Welcome to my lounge review of Encalm Prive!
Introduction
Thanks to my business class flights with Vistara, I was eligible to use this lounge which I had planned to use during my long layover at this airport. It was a bit of a challenging getting to the airside early as the immigration officer informed that me I could only enter the immigration 3 hours before my scheduled flight time, I suppose they didn't want the airside to be overcrowded but I found it to be frustrating as I had to wander around aimlessly for the next an hour and a half before deciding to attempt to enter the airside again. Fortunately, after a few questions about my trip from the officer, I was allowed through and I manage to spend a good time at this lounge.
Vistara used to have their own lounge but it was closed down due to Delhi Airport's request to do so and the last day of operation took place on April Fool's Day in 2020.
You can check out the lounge review of Vistara's international lounge (Closed), (Live From A Lounge's version) over here.
Without further ado, let's begin this lounge review!
About this lounge
There are 2 Encalm lounges at the airside of Terminal 3. One of them is Encalm lounge and the other is Encalm Prive Lounge (which I am reviewing). What's the difference between these lounges? This Encalm Prive lounge is targeted for only premium class passengers and no credit card holders and priority pass holders are allowed into this lounge, they can use the Encalm Lounge instead for access. In addition, this Encalm Prive Lounge which was opened in December 2022. is bigger in capacity and have more facilities due to the additional space.
A little history about the airport lounges at this airport
The Delhi Airport authority asked the airlines to close their lounges to consolidate all these lounges into under the management of Encalm Hospitality which is now running all the lounges in this airport. So for the Encalm Prive Lounge, this one is built exclusively for airline customers and some of the following airlines that the passengers are eligible to use this lounge. They are Air India, Vistara, KLM, Emirates, Etihad, Air France, Japan Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and others.
Location of the lounge
This lounge is located on the 3rd floor of the Terminal 3 airside. After passing through security check, follow the arrows (below) and you can take either the escalator or elevator to the 3rd level. Follow the signboard which will lead you to the lounge. The lounge is right beside a Pharmacy.
Photo: Japan Airlines
Entrance of the lounge
This is even a hotel located 2 floors above the lounge. That is the Holiday Inn Express.
You can enter the lounge either by the lift or by the entrance at the 3rd level.
This is the reception area which you need to show your boarding pass to the staff before being allowed in.
Here we are, the Encalm Prive lounge!
The seating areas consist a mixture of dining tables and coffee tables.
USB charging and Universal ports are available.
The lounge may be large but I can imagine how crowded it can get since many airlines are using this lounge for their premium passengers.
I must say the lounge does look very nice with the painting of the beautiful buildings to showcase the Indian capital.
I was quite fortunate to be able to appreciate the quietness of the lounge before the crowd came in.
I sat down at one of these table to appreciate the Indian cuisine.
Another view of this beautiful lounge.
The children's playroom
The buffet consisted of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options.
Plenty of food option
I went for the non-vegetarian option.
There are chefs available to prepare food on request.
If you are not hungry, you can opt for the light snacks.
The hot meals were plentiful and I had a few rounds of these delicious food to settle my dinner.
So what is your impression of this lounge?
Facilities offered at this lounge
- Plenty of seats
- WiFi (Complimentary Wifi)
- Children's dedicated area
- Bar Area
- Buffet style meals
- Library
- Business Centre
- Juice Bar
- Spa
- Fitness Centre
- Showers (First Come First Service)
- Sleeping pods
- Private Lounge Area (Probably for VIP or Big groups)
- Cigar Lounge (Not Complimentary)
- Gaming Station
A little bit of greenery is nice to have as part of the decoration.
These are the beverages option for the non alcoholic selection.
There are also televisions available.
Newspapers and magazines are available.
Coffee maker
One last look at the main part of the lounge
You can walk further into the lounge as there are other facilities such as Spa, business centre, fitness centre, sleeping pods and showers can be found at this section.
A mini library to catch up on some reading.
A juice bar is located over here.
There is even spa and fitness centre at this lounge.You need to spend at least a few hours at the lounge to enjoy these facilities.
I wanted to book the showers but because it was fully booked at the time and had to wait for at least an hour for availability, I had to skip it as I didn't have enough time. So for those who wish to use the shower, head over to this part of the lounge to book your timeslot, that's the first thing you should do when you enter the lounge.
For more photos of the spa, fitness centre and the resting pods, you can check out Live From A Lounge's review over here.
At this point, I was on my way out.
These computers are useful for printing of documents especially for last minute meetings.
In order to use the lounge's wifi, you need to scan your passport into this machine in order to obtain a coupon with a wifi code painted on it.
What did I have for dinner?
Gin and tonic accompanied with a couple of plates of local dishes.
The quality was top notch.
I ended my meal with some sweet dessert.
Time flew past very fast and soon I had to make my way to the assigned gate which was quite a distance away. The walk to the gate took around 15 minutes so don't forget to give yourself some time to make your way to the departure gate.
My assigned gate was initially gate 6 but later on an announcement was made and the gate was changed to gate 4C that means one thing, our aircraft was parked at a remote parking lot.
New Delhi's terminal 3 doesn't look too shabby!
These are the flights happening at that time. I wonder whether after November (the offical merger on 11th November), will we see the reduction of flights on certain routes to cut down on cost. All Vistara flights from November 11th onwards will no longer use the Flight code UK, instead they will use AI2000-2999 series to replace the current flight numbers.
For example: UK115 which is my flight to Singapore would be renumbered to AI2015. With both airlines offering different cabin products, I assumed that they will continue to operate as it is and slowly make changes such as switching aircraft on other routes to match the demand. More on this in my part 2 of my Vistara Flying Adventure. Stay tuned!
To be continued!
My rating
Location: 5/5
Staff Service: 5/5
Lounge Interior: 5/5
Selection of Food & Beverages: 5/5
WiFi Connection: 4/5
Shower: Nil (Unfortunately, I didn't get to use)
Resting area: Nil (I didn't get to use)
Seating area: 5/5
Facilities: 5/5
Overall rating: 34/35
Percentage: 97%
Conclusion
I am glad that I managed to get more time to spend at the lounge as I was well rested and fed before my late flight back home. What I like about the lounge is the facilities that allow you to spend more time doing what you have to do and the extra bonus of enjoying a shower, sleeping pod to rest and taking a spa. The quality of the food is great and the choices of non alcoholic and alcoholic drinks are great. This is certainly one of the better lounges out there and with only this few number of lounges at the airport, there are pros and cons about it. Pros - Enjoying your meals together with your friends flying on another airline. Cons - The lounge may get crowded and one may have to wait for a while to be able to use facilities such as sleeping pod and showers. So if you eligible to use this lounge when you are departing from Terminal 3 Delhi Airport, I recommend you to drop by here for a short while to rejuvenate yourself before your flight.
Hope you enjoy this review!
For my previous trip report (Vistara A320neo MAA-DEL), click here
For my next trip report (Vistara A321neo DEL-SIN), click here
Thanks for reading and have a good one!
Charles
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