Lounge Review: Air New Zealand Lounge, Terminal 1, Pier C – Sydney (SYD)

…a glorious retreat at Sydney airport

When: February 12, 2024

Rating – 9/10 – Exceptional

Access – Star Alliance Gold, Polaris Class or United Club membership

This is the nicest lounge in Sydney Australia for Star Alliance Gold passengers. Modern décor with images of New Zealand, a live cooking station, showers and comfortable seating highlight this beautiful lounge.

The lounge is on the upper level of Pier C of the international terminal near gate 59. It is next to the Singapore Silverkris lounge. Like many of the lounges in Sydney, passengers have to walk through innumerable boutiques and restaurants before arriving at the departure gates and lounges. Note that United flights depart from another Pier – so it can be a 20 minute walk between lounge and gate.

The lounge is divided into several areas with the bar and some seating in the first area. I cannot say enough about the design of the bar – with purple seats and a glass wall behind the bottles – it’s lovely.  In fact the light fixtures and the discreet yellow and blue lighting throughout make this one of the most visually appealing lounges I have ever visited.

Since it was morning, I do not have a drink – but had a nice Americano from the barista station! There was an extensive buffet, where I had a couple of eggs, a roll, and some fruit. I was at the lounge very early – so the live cooking station was just setting up when I was ready to eat. If I was patient, I would have had something made to order. Live cooking stations are one of my favorite options in lounges, if there is no sit down restaurant.

There were also shower suites in the lounge, but since I showered before I got to the airport, I did not use one of them. Shame on me for not taking some pictures! After answering a few emails and finishing my coffee drink, I went next door to the Silverkris lounge operated by Singapore Airlines. However, since it is closed temporarily for refurbishment, I will not review it at this time.

I rate this lounge 9/10. Best features: The décor and cooking station.  Flaws: Far from some gates and could get crowded given the number of airlines that send their premium passengers to this lounge (probably exacerbated while the Singapore lounge is being refurbished).