Review: Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge and First Class Lounge Satellite Terminal KUL (Kuala Lumpur)

Given that my flight arrived from Sydney so early in the morning, I thought I’d try to hang around the airport for a little bit before heading into the city and trying to check in early to my hotel. Thankfully, at the Kuala Lumpur airport, both arrivals and departures are mixed, so it is feasible to head to an airport lounge after arriving on a flight, even if you don’t have an onward ticket (this is not the case in most airports since arriving passengers are directed toward immigration or transit, and you can’t get through transit security without an onward boarding pass).

I had no trouble using the lounge on arrival, even though it’s not strictly supposed to be used as an arrivals lounge. It’s perhaps worth nothing that the first class side of the lounge doesn’t open until 6am, so I started on the business class side of the lounge.

The business class lounge is quite large with tons and tons of seating. For food, they have a bakery area, a made-to-order noodle bar, and a number of hot food dishes. The food wasn’t completely set up so early in the morning, but there’s still enough to eat a meaningful snack if you’re hungry.

There are also a number of different “rooms” in the lounge as well. Beyond the children’s play room, there’s a relaxation room, a game room, and a place to get massages (which you have to pay for). The wifi in the lounge was decently fast as well, although there weren’t many people using it so early in the morning.

Around 6am, I made my way to the first class side of the lounge to check it out. It’s not nearly as big, but it needn’t be, as there weren’t many people using it (and I’ve never seen more than 3 other people using the lounge any time I’ve passed through).

The seating in the first class lounge is nicer than the seating on the business class side. There are also people who will go around and check on you and offer drinks. There’s a smoking room, showers, sleeping rooms, and a formal dining area. For food options, they generally encourage you to use the formal dining area, but they also have a small self-service food and drink bar (although the turnover on the food is probably very slow, so I think you’re safer getting food in the dining room).

In the formal dining room, they have a small buffet as well as a made-to-order menu. The dining  room is nice, with decent views of the apron. The made-to-order food is fine, although I wish they had more vegetarian options on their lunch/dinner menu.

Overall, I really like this lounge. It’s never been crowded when I’ve visited, teh tarik is pretty delicious, sleeping rooms are an amenity that I think more lounge should have, and service is well-meaning and attentive. This lounge isn’t flashy, and the first class side doesn’t have the same amenities as other first class lounges do, but I’ve enjoyed every visit I’ve had to this lounge.