Plaza Premium operates 140+ lounges worldwide, many of them available via the PriorityPass Lounge membership I have courtesy off my Citibank Prestige Card, so I was excited to see one open at the new Terminal 1 at Kota Kinabalu airport (BKI) on my most recent trip to Sabah, Borneo!
The Plaza Premium Lounge is located airside at the international departure gates. The reception is friendly and professional and I was checked in with my PriorityPass quickly. Past the reception, you enter into an area with lounge seating, with big chairs in rows.
A partial wall separates it from bistro style seating and the open kitchen and buffet behind it. There is ample seating and I had no trouble finding a spot in either area. All of it was meticulously clean and well organized. It’s also quite enough to relax before your flight.
Similar to other Plaza Premium lounges in Asia, you have a staffed kitchen that will prepare hot dishes from a short menu.
I picked the black pepper chicken and while it looked nothing like the menu photo, it tasted pretty good. The portion is snack size, so you’ll need a few things to make a meal.
I complemented it with a fresh salad from the buffet and it was enough for me. There is a fridge with soft drinks, as well as tea and coffee and you can also get a glass of wine or beer.
The lounge offers free wifi and it was fast enough to check email or browse the internet.
Bottomline: The Plaza Premium lounge is fairly small, but was peaceful and had plenty of seats. While the selection of food and drink is small, it’s nice to get a prepared, hot meal and it tasted better than most lounge food. I love PriorityPass and having access to a lounge even at smaller airports like Kota Kinabalu is great and takes the sting out of flying low-cost carriers like AirAsia in this case. If you have to wait at BKI, the Plaza Premium lounge is a nice spot to relax before your flight!