Qatar Airways Lounge Bangkok Review

With five flights per day departing from Bangkok, it made perfect sense for Qatar Airways to open a lounge of their own at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Access

The Qatar Airways lounge Bangkok opened in February 2018. It’s open to those flying with Qatar or another oneworld airline in Business or First. It isn’t open to Oneworld Sapphire or Emerald members travelling in economy though. This does go against the spirit of the oneworld rules, but is nothing new with Qatar. This said, with other options such as the Cathay Lounge, Bangkok still isn’t a bad place to hang-out for a few hours.

The Space

We arrived at the lounge at 16.45, for a 20.35 departure. The lounge is fairly easy to find, when you’re familiar with the layout of Bangkok Airport. Basically, once through immigration, head for the D concourse. Then, head down the escalator and the lounge is on the left.

The lounge does have a dress code in place, which is strictly policed. As such, if you’re wearing shorts of flipflops, expect to be asked to change, or denied access. I’m not a huge fan of strict dress codes, and whilst I understand it to an extent, I’m not sure it’s entirely necessary (in other words, most of the lounges I pass through don’t have a dress code, and I’ve never found it to be a problem, or found it to hinder my enjoyment).

At this time, there were only a few people already in the lounge. Upon entering we were welcomed and advised due to Ramadan it was only possible to eat and drink in the dining area, which was no problem.

Food and Drinks

The buffet offered a wide variety of options, both hot and cold, and all was of a very good quality. Certainly, if you were looking to dine before your flight to maximise rest time onboard, it’d be no problem.

Due to Ramadan, alcohol wasn’t proactively offered, however, it was absolutely no problem to request alcoholic drinks. During our time in the lounge we sampled a couple of wines as well as a couple of cocktails from an impressive selection. Again, the quality was very good, and the cocktail menu was a nice addition.

The service was very good, although at times it was a little too much. This was especially so for the first hour, when there was a high passenger to staff ratio. Sometimes I prefer being left a little to relax. Whilst plates and glasses were cleared very promptly, it did sometimes make things seem a little rushed (although by no means was it intentional).

One big disadvantage, for me at least, was the lack of tarmac or runway views. The lounge instead features views away from the action, and of gardens below. For many, this wouldn’t be a problem, but I’d have preferred a lounge with slightly better viewing options. The interior of the lounge, as you’d expect, was to a high standard. There are various seating and dining areas, along with a fully tendered bar.

Conclusions

So, the verdict? I liked the Qatar Premium lounge. Of all the lounge options available to you if you’re flying in business or first, the food and drinks here are the best. This is certainly the case in terms of variety. If you’re in the mood for a more substantial meal or a better quality drinks, you’ll probably want to head here.

This said, after a couple of hours, I was fully in the mood to head to the Cathay Lounge instead (although sadly wasn’t able to as it closes at 18.15). This isn’t because the Qatar lounge isn’t a great place to hang-out. I just prefer the general ambience of the Cathay Lounge, which to me, is a much more relaxing place to chill prior to flying. I’ll review the Cathay Lounge another time.

Don’t forget to check out our other airport lounge reviews here.