The Emperor Lounge Auckland International Airport is located airside (after security) past the duty free shops. Once you get past security and passport control, just follow the signs for “Premium Lounges” to the right of the stores. The entrance to the lounge will be on first floor (directly below the Air New Zealand Lounge).
The Emperor Lounge Auckland is open to Hawaiian Airlines and Malaysia Airlines premium cabin passengers, Priority Pass and Diner’s Club members and those wishing to pay for $55 NZD day pass fee. The Emperor Lounge is open from 6:00 AM to 11:00 PM on Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays and 6:00 AM to 12:00 AM on Tuesdays, Thursday and Fridays. There is a three-hour maximum limit for this lounge but I honestly don’t know how they (or even if they do) enforce that policy.
On this trip, I was flying Air New Zealand business class from Auckland to Shanghai so I had access to the Air New Zealand Lounge. However, so did everyone else flying that night and I found the Air New Zealand Lounge a bit too crowded and loud for my taste. Needing a quieter place to work, I decided to check out the Emperor Lounge (using my Priority Pass Select membership card) to see if it was any good. I’m glad I did because the Emperor Lounge was actually really good for a contract lounge and I definitely recommend it.
The lounge is divided into two rooms. The main room is located to the left side after the check-in counter. The main room is the larger of the two rooms and here you will find a large seating area with comfortable lounge seats arranged in groups of two to four. There’s a small luggage storage area in the middle of the seating area to store your belongings but it is open and unsecured. To the back of the main seating area, you will find a small bank of open workstations, two PC computers and the dining/buffet area.
The buffet spread was good and had a selection of hot and cold dishes. The hot dishes included Biryani rice, beef Rogan Josh and vegetables and the cold dishes included a salad bar, fruit and cheeses. There were other snack items such as pastries, bread rolls and mixed nuts. The very small self-serve bar station had a selection of beers, sodas, juices, spirits and wine.
The secondary room is located to the right of the check-in desk. Here you will also find lounge chairs in small groups of two to four, an unenclosed children’s play area and another self-serve bar and snack area. The entire lounge was bright, simply decorated and calming to the senses.
Password protected Wifi is provided complimentary throughout the lounge as well as the use of printers, copiers and fax machines. Other lounge amenities include shower suites, local and international newspapers and magazines, flight information boards and televisions. The lounge was extremely spacious and quiet and at the time of my visit, 8:00 PM on a Friday night, there were only 10 other passengers in the lounge. Compared to the larger yet nearly full Air New Zealand lounge above, the Emperor Lounge Auckland was an oasis of calm and allowed me to get some work done.
They do not make any gate or boarding announcements from the lounge so you will have to pay attention to the flight information boards. There are televisions located in both rooms for your entertainment but they are on silent to not disturb the passengers.
There are two minor complaints that I have regarding this lounge. First, even though it was located on the ground floor, it felt like a basement style lounge. There are no windows to let in natural light or provide views of the outside world. No planespotting here, AV geeks. And secondly, there are no day beds, recliners or otherwise sleep areas
Emperor Lounge Auckland final thoughts
Overall, the Emperor Lounge Auckland is a great lounge and is definitely one of the better contract lounges that I have visited. Even at peak times, this lounge is quiet, calm and peaceful. The lounge is “no frills” but offers everything that you would need in an airport lounge including space, serenity, food, showers and WiFi.
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Other trip reports in this series:
- Introduction: How we booked our trip using United miles
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge at LAX
- Air New Zealand Lounge at LAX
- Air China “Forbidden Pavilion” first class Los Angeles to Beijing, Boeing 777-300ER
- Air China first class lounge at PEK
- Air China business class Beijing to Seoul, Airbus A330-300
- Hilton Seoul
- United Airlines “BusinessFirst” Los Angeles to Tokyo Narita, Boeing 787-8
- Asiana business class lounge at ICN
- Asiana business class Seoul to Tokyo Narita, Airbus A330-300
- Conrad Tokyo
- Hilton Tokyo
- ANA business class lounge at NRT
- Thai Airways “Royal Silk” business class Tokyo Narita to Bangkok, Boeing 747-400
- Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge at BKK
- Thai Airways “Royal Silk” business class Bangkok to Auckland, Boeing 777-200
- Hilton Auckland
- Emperor Lounge at AKL
- Air New Zealand Koru Club Lounge at AKL
- Air New Zealand “Business Premier” Auckland to Shanghai, Boeing 777-200
- Air China business class lounge at PVG
- Air China business class Shanghai to Taipei, Airbus A330-300
- EVA Air Evergreen Lounge at TPE
- EVA Air “Royal Laurel” business class Taipei to Los Angeles, Boeing 777-300ER
