Saphire PremiAir Executive Lounge – Jakarta Halim (HLP)

Tucked away in the southeast corner of Jakarta’s second airport, Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport (HLP). This is a converted military airport that now also serves a range of domestic flights from budget operations like Batik air and Citilink (you’ll take by a squadron of jet fighters, which is admittedly very cool). The airport is small and fairly efficient, but the best benefit of flying domestically from HLP is that you have easy lounge access with your Priority Pass. Exciting, right? Well, eager reader, have a quick look below the fold before you start doing your victory dance. Welcome to our Saphire PremiAir Executive Lounge – Jakarta Halim (HLP).

The Facts

The most important thing we can tell you about the Saphire Lounge Halim Airport Jakarta is that the lounge is located before security. Once you’ve checked in for your flight, turn to your left and walk toward the far wall. You’ll find the lounge there, right next to check-in desk #1. Your Priority Pass will get you easy access – but if you pay per visit, you might find it cheaper to just shell out the IDR 200,000 cash entry fee (about $15 these days.) Inside, you’ll find food, beverages, restrooms, a small prayer space, and a wuzu station. There are also a selection of purses for sale so you can get some shopping done as well.

As far as lounges go, its not terrible here. But Indonesia sets a high standard, and this one isn’t quite up to it.

The Positives

The space

The Saphire Lounge Halim Airport Jakarta is not packed. In all our visits, we’ve never seen more than one or two people here quietly going about their thing. It is divided roughly into three seating sections, which helps to convey a sense of spaciousness. The chairs themselves are large and comfortable, with lots of power strips to plug in your devices, and quite a few tables. If you just want a place to sit and zone out, this lounge isn’t half bad.

For the art aficionados, we would be remiss if we did not mention the “painting exhibition” that seems to be permanently on in the lounge. The themes of the paintings are largely taken from Indo pastoral scenes and mythology (hello sexy Apsara.)

The food

There are a number of food options in this lounge. The only caveat is that if you do not know what you are doing, you might be a little bit bewildered. The food is very Java-specific, which is great. Some lounges totally fail to give you a local taste, but not here. If you’ve lived in, or are from, Indonesia, we assume you’ll know just what to do here. For the less informed, there are no signs indicating what each item is and how they are to be combined into something delicious, so just give it your best shot. There is also, however, rice, noodles, soups, and a range of veggies and meat. There is also a small desert station, as well as a selection of fruits.

The Negatives

To be entirely fair to this lounge, it is not at all terrible given the fact that it is located at a domestic airport used by budget airlines. That said, there are a few negatives that we could focus on.

The drinks

Not a lot of choices here, folks. You’ve got some juices, water, and teas. No alcohol at all. which is a bummer. On the plus side, they have many types of packaged coffees, all jam-packed with sugar. So you’ll only need one or two of these to get a proper buzz.

The smell

Parts of the lounge have, in the past, smelled like rotting tuna. That’s an important caveat. That said, as of early 2020, this had improved.

The noise

This is a fairly noisy lounge, even when it is totally empty. The space is small, but it has three televisions, all with the sound on. The location of the lounge just outside a raucous check-in area doesn’t help. There’s also a security gate intended for the use of private jet passengers, though in our two visits here, we never saw the gate in operation. Still, this is one lounge that you might want to have headphones at.

The internet

What can we say – the internet is slooooooooooooooow. Do not plan to accomplish much more than light email checking here – calls and video chatting are out of the question.

The Neutral

The lounge also features a smoke-room. I suppose all amenities are a good thing, but since no one wants a smokey lounge, this is a negative.

Final Grades