Review: Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Concourse E, Bangkok Airport (BKK)

After a nice drink at the Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge, it was off to the EVA Air Lounge. On the way, however, I wanted to check out the Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge at Concourse E.

The entrance of the Royal Silk lounge is across the Royal Orchid lounge, which I didn’t realise I could access (I was under the impression that it was a first class lounge, though Thai Airways’ first class lounges are called “Royal First lounges”). I didn’t end up visiting the lounge, though it seems to be the best of all the Thai Airways business class lounges, so that’s a bummer. Thai Airways’ lounge entrances are rather dated and unimpressive, in my opinion.

Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Concourse E Entrance

I was admitted into the lounge and given another receipt-like WiFi code. The entrance to the lounge is standard for all of Thai Airways’ smaller lounges, consisting of drab carpets, a marble desk, and some garnishing orchids. In addition, there was a “no boarding announcement” sign (which I can appreciate due to the number of Thai Airways flights departing during peak rush hour), as well as the WiFi name.

Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Concourse E Entrance

The lounge itself consisted of a big room with a large amount of seating. All the seating was either a drab blue, brown or orange, though I can always appreciate when there’s copious amounts of seating, since it means I’m spoilt for choice on where to sit. I also appreciated that unlike most of these high-density lounges, these seats were actually pretty comfortable.

Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Concourse E Seating

While one half of the lounge featured rows of seats facing each other, the other half of the lounge was more privately configured, with multiple partitions that the seats were aligned to.

Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Concourse E Seating

As you can see from the below picture, the lounge was impressively empty, to the point where I wonder why they even bother, especially since there’s an (allegedly) superior Royal Orchid lounge open to business class passengers as well within a meter’s reach from this lounge.

Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Concourse E Seating

While Bangkok Airport isn’t the best with views, I got a glimpse at an EVA Air 777 headed to Taipei.

Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Concourse E Views

The window at the end of the lounge also boasted nice views of the E concourse of the airport.

Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Concourse E View

While one side of the lounge featured blue and turquoise seating, the other side featured distinctively warmer orange and brown hues. This part of the lounge was less private, though that can be a blessing when there’s absolutely no one in the lounge.

Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Concourse E Seating

The end of the lounge was split into two, with one half featuring a long, narrow array of seating, and the other half featuring the lounge’s amenities.

Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Concourse E Seating

In the middle of the two sections was the buffet, as well as a workstation. The workstation was open and featured no privacy, though no one was using it.

Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Concourse E Computer Workstations

The spread itself was identical to that of the other Thai lounge I’d visited, featuring a salad spread as well as some hot items.

Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Concourse E Spread

Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Concourse E Spread Drinks

In addition to all this I spotted some private rooms, featuring a few armchairs, a TV, as well as a desk and working chair. They looked comfortable, though were vacant too.

Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Concourse E Private Room

I was also happy to see that the lounge was littered with charging ports.

Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Concourse E Power Ports

The amenities area featured a telephone booth, which I found at all of Thai Airways’ other lounges at Bangkok Airport.

Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Concourse E Phone Booth

The lounge featured a rather depressing-looking shower room, though I’d imagine it was functional. In fairness, the showers on the Royal Orchid side are nicer, and that lounge also features daybeds, so it would be the better option for relaxing.

Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Concourse E Shower Room

As with the rest of the Thai Airways lounges, the shower room was stocked with Thann amenities, which I enjoy (though I didn’t actually use the shower room at the lounge).

Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge Concourse E Shower Room Amenities

The reason I didn’t use the shower room was because I’d heard that the shower room at the EVA Air lounge was nicest. This was where I was headed after my short venture at Thai Airways’ Royal Silk lounge at Concourse E.

Bottom Line: Thai Airways Royal Silk E Lounge Bangkok

Thai Airways has many lounges at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, and each lounge has its own ups and downs. I’d say that if you put together all the amenities in a single space, you might potentially end up with one of the best lounges in the region. Thai Airways’ Royal Orchid lounge at Concourse E seems to be the best of the lot, so I’m bummed I didn’t get to visit.

The main perk of this lounge is that it’s a good place to get some work done. The chairs are comfy, and the WiFi is decent. However, it’s disappointing how Thai Airways doesn’t have a single impressive lounge at Bangkok Airport – all of them are drab, unexciting, and none of the lounges really hit all of the top 10 things I look for in an airline lounge. Thai Airways’ main lounge has a spa but no showers, this lounge is a solid place to work but is otherwise unimpressive, the Royal Orchid lounge is cramped, none of the lounges feature particularly good food, etc..

It’s kind of sad that both Singapore Airlines and EVA Air have comparable, and arguably better options in Thai Airways’ hub airport (not to mention Cathay Pacific and Oman Air’s lounges, which I’ve heard are incredible).