Royal Orchid Lounge at Phuket International Airport [Domestic Terminal]

As a Priority Pass member, I’m always scouting potential lounges ahead of my travels. When researching options for my July 2023 trip from Phuket’s domestic terminal, I decided to try a new option: THAI Airways’ Royal Orchid Lounge. This lounge opened in 2020, so I was excited to give it a try.

Royal Orchid Lounge Location

After passing through security in the domestic terminal, you are positioned closest to gate 8. To arrive at the Royal Orchid Lounge, turn right and walk toward gate 5.

The lounge is on your right, across from gate 5. Restrooms are directly outside of the lounge (to the right when exiting the lounge itself), and Coral Beach (Coral Executive Lounge) is on the opposite side.

Gaining Entry to the Royal Orchid Lounge

Eligible THAI Airways or Star Alliance passengers and Priority Pass members can access the lounge. It is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

Priority Pass

Lounge access is granted to eligible Priority Pass members with a maximum 2.5-hour stay. 

My Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has fantastic lounge access, including Priority Pass, Capital One Lounges, and select Plaza Premium Lounges, so I was able to gain entry for myself and my children.

Hot Tip:

Priority Pass members have access to 4 lounges in Phuket’s domestic terminal, including Bangkok Airways Blue Ribbon Lounge near gate 4, Coral Beach (Coral Executive Lounge) near gate 6, and The Coral Executive Lounge near gate 8. If you’d like to drink alcohol, consider Coral Beach (Coral Executive Lounge).

Eligible THAI and Star Alliance Passengers

THAI Royal Silk Class and Star Alliance business class travelers can access the lounge with no guest privileges.

THAI Royal Orchid Plus Platinum and Gold members with a boarding pass for a THAI or any Star Alliance flight can gain access to the lounge and are allowed 1 guest.

Those with Star Alliance Gold status with a boarding pass for a THAI or Star Alliance flight (or a Star Connecting partner and a connecting itinerary of a Star Alliance flight) can gain access with 1 guest.

First Impressions

The Royal Orchid Lounge is very purple and hard to miss, and as soon as I entered, my Priority Pass access was quickly processed by a friendly agent. The lounge was quite empty around 10 a.m., with just 1 couple in the space. There are also no exterior windows or apron views, though the lounge feels open, thanks to terminal-facing windows on 2 sides.

Seating

The lounge follows a U-shape around the reception desk at the front. To the immediate left of the desk is a section of purple loungers with side tables. I appreciated that these tables were the appropriate height for eating and not too low.

In the middle rear of the lounge was a long table with outlets and 4 chairs on each side. This would have made an ideal workspace.

I always appreciate when I don’t have to pull my travel adapter out. The outlets throughout the lounge were universal, so I could use my standard U.S. plugs (types A and B) without issue. There were also USB charging ports.

If you prefer to sit without seeing your side neighbor (yet facing the entire lounge), these individual yellow wingback chairs fit the bill. There was no adjacent area for luggage, food, or drinks, so these seats may be more about aesthetics than functionality.

Completing the walk-through, there was a small seating area toward the front of the lounge (to the right of reception) that had a flight departures board.

Next to this area was a small side room with a completely different style of seating. This area was blocked off.

VIP Room

Within the blocked-off seating area were 2 smaller VIP Rooms, also not in use.

Food and Beverage

The dining options featured a mix of grab-and-go items, as well as hot food. There was a wide variety of beverage options, with the exception of alcohol (this appeared to be a dry lounge).

Buffet

The hot buffet began with a vegan veggie stir-fry.

There was a do-it-yourself station set up for rice noodles with fish curry.

Next to this station was a cauldron for shrimp wonton soup. My son was disappointed to see that there was only clear broth in the pot, as surely he was prepared to fish all of the wontons out for himself. A staff member in the kitchen noticed his surprise and directed us to a steam table with individual crocks of wontons. We simply needed to ladle the broth into the bowl.

The wontons were generously filled, and though I didn’t try any of the other entrées, I did help myself to a second bowl of this soup.

A buffet table was set up in front of the hot items with various breads and grab-and-go items.

There was individually wrapped bread for toasting.

A highlight for my kids was the fried dough stick (pa tong go) with sweetened condensed milk in a saucer for dipping. Croissants were also available.

There were small wrapped sandwich halves with ham, cheese, and tuna options.

There were also fresh-looking individually packaged salads and fruit cups.

And perhaps a holdover from breakfast, there were yogurts with spoons in the beverage cooler. I liked that if you had limited time in the lounge (or if it were full), you could quickly grab one of several prepackaged items and be on your way.

Not surprisingly, as we were in Asia, there were plenty of instant noodle cups to choose from (along with hot water).

For shelf-stable breakfast options, there was instant porridge and cereal.

A real treat for my kids (and, sure, for me, too!) was the ice cream freezer.

These Wall’s taro pops, with coconut ice cream and chunks of taro, were a delicious dessert ahead of our flight.

Both disposable and metal cutlery were on offer (and my kids deeply regretted not stuffing these Mentos into their pockets).

Drinks

From what I could gather, this lounge did not offer alcohol. There were Coke and Schweppes products fully stocked in the cooler, as well as juices and the aforementioned yogurts.

There were 2 dispensers of water, and my daughter was informed that one of them was warm water and the other was chilled water.

Behind the waters was a tea station with Twinings teas.

Coffee-wise, you had 2 machines to choose from. The larger machine could make an espresso, cappuccino, or latte.

The smaller machine was for black coffee.

Amenities

The Royal Orchid Lounge was light on amenities. Bathrooms were outside of the lounge (to the right as you exit), and there were no showers or luggage storage.

Wi-Fi

The Wi-Fi password was posted in the seating area, and I had no trouble connecting. Speeds were fast and consistent: My kids were able to stream a movie on Netflix, and I was able to download a movie to my phone for the next flight.

E-Library

There were no physical periodicals, but there was a QR code for viewing complimentary newspapers and magazines (note that this QR code was location-dependent).

Staff and Service

My experience with the staff was minimal, but they were happy to direct and assist my kids at the buffet. We also didn’t have issues with dishes stacking up, as they were efficiently cleared.

Final Thoughts

Though the food wasn’t overly snazzy and there did not appear to be alcohol available, the Royal Orchid Lounge in Phuket’s domestic terminal ticked the necessary boxes ahead of our flight. It was quiet, had kid-friendly dining options, and we had plenty of room for ourselves and our bags. Having a comfortable place to relax and enjoy your ice cream bar is often all it takes for a great lounge experience.