Oodles of Noodles: No. 77 China Eastern Plaza Premium Lounge in Shanghai Pudong Airport

There are many lounges in Shanghai PVG Terminal 2, including four Priority Pass lounges. A quick flip through lounge photos and reviews led me to the No. 77 China Eastern Plaza Premium Lounge, which claimed to be the world's first cobranded lounge when it opened in November 2015. Now it welcomes elite and business-class travelers from various airlines, travelers with Priority Pass memberships and travelers who are willing to pay for access. Here's my take on the lounge.

Check-in

The No. 77 China Eastern Plaza Premium Lounge was near Gate D77 in the international departures area of Terminal 2 at Shanghai Airport (PVG). Most international flights, including American Airlines, United Airlines and Air Canada, departed from Terminal 2.

The lounge was above terminal shops, so I had to take the escalator up to the lounge entrance desk. The lounge was open from 6am to 2am. Premium customers flying on many airlines had access to the lounge.

But access was also available to Priority Pass members. Although the Priority Pass website said the maximum stay is two hours, I stayed longer and had no issues. Enforcing a time limit, especially in a lounge this large, seemed infeasible.

If you didn't have Priority Pass, you could also pay for entry online through LoungeBuddy or at the door. There was not a discount for paying online. Prices for a two-hour stay ran about $37 per person.

Lounge

The views from most of the lounge of the apron and two runways were entertaining, as I saw many different plane types.

To the right, there were pairs of seats in groups of four, and large, semicircular couches were on the left. A few people were taking naps on these couches.

Past that was the dining room. In addition to many four-person tables, the dining room also had a drink counter, bread and dessert counter, a hot buffet and a staffed noodle bar.

To the right was a quieter part of the lounge. There were more couches great for napping or seating a large group in this area.

There were also tables and counters for working, relaxing or eating.

Behind this area, away from the runway views, was an even quieter area with more pairs of seats and booths with blank TV screens.

There was also a honeycomb-style seating area that looked ideal for distraction-free work — although the angle between the desk and seat didn't look the most comfortable.

At the far end of the lounge was a roped-off area that presumably was used when the lounge became crowded.

Amenities

The lounge had Wi-Fi that was easy to connect to. But, as might be expected, the connection was behind China's frustrating firewall. So many popular websites, like Gmail and Facebook, weren't accessible without a VPN.

Power outlets were reasonably easy to find in the lounge — most types of seating had access to at least one universal power outlet. Pairs of seats usually shared a universal outlet, and the outlets at couches were generally underneath the couches.

There was a decent selection of reading material near the lounge entrance.

There were two sets of bathrooms in the lounge. The restroom near the dining area only had two stalls on the women's side, while the bathroom at the other, quieter end of the lounge had four stalls. Both bathrooms had Japanese-style bidet toilets, makeup counters and sinks with soap and lotion.

There were three unisex showers available upon request. A shower was available when I arrived at the lounge, but I decided to wait to shower until after eating lunch. The shower rooms included a sink, a Japanese-style bidet toilet, an ottoman for sitting to tie your shoes and the shower stall itself.

By the sink, the lounge provided a toothbrush, shower cap and comb.

In the shower, shampoo and body wash were available in refillable pump bottles. Shortly after I entered the shower room, loud but soothing piano music started playing — perhaps to try to drown out the noise from the nearby kitchen.

Although I didn't take a particularly hot shower, the lack of ventilation in the room meant that the room completely fogged up by the end of my shower.

Food and Beverage

There were ample food and beverage options in this lounge, although Western options were limited. The first island in the dining area had drinks: a coffee machine, juices, milk, lemon-infused water, wine and liquor. There were six types of liquor, two red wines and two white wines. Sodas and beer were in a refrigerator near the noodle bar on the other side of the dining area.

The second island had various breads, pastries and desserts. There was also a bar of fresh cold items including salad, vegetables and fruits.

Next to the cold bar was a hot bar with large serving dishes of hot foods including meat dishes, noodles and fried rice. Next to the hot food bar was a noodle bar with "home" noodles, fish-ball noodles and Shanghai noodles.

Each option was noodles and broth, and you got to put on your choice of meats and toppings yourself. The Shanghai noodles were so good they warranted seconds.

Overall Impression

While most of the food selections weren't notable, the noodle bar was surprisingly stellar. The China Eastern Plaza Premium Lounge in Shanghai Pudong's Terminal 2 is a decent place to spend some time, get a bite to eat and take a shower or nap. If you find yourself in this terminal with time to kill — and can enter for free — this space is worth a visit.