Due to some island hopping on our Hawaii trip, we departed from HNL twice times in a week. On the first departure, we tried to enter the Plumeria Lounge was but turned away due to being over capacity. This was a Tuesday around 2 pm. On our second attempt, entry was no issue and the lounge was nearly empty.

The Plumeria Lounge is a bit tricky to locate as there isn’t much signage for it throughout the airport. Once you are beyond security, look for the signage and escalator between Gates 56 and 57 on the 3rd level. The 2nd level is the boarding gates level. It’s a a 2 minute walk form most Interisland gates and a 10-15 minute walk from the Overseas gates. Hawaiian Airlines also has operates the nearby Premier Club near gate 56 on the 2nd level but it is not open to Priority Pass members.

We gained access to the Plumeria Lounge thanks to my Priority Pass membership which permits me guests as well. Access to the Plumeria Lounge is granted to Hawaiian Airlines International  Business Class passengers, Priority Pass member or by purchasing a day pass.

Pricing for a day pass to the lounge is as follows:

General $40 USD – must be purchase at time of check in (online/agent)
Pualani Gold $35 USD – must be purchased from lounge agent
Pualani Platinum $30 USD – must be purchased from lounge agent

The check-in agent was very friendly although their computer system was down and they had to manually make a copy of my Priority Pass card. We grabbed a table near the windows although there aren’t any tarmac views. The lounge is located next to the Wiki Wiki shuttle stop so you’ll just have a view of the shuttle buses rolling by.

The food selection was average with mostly basic cold snacks. The drink selection was above average but there was no liquor if that’s your preference. I did appreciate that the lounge is stocked with Maui Brewing beer which I’m a fan of. You won’t get a substantial meal but you’ll get a comfy seat, access to power ports and a great WiFi connection. The WiFi was easy to connect to and very fast.

Keep in mind that this lounge probaly isn’t going to be the most comfortable during peak travel days an times. We were turned away on our first transit of HNL and it looked very overcrowded. However, on slower days, the Plumeria Lounge was a decent lounge option. We had nearly two hours to pass before our departure for DFW so the relaxed environment was good place to relax pre-flight. Honolulu isn’t the most amenity-rich airport so even a fairly simple lounge is welcomed.