Read more from this trip – Spring Break in Vietnam:
- Cathay Pacific The Pier Business Class Lounge, Hong Kong (HKG)
- Park Hyatt Saigon
- Six Senses Con Dao
- Le Saigonnais Sasco Business Lounge SGN
- Cathay Pacific The Wing Business Class Lounge, Hong Kong (HKG)
- Cathay Pacific Premium Economy, Hong Kong to New York (HKG-JFK)
Introduction
Lounge Visit Details:
- Date visited: March 22, 2020
- Where: 3rd Floor, Departure Terminal – 2, After Security
- Class: Business Class Lounge
I originally planned to spend a few days in Singapore before my return trip to New York, but Ms. Rona (COVID-19) had other plans. After spending 4 wonderful nights at the Six Senses Côn Đảo I returned to Ho Chi Minh City. I was anxious to return home given the rapidly deteriorating travel situation. As you can see from the departures board numerous flights had been canceled. Luckily my Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong was still on-schedule.
There’s two lounges available for Cathay Pacific premium passengers including The Rose Longe and Le Saigonnais Business Lounge. I attempted to go to the Rose Lounge, but it was closed so I headed to Le Saigonnais Business Lounge. Le Saigonnais is relatively new having opened in November 2018. The first thing I noticed at the entrance was the giant vat of industrial strength hand sanitizer. Giraffes really appreciate Vietnamese hand sanitizers with a 99% alcohol content.
Insert seamless transition from hand sanitizer to decor review. I love the Vietnamese wallpaper and decor in the lounge. So many contract lounges lack any style and don’t feature elements from the local area, but this isn’t the case with Le Saigonnais.
Access
Le Saigonnais Business Lounge serves premium passengers of Air China, All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Emirates Airlines, Eva Air, Finnair, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines and Uni Air.
Customers in Business Class on Cathay Pacific can use Le Saigonnais Business Lounge. OneWorld Emerald and Sapphire members can also access the lounge irrespective of class of travel and may invite one guest to join them; however, the guest must also be traveling on a flight operated and marketed by Cathay Pacific or another oneworld carrier. I was entitled to access Le Saigonnais Business Lounge based on my oneworld Sapphire status.
Hours / Location
Le Saigonnais Business Lounge is located on 3rd floor of the International Terminal at Tan Son Nhat Airport. It’s open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Seating
During my visit the lounge was almost empty given most international flights from the terminal were canceled due to COVID-19. This allowed me to get some excellent photos, but it didn’t give me a good idea of how crowded the lounge gets during “normal” times.
There’s plenty of seating available in a variety of configurations. Whether you’re traveling with a partner or a group you’ll find comfortable and private seating. In the far back corner of the lounge you’ll find a full body electric shiatsu massage chair.
Seating wraps around the perimeter of the lounge, but not all seats have access to power ports. English and Vietnamese language periodicals are available.
Le Saigonnais Business Lounge features a Vietnamese clothing exhibit including dresses designed by Vo Viet Chung, who is famous for promoting Vietnamese silk.
Food and Beverage
The food offerings were fairly extensive. Options included muffins, pain au chocolat, plain yogurt, strawberry jam, pineapple jam and orange jam. Fruit including Vietnamese rambutan (chom chom) and bananas was also available.
If you like sweet treats you wont be disappointed. They had tiramisu, matcha cake, custard brioches and chocolate Lamington cake. Savory options including ham and cheese were also available.
The hot food options looked interesting. There were meatballs with tomato sauce, gelatinous bacon quiche and rice.
The dish to the right of the Halal sign was hard to identify. It looked like some sort of meat or fish with hollandaise sauce on top of white bread. There was also cheese croissants, bacon and sausages. Cereal options were limited to Corn Flakes and Coco Puffs.
The lounge has an excellent variety of beverages. Pepsi, 7UP, Mirinda Orange Soda and Root Beer were available from a fountain drink dispenser. Other beverage options included orange, apple, pineapple juice and milk.
Head over to the beverage coolers to find Ezos lychee, mango, passionfruit, pineapple and pink guava juice. Two brands of bottled water were also available including Aquafina and Fresh 2 Go. If beer is your pre-flight beverage of choice you’ll find several options including 333 Premium, Bia Saigon Special and Bia Saigon Lager. Other options included Evervess Tonic Water, Lipton Black Tea, Diet Pepsi and Boss ready-to-drink canned coffee.
On to the adult beverages! There were two white wines available including Chapel Hill Pinot Grigio ($16.99 per bottle) and La Roca Sauvignon Blanc ($8.99 per bottle). There were also two red wines including Rato Cabernet Sauvignon ($10.99 per bottle) and Bel Estate Wines Kangaroo Crest Shiraz ($6.99 per bottle). Liquor options were limited to Ballantine’s Scotch Whisky, Gordons Gin, Negrita Dark Rum and Hanoi brand Vodka.
Overall Verdict
First Class Giraffe Approved
The Le Saigonnais Business Lounge was super clean, had plenty of comfortable seating and a good beverage selection. Some of the food looked questionable, but it was better than you’d get at your typical contract lounge. I wouldn’t build time into my itinerary to visit this lounge, but its a great place to spend an hour before your flight.
First Class Giraffe 