If you’re travelling through Kuala Lumpur on a oneworld international flight in Business or First, or hold Sapphire or Emerald status, you have a choice of four lounges in Kuala Lumpur. In this review we’ll take a look at the Malaysia Airlines First Class lounge. You can use this lounge if you’re travelling in First or hold oneworld Emerald.
If you are in Business or have Sapphire status, you can use a choice of two Malaysia lounges, or alternatively head to the Cathay Pacific lounge which we’ve previously reviewed here. On this trip though, we’d be trying out the Malaysia Airlines First Lounge.
Location
The Malaysia Airlines First lounge is located in the Satellite building. After checking-in, head straight for the train connecting the main terminal and the Satellite. This is a very quick process that takes no longer than about ten minutes. If your flight is departing from the main terminal, you can easily just jump on the train to return, but you’d obviously need to leave the lounge a little earlier. This is especially true since security is carried out at the gate.
Once you’re in the satellite building, you go up to the mezzanine floor. From here you will find both the Business and First lounges.
The Space
When you arrive in the main lounge reception you’ll be directed left to the Business lounge, and right to the First lounge. Upon entering the First Lounge you’ll pass the restaurant area, which features waiter service. The main lounge area features plenty of seating options, including those with great views of the airport. Great if you enjoy a bit of planespotting.
As you’d expect, its a much smaller space than the Business lounge next door. This said, during my visit it was almost empty, and as such it felt far more relaxed. A separate male and female nap area is also available, as well as shower facilities if you want to freshen up between flights. While the overall design is perhaps not to my individual taste, Malaysia Airlines have done a good job of creating multiple different areas.
There are plenty of powerpoints available if you need to charge your device. This said, the wifi was painfully bad, and as such, don’t count on being able to get much work done prior to boarding.
Food and Drinks
The dining options are a vast improvement compared to the Business lounge, primarily due to the restaurant facility, which is very good. The only slight annoyance was the background radio which was playing a mix of 70s and 80s pop classics for the duration. There were a number of different Starters, Mains and Desserts to choose from. On this occasion I selected the ‘Smoked Seafood Selection’, the ‘Supreme of Chicken´ and the ´Chocolate Tart’. The meal was served with a bread basket, which was a nice touch.
The quality of the food, as well as the service, was very good. I’m a big fan of any lounge which feature a restaurant option. Given the choice, I far prefer dining more substantially on the ground and opting for a lighter choice in the air. Alternatively, if pushed for time, there is a buffet in the main lounge area. I didn’t sample any of the food available here, however.
The lounge featured a decent selection of drink options. Unlike in the Business lounge, champagne is available. After eating I spent the rest of my time in the main lounge area. The service here was excellent, and an attendant regularly came to ask if I needed anything or to provide refills.
Conclusions
If you’re looking for good dining facilities, this is definitely the best lounge in Kuala Lumpur. In terms of design, it isn’t so different to the Business lounge, but feels far more relaxed. The service was attentive, and it’s a great space to spend a couple of hours before catching your flight. Unfortunately, the wifi provision was poor, and made working difficult. If Malaysia fix were to fix this, they’d have an excellent all round facility at their homebase.
