I was leaving South Africa and so used Priority Pass to review the great Bidvest Premier lounge at Johannesburg airport.
This turned out to be the best lounge I have visited, easily beating the Capital One and Chase Sapphire lounges I have been to in the USA.
https://bidvestlounge.co.za/commercial-lounge-or-tambo-international/
Entrance:
The lounge is off to the right after you clear customs. A few minutes walk gets you to the escalator that takes you up to the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse and the Bidvest Premier Lounge.
Just remember that when you need to go to your gate it will be about 5 to 15 minutes walk to the gates, depending how busy the airport is.
Outside the lounge there is an extensive list of all the ways you can access the lounge. I used Priority Pass on this visit.
This is how it is listed on the Priority Pass app.
The main entrance. The staff were really pleasant and in I went.
Seating and showers:
The Bidvest lounge has very comfortable seating. I sat in one of the high backed chairs for most of my visit but I tried out the brown chairs and they were just as comfortable. There is a lot of space.
There are various seating areas with small and large tables, and almost all seats have access to electrical plugs. I sat and watched almost a whole F1 Grand Prix while I was waiting for my flight.
Here is a separate room that was a quieter room than the big lounge area. Perhaps it was the smoking room.
There are showers available. I did not use it but I popped in to look.
The rest rooms are neat and clean and pleasant to use.
Food and drinks:
This is where the lounge made its greatest impression. There was such a large variety of food items available, and the bar was great was well. So many South African wines available too.
The requisite cappuccino machine was there as well as juice.
Butternut soup was available (it was wonderful), as well as vegetarian babotie with yellow rice.
Below is the spread of salads. The choices included olives, beetroot, cauliflower, broccoli, cheese, corn, cucumber, hummus, tomato, cold meats, lettuce salad and more. Big yum!
Then there was an area where you could create your own burger with lots of different sauces and flavors.
Chicken breast with ginger, soy and stir fried vegetables, turmeric rice, roasted potatoes and creamed spinach were also on the menu.
On the desert side there were waffles with cream, syrup and sprinkles. Also scones, bread, muffins, cupcakes and various fruits.
Other deserts including South African specialities included koeksisters, milk tart, pecan tart, custard slices, fruit salad and yoghurt.
Conclusion:
This is the view of the terminal on exiting the lounge. There are about 10 lounges listed just on that sign. Johannesburg does have a good array of airline lounges.
The sign also lists how long you can expect to walk to reach the lounges and the gates.
I have been to the Shongololo and Aspire Lounges and they are not as fancy as the Bidvest Lounge. You will have to explore some of the others yourselves.
I have not flown first class yet so I am not in the realm of first class lounges, being served at your table and massages, etc, but this Bidvest Premier Lounge is the nicest lounge I have access to.
The food was wonderful, plentiful and the variety of flavors was amazing.
I would highly recommend you choose this lounge in Johannesburg if you have access to it.
