Continuing through Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 2 as part of my Taiwanese Airline adventure to Bangkok, I stopped by the China Airlines VIP Lounge. I’m actually not sure what the official name of this lounge is since China Airlines has limited information online and refers to all of their lounges as VIP lounges. This was the second lounge I visited and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this lounge.
Lounge Info
- Location: Terminal 2 Level 4
- Hours: 6:30 AM to 11:30 PM? China Airlines doesn’t have a lounge page on their website so there is no official information but when I was there, the opening time was 6:30 AM. I’m not sure about the closing time.
- Eligibility: SkyTeam business class passengers, SkyTeam Elite Plus members, China Airlines Dynasty Flyer Program Paragon/Emerald/Gold Card members. Full eligibility rules here.
Entrance
The China Airlines VIP lounge is located on the 4th floor of Terminal 2 near the main departure security area close to the C gates. This area conveniently contains most of the terminal 2 lounges and is easy to find. The lounge is found at the corner of the level 4 walkway and I had to walk past all of the EVA Air lounges to get there.
I loved how iconic the lounge entrance is with its big circular moon gate entrance. It makes quite a statement and immediately shows off the Chinese design and architecture found in the lounge.
After entering, I was met with the front desk where workers scanned my boarding pass before granting me access to the lounge.
Layout and Atmosphere
I noticed right away that the lounge has a modern yet distinctively Chinese aesthetic. The majority of the furniture is a neutral gray leather that matches the gray patterned carpet of the lounge. Both of these elements help give the lounge a feeling of elegance and sophistication. However, this gray is complemented well by the wood tables and shelves found throughout the lounge.
I also really liked how the lounge designers still incorporated aspects of Chinese design into the lounge. The interior of the lounge has a section that is lined with a series of big round arches similar to what you’d find in a traditional Chinese building. In addition to that various pink or purple flowers helped spice up the space and give color. I frequently see flowers used as a means of adding color and elegance to spaces primarily in Asian lounges and think they’re a great touch.
Despite the gray color scheme, this lounge still felt very bright and open because of how well-lit it was. There was plentiful lighting ranging from ceiling lights to table lamps to windows overlooking the terminal so the whole lounge was illuminated well and felt very inviting.
Even the little things like furniture choices seemed to be well thought out. The front of the lounge features modern leather armrest chairs then transitions into the more colorful and playful fabric armchairs towards the end of the lounge.
As for the layout of the lounge, it’s basically just a large rectangle. The lounge entrance is on the right end of the rectangle along with the bathrooms and shower. The rest of the lounge is found turning left shortly after entering and is quite spacious. The food and drinks and located about two-thirds into the left side of the rectangle and can’t be missed.
One of my favorite parts of the lounge is near the end where large windows allow guests to peer down below into the departure level. I always appreciate having windows in a lounge because it helps the space not feel so enclosed and claustrophobic.
Seating
I liked how there was lots of seating available in the lounge. Most of the seating is comprised of single-seater armrest chairs arranged in 3 rows that span the length of the lounge. I liked the seats nearer the end of the lounge because they were more colorful and also had back cushions making the seat more comfortable. Each pair of chairs also features a wooden coffee table in between them.
Near the front of the lounge away from the food are 2 long rectangular dining tables. There are also additional chairs with coffee tables lined against the wall.
My favorite seating area was the bar-style seating at the very end of the lounge. It has rows of bar stools which weren’t the comfiest but I really enjoyed being able to look out the large windows and watch the busyness of the terminal unfolding below. It’s a great area to relax and people-watch.
However, I’d say that the best seating is in a small room that can be found walking to the end of the lounge near the windows and taking a right. The room is tiny but has a few seats and offers a good amount of privacy. I didn’t manage to get a picture since a family was occupying it when I was there.
Dining
In my opinion, the best part of the entire lounge is the food. The food tasted fantastic and I was blown away by all of the choices I had. I could pick from either Western-style or Chinese-style foods and there were so many other little finger foods and side dishes.
The majority of the food is found on a large center island that is conveniently divided into sections with different food cuisines. There were large chafing dishes containing the hot foods and the Western options had classics like scrambled eggs and potatoes.
While the Chinese options had various stir-fried veggies and fried noodles.
My favorite thing from the center island was the section with stacks of bamboo steamers. Each of these stacks featured a class dim sum food like buns or siu mai.
The siu mai was delicious and I would highly recommend grabbing some.
I thought the condiment section was a nice touch as well with chili oil, green onions, sesame oil, and other common condiments all neatly laid out.
Further down the center island are sandwiches that were cut into cute little rectangles. The attention to detail was very apparent in this lounge as even the presentation of these finger foods was terrific.
As if that wasn’t enough food, there are still even more side dishes lined up against the wall of the lounge. I was able to pick from a selection of fruits, veggies, hard-boiled eggs, and other small bites.
It was great how clean and well-kept the whole lounge and dining area were. This is a huge contrast from the dirty and broken serving trays of the Plaza Premium lounge I had just come from.
The most unique thing about this lounge is the free a la carte food counter. It’s not flashy like the food counter of some other lounges but still has a charm to it for its simplicity and minimalistic design. The food is made to order and I was super excited to try it out.
There was a tablet next to the food counter that I used to select my dish. After placing my order, a receipt with my order number was printed out.
The instructions were easy to follow and the tablet was very easy to use.
The whole system is really efficient as there’s an electronic board above the window that shows what orders are ready for pickup. I wish that this window was larger so guests could see into the kitchen but I still thought this was cool nonetheless.
Being in Taiwan, I knew I had to order the country’s signature beef noodle soup and I’m glad I did because it was excellent. I feel that you can never go wrong ordering this dish and was very satisfied with the flavor of the broth and the chewiness of the noodles. It was just a great breakfast food to start the day.
The lounge also gets bonus points in my book for having China Airlines branded food trays in the airline’s color scheme.
I didn’t get a great picture of it but there is also a plate full of different breads and croissants next to the drink refrigerator with a toaster nearby.
Drinks
The lounge has a drink refrigerator fully stocked with soda, beer, coffee, tea, and other local drinks. I was super excited to see Yakult and soymilk since those were 2 drinks I grew up drinking.
There is also a small selection of liquors next to this fridge.
Near the main food section is an automatic coffee machine with a box of various tea packets next to it. I’m no coffee machine expert but this machine looked like a much fancier than some of the other ones I’ve seen in lounges.
There are also some drink containers of various juices like tomato juice and orange juice near the a la carte food window.
Amenities
This lounge unfortunately didn’t have any unique amenities. There was free wifi that was easy to connect to and there are numerous signs around the lounge with instructions on how to connect. The speed was fine and I had no issues sending pictures and browsing social media.
The cool thing is that all the China Airlines lounges use the same wifi network name and password. This was super convenient for me as I was hopping around all of their lounges.
I wouldn’t call it an “amenity” but I am always appreciative when lounges have lots of charging ports. I noticed almost every seating area offered easily accessible charging ports with USB-A and standard power outlets.
Bathroom and Showers
The bathroom was much smaller than I expected and nothing spectacular. It was clean and well maintained so no complaints there.
This lounge does have free showers guests can use but you have to ask the front desk or attendant for access. I was on a time crunch to visit all the lounges in terminal 2 so I unfortunately didn’t go and use it.
Conclusion
The China Airlines VIP lounge in Terminal 2 exceeded my expectations. I loved its bright and open atmosphere as well as all of the available seating. The real bright spot of the lounge is its terrific food selection and the a la carte food counter. It doesn’t have any distinctive amenities but despite that, I would still rank this as my favorite China Airlines lounge at Taoyuan International Airport.
What are your thoughts on the China Airlines Terminal 2 lounge?
