When traveling from Asuncion’s Silvio Pettirossi International Airport (ASU) in Paraguay, your lounge options are limited. One of the few available lounges is the VIP Gold Lounge, operated by the Plaza Premium Group. What makes this lounge somewhat unique is that despite Plaza Premium severing ties with Priority Pass back in 2021, this remains one of the facilities you can still access with your Priority Pass membership.
I didn’t spend much time in the lounge, only about 35mins. And while it is very basic, lacking in things like showers and sleep pods, it was still a good experience with stable Wi-Fi and well-stocked food and beverage areas. The only main downside is missing work areas and more private spaces to relax or work. Overall, it is not a bad offering for an airport with only two baggage reclaim belts.
VIP Gold Lounge Location & Entry
I noticed the lounge was thankfully located next to the departure gate for my flight to Sao Paulo on my route back to the US. While inbound flew with LATAM from New York to Santiago, then onwards to Asuncion. My return was more circuitous heading over to Sao Paulo with GOL, before connecting to Montreal, with Air Canada, before my final leg to New York.
Entry
Gaining entry to the lounge was very simple, I showed my Priority Pass card which was scanned, and I was handed a small ticket. I was permitted to bring a guest (I was traveling with a friend on the same flight) and the process was repeated for them overall it took about 20 seconds each.
Interestingly the flight departure notice board is outside the lounge, not inside it. However, the agent said the lounge makes boarding announcements (in Spanish). The entrance only had one desk, and a single agent staffed it.
VIP Gold Lounge Layout and Space
The lounge is made up of one huge triangular-shaped room. As mentioned earlier, the only flight notice board is outside the lounge, which was annoying. Especially since the lounge had many TV on the wall. Surely, they could have put up a notice board inside as well. As a non-native Spanish speaker, I found the boarding announcement easy to miss.
Walking into the lounge, you walk past an architectural screen wall with a glass entry door. This brings you immediately into a large room with tall ceilings and many different types of sofa seats along the perimeter.
On the right are group seats with large sofas, while in the center are isles with single-seat lounge sofas. Some table seating is located in the middle, with woefully small tables.
By the window, additional aisles of sofas get plenty of natural light and give an excellent view of aircraft at the gate.
The left-hand side is occupied by single-seat lounge perimeter seating, which continues along the back to the window point. There are TVs along this wall, playing TV shows in Spanish.
Wi-Fi
The lounge provided free Wi-Fi, which was easy to connect to, and I found it quick and stable. Although since I only spent about 35 minutes in the lounge, I can’t really attest to how good it was for a few hours and if you were working with larger files.
Food Area
On the right-hand side, there is a small counter with two bar seats. This is also where the coffee maker and drinks order/bar is. Drinks are stocked on a counter and in a refrigerator behind this counter.
To the rear of that is an island with wine and desserts. However, there are also two further counters stocked with food and drinks, and to one side, there is an oven stocked with tasty empanadas, among other things.
Along the corner, there is a large refrigerator that is stocked with alcoholic drinks like beer, as well as soft drinks and water.
One thing to note is that I did not see any power outlets at the central seats, although I will look more closely on my next visit to Asuncion.
While I would typically go through the lounge’s unique features, like the Red Room in Tokyo Haneda, or the nap rooms in the Oman Air First Class lounge in Muscat, I won’t be this time around. The VIP Gold Lounge is pretty devoid of any special features. I wouldn’t consider this lounge for a more extended stay, but it works well for a short under-hour stay while waiting for your flight at this tiny airport.
Bathrooms
Unsurprisingly considering the size of the lounge, it only has three restrooms—one for men and one for women, as well as an accessible bathroom.
I found that if you needed to change, you could use the accessible restroom since it was substantially larger than the male bathroom. The lounge does not feature any showers or changing rooms.
VIP Gold Lounge Food & Beverage
Although the lounge is very basic, the food and beverages were pleasantly surprising. In terms of drinks, there was staff to make mixed drinks and cocktails alongside the pre-packaged offerings and automatic coffee machine.
In terms of food, one of the counters had a serving area with lots of pre-made offerings. There was also a sandwich-making machine. I did try this, but it did not work well for me in the end. I don’t know whether that is an issue with the machine or if I need to polish up my sandwich-making skills.
The standout item was the delicious warm empanadas. While not the healthiest option, they were gorgeous and frequently restocked by the staff. In fact, one of the biggest things I noticed about the food and beverage was that everything was replenished regularly and thus remained fresh and plentiful at all times.
Final Thoughts
Although basic, the VIP Gold Lounge in Asuncion is an excellent functional lounge that gets the job done. Like many fantastic restaurants, the lounge offering is basic, but it does what it offers very well. My only gripe is the lack of working space, although it is not significant since spending many hours in small airports like Asuncion’s is rare.
Overall, It’s a very basic lounge and fine for Asuncion. Honestly, all the negatives are minor. Considering this airport is small and efficient, with almost no waits and flights generally few and on time, this is a perfect lounge for waiting comfortably for your flight in Asuncion.
Pros
- Clean, comfortable, and good lighting with views of the runway and Gate
- Awesome, Fast & Stable Wi-Fi
- Empanadas were tasty
- Stable Wi-Fi
- Food was well stocked, and a good selection of drinks was available.
Cons:
- Limited food and sandwich options.
- Minimal amenities and no additional features.
- A shower space would be helpful.
- A nap room would be helpful.
- A Departures Screen would be helpful.
Verdict: 9/10
https://www.prioritypass.com/lounges/paraguay/asuncion-silvio-pettirossi/asu1-vip-gold
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