Premium Lounge Guangzhou: Not Yuck, Not Great

The Guangzhou Priority Pass Premium Lounge Review is part of The Year of the Monkey Trip Report which covers the following places:

• New York, New York 
• Bangkok, Thailand
• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 
• Jakarta, Indonesia
• Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia 
• Guangzhou, China 
• Hong Kong 
• Shenzhen, China
• Sanya, China

God bless Priority Pass Lounges. When they are good (see ATL, Athens, Gatwick) they can’t stack up to the likes of Cathay’s The Wing or Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai. When they are terrible, they are victims of my contempt (see Priority Pass Lounge Jakarta and Mexico City). Good or bad, it’s not a fair fight. A more appropriate way to compare Priority Pass is to use US carrier lounges as a measuring stick.

With that in mind, I present to you the Premium Lounge in Guangzhou.

The Crowd 

Have you ever been to the United Club Lounge in DC? It’s like a scene from Night of the Roxbury. Is the exclusive club the one full of people on the inside or the ones on the outside? In Guangzhou, the lounge was similarly packed.

Winner: Draw

The Alcohol

This goes without saying but I will say it anyway: American lounges do not have a wide selection of free alcohol. How many Bud Lights can I drink before I stop chasing a healthy buzz?

Winner: Priority Pass

The Food

This lounge had a separate dining room serving fried rice, vegetables, and spring rolls. There was no place to sit which was to my advantage since I was the first to the buffet line when the food was replenished. The hungry wolves reminded me of the lounge in Maldives and the Air China lounge in Shanghai. Even though I had to sing for my supper, I would gladly put forth that effort instead of feasting on Delta’s buffet of celery and carrots.

Winner: Priority Pass

The Wi-Fi

Why do so many Priority Pass Lounges provide Wi-Fi passwords if it won’t connect! At least when I put in Auckland2016 at AA lounges, I know I will have a serviceable connection.

Winner: American carriers

Overall 

Comparing Priority Pass Lounges to US lounges is a fair way to determine if they pass or fail. Based on this standard, the Guangzhou Premium Lounge gets a passing mark.