General details
Opening times: 24 hours
Showers: Yes
Bar: Yes
Wi-Fi: Yes
Multi-standard power sockets: Yes
USB charging sockets: Yes
Video review
Here’s our video review of the lounge:
Location
The Saphire Plaza Premium Lounge is located in Jakarta’s newest Terminal 3, in the International Departures area on Level 2 near Gate 5.
After you descend the escalators from the immigration and security checkpoint, head towards gate 5 and you’ll find the lounge just beyond it on the right side.
It looks like (and basically is) a box shape built inside the terminal.
Name confusion
There are probably two reasons to be confused by the name of this lounge, the first being that they spelt “Sapphire” wrong (don’t tell JAL!), and the second that all the other third party lounges in Jakarta Terminal 3 are also called “Saphire”.
The following other third party lounges exist in this terminal:
- Saphire APS Blue Sky Lounge
- Saphire Blue Sky Lounge
- Saphire Lounge
None of those are this lounge however, the “Saphire Plaza Premium Lounge”.
Whoever thought this was a good idea has given the ‘lounge dragons’ a career for life.
Lounge access
While the above three lounges we listed are accessible using your Priority Pass and LoungeKey / Lounge Club programs, this one is not. Paid access is also only available in advance, there are no walkup rates.
Charges for access (booked online at the lounge website), are as follows:
- 30 mins (shower only): US$16 (S$22)
- 2 hours: US$39 (S$54)
- 5 hours: US$60 (S$83)
This lounge is primarily focused on providing access for full service airlines not in the SkyTeam alliance (who all use the Garuda lounge). Under contract lounge arrangements you’ll be able to access this lounge if you’re flying Business or First Class, or hold various alliance / partner status levels with:
- Cathay Pacific
- Etihad Airways
- EVA Air
- Japan Airlines
- Qantas
- Thai Airways
For example if you’re flying on Qantas to Sydney in Economy Class and hold Qantas Gold, Emirates Skywards Gold or oneworld Sapphire (spelt correctly) or Emerald status, you’ll be good to access this lounge.
For Singapore Airlines the lounge is accessible for those travelling in Business Class or First Class, and to PPS status holders flying Economy Class.
KrisFlyer Elite Gold members flying in Economy Class are instead given a voucher to use at seven restaurants in the terminal, an arrangement we first outlined in our November 2018 article here.
Our visit
We visited this lounge having arrived from a long-haul flight from Muscat on Oman Air in their excellent Apex Suite Business Class on the Boeing 787.
Our onward sector to Singapore was a KrisFlyer award flight in Singapore Airlines’ 2006 First Class seats on the Boeing 777-300. A terrible value redemption, we know, at 25,000 miles each (booked pre-2019 devaluation), but we needed to tick it off for a review (coming your way soon).
Quiet Zone
The lounge is configured in an ‘L-shape’ around one corner of the terminal building, as shown in the map above. To the right side after you enter is a smaller ‘Quiet Zone’ where you can’t make telephone calls etc.
This includes some of the productivity pods and a few rows of low armchair style seating.
There are a couple of more secluded corners in this section that may be ideal for travellers who value additional privacy.
Along the window side in this zone are seats with footstools, designed for relaxing or even taking a nap.
Main lounge area
This area features more productivity pods and a selection of both high and low chairs with tables that are suitable for dining.
There is no shortage of seating options and the areas are nicely divided so even when the lounge became slightly busier, it did not seem particularly noisy or crowded.
There are long wooden tables, these are the perfect spot for getting some work done and potentially eating at the same time. A comfy seat, good lighting and an abundance of power options here.
The remainder of this area was dedicated to the most common seating type in the lounge – the low armchairs in groups of two, three or four.
Lounge bay
An additional smaller and slightly sunken seating area around the corner of the lounge ‘L-shape’ is available after the buffet area, before the showers, toilets and prayer rooms.
It remained empty for our entire stay and doesn’t have the best views of the airport but it’s nice and quiet.
These benches appear to be a good place to perch if you have to wait for shower availability (just to the left of the following photo).
Productivity pods
The latest trend in lounge seating is the ‘productivity pod’. We’ve seen these appearing in the latest Singapore Airlines lounges in Bangkok and London, albeit with a classier design in that case, and also in the Plaza Premium lounge at Changi T1.