Korean Air Prestige Lounge, Seoul
Nobody likes layovers. Especially not a 10 and a half hour layover in a foreign country. But with the Incheon airport’s commitment to making the journey pleasant, it’s actually a pleasure to be stuck in the airport.
Introduction
Alaska Airlines First Class from Seattle (SEA) to Los Angeles (LAX)
Star Alliance Lounge Los Angeles
Virgin Australia Business Class from Los Angeles (LAX) to Brisbane (BNE)
Virgin Australia Lounge Brisbane
Virgin Australia First Class from Brisbane (BNE) to Cairns (CNS)
Cairns, Great Barrier Reef, and Surrounding Areas
Virgin Australia Lounge Cairns
Virgin Australia First Class from Cairns (CNS) to Melbourne (MEL)
Westin Melbourne and the Press Club
Garuda Indonesia Business Class from Melbourne (MEL) to Denpasar, Bali (DPS)
Sheraton Kuta, Bali (Wow, Wow, Wow!!)
Korean Air Business Class from Denpasar (DPS) to Seoul (ICN)
Korean Air Lounge, Seoul
Free! Cultural Experience in Seoul
Korean Air Business Class from Seoul (ICN) to Seattle (SEA)
The Korean Air Prestige lounge in Seoul’s Incheon Airport is available to those flying in Korean Air’s premium cabins and those elite members of the SkyTeam Alliance.
KAL Lounge Prestige Lounge
KAL Lounge Prestige Lounge
Since we had our city tour planned at noon and we arrive around 830am to the lounge, we had plenty of time to experience the facilities in the lounge, including the shower facilities. At the check in desk we were asked for our boarding passes and passports, and asked if we would like to use the shower facilities. We said yes and were directed to go down the right hand hallway. If we wanted to store our luggage we could do that in their free luggage storage facilities.
KAL lounge Shower Signage
KAL lounge Shower Signage
KAL Lounge Luggage Storage
The shower rooms at the Korean Air Prestige Lounge were all-in-one bathroom and shower facilities which is nice. I’ve been to a few lounges where the shower is just the shower and you have to leave to go to the bathroom. Kudos for smart design.
Shower signage
KAL lounge Shower Bathroom
Speaking of smart design. This was one of the most complex and confusing bathroom toilet flushing mechanisms I’ve ever seen. There are buttons for air pressure, front spray, back spray, senior and child spray settings (WHAT?!) pressure increases, and finally a button that says FLUSHING. In Ben’s bathroom the labels were all worn off so it took him about 5 minutes and 10 well timed air vents and water jets to find the right flush button.
How am I supposed to flush?
Because of the time of day that we finished showering, there was not much time before the breakfast and lunch switchover, so we’ve got some pictures of both of the offerings below:
Hot breakfast selection
Meatballs
Cheese, crackers, and baked goods
Bakery goods
And for lunch:
Pasta and Sandwiches
Hot foods for lunch
Salad selection
Noodles in a bucket
Nothing was too terribly appetizing or amazing, but it was great to have a wide selection on offer so there was something for everyone.
This is probably one of the more unique machines I’ve ever seen. An auto pouring beer machine, guaranteed to not leave a beer head in your mug! Just place the mug in and walk away. The machine will auto tilt your glass and take care of the perfect pour.
Automated Beer Machine
There was plenty of seating in the morning, but once the international flights started landing in the afternoon the lounge filled up. Even with that, there were plenty of power ports to access and the seating was quite open. You can see the screens in the back on the wall, and on the other side of the wall there is even more seating.
KAL lounge seating area
We stayed at the Korean Air Prestige Lounge long enough to get filled up and have a few drinks and then headed back out through security for our culture tour. One nice point that is worth mentioning. In our case we arrived in the morning, had an appointment with the city tour, and then wanted to come back to the lounge in the evening as our flight back to Seattle was at 6pm. Since we had the luggage storage facility, we asked permission to leave our baggage in the secure lockers for the tour and the lounge had no problem with that. Really a nice feature to not have to haul all of our luggage around with us everywhere (especially considering we were hauling SCUBA gear!). Obviously this would never have happened in the domestic lounges in the US.
Next up in the trip report, our return flight from Seoul to Seattle, where we left at 6pm and arrived at noon, the same day!
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