Hawaiian Airlines Premier Club — Attraction in Honolulu

I flew through Honolulu (HNL) via Hawaiian Airlines (HA) from Beijing in August, 2015 to the mainland. There are two Hawaiian lounges in HNL, both in the same area. The first one is by gate 54, open from 6am to 10pm. In the evening there were not many people but in the morning by 6:30am it is jammed. They have some liquids (soft drink, juice, coffee), but no food to speak of, just tiny snack packs (though those tasted real good). There is functional internet in the lounge (vs. I didn't find another hotspot in the airport public areas, not even at the 24 hour Starbucks near gate 24). The receptionist at the lounge, Bill, was fantastic. Not only was he straight and to the point, but he was also very helpful towards me and others.

The other lounge, called the Plumeria lounge, is up one floor in the elevator across from gates 59/60. It's open from 10am to 5:54pm daily, and also from 8pm to 10:30pm on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings, according to the sign in front of it. There was some hot food, though not what I would call a meal, when I was there. They had internet, no shower. The receptionist at this lounge, Izumi, was also proficient and helpful.

In short both lounges were clean and minimalist, with wonderful personnel. Unfortunately, HA, embodied by customer service, frontline agents, and gate agents, seem not to have a big clue about these lounges. I had a back and forth email with customer service for about two weeks about whether and which lounges I could use. Though customer service always replied politely, it was like pulling teeth to get concrete info, and in the end it did not square with what the lounge receptionists said. The gate agents weren't sure of lounge hours, and HA agents at the ticket counters didn't even know where the lounges were. In addition, given that google is saying that these lounges are open 24 hours, which I have in person experienced to be false, doesn't it make sense for HA to exercise a little quality control to both check that others aren't putting out false information, and that they themselves are putting out true and easily understandable info?

In addition, an international traveler coming from a non USA country should be aware that when they arrive to HNL, they must collect luggage and pass through customs. And several of the airlines including HA, say they have a policy where they won't check in bags until 3 hours before the flight, first class notwithstanding. They explained to me that their operations were not so secure as to be able to assume the liability. Funny, I always thought of the airlines as running secure operations. At any rate, the nice, inviting lounge thus may not be available for you to make use of as you'll be on the opposite side of security. Furthermore, HNL has no left luggage counter. They are supposed to have a 3rd party left luggage service, but that service did not pick up when I called them, and when I later reached them told me that one piece of luggage would be $20, and each additional piece would be $5. And maybe you could reach them when you call the first time on your trip, but do you want to take the chance that you don't reach them when you are departing? I took my luggage through security (which cost me a tube of suntan lotion) in order to reach the lounges and get to...

Absolutely stunned — and not in a good way. If you're looking to time-travel back to the 1970s and experience what airport lounges used to be (before hospitality was invented), the Hawaiian Plumeria Lounge in Hawaii has you covered.

Let’s start with the decor. Think sticky carpets and warped laminate floors, scratched-up furniture, and lighting that could double as an interrogation room. I half-expected a VHS player in the corner playing the original Hawaii 5-0 and someone offering me a Tab cola. The whole place screams “budget motel conference room,” minus the charm.

This lounge is run with the warmth and flexibility of a prison camp. Assigned seating in a lounge? Really? Because when I finally escape the chaos of the terminal, what I definitely want is to be told exactly where I can and can’t sit. God forbid you try to move to a more comfortable chair — the staff will spot you like hawks, march over, and remind you that comfort is not part of the Pualani experience.

Speaking of staff, the mood was… delightful, if your idea of "delightful" is being met with the combined energy of a DMV and a detention centre. My requests were treated like a personal inconvenience. Smiles were rarer than the food. A couple of sad crackers and mystery cheese cubes do not make a lounge experience. I’ve seen better free offerings handed out at Costco.

All in all, the Plumeria Lounge is perfect if you enjoy being micromanaged, sitting in silence, and wondering why you bothered to pay for access at all.

Save yourself the disappointment — the food court has better seating, better service, and, astonishingly,...

What a shame….I had a most unfortunate experience with the front desk staff and supervisor. Apparently my lounge membership is not a partner with this location. I was informed of the “details” surrounding Hawaiian Airlines only being a part of the One World partnership on paper currently thus I couldn’t access the lounge.

I as the customer came up with a solution, I’ll pay rather than hiking over to the other terminal to see if there’s another lounge that will acknowledge partnership with my lounge membership …It’s unfortunate this was not offered to me but was indeed an option. After repeatedly being told it would be $40 pp and the woman seemed dumbfounded when I offered to pay with my HAWAIIAN AIRLINES CARD I received more snotty attitude along with not a business card but a handwritten note of how to reach “Consumer Affairs Office.”

The receptionist along with the other questioning staff members whom lacked the ability to whisper quietly, were told to read what the other receptionist “Tear” wrote about what was going on with the “two over there” (me and my teenage daughter), they each giggled until the final colleague inquired and I stepped in to inform her to “read what was typed up about the incident”….My daughter and I have a 6 hr layover in this airport, after flying in from Japan NEVER again…..I’m finally seated and contemplating if I should close out credit card with Hawaiian Airlines now or wait until I’m...