• Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
  • Advertising Disclosure
Live and Let's Fly
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
  • Advertising Disclosure
Home  >  Garuda Indonesia  >  So My Garuda Ground Experience Was Disappointing…
Garuda Indonesia

So My Garuda Ground Experience Was Disappointing…

Matthew Klint Posted onFebruary 23, 2017February 23, 2017 7 Comments

Well, it was bound to happen. When they asked me what kind of berries I wanted, I just assumed every aspect of the Garuda experience would blow me away. The first class lounge did not.

I will compare Garuda to the best lounges of the world, for it is only fair to the carrier that has one of the best first class products in the world.

Garuda Ground Services

It all started so promising. A black executive van picked me up from my hotel and made great time to the airport. A wonderful staff of two were waiting to greet me and escorted me directly into the first class lounge. Then things went downhill, relatively speaking of course.

Garuda’s first class lounge is one level below the business class lounge. It is spacious for the limited number of first class flights each day and offers à la carte dining.

Problem #1 – The internet was incredibly slow

This is HUGE in my book. I would have just stayed at the Hyatt and worked in the Grand Club for four more hours had I known the internet would be so unusably slow. This wasn’t the sort of problem where it worked intermittently with spurts of fast speeds and spurts of lag: it just crawled the entire six hours I was in the lounge. This reduced my productivity tremendously. It seems to be a problem throughout the airport as the Priority Pass lounges I visited during my last trip were the same.

I concede many first class passengers probably do not care about internet, but I certainly do and it placed a huge stress point on my visit.

Problem #2 – The à la carte menu lacked three items I ordered

When I arrived into the lounge I was not very hungry, but I noticed a “Nachos & Cinnamon Tortilla” snack (tossed with guacamole, salsa, sour cream, cheese cream, jalapeños) that sounded promising.

I ordered it, but when it arrived there was no guacamole or jalapeños. Most of the chips were broken as well. A waiter informed me that there was no avocados or jalapeños available. Fine, but take it off the menu then…

Garuda First Lounge Jakarta - 2

Later on I asked for a stroopwaffel with cappuccino, since stroopwaffels are specifically listed on the menu. There were none.

Then I asked for red velvet cookies, which were on the menu. There were none.

Oatmeal chocolate chip? Nope, though it was on the menu.

Finally I said what do you have and the waiter brought me a plate of Carr crackers with two almond cookies.

Garuda Lounge Food

Problem #3 – Just a few minutes of hot water in the shower

Some people shower in the morning, some at night — I like to shower before going to bed. So prior to my flight I asked to use the shower. The shower rooms are very nice but after just a few minutes the hot water was gone and remained lukewarm for about five more minutes until I just gave up.

Garuda First Lounge Jakarta - 1


As I said above, this is all relative and I had a great meal in the lounge and found the amenities quite nice overall, but there is no doubt that it fell short of expectations. I’ll publish a full lounge review as part of the trip report coming up soon.

Garuda has a great first class product — really great — but if it wants to be the best of the best it does have some areas to improve on its flagship lounge.

Previous Article Airline Accused of Banning “Old, Fat and Ugly” Flight Attendants
Next Article A Very Political Ad from Hyatt

About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

Related Posts

  • Garuda Indonesia USA

    Seriously? Garuda Indonesia Plans Direct Flights From Bali To USA, France

    July 9, 2020
  • Garuda Indonesia Business Class Lounge Bali Review

    Review: Garuda Indonesia Business Class Lounge Bali (DPS)

    October 18, 2019
  • Air Asia Taunts Garuda

    Hilarious: Air Asia Taunts Garuda Indonesia With New Onboard Photo Competition

    July 22, 2019

7 Comments

  1. Santastico Reply
    February 23, 2017 at 12:17 pm

    Ok, first world problems. Agree not what you expected but I wonder why would you order nachos and guacamole on an Asian airline lounge. Just saying!!!! 🙂

    • Greg N Reply
      February 23, 2017 at 3:53 pm

      Because, as Matthew noted, I would expect an airline that has one of the world’s best first class products to have a great first class lounge as well. Also, I have read other reviews that the food was very good in the lounge, and to me the nachos sound intriguing as well (in the context of a lounge which supposedly has very good food, not some random restaurant on the street).

      • Matthew Reply
        February 23, 2017 at 6:58 pm

        I agree with both Santastico and Greg N — I think I had to include my negative experience in order to provide an unbiased and accurate review. Still, it is indeed a “first world problem”

        But I order Mexican anywhere in the world — sometimes, like in Armenia — I am pleasantly surprised:

        http://liveandletsfly.boardingarea.com/2013/12/04/feeling-at-home-in-yerevan/

    • Bill Reply
      February 24, 2017 at 1:58 am

      Come on Santastico, you know better than that. That was SUPPOSED to be First Class.

  2. eponymous coward Reply
    February 23, 2017 at 2:13 pm

    Yeah, if I was an Angeleno who wanted Mexican food, FOR SURE I’d order it in Amsterdam in the lounge of an Asian airline. Because there’s zero chance I’d be disappointed.

    • Matthew Reply
      February 23, 2017 at 6:52 pm

      This was in Jakarta. I actually went to a Mexican restaurant in Amsterdam called Los Pilones run by three Mexican brothers and it was fabulous.

    • MeanMeosh Reply
      February 25, 2017 at 12:02 am

      You’d be surprised. I found a perfectly decent, if pricey, Mexican restaurant in Hyderabad, India. This from a lifelong Texan who takes his Mexican food VERY seriously.

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Search

Recent Posts

  • Air Canada Schedule Change
    Air Canada Will Preemptively Cancel Flights In July + August June 30, 2022
  • Delta Air Lines July 4th Travel Waiver
    Delta Air Lines Braces For Meltdown With Unprecedented Travel Waiver June 29, 2022
  • United Airlines Extends PlusPoints
    United Airlines Extends PlusPoints By Six Months June 29, 2022
  • British Airways Club Europe Lunch
    Lunch Trifecta In British Airways Club Europe June 29, 2022

Categories

Popular Posts

  • Delta Korean Air First Class Mistake Fare
    Delta Considers $2,700 A Mistake Fare… June 18, 2022
  • Delta Pilots Open Letter
    Delta Air Lines Pilots Offer Direct Appeal To Customers June 18, 2022
  • United Airlines Honolulu Diversion
    Update: United Airlines 787-9 Diverts To Honolulu Due To Disruptive Passenger June 16, 2022
  • Flaunting Woman Struts Up and Down The Aisle On My Austrian Flight June 9, 2022

Archives

June 2022
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
27282930  
« May    

As seen on:

live_and_lets_fly

The new United Polaris Lounge at Washington Dulles The new United Polaris Lounge at Washington Dulles is the most beautiful of all Polaris Lounges. Stay tuned for a detailed look and many more photos on the blog tomorrow. Well done @united.
@malaysiaairlines just announced it would retire i @malaysiaairlines just announced it would retire its A380 fleet. While not surprising, it is sad to see the growing list of carriers retiring this superjumbo jet. On Malaysia Airlines, I flew the #A380 once from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to London (LHR) and had the entire first class cabin to myself (full review on the blog). It was a beautiful flight that I will always remember.
Welcome to @fly_bur @aveloair! I am so excited tha Welcome to @fly_bur @aveloair! I am so excited that a new carrier, Avelo, has launched, especially from an airport just 12 minutes from my home!
I greatly miss the @lufthansa #747-8 at @flylaxair I greatly miss the @lufthansa #747-8 at @flylaxairport. Hopefully this summer it will return.

.
.
.
.
#Lufthansa #FirstClass #747 #747-8 #StarAlliance #Miles #Points
I recently spent a weekend at the @ventanabigsur. I recently spent a weekend at the @ventanabigsur. This is not only a lovely, all-inclusive resort, but one of the best properties to use your @hyatt World of Hyatt points.
.
.
.
.
#Hyatt #BigSur #California #WorldofHyatt #CA-1 #Points #Hotels
In terms of a spacious first class product, the @E In terms of a spacious first class product, the @Emirates suite on a 777-300ER is hard to beat. My preference is Suite 2K.

.
.
.
.
#Emirates #777 #firstclass
Nearly five years ago, I took a “break” from I Nearly five years ago, I took a “break” from Instagram ahead of the birth of my first child. Goodness, how time flies. While I’ve enjoyed catching up on others over the years, now it is time for me to return to Instagram. In this first post, I highlight two joys in my life, my two children, whom I trust will grow up to be prolific travelers that circumnavigate the globe as ambassadors of love and respect.

.
.
.
.
.

#travel #airplanes #airlines #miles #points #familytravel #human #integrity #honor
United Airlines' new Polaris seat is a huge improv United Airlines' new Polaris seat is a huge improvement over UA's current business class seat. Check out my blog at liveandletsfly.com for 70+ photos of how @united is transforming its entire business class experience starting this December!
The perfect @flysas name tag for #Longyearben! The perfect @flysas name tag for #Longyearben!
Spotted four #polarbear outside of #longyearbyen - Spotted four #polarbear outside of #longyearbyen -- oh, and I love 40°F summer weather!
One of the best crews I have ever had the pleasure One of the best crews I have ever had the pleasure of flying with in all my years of flying. Thank you @flysas SK940 on 11 Aug 2016
Next stop ARN! But dear @flysas , next time if I a Next stop ARN! But dear @flysas , next time if I assign a window seat months in advance, don't move me to a center seat "for my convenience" with no way to get my original seat back... 😞
Ready for #PIA from #MAN to #JFK -- we will be rac Ready for #PIA from #MAN to #JFK -- we will be racing the #Delta flight to JFK at the gate next to us, which also departs at 12:45p. With @onemileatatime
Another room with a beautiful view... #hyattregenc Another room with a beautiful view... #hyattregencycasablanca #cassablanca #hyatt
Enjoying #shanghai with @onemileatatime from the i Enjoying #shanghai with @onemileatatime from the inside of the @grandhyatt_shanghai ... It is 40°C outside! 😓
From my front gate to my boarding gate in 15 minut From my front gate to my boarding gate in 15 minutes flat. I ❤️ #bur #burbankairport
@malaysiaairlines #747 out of retirement and in se @malaysiaairlines #747 out of retirement and in service at #kul -- beautiful livery!
View from my 61st floor room at the beautiful bran View from my 61st floor room at the beautiful brand new @parkhyattguangzhou -- look for a full review coming soon on the blog #hyatt #parkhyatt #guangzhou #parkhyattguangzhou
Will miss the @united #globalfirstlounge at #ord, Will miss the @united #globalfirstlounge at #ord, which closes tomorrow and the Queen of the Skies #747 which will be retired in 2018.
The colonial #architecture of #mumbai is stunning. The colonial #architecture of #mumbai is stunning. If you're ever here, get up at 5am and have a walk around the city before it gets busy. You can hear the birds instead of honking horns.
Load More... Follow on Instagram
facebook twitter instagram rss

This site is for entertainment purposes only. The owner of this site is not an investment advisor, financial planner, nor legal or tax professional and articles here are of an opinion and general nature and should not be relied upon for individual circumstances.

 

Advertiser Disclosure: Some links to credit cards and other products on this website will earn an affiliate commission. Outside of banner ads published through the Boarding Area network, this compensation does not impact how and where products appear on this site. While we do try to list all the best miles and points deals, the site does not include all card companies or credit card offers available in the marketplace. Please view our advertising policy page for additional details about our partners.

 

Editorial Disclosure: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any entity mentioned herein. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

Posting....