Lounge Review: JAL Sakura Lounge Honolulu (Admirals Club)

by | Mar 10, 2019 | Blog, Lounges | 0 comments

The JAL (Japan Airlines) Sakura Lounge in Honolulu is interesting. This lounge also functions as an American Airlines Admirals Club.

In August 2018, a new JAL Sakura Hale lounge opened. This lounge is for JAL Elite members, Oneworld Sapphire/Emerald members and those travelling same day in JAL Business or First. I can’t find any reviews of the Hale lounge online, but their is a press release here. Definitely visit the Hale lounge if you can meet the entry requirements.

The Sakura Lounge functions as an Admiral Club lounge for those with an Admirals Club Membership or who have the Citi AAdvantage Executive Elite World MasterCard. Oneworld/JAL elites and those flying in JAL business or first can access this lounge. This lounge does not resemble an Admirals Club at all. The decor is more JAL style, but it is older.

Location

To find the Sakura/Admiral Club lounge, use this handy diagram and look for the signage next to The Local Restaurant.  My flight departed out of Gate of E8 so the lounge was in a good location immediately after security. The Sakura Hale lounge is located near the C Gates. JAL flights depart out of E gates as well. Make sure to leave earlier if one visits the Sakura Hale Lounge.

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The lounge had to be reached by taking an elevator or going up the stairs.  It was a long, narrow hallway to the official entrance of the lounge. Honestly, it felt as if I was in the airport office building and I just followed signs to eventually find the lounge. Definitely, not a premium lounge vibe at all. In 2019, ANA (All Nippon) will start flying their new A380 to HNL.  I think JAL is feeling the competition and opened a new lounge in response. This lounge is a good domestic lounge, but it does not cut it for international business or first.

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There was supposed to be a JAL and AA representative. However, there was only a AA representative and she helped my family check in.

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Seating

You can enter the lounge by either going to the left or right of the check in. I went through the left. Here are a few pictures of all the seating the Sakura lounge has to offer.

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This review refers to the lounge as the Sakura lounge because it does not resemble an Admiral’s club at all. If you ever been to an Admiral’s club you know there are two types.

  1. The brand new, with new furnishings.
  2. Or the old, where the wear & tear is obvious.

The same can be said for a Delta Sky Club or United Club. The good news for premium passengers is they can escape to the much better & bigger lounges such as the Polaris or Flagship. (sorry Delta fans, proper lounges is something Ed Bastian is not concerned with)

This lounge is odd for Admiral Club members. It is clean, well maintained and different furnishings than what members are used to. My visit was at night and it was super quiet! I had no problems taking pictures without people in it.

Food

There are a few choices for alcohol. I’m underage in the US so I didn’t bother to check it out. However, there is no bar. Not having a nice bar area is quite a disappointment. In Phoenix, I watched the World Cup at the Admirals Club bar. Hot food was limited and rather disappointing.  The coffee & tea selection was underwhelming.

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Facilities

This lounge only real facility are restrooms. Showers are not available. The restrooms are located outside the lounge. Don’t worry about getting back into the lounge! While I would have preferred the restrooms to be inside, it did not bother me. The decor of the restrooms were a little dated, to say the least. However, since it is a JAL lounge they featured the Japanese toilets! When checking in, the lounge attendant told us that the restrooms were outside of the lounge. In case one forgot, the lounge has stickers on the walls reminding guests.

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Conclusion

This lounge is a great place to escape the mess of Honolulu airport. Checking in at Honolulu was the worst experience I have had in a long time. This was with AAdvantage Gold Status (Oneworld Ruby) which I no longer have. When checking in a family spilled a jug of water on the floor and told no one. A few minutes later a poor soul slipped and fell. I still remember the TSA agent who rushed to help and stood on the spot to warn people before the janitor could clean up the spill. Unfortunately, the hard work of TSA still meant long lines, even in Pre-Check. I was in the line with a lady who was flying United to Guam. She was super worried about making it to the gate. Fortunately, I did not make the mistake of referring to Guam as outside of the US 🙂

TLDR:

  • Great, Central Location
  • Clean, Well Maintained
  • Food/Drink Offerings Poor

Hawaii Trip Report

This is the last post in the Hawaii Trip Report. If you would like to go back and read previous post they are linked down below!

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