Which Priority Pass Lounge in JNB International departures?
Feb 9, 2018, 12:32 pm
#1
Original Poster
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Location: Krakow
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Which Priority Pass Lounge in JNB International departures?
Seems I can use 3 lounges in JNB on my PP before my LH flight
Bidvest premier
Maszonzha
Shongololo
Which one would people recommend? I did Maszonzha before, it was OK
Bidvest premier
Maszonzha
Shongololo
Which one would people recommend? I did Maszonzha before, it was OK
Feb 9, 2018, 4:53 pm
#3
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: New York, NY
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Bidvest is ok too. The food was promptly refilled with quite a tasty Tikka. Bar was self-serve which made us happy before boarding our 787 in Y to Doha. Finding an outlet that worked was a bit of a challenge but at least there are multiple tables to sit at. Some small and some larger for sharing. Atmosphere was calm and overlooking the terminal & departure board was not bad. Tarmac watching at night can be a bit boring in comparison.
May 12, 2018, 11:26 am
#4
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We have the choice of the South African Airways lounge or a Priority Pass lounge for a 5 hour layover between two international flights. We will want showers, snacks, and a place to rest. What lounge should we use?
Dec 3, 2019, 7:30 am
#5
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I recently had a number of hours to spare before a flight at JNB, Saturday afternoon/early evening.
My impressions of the International Terminal A lounges are as follows (after several days of wine tasting I wasn't much in the mood for alcohol so apologies in advance to those for whom this is important, for the lack of details
):
Slow Lounge
Not a Priority Pass Lounge, but I had access since I was traveling in Delta One.
Food/bev: mini sandwiches, typical array of fruit/cheese/pastries, some soup tureens that I didn't investigate, a variety of lagers/pils which also weren't interesting to me, a few self-serve liquor bottles that seemed mostly cheap stuff, wine dispensers, and a full service bar. The food was ok but nothing special.
Power: lots of outlets, but in at least one seating area they were only type D/M (not sure which) which IME is missing in a lot of adaptor kits. Other seating areas had the more common all-in-one or dedicated type C I think.
This was already a reasonably-sized space, but as I was leaving they had opened up a second area on the other side of the checkin desk which seemed to have the same food etc.
Bidvest (Priority Pass)
There was a bit of a line to get in, possibly due to whatever transaction was being processed just as I walked up, but in any case it didn't take that long to gain entry, and once inside while it definitely felt populated, it wasn't hard to find seating so it wasn't overly crowded.
At a quick glance the liquor was a slightly better selection, but the food was awful.
Mashonzha (Priority Pass)
In contrast to the previous two, this lounge felt tiny and sad and I only noticed prepackaged food in a refrigerated display. There's a raised/high-top table with charging stations for ~8 people. Didn't spend much time here.
Shongololo (Priority Pass)
Not as tiny but still felt slightly sad. Had the same prepackaged food display (one of which I noticed was microwaveable mac & cheese) but also had a few hot options (the hot food was different in each lounge)
Conclusions
I would skip the Mashonzha lounge, but otherwise probably just go to whichever is closest to the departure gate. Bidvest is to the right after security, while Slow (if you have access) is immediately on the left, and Shongololo is further out down some escalators near gate A7. (The OR Tambo web site, and the PP app which seems like a direct copy of the same language, reference a defunct AF lounge, but AF/KL also send pax to the Slow Lounge judging by a sign I saw)
My impressions of the International Terminal A lounges are as follows (after several days of wine tasting I wasn't much in the mood for alcohol so apologies in advance to those for whom this is important, for the lack of details
):Slow Lounge
Not a Priority Pass Lounge, but I had access since I was traveling in Delta One.
Food/bev: mini sandwiches, typical array of fruit/cheese/pastries, some soup tureens that I didn't investigate, a variety of lagers/pils which also weren't interesting to me, a few self-serve liquor bottles that seemed mostly cheap stuff, wine dispensers, and a full service bar. The food was ok but nothing special.
Power: lots of outlets, but in at least one seating area they were only type D/M (not sure which) which IME is missing in a lot of adaptor kits. Other seating areas had the more common all-in-one or dedicated type C I think.
This was already a reasonably-sized space, but as I was leaving they had opened up a second area on the other side of the checkin desk which seemed to have the same food etc.
Bidvest (Priority Pass)
There was a bit of a line to get in, possibly due to whatever transaction was being processed just as I walked up, but in any case it didn't take that long to gain entry, and once inside while it definitely felt populated, it wasn't hard to find seating so it wasn't overly crowded.
At a quick glance the liquor was a slightly better selection, but the food was awful.
Mashonzha (Priority Pass)
In contrast to the previous two, this lounge felt tiny and sad and I only noticed prepackaged food in a refrigerated display. There's a raised/high-top table with charging stations for ~8 people. Didn't spend much time here.
Shongololo (Priority Pass)
Not as tiny but still felt slightly sad. Had the same prepackaged food display (one of which I noticed was microwaveable mac & cheese) but also had a few hot options (the hot food was different in each lounge)
Conclusions
I would skip the Mashonzha lounge, but otherwise probably just go to whichever is closest to the departure gate. Bidvest is to the right after security, while Slow (if you have access) is immediately on the left, and Shongololo is further out down some escalators near gate A7. (The OR Tambo web site, and the PP app which seems like a direct copy of the same language, reference a defunct AF lounge, but AF/KL also send pax to the Slow Lounge judging by a sign I saw)
Sep 21, 2022, 10:45 am
#7
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Bumping this for a post-covid world.
Amex Plat gets access to the following lounged internationally:
Mashonza
Shongololo
Virgin Clubhouse
Aspire
Bidvest Premier
I Guess... I'll try the Clubhouse or Aspire tomorrow?
Amex Plat gets access to the following lounged internationally:
Mashonza
Shongololo
Virgin Clubhouse
Aspire
Bidvest Premier
I Guess... I'll try the Clubhouse or Aspire tomorrow?
Sep 23, 2022, 1:50 am
#9
Join Date: May 2013
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Virgin is great. Very attentive staff and food is good. I believe it can get overcrowded at peak hours as it is a small lounge.
Aspire gets very busy as well,
Next time I want to try Bidvest Premier. It is quite big and never seen very busy.
Sep 23, 2022, 3:05 am
#10
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I don't recommend Shongololo - it is overcrowded and food is average
Virgin is great. Very attentive staff and food is good. I believe it can get overcrowded at peak hours as it is a small lounge.
Aspire gets very busy as well,
Next time I want to try Bidvest Premier. It is quite big and never seen very busy.
Virgin is great. Very attentive staff and food is good. I believe it can get overcrowded at peak hours as it is a small lounge.
Aspire gets very busy as well,
Next time I want to try Bidvest Premier. It is quite big and never seen very busy.