World Traveller 73 
Review: Hawaiian Airlines Plumeria Lounge, Honolulu, USA
Hawaiian Airlines operates a substantial international route network from it’s home base at Honolulu Daniel K Inouye International Airport. As it’s not affiliated with any international airline alliance, it has to operate its own lounge network in order to stay competitive against the other international carriers. As part of our Hawaiian inter island flights, we would get the opportunity to visit their Hawaiian Airlines flagship lounge offering in the lounge network: the Hawaiian Airlines Plumeria Lounge.
This post is one chapter on our trip on the United Island Hopper and to Oahu & Kauai, Hawaii, United States. This trip was redeemed through Alaska Mileage Plan, United Airlines Mileage Plus and Marriott Bonvoy. It was further enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.
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Read more from this trip:
- Introduction: The United Island Hopper via Honolulu & Kauai, on United Airlines and Alaska Airlines First Class
- Alaska Airlines First Class: Vancouver – Seattle
- Alaska Airlines First Class: Seattle – Honolulu
- The Sheraton Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
- The United Island Hopper – Flight #1: Honolulu – Majuro
- The United Island Hopper – Flight #2: Majuro – Kwajalein
- The United Island Hopper – Flight #3: Kwajalein – Pohnpei
- The United Island Hopper – Flight #4: Pohnpei – Chuuk
- The United Island Hopper – Flight #5: Chuuk – Guam
- The United Island Hopper – Top 5 Tips and Tricks
- The Sheraton Laguna Guam Resort, Guam
- The Sagan Bisita VIP Lounge, Guam
- United Airlines: Guam – Honolulu
- Bill’s Sydney, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
- Hawaiian Airlines The Plumeria Lounge, Honolulu, USA
- Hawaiian Airlines First Class: Honolulu – Lihue
- The Sheraton Kauai Resort, Poi’pu, Hawaii, USA
- Visiting Kauai Coffee Estate, Kauai, USA
- The Views at the Waimea Canyon State Park, Kauai, USA
- Sailing the Napali Coast, Kauai, USA
- Alaska Airlines First Class: Lihue – Seattle
- Alaska Airlines First Class: Seattle – Vancouver
Review: Hawaiian Airlines Plumeria Lounge, Daniel K Inouye Honolulu International Airport, United States of America.
Hawaiian Airlines operates two lounges at Honolulu International Airport. The Hawaiian Airlines Premier Club, and the Hawaiian Airlines Plumeria Lounge. This review is of the Hawaiian Airlines Plumeria Lounge.
The other half of our United Island Hopper Pacific adventure was located on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, United States of America. We needed to transfer from Oahu to Kauai which meant a short inter island flight on Hawaiian Airlines. I ended up just booking a paid first class fare on Hawaiian Airlines since the difference between Economy and First Class a checked bag was minimal (less than $30 USD +/-). The additional inclusions into Hawaiian Airlines First Class would offer complimentary checked baggage, access to a Hawaiian Airlines Lounge, a better First Class seat and Priority Boarding.
Checking into Hawaiian Airlines First Class:
On the morning of our flight to Kauai, we left The Sheraton Waikiki hotel around 11 AM. We stopped for gas at a very disorganized Shell near the airport to tank up the rental car. I dropped MrsWT73 at the Honolulu inter island terminal while I went to return the car. At the time of our visit, Honolulu was constructing a brand new rental car center and the old one is a little disorganized at the moment due to the construction around it. Forgoing the wait of the shuttle bus, I ended up having to do a quick jog back to the inter island terminal.
We had done online check in via the Hawaiian Airlines app. MrsWT73 had taken care of bag drop by the time I had arrived. Our bags were tagged with Hawaiian Airlines priority tags and sent on their way. We met up and we wandered through the Tsa-Pre Check at the North End and eventually into the secure side of the terminal.
We didn’t have a lot of extra time before our flight, but we were able to get in a quick visit to the Hawaiian Airlines Plumeria Lounge.
Locating the Hawaiian Airlines Plumeria Lounge:
Hawaiian Airlines operates two lounges at Honolulu International Airport. The lounges are tiered, in that they are branded in a different manner.
The Hawaiian Airlines Premier Club is designed for those travelling inter island in First Class, or for those with credit card or annual memberships. We visited the Hawaiian Airlines Premier Club Honolulu on our last Hawaiian Airlines First Class Honolulu – Maui flight.
This time around, we headed for the Hawaiian Airlines Plumeria Lounge. The Hawaiian Airlines Plumeria Lounge is designed for Hawaiian’s International Business Class travellers. The Hawaiian Airlines Plumeria Lounge is designed as Hawaiian Airlines Flagship International Business Lounge as is their higher lounger offering.
Making matters more confusing, the Hawaiian Airlines Plumeria Lounge for international flights, is located in the domestic terminal, whereas many of their Hawaiian Airline International flights seem to leave from a different terminal.
Map Courtesy of Hawaiian Airlines
On the Honolulu “A” Concourse, the lounge was easily marked through Hawaiian Airlines branded pop up signs. The lounge is located one level above the departures concourse. Access to The Plumeria Lounge is by convenient escalators, so there are no waits for any cramped elevators in order to access this lounge space.
Accessing the Hawaiian Airlines Plumeria Club:
There are several ways to access the Hawaiian Airlines Plumeria Club:
If you are travelling on Hawaiian Airlines, you are entitled to access if you meet one of these conditions
- Business Class guest departing Honolulu on Hawaiian Airlines to one of our international destinations.
- First Class guest departing Honolulu to New York, Boston, or Orlando.
- Hawaiian Airlines Pualani Platinums departing Honolulu to one of our international destinations. Platinums may bring up to 1 guest.
- A day pass can also be purchased at the lounge through an agent.
The Plumeria Lounge Pass (Price Per Person)
| General | $40 USD* |
| Pualani Gold | $30 USD** |
| Pualani Platinum | $25 USD** |
If you are travelling on Hawaiian Airlines Inter Island First Class, you’ll be directed to the Hawaiian Airlines Premier Club for access on a complimentary basis.
The Hawaiian Airlines Plumeria Lounge is also a member of Priority Pass. We gained access to the lounge through Priority Pass Select, provided courtesy of the American Express Platinum Card.
We had quite a line up to get into this lounge that was about ten people deep. My initial impressions were that the place didn’t seem to be all that exclusive as a result of the lines and volume of travellers trying to enter. For what is supposed to be the more exclusive lounge, the quantity of travellers didn’t help with that impression.
Inside The Plumeria Lounge:
Once we had gotten past the entry process, we set ourselves up in The Plumeria Lounge. It’s always exciting to be able to see an airlines’ flagship lounge. First off, the lounge is pretty similar in decor to the Hawaiian Airlines Premier Club although it is situated in a slightly larger space.
The first thing that was obvious to notice was that the lounge was pretty full. While there were a split space of loungers and tables and chairs, most of them were fully occupied.
The lounge itself wasn’t overly large as all seating was in one place. There were a few daylight windows at one end of the lounge, which was probably the nicest feature about the space.
Food and Beverage:
The Plumeria Lounge offered some light snacks. I wasn’t super impressed with the food offering for an international business lounge. The food level was more consistent with a domestic first class lounge.
While some lounge offer a fresh food section, most of the snacks at the Plumeria Lounge were of the packaged variety.
The primary difference between the Plumeria Lounge and the Premier Club seems to be available house wine and alcohol.
The wine offering at The Plumeria Lounge were Stone Cellars white and red wines. This retails for about $6.99 USD so its not exactly a top shelf decanter experience.
While it’s usually pretty neat and exciting to experience an airlines flagship lounge, this one is pretty much a let down. While the seating was perfectly functional, the space was compact and the food and beverage program was straightforward and without much excitement. I’d mark this up as a place to visit time permitting, but not somewhere I’d rush to visit well in advance of your outbound flight. We’d only stop briefly here prior to heading out on our Hawaiian Airlines First Class Honolulu – Lihue flight.
The Bottom Line: The Plumeria Lounge
The Plumeria Club is supposed to be the more exclusive of the two Hawaiian Airlines Lounges. However, it appeared to be just another Hawaiian Airlines Lounge space that is brightly coloured. Although it offered some house wine, this is about the only differentiating feature of this place. It’s pretty much the same lounge offering that’s in the more mainstream Premier Club.
World Traveller 73 
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