The Mashonzha Lounge in Johannesburg is a small Priority Pass at O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB). While not worth arriving early for, it certainly beats waiting in the gate area.
Mashonzha Lounge Johannesburg Review
This lounge is located in the international terminal (A), adjacent to the South African Airways Premium Lounge. It is open from 10:30am – 9:20pm Monday – Saturday and from 10:30am – 7:30pm on Sundays. Your Priority Pass card entitles you to four hours at a time.
The lounge is quite small. While it was not crowded during my visit, I can imagine this lounge filling to capacity later in the evening.
It seemed like almost 1/3 of the lounge was dedicated to a smoking section while the remaining 2/3 featured a mix of tables, chairs, and couches plus the buffet.
During the pandemic, the lounge is only providing pre-packaged food. During my visit in March, a wider selection of food was available including sandwiches, crackers, cheese, and some braised beef potjie and curried vegetables that both looked positively atrocious. All food and beverages were self-serve.
Restrooms were available, but not showers. Wireless internet was available.
CONCLUSION
Like I said, a small lounge with a some food and drink, clean restroom, and smoking area. Worth a visit? Sure, but only if you are stuck between flights.
How would you review the Mashonzha Lounge in Johannesburg?
This story is part of my An African Adventure As The World Shut Down trip report.
Right now (or at least as of November when I last went through JNB), this was the only lounge still open on the international side, so I had no choice but to use it (I would usually pick the larger Bidvest Lounge which is also Priority Pass).
My biggest gripe with Mashonzha is the overwhelming smell of cigarette smoke throughout the lounge. That aside, it’s perfectly adequate for a short visit.