Words by Carlie Tucker
Last week, Plaza Premium Lounge officially opened the doors of its newest lounge experience in the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. This marks the first offering in Taiwan for the world’s largest independent airport lounge network. Consisting of four separate lounges, this new addition to the international airport spans more than 2,500 square metres with a comfortable seating capacity of approximately 600.
“We have invested a lot in Taipei by introducing four cutting-edge Plaza Premium Lounges to facilitate travellers departing from, transiting through and arriving at Taipei. We aim at strengthening the affinity of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to travellers making it a preferred transit hub in East Asia,” said Founder and CEO Mr Song Hoi-See at the grand opening event.
Open to all passengers, regardless of airline or class of travel, these new lounges operate on a pay-per-visit basis. They are located in Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, with two company-sponsored Travellers Experience Zones that allow travellers to explore and experience various lounge facilities.
In creating the lounges, Plaza Premium Lounge’s designers modelled the interiors on a ‘trees and timber’ theme to “resemble the vitality and prosperity of Taiwan”. This included integrating a number of iconic city elements, such as the Xinyi skyline and a hollow shape of Taiwan island carved into wood embedded in the front wall of the Terminal 1 lounge. An overall sense of calm is achieved by neutral tones and natural timber feature walls, while floor-to-ceiling glass provides natural light and energising views.
The brand’s signature honeycomb seating has been included in the design, creating private work pods for passengers to top up mobile devices while they finish off any last minute emails. There are also plenty of other comfortable seating options along with shower facilities, private resting suites, VIP rooms and meeting rooms. Guests are also treated to complimentary WiFi, international TV channels as well as a selection of newspapers and magazines. One of the biggest highlights has to be the live-cooking stations that provide a “theatrical and interactive dining experience” offering freshly-made international cuisine.
Should your business travel take you to or through Taiwan, there are a number of lounge packages available. Basic use packages start at $54AUD, which gives you access for two hours.
