I closed out the first half of my Taoyuan International Airport lounge adventure in terminal 2 with the China Airlines Dynasty Lounge!
China Airlines Dynasty Lounge Information
- Location: Terminal 2 Level 3 near gate D4
- Hours: 5:30 AM to 11:00 PM
- Eligibility: SkyTeam business class passengers, SkyTeam Elite Plus members, China Airlines Dynasty Flyer Program Paragon/Emerald/Gold Card members. Full eligibility rules here.
China Airlines Dynasty Lounge Entrance
The China Airlines Dynasty lounge actually took me much longer than I expected to find. Although it’s still in terminal 2, it’s not located in the cluster of lounges on level 4 where most of the terminal 2 lounges are found. It’s found near the D gates and is off to the side of the moving walkways.
The entrance is slightly hidden from plain sight because it doesn’t have as noticeable signage as some other terminal 2 lounges. In addition to that, the automatic doors of the lounge entrance are closed by default which actually makes the lounge entrance blend in with the airport walls. It’s easy to miss the entrance and mistakenly think the lounge is closed because the doors aren’t open.
Despite that, I still managed to find the lounge and had to present my boarding pass to the front desk worker. Since I had already visited the China Airlines VIP lounge in level 4 earlier, the front desk attendant had to verify if I had gone to a previous China Airlines lounge before letting me in.
China Airlines Dynasty Lounge Layout and Atmosphere
The most interesting thing about this lounge is that the main area is actually found one level below the entrance.
I had read online that this lounge is basically a basement and I can see why now… The lounge gives off strong basement room vibes because it’s downstairs and devoid of any windows.
Despite that, one of the coolest things about this lounge is all the Chinese calligraphy designs on the walls. I thought the designers did a great job of showcasing Chinese culture in a creative way but this unfortunately wasn’t enough to make up for the lounge’s shortcomings.
Aside from the calligraphy, the whole lounge really lacked any sort of memorable interior design. The lounge has a monotone gray color scheme from the floors and walls to the furniture. Coupling that with the lack of natural light just made the place feel a bit depressing and unexciting.
The whole place also felt a little claustrophobic from how crowded it was and the absence of windows. I was honestly shocked at how many people there were at 8 AM for a non-Priority Pass lounge. There were exponentially more guests in here than the other China Airlines back in level 4.
The layout of the lounge is just a simple rectangular hallway that isn’t very big. I was able to walk the span of the lounge in about a minute.
After exiting the stairs, I was near one end of the lounge and this end is where one set of bathrooms is. The other end of the hallway is where the showers, food, and live cooking counter are.
The upstairs level where the lounge entrance is also has an exclusive area just for Dynasty Flyer Program Paragon and Emerald members.
China Airlines Dynasty Lounge Seating
The China Airlines Dynasty Lounge has 2 main seating areas. There is the lounging area near the stairs and the dining area at the opposite end of the lounge.
The lounging area is filled with pairs of leather armchairs arranged in a long row against the wall. Each pair of chairs shares a coffee table in the middle.
The dining area has two seater dining tables along with some longer couches that wrap around the walls of the lounge.
This lounge has a decent amount of seating for its size but since it was so crowded when I was there, it didn’t feel like there were a lot of options, The main lounging area was almost entirely occupied but thankfully there were some open dining tables in the dining area near the showers. The dining area is pretty busy from all of the people getting food so I’d recommend trying to find an armchair in the lounging section.
However, I still didn’t think this was a great area because there isn’t a lot of privacy. The armchairs are all really close to each other and it’s easy to overhear nearby conversations.
China Airlines Dynasty Lounge Dining
I will say that the one bright spot of the lounge was its food selection. I feel there were as many food options as the VIP lounge and both lounges shared a lot of the same dishes. Most of the food is lined up against the wall near the shower end of the lounge with a small selection of finger foods on a separate table right before this area.
I liked how the main food area had a mix of both hot foods and cold foods from different cuisines available to choose from. I had my choice of Chinese options like fried noodles and fried vegetables as well as Western options like scrambled eggs and ham.
I’m always a big fan of bamboo steamers so I was glad to see these filled with dim sum classics like siu mai and buns.
Further down the counter were more Taiwanese options like congee and various toppings like pork floss and radishes.
The were also additional condiments like corn, edamame, tomatoes, and different sauces.
A little bit before the main dining area was a little corner of the lounge where I saw different finger foods like sandwiches, popcorn, and desserts. There are also liquor options found here.
I was surprised to see an assortment of different breads and some cold foods like potato salad.
However, the best part of the dining experience is probably the live cooking counter. Guests can place an order on a tablet and wait for a worker to prepare their meal. I preferred this lounge’s version to the China Airlines VIP lounge version because the cooking counter window was bigger and I could actually see the worker preparing the meal. I’d recommend ordering from here for your main meal and then supplementing it with whatever looks interesting in the self-serve section.
China Airlines Dynasty Lounge Drinks
The drinks are found in a pair of tiny refrigerators above the main food counter. I saw soy milk, teas, juices, coffees, and beers but ended up just drinking a single Yakult. I’m pretty sure that the drinks were the exact same as the other China Airlines lounges. I liked how there were lots of Taiwanese drinks like the iconic Taiwan beer and also some local juices.
There are also liquor bottles available in the section of the lounge with all of the finger foods.
China Airlines Dynasty Lounge Amenities
Unfortunately, this lounge has no unique amenities. There are several TVs throughout the lounge displaying flight information and some magazines available for leisurely reading but those are all standard across most lounges. There is also a tiny business center with a pair of computers but it wasn’t much.
The lounge offers free wifi to guests and I found the speeds to be fine. I had no issues doing anything that required internet while I was there.
China Airlines Dynasty Lounge Bathroom and Showers
There are two sets of bathrooms in this lounge. There is a bathroom at each end of the lounge but the larger bathrooms are found in the shower area that is further away from the stairs.
I went to the smaller bathroom near the stairs and it was clean but I disliked how it was only single-occupancy. It’s annoying having to wait for the bathroom and for how crowded this lounge gets, I’m surprised they didn’t have a larger bathroom that multiple people could use simultaneously.
I was also shocked at how tiny this bathroom was. I had to go right up against the bathroom door just to get a wider angle of the bathroom space and this was all there was to it.
This lounge does offer free showers to guests. I didn’t get a chance to look at the shower but reports online say that it’s old but has more water options than the other China Airlines lounges.
Conclusion
To be blunt, the China Airlines Dynasty Lounge is a disappointing business-class lounge and I would not recommend visiting it. The space is small, crowded, and lacks any special amenities. The food was pretty good but other than that, this lounge didn’t have much going for it. I’d argue that the Oriental Club Lounge available to Priority Pass holders is a better lounge than this. I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit this lounge and unless your gate is near D4, there’s no reason to come here over the far superior China Airlines VIP lounge in level 4 near the C gates.
What did you think of the China Airlines Dynasty Lounge?
