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THE ALVIATOR'S VERDICT
This Plaza Premium-affiliated lounge at Shanghai Pudong Airport doesn't have too many features, though it's quiet and features a good food selection. It's most helpful if you're leaving from T2 and need a shower before your flight |
4.5
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In this post, I’m going to write a brief review of the No. 170 VIP lounge at Shanghai Pudong Airport. This is a handy lounge if you have an AmEx Platinum card or a Priority Pass membership, are flying internationally out of Terminal 2, and want to shower before your flight (as I did, before my night flight in premium economy to Helsinki) – this is because the other Priority Pass lounge at Pudong Airport doesn’t have shower facilities. The lounge is located in the new satellite area of PVG’s Terminal 2, so you’ll need to factor in at least 10-15 minutes to get to and from this lounge.
I’ll be upfront and say that this is all I did – I got to the airport around 1h 15m before departure, and when I presented my boarding pass, the lounge attendant said “hurry up, boarding is about to start soon” (I arrived at 7:50 PM, and boarding was scheduled to begin at 8:20 PM back in the main area of the terminal). I took a quick shower, snapped some pictures of the lounge, then headed back to the main area of the airport, where I was just in the nick of time for boarding. I’m just keen to write the lounge review anyway, since the lounge didn’t open very long ago.
This is a nice new Priority Pass lounge, with made-to-order food options. It’s also accessible with the AmEx Platinum card, including if you have a supplementary card.
No. 170 VIP Lounge Shanghai T2 Access and Opening Hours
The No. 170 VIP lounge at Shanghai Pudong Airport is part of the Plaza Premium lounge network, so it’s open to those who typically who would have access to Plaza Premium lounges. This includes:
- AmEx Platinum cardholders – you don’t need to have a Priority Pass subscription
- Priority Pass and LoungeKey cardholders
- You can also purchase access to the lounge for CNY 300 (£31.60/HK$337)
Additionally, the lounge is available to some other programmes (mainly within China), as well as a contract lounge for several airlines, including Air Serbia and Hainan Airlines. For those coming in on a credit card programme, you’re allowed a 2h stay at the lounge. The lounge is open from 6 AM to 11 PM daily.
No. 170 VIP Lounge Shanghai T2 Location
In order to reach the No. 170 lounge at Shanghai Pudong’s Terminal 2, you need to be flying out of the international terminal. Follow the signs to gates G101-G652, and take the train to the satellite terminal, where you’ll see a direct entrance to the lounges.
No. 170 Lounge Shanghai PVG Entrance
Take the lift up to the fourth floor, and follow the corridors and signage towards where the lounges are. There’s also a China Eastern lounge there, which was closed during my visit.
No. 170 Lounge Shanghai PVG Entrance
From there, go past the walkway above the (beautiful) new satellite terminal, and you’ll find the entrance to the No. 170 lounge.
No. 170 Lounge Shanghai PVG Entrance
In case your flight is departing from the main area of Terminal 2, don’t worry – follow the signs back to the main terminal in a small rear section of the train, sectioned off for departing passengers returning to the main area (the rest of the train then becomes an arrivals train). While the process is straightforward, you might want to make sure you have at least 45 minutes to do the roundtrip, and also get ample time to shower and get a bite to eat – 30 minutes was cutting it for me, and I was rushing throughout the journey.
Shanghai Pudong Terminal 2 Train
No. 170 VIP Lounge Shanghai T2 Seating and Atmosphere
The No. 170 lounge at Shanghai PVG T2 is one large room. In this case, it was also very quiet, and had lots of free seating. There was a dining area with some higher tables, some bar/table seating, and a relax area with armchairs.
No. 170 Lounge Shanghai PVG Lounge
The lounge felt very new and sparsely decorated, though I did enjoy the China Southern 787s on display on one of the (otherwise empty) bookshelves.
No. 170 Lounge Shanghai PVG Lounge Decoration
There was a bar to the back of the lounge, though not only was it not staffed – all of the shelves were bare as well. I presume that this area just isn’t open yet, due to the complete lack of bottles on display.
No. 170 Lounge Shanghai PVG Bar
There’s also an outside patio area of sorts, though this wasn’t open during my stay – perhaps this could be purposed into a nice seating area, though in this case it just obstructed any views of the tarmac.
No. 170 Lounge Shanghai PVG Outside Area
Despite the fact that the lounge isn’t particularly well equipped and still feels quite sparse, I found the seating to be comfortable, and would imagine it would be a very good place to get some work done. WiFi was fast (though obviously you’re subject to the Great Firewall, unless you have a working VPN).
No. 170 VIP Lounge Shanghai T2 Food Spread
While I didn’t get to check out the quality of the food, there’s a small hot food spread available, featuring rice, creamy mushroom pasta, steamed broccoli, chicken curry, and some other Chinese dishes.
No. 170 Lounge Shanghai PVG Food Spread
In addition, there’s also a made-to-order noodle bar, offering noodle soup and wontons. I would’ve loved to have a bowl if I had more time, though in this case I was just dropping by.
No. 170 Lounge Shanghai PVG Noodle Bar
No. 170 VIP Lounge Shanghai T2 Showers
When I got to the lounge, I asked the reception desk whether I could have a shower. The receptionist paged a shower attendant, and I found a room to be ready for me. Much like the China Eastern lounge I visited a few days prior, the toiletries were different brands and all in Chinese, though I found the room to be very modern (it even featured a Japanese-style toilet).
No. 170 Lounge Shanghai PVG Shower Room
You won’t have to pay any extra to use this shower room with a Priority Pass subscription and/or an AmEx Platinum card, so I found this feature to be very handy between flights. The actual shower area was big, and I found water pressure to be good as well.
Conclusion: No. 170 Lounge Shanghai PVG
This is a very short and sweet review of the No. 170 lounge at Shanghai Airport. The lounge itself feels new and rather sparse, including some features (such as a cocktail bar) that haven’t yet opened.
However, it’s most fit-for-purpose if you have a Priority Pass membership or AmEx Platinum card, don’t otherwise have lounge access, and need to shower between flights at Terminal 2. Just be aware that it’s located in the satellite terminal, so you’ll have to take the train there and back if your flight’s departing from the main Terminal 2.
