The security lines at most airports leave little to be desired. At JNB, it’s no different and there is one queue (security) followed by another (passport control). Again I brought water through with no problem (again I’d forgotten!).
The Shongololo Lounge was the one with the best review on LoungeBuddy and on Priority Pass (no affiliation to either).
It was fairly easy to locate (turn left after passport control and follow the signs towards the A gates). It’s right at the bottom of a ramp where the lighting isn’t super strong.
When I arrived, about 3 hours before my 11.50pm flight, things were pretty quiet. As usual in South Africa, the receptionists (x3) were engaged with something else and just carried on. This doesn’t come across at ALL as rude, just that they’ll be with you when they get done.
The lounge looks fairly smart – everything is decked out in leather shades of black, deep amber and tan, with fancy wall coverings.
The refreshment area is pretty big and the lounge is surprisingly large (not on an international airline lounge scale, but for Priority Pass lounges, it has plenty of room).
There is a drinks area for spirits and wine and fridges with beer and sparkling drinks.
There was a pretty decent coffee machine though, this being the evening, the red wine was getting much more action!
There are sandwiches, fruit and (limited) sushi. I wasn’t hungry for a sandwich when I arrived but I did want to snaffle one for my flight. Note well – when I came back an hour later, nearly everything was gone!
There were two hot mains: a chicken chasseur and Korean-style sriracha ribs with rice as the base for both dishes. The rice didn’t look great, but the chicken was really good. There was also a vegetable soup if those mains didn’t suit or for vegetarians.
I realise this doesn’t look amazing, but the chicken was tender and there was lots of butternut squash and other veggies in the dish.
Look! I even look happy in that ginormous chair! The lighting wasn’t especially kind 😦
Oh here was the (one) dish of sushi. I can’t say it looked appealing, but you know, it’s the first time I’ve seen sushi in a lounge, so good on them!
There were lots of crisps. Including those amazing Doritos in the blue bag. In the US, this is ranch flavour (not sure there is a blue bag in the UK?). But this was like a spicy sweet chilli. They were seriously good. In my next stop (Argentina), the only flavour is cheesy horror.
There’s those shiny bottles calling out your name. “Have a gin and tonic” they cry. “This is delicious brandy with a brand you’ve never heard of before!” they tempt.
Before my big 11 hour flight in economy (whisper it) to Sao Paulo, I decided to use the shower. Note well! There is only one shower (at least only one for men!) I had to wait about an HOUR for it to come to my turn.
It’s clearly marked as a shower, though a woman in a burqa tried to get in before I locked the door (seriously. She thought it was the women’s bathroom and misread the sign).
The room is fine – didn’t smell the absolute freshest ever – but I reckon they’d been cleaning it in between every customer and there had been a bunch of people in there. I cracked out my flip flops for this one.
As usual in RSA lounge showers, the shower gel and shampoo are cheap replacements. These were pretty nasty.
The shower itself was perfectly clean and had lots of hot water. Perfect and refreshing.
Two towels were provided as seems normal in lounge showers. As well as one very handy hairdryer.
Well that’s it! Shongololo Lounge is pretty good and gets 8 out of 10 from me!
