and Australia bound flights depart).
I really liked the tarmac views.
One thing I...
Had a similar experience with the international to international transfer, although when I went there lines at immigration were clogging up the entrance to the transfer room. Immigration desks were not staffed, I was baffled at how this could happen !
I found the lounge to be quite nice although a bit crowded during the night time peak (when Europe and Australia bound flights depart).
I really liked the tarmac views.
One thing I really dislike about SGN is the amount of remote gates, I know it helps them shuffle their fleet around between domestic and international without having to tow them around. But last thing you want to do when you're wearing a suit is to walk around in the hot and humid weather of Vietnam.
@Lucky. I seem to remember seeing advertisements at SGN airport for a one day pass (more like max 4 hrs) to these lounges for around $20-30 per person. Which one of the lounges would you recommend to purchase passes for in the International and the Domestic terminals? I am heading there in a few months' time. Thanks.
Lucky, what do you normally eat? Somehow I think you don't go too far out of your comfort zone .