Concordia Manado Lounge Review – Manado (MDC)

Indonesia continues to set the standard for fantastic lounges, domestic and international alike (this one also doubles as an international lounge). For a small airport in a second-tier city, the Concordia Lounge certainly won’t leave you disappointed. It’s not as swanky as the Concordia Bali or the delightful Concordia Yogya, but this one has a few surprises of its own. To learn more, read on: our Concordia Manado Lounge Review – Manado (MDC) covers everything you need to know to to make the most of your time at Manado’s Sam Ratulangi Airport.

Our Trip – Concordia Manado Lounge Review – Manado (MDC)

In late 2019 Garuda Indonesia inaugurated a flight from Davao to Manado, and we decided to jump on the opportunity to visit northern Sulawesi straight from the Philippines. From there we headed to the historical and fascinating volcano island of Ternate before flying back to Manado just in time to miss our connection to Davao and be grounded by bad weather. Rest assured, reader, we have spent many, many hours in this lounge and we know what we’re talking about.

The Facts – Concordia Manado Lounge Review – Manado (MDC)

Access is easy if you have Priority Pass: scan your card and you’re in. They don’t take many other cards, though you can likely pay cash to enter as well, though this is not advertised.

The real trick, though, is to find the lounge, which has no signs whatsoever. After you go through security turn right, pass the Polo store, and you’ll see an elevator on your right. Take this up one floor. When you exit the elevator, turn right again and you’ll find the lounge waiting.

Word to the wise: this isn’t a tiny airport, but it is wildly efficient. When we showed up here we shot through security – perhaps no more than five minutes from car door to lounge door. So if you’re planning to just spend a little time in the lounge, odds are you don’t need to arrive very early. The lounge does not get crowded.

The Space – Concordia Manado Lounge Review – Manado (MDC)

This is a spacious lounge with ample seating and high ceilings. The room is divided into four seating areas, with a central food buffet as in the Concordia Makassar. The walls are made of glass, so there is ample light and plenty of views of Manado’s verdant hills. Seats and tables are low, though, so tall folks will struggle to do their typing (as I am now.)

The real surprise, though, is that there is a vast outdoor area overlooking the tarmac with a number of covered picnic benches. It is hot, very hot, by eight am but perhaps this is a nice place to sit early in the morning or around sunset, and certainly when its cloudy or raining. Lounges with outdoor seating are among our favorites, so the Concordia Manado wins a lot of points here. You can smoke in this area, if you want. There is also a prayer room.

The food – Concordia Manado Lounge Review – Manado (MDC)

Indonesia sets a very high standard for food, even in lounges, so we aren’t going to gush about what’s on offer here – but you aren’t going to go hungry, either. There are full, hot meals constantly on offer, and during our two visits they were reasonably tasty and balanced – beef, bitter greens, mie goreng, two types of rice, some soups, and so on. On our second visit there were vegetables, Minhasa chicken (appropriately spicy), and more soups. Labels are in Bahasa.

There’s also some fruit, but not much in the way of dessert.

The drinks – Concordia Manado Lounge Review – Manado (MDC)

Unsurprisingly, there is not alcohol in this lounge as it is domestic (though accessible to international passengers.) There aren’t many non-alcoholic options either – milk, juice, water, coffee and tea.

There is a mysterious bar area that was staffed by three people on their phones, but the bar area is entirely empty and, at least when we were there, no other beverages were on offer.

The internet

Slow. Not excruciating, but not blazing either. Expect to be able to get basic work done, but not much else.

The restrooms

Spacious, astonishingly so. Quite a number of stations for a lounge that sees so few passengers. Not quite as clean as you’d like, but they’ve got both squatties and sitties. Don’t say this lounge isnt luxurious. No showers tho.

Final Thoughts – Concordia Manado Lounge Review – Manado (MDC)

Not bad! It isn’t cookie-cutter – you feel like you’re in a unique space, and the soaring ceilings and glass walls really add to the comfort of the place. You’ll get here, fill up your stomach, have a coffee and push off for your next destination. There’s no need to spend more than an hour here, though if you did, it would be just fine. Trust us: we’ve been in here for 6 hours and counting. 🙂

Final Grades