We checked this one out right after visiting the Coral Finest Lounge next door, so the comparison was inevitable. Plaza Premium is one of those lounge brands you see everywhere, and the quality varies wildly depending on the airport. The Nagoya location is decent enough. But coming from the Coral lounge, it felt like a step down in almost every regard.
The lounge is also underground, at around 450 sqm. It opened as part of Chubu Centrair’s international departures facility and is accessible via Priority Pass, DragonPass, Diners Club, and various airline and credit card programmes.
Location and access
The lounge is located next to Gate 18 on the 2nd floor of Terminal 1, in the international departures area of Chubu Centrair International Airport. Like the Coral lounge nearby, you’ll need to head downstairs to reach it. Follow the signs, as it’s not immediately obvious from the main concourse level.
We entered as Star Alliance Gold members flying Asiana Airlines. However, you can also access this lounge through Priority Pass and other membership programmes.
Layout
It’s a compact, long hall. You can see the entire space from the entrance. Sofas line the right side of the lounge facing the tarmac, and dining tables are arranged along the left. There isn’t much variety in the seating. It’s essentially one long corridor with sofas and chairs on both sides.
The one advantage this lounge has over the Coral lounge is the tarmac views. Since the seating faces outward, you get a decent view of aircraft movements on the apron. It’s not the most dramatic view, but it’s natural light and something to look at, which the Coral lounge doesn’t have at all.
Food and drinks
The food leans Japanese with some broader Asian options. Hot dishes included minced pork, fried rice, bamboo shoots, and pepper pork with oyster sauce. On the salad side, there was Japanese spinach namul, pickled radish, beansprout namul, carrot namul, and braised pork and eggplant with grated daikon radish. The namul selection was actually quite nice, and felt more thoughtful than what you’d typically find at a Plaza Premium location.
There was also a cold noodle soup station on the side, served with ginger, green onion, and fried tofu accompaniments.
The drinks selection covered the basics. There’s a Costa Coffee machine alongside fountain drinks.
Alcohol included beer, wine, sparkling wine, whisky, gin, Campari, Japanese sake, and Japanese shochu. What stands out here is that you can order a cold matcha latte that’s made right in front of you by the bartender.
Closer to the entrance of the lounge, there seems to also be a separate breakfast buffet setup that wasn’t used when we visited.
Amenities
The lounge has a dedicated smoking room, which is fairly standard for Japanese airport lounges. There are also a few work desks with power sockets for those who need to get things done before a flight.
There are no showers here, though toilets are available inside the lounge.
Concluding thoughts
The Plaza Premium Lounge at Nagoya is a reasonable Priority Pass option. The food has more Japanese character than you might expect from a Plaza Premium, and the tarmac views are a genuine plus if natural light matters to you. The namul selection and cold noodle soup were pleasant surprises.
That said, if you have access to both this and the Coral Finest Lounge nearby, the Coral lounge is the better space by some distance. The design, the atmosphere, and the food variety are all stronger there. The only thing Plaza Premium has going for it is the view.
If you’re flying out of Chubu Centrair and only have time for one lounge, go to Coral. If you have time for both, Plaza Premium is worth a quick walk through for the tarmac views and to try the namul.
