Review: Plaza Premium Lounge, Brisbane
With a bountiful buffet, bar and broad entry list, this pay-per-use lounge makes a solid pre-flight base.
By Chris Ashton, July 4 2023
Country
Australia
City
Brisbane
Airport
Brisbane
Alliance
Plaza Premium
Airline
Any
Cabin-class
Any
Notes
The Good
- Zoned seating with multiple power outlets
The Bad
- Showers temporarily closed
X-Factor
- Lounge access whenever and wherever you’re flying
Introduction
Brisbane travellers venturing overseas now have five lounges at their disposal within the city’s increasingly-busy international airport. Three are linked to airlines and their partners, while the other two are independent and welcome passengers on any airline.
The Plaza Premium Lounge is one of the latter. It’s likely the one most people are familiar with as well, as its extensive guest list includes seven airlines plus several credit cards and lounge membership programs, on top of pay-per-use entry, of course.
Location & Impressions
You’ll find Brisbane Plaza Premium Lounge up on the mezzanine level opposite Air New Zealand’s own pre-flight hangout, just up the escalator opposite Gate 81.
The lounge is directly above Lotte Duty Free.
Behind its sliding glass doors is a fairly standard though beautifully-styled lounge, with floor-to-ceiling views of the runway on your right, followed by a well-stocked buffet and barista coffee station to the left.
Seating ranges from low and high-backed lounges to private work pods and dining tables, all divided by attractive vertical timber slabs. It’s what Plaza describes as an ‘indoor/outdoor’ look.
Timber slats and sculptural lighting create a unique, spa-like look.
It’s a warm, inviting space beneath high ceilings and bathed in natural light, and a nice spot to kick back before departure.
Dual AC power outlets are a convenient feature, particularly at these tables with lamps.
However, there are two notable absences: trees. Large pots between the work pods were once home to real trees, which broke up the timber and cream colour scheme with pops of greenery. They’re now empty, resulting in a somewhat incomplete feel.
High ceilings and vertical slats enhance the overall feeling of space.
Previously-offered showers are also temporarily closed. While not surprising since Brisbane is still below pre-pandemic departure levels, other lounges including Qantas and the newly-opened Aspire both have showers open and available for use.
Access
Open most days for the morning and evening rushes, though closed for a long stretch of the afternoon, Plaza Premium welcomes walk-ins flying on any airline in any class at a cost of $63 per person for two hours or $71 for stays of up to five. This can also be pre-booked online.
Exact opening hours can be found here.
It's a quiet lounge, meaning no departure announcements are made.
In addition, several airlines provide complimentary access for their eligible frequent flyers and business class passengers, as below:
- Cathay Pacific
- China Airlines
- Emirates
- Fiji Airways
- Korean Air
- Malaysian Airlines
- Vietjet Air
The lounge also welcomes members of the Priority Pass and Lounge Key programs, as well as select holders of the following credit cards: American Express, Ambank Group, Capital One, Citibank, HSBC, Maybank, and OCBC Bank.
Dining
A stream of tables flows along a dividing wall between the lounge and dining tables, each with access to handy yet easy-to-miss AC and USB power ports. There’s also a casual bench for those after a quick bite.
Self-service meals and drinks, with alcoholic beverages available on request.
My morning visit sees a hot breakfast spread of bacon, beans, mushrooms and scrambled eggs, pancakes and porridge. For a lighter option, there’s a mix of cold cuts, salads, wraps and cheese, as well as fresh fruit, sago pudding, and pastries.
Quinoa and pasta salads and wraps are the more substantial options.
It’s a solid selection with greater choice and variety than the Aspire Lounge, its newly-unlocked pay-per-use rival down by Gate 77. Just like at Aspire, it serves up complimentary beers and Australian wines, plus spirits. All the usual suspects are present.
Juices, soft drinks and tea are all self-service, while a barista is on hand to whip up your coffee of choice.
Barista coffee is a big plus, unlike push button machines found in the Air NZ and Singapore Airlines lounges.
Although there’s only two staff, one manning at the entrance and another at the bar, there’s no real wait for service.
Work
Immediately as you enter you’ll spy a group of dedicated workpods. Beyond the dining area and a small study nook (previously home to two Windows PCs) with two high stools, these are your chief area for getting a bit of work done in private.
Computers have been removed, but the bench still provides a decent workspace.
Positioned away from the noisier dining area, each one contains a small angled bench, reading light and dual power outlet featuring two AC and also two USB power ports.
We put these to the test and unfortunately found laptop work on the bench a tad uncomfortable as leaning on the seatback means your arms are stretched out more than normal, so we’d like to see cushions make an appearance to even things up.
While the cushion is quite comfortable, the lounge angle isn't the best.
Plaza Premium provides free WiFi access, as does the wider Brisbane Airport. While we didn’t connect to the Plaza network, the free terminal-wide network delivered over 200Mbps.
Relax
Brisbane Plaza Premium Lounge formerly offered complimentary showers for all guests, with reservations for the single shower suite taken at the main reception desk. Fluffy towels and toiletries were all part of the deal. This is closed during my visit.
The rest of the space is given over to relaxation, with a sea of high-backed chairs (all with power outlets in between) and low-set lounges, the latter of which face the windows overlooking the departures area to the runway beyond.
There's plenty of seating options for solos, couples and groups.
Help yourself to a range of newspapers and magazines by the entrance, which you can enjoy in peace as boarding calls aren’t made here – just remember to keep an eye on the flight information screens to see when your flight’s ready to board.
Verdict
Overall, the Plaza Premium Lounge at Brisbane Airport feels more akin to a true airline business class lounge than pay-in facility: appropriate, given seven airlines now call this space home.
The well-stocked buffet also gives it a slight edge on its rival independent lounge, and while showers are a notable absence, they’re not exactly a deal breaker either.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
14 Oct 2016
Total posts 3
I was there a couple of months ago before the late night Cathay flight to Hong Kong. Friendly staff but the lounge was filthy. Poor food options and both beer taps were broken.
08 Jul 2023
Total posts 1
I was in this lounge recently after that late night Cathay hong kong flight too. I had the same experience. The lounge wasn't especially clean and the food options were very limited. It was also too busy, I got the last seat and a few people had to stand. But it was nice to have a drink.
Having said that I briefly ducked into the Qantas Business lounge before it closed for the evening and it was even worse.
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