Review: Lotus Lounge At Bandaranaike Airport Colombo (BIA)

Lotus Lounge at Bandaranaike Airport (BIA) is the first class lounge for guests traveling out of Sri Lanka. To be honest, I did not expect much when we were going to the lounge, because the airport itself is a bit dated and unorganized. The check in only opened about 2 hours before our flight, so we were stuck waiting in the general area for quite a while. That being said, I will try to focus this review on the lounge itself, and not the Colombo airport as a whole.

The Lotus Lounge is located between gates 6-7, and is right across the hall from the Araliya Business Class lounge. Our flight was at 02:40 so I can’t give a review of the lounge during daytime as we were only there between 00:30 and 2. However, the best part about being in a lounge at that time is that very few other people were in there with us. This is good because the lounge actually isn’t all that private. The chairs are comfortable, and tables are everywhere, but there are no cubicle rooms, or places to isolate yourself from the other guests.

• 

• 

We were flying from Sri Lanka to Delhi (read my reviews for the Delhi SilverKris Singapore Airlines Lounge and the Air India Lounge) on the first of three flights to get back home. Luckily Cody made sure we had lounges at every stop since our layovers were quite long. The Colombo Airport Lotus Lounge was actually a solid lounge when all things are considered.

Read more: Kandy To Ella Train Ride: The Most Beautiful Train Journey In The World

Lotus Lounge Bandaranaike Food And Drink

The food at this lounge was what impressed me the most. No, it wasn’t fancy haute cuisine like you’ll get at many flagship first class lounges, but there was a solid selection of hot food. Would I have liked a menu with table service sure…but at after midnight I was just happy they were still open.

The food was both Sri Lankan and Western so there was something for everyone. I liked the seafood thermidor which had large pieces of fish and crustacean. Cody enjoyed the pasta and Lyonnaise potatoes.

Perhaps the thing that impressed me most was the huge selection of premium spirits. Being so late at night we both decided to imbibe a little before the flight to ease us asleep. Cody polished off a half bottle of sparkling wine, and I stuck with some regular white wine. I can imaging during the day we’d be more up for making some mixed drinks, but we were more than happy with the drinks we chose.

Amenities

Other than the food and drink, which almost all airport lounges provide, it is fun to look at the bonus provisions. Does the lounge have a shower, or sleeping areas, perhaps a movie theater like in the new Istanbul Airport lounges. Here I’ll try to provide you the full gamut of extra things you can expect at the Colombo airport Lotus Lounge.

What surprised me was the fact that there was actually a shower. Now, most first class lounges do have shower facilities, but as I mentioned earlier this reminded me more of a business class lounge so I was still surprised to see a shower room. However, neither Cody nor I needed to take a shower so I just snapped a quick pic for the website before we left.

The bathroom facilities were clean, which is always nice to see. What was a bit disappointing was the fact that there were not very many outlets in which to charge our devices. In actuality there was a charging zone right at the front (sponsored by Huawei…avoid the USB charging port) which meant you either have to sit at the front, or leave your phone alone. As the lounge was almost completely empty we didn’t mind sitting at the front, but I would have liked to have charged our stuff in a far corner or something.

The seating, as mentioned before, was comfortable however it did seem dated. It would be nice if the lounge updated the seating as well as the carpet to bring it into the modern era. As of now, the appearance of the lounge reminds me of a 2nd tier Priority Pass lounge.

Other amenities include newspapers and magazines, flight monitors, internet connected desktops, and print and copy machines.

Lotus Lounge Colombo Airport Rating

Time we were there: 00:30-2:30

Cleanliness: 9/10

Wifi: 10/10

Food: 8/10

Ambience: 5/10

Service: 8/10