Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport isn’t historically one to have the most stellar reputation – in fact, one survey quoted the airport as being the ‘second worst in Asia’ back in 2018. While the international terminal is lacklustre at best, the situation is a lot less pleasant in the airport’s outdated and overcrowded domestic terminal. Now imagine being stuck there for a rolling five-hour delay, with cramped and uncomfortable seating, few food and beverage outlets, and unclean toilets. Its saving grace? It might just be the Swoniga Lounge, if you ask me!

Lounge Access Requirements

Managed by Hotel Swoniga Ltd., the Swoniga Lounge operates like a hybrid between a restaurant and a traditional airport lounge. While it is set up like the latter, the lounge does not have a formal entry fee. It also does not contract its services to any airlines in the terminal, which makes sense considering that there are no premium cabin offerings on Nepal domestic flights.

Instead, after showing your boarding pass at the reception, you’ll be seated and handed a dining menu. You’ll be billed at the end of your stay, purely according to what foods and drinks you order (more on that later). In the end, I spent a total of INR 1200 or about GBP 6.5 or USD 8.7 for my two-hour stay – a complete steal if you ask me!

Location

After clearing the security checkpoint, you’ll find yourself at the airport’s main passenger lounge, alongside Gates 1-3 for Yeti Air departures. To the right and across from the golden statue of the Buddha, you’ll find a wooden staircase with a banner that clearly says Swoniga Lounge. Ascend on that staircase to level 1, where you’ll find the entrance to the lounge.

Swoniga Lounge

After I made my way through the entrance, I walked to the reception and asked about the lounge’s entry fee. There, the service concept was explained to me by the lounge staff (as I have explained above). After noting the details of my boarding pass, I was admitted and seated at a location of my choice.

Seating

The lounge’s seating area is located immediately to the right of the reception area. This consists of a relatively small rectangular room with seating divided between two aisles that run along the length of the space. Of that, the seats are arranged in the way you would expect an airport lounge to be. Furthermore, there are windows along one side of the lounge, although they merely look into the interior of the terminal.

The seating area consists mostly of colourful armchairs in groups of four. Along the window and through the centre of the lounge, there are armchairs in pairs of two arranged facing each other, separated by a coffee table. In addition, some variety can be found along the interior; this has banquette seating for groups of two, three, and four people. While the seats are arranged quite close to each other, it wasn’t much of a bother, considering how relatively empty the place was.

Furthermore, while quite outdated relative to an airport lounge in a major hub, the space is aeons ahead of the main terminal. Apart from the comfortable padded armchairs, there were a few universal power outlets scattered around the lounge. This was something I very much valued, as my phone’s battery had already depleted by this point.

Dining

As I mentioned earlier, the Swoniga Lounge essentially operates in the style of a restaurant. There is both an à la carte offering as well as a buffet spread at the back of the sitting room. The latter can be accessed during breakfast for a sum of NPR 1850 (~ GBP 10, USD 13.5) per person. For one, this can be a compelling proposition if you’re facing a prolonged delay or intend to drink.

Amenities

VIP Room

Located behind the lounge’s reception is a small but plush-looking VIP Room with eight or so armchairs. This space is separated from the main lounge with a transparent glass door, so it appears to be especially useful for pre-flight meetings. It isn’t clear what the requirements are for the usage of this room, although I’d imagine it can be used if you’re travelling with a large enough group.

Newspapers

Placed by the reception counter are a handful of newspapers and magazines in both English and Nepali. None were especially interesting to me, so I didn’t bother checking them out further.

Toilets

Located down a corridor next to the dining spread at the back of the lounge are the gender-segregated toilets. While the offering is nothing luxurious, it is a drastic improvement to the ghastly washrooms in the terminal. For one, I appreciate that the facility is clean, bright, and most importantly, dry. For a fact, I’d even go to the Swoniga Lounge entirely for its clean toilets – so this is something I really value.

Overall

With its simple and affordable restaurant-style entry requirement and its clean and comfortable offering, the Swoniga Lounge is an excellent little facility. While it by no means compares to a world-class airport lounge in a major hub, the space ticks all the boxes you could think of before departing a domestic Nepal flight. It is certainly a useful facility to have, particularly when you consider the dire condition of Tribhuvan International’s Domestic Terminal. In all, I’d easily rate the Swoniga Lounge as a solid four out of five, especially considering the alternative (or lack thereof).

Read more from this trip here!