Tomorrow, Malaysia Airlines will open a newly refurbished first and business class lounge in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL).
I look forward to visiting the new lounge soon. I never published a review of the “old” first class lounge so I’m doing it today so that we can better compare the old and the new once it opens. This visit is from June 2016.
I arrived from Jakarta in the evening and had a connection to London the following morning. Although Kuala Lumpur has an amazing Grand Hyatt, I figured I would just make use of one of the sleeping rooms in the 24/7 first class lounge.
After re-clearing security, I proceeded to the satellite terminal and found the Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge on the second floor above the airport train.
Inside the lobby, I was welcomed to the lounge and directed to my right to the first class side. The agent did not seem at all concerned that my stay in the lounge would be for 14 hours.
Malaysia Airlines First Class Lounge Kuala Lumpur Seating
I proceeded up a ramp and into a lounge seating area. The sun had just set and the lounge was quiet. It’s not a large lounge at all, but considering Malaysia only had first class service to London at the time its size was more than sufficient.
The lounge remained mostly empty the following morning:
Malaysia Airlines First Class Lounge Kuala Lumpur Sleeping Rooms
I asked for a sleeping room (there are three of them) and was promptly given the key for one. All four were empty and the three others remained empty during my stay.
The room felt like a college dorm room, but it was more than enough for me to work/sleep during my long layover. No ensuite facilities.
Malaysia Airlines First Class Lounge Kuala Lumpur Dining
The lounge offers both a buffet and a la carte dining. I took a nap after arriving and woke up just after midnight. I was ready for a nice dinner, but was dismayed to all the food was gone. The buffet was mostly empty and the a la carte dining room closed. I asked if I could order some food and was told no. One lounge attendant suggested I go over the business class side “to see if there is any food left”.
If a lounge is open 24/7, it should offer food 24/7…don’t you think? The lunch/dinner menu actually looked nice:
I worked for several hours and eventually went back to sleep. In the morning, I did enjoy a nice breakfast in the dining room including cappuccino, an omelet, and French Toast.
The dining room also offered a small breakfast buffet:
Here’s the full breakfast menu:
Pictures from the main buffet in the lounge seating area:
Malaysia Airlines First Class Lounge Kuala Lumpur Smoking Room
The lounge offers a large smoking room with some of the most comfortable chairs in the lounge. Not wanting my clothes to smell like tobacco, I just stepped in for a picture.
Malaysia Airlines First Class Lounge Kuala Lumpur Restroom + Shower
The lounge has a nice restroom with attendants and decent showers.
Malaysia Airlines First Class Lounge Kuala Lumpur Nursing Room
A nursing room for mothers was available adjacent to the sleeping rooms.
CONCLUSION
I look forward to seeing how the first class lounge has improved. Hopefully the sleeping rooms and a la carte dining will stay and the service will be even better than before.
Well, it won’t be opened for another 10 days at least. In typical Malaysia Airport fashion, delays get stretched and customers are not informed of the progress (or lack of it). And the delay is likely to stretch even longer.