REVIEW: Vietnam Airlines Lotus Lounge - Cam Ranh CXR (International)

Class: Business
Access:
- First and Business Class Passengers on Skyteam Airlines
- Skyteam Elite Plus status holders
Date visited: June 2018

Intro

By a stroke of complete luck we departed Amanoi (the best resort in Vietnam) and flew out of Cam Ranh (CXR) on the first day of operations for the brand new international terminal!

Our Amanoi driver dropped us off at the airport and handed us off to some local porters, provided by the hotel to assist us with check-in.

Unfortunately, despite being brand new and even boasting a branch of Costa Coffee, the airport didn’t have a fast track of any kind. We were on our own after dropping our bags and had to get into an absolutely enormous and inefficient line.

The Lounge

After an arduous wait we finally made it through security, with around ten minutes to spare before boarding. Most people would have skipped the lounge and gone straight to the gate… but luckily for my readers I’m not most people. I couldn’t possibly come all this way and miss the chance to experience a brand new airport lounge on its first day of operations.

The illuminated lotus against a gleaming white wall, together with an extravagant floral display make a fantastic first impression. The staff were a little surprised to actually see customers, the space was completely empty when we entered – all the better for snapping pictures!

The lounge has a variety of seating areas and makes good use of semi opaque dividers to break up the space and avoid that waiting room feel that a lot of older lounges fall foul of. One major issue here though is a lack of power sockets. Only the seats nearest the entrance have access to charging points and these are local only with no USB ports or adapters of any kind.

The amount of natural light in the lounge is a huge plus, with a series of booths and regular seats enjoying privileged spots by the windows.

Given the small size of the lounge, the buffet is quite compact. Still I was impressed by the amount of choice here. The hot dishes weren’t particularly great but I was a big fan of the dragonfruit and super sweet pineapple.

There was a broad selection of hot and cold drinks on offer. I’m always a fan of being able to take a small format drink away with me, making my next flight just that little bit more comfortable.