Bidvest Premier Lounge 1
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Bidvest Premier Lounge – Cape Town (CPT) International Terminal
The Bidvest Premier Lounge 1 at Cape Town airport’s international terminal is the de facto go-to club for most passengers departing the Mother City. Indeed, while Cape Town is growing as a tourist destination, airlines aren’t competing on ground services for the most part. British Airways and Emirates are the only two airlines to run their own lounges, while the independent Bidvest Premier Lounge is contracted by every other international carrier. In addition, the Bidvest Premier Lounge 1 welcomes pay-in users as well as holders of numerous credit cards, and members of lounge access programs such as Priority Pass. Access is therefore hardly exclusive, but the location of the lounge right outside immigration cannot be beat.
Bidvest Premier Lounge 1 CPT design
The Bidvest Premier Lounge 1 is located on a mezzanine above the concourse level. The reception desk is located on the lower level, and the line routinely spills outside the door, as a guests show up with all sorts of credentials, highlighting the club’s broad access policies.
Bidvest Premier Lounge – Cape Town (CPT) International Terminal
Upstairs is an elegant but dark space with vaulted ceilings. While the lounge has windows, it lacks views and receives little daylight. The dim lighting doesn’t compensate.
The space is divided into a main seating and dining area, followed by a smaller, more intimate seating zone in the back. There is little real estate overall and the layout feels cramped, especially at peak times when the lounge is overrun by travelers. When we visited, the air was hot and stuffy despite the relatively cool weather outside, and smoke from the smoking area would bleed into the main room, making the whole space smelly and slightly unpleasant.
On the bright side, the seats are comfortable, and universal power outlets are available throughout. Flowers on side tables brighten up the space. In the back room back the windows are a series of more private seats overlooking the concourse. Large shared work tables with built-in power outlets provide an alternative seating option for laptop users.
Bidvest Premier Lounge 1 CPT amenities
Bidvest Premier Lounge – Cape Town (CPT) International Terminal
The buffet offers a diverse and somewhat eclectic spread of snacks, appetizers, salads, and desserts. Soft drinks, espresso, wines and a variety of complimentary middle-shelf alcoholic beverages are also available.
Complimentary Wi-Fi is available, though shockingly there is a 200 Mb cap on data transfers. We did not notice any issue with regular use over a one hour time frame, but the limit is inappropriate at an international departure lounge. It’s not specific to the Bidvest Premier Lounge, though—the much fancier British Airways Lounge is subject to the same restrictions from the airport provider.
The bathrooms are surprisingly well appointed, especially in light with the overall lack of real estate. Each individual oversized stall comes with a sink and plenty of space to change or freshen up. There is also a single shower room which is available upon request.
Other amenities include a smoking room, a selection of newspapers and magazines, and a shared fax/printer downstairs.
Bidvest Premier Lounge – Cape Town (CPT) International Terminal
Bidvest Premier Lounge 1 CPT bottom line
The Bidvest Premier Lounge 1 at Cape Town airport’s international terminal caters to all basic needs with comfortable seating, power outlets, a good food and beverage selection, elegant bathrooms, and a shower. But the crowds, the noise, the limited space, lack of daylight and smell of cigarette smoke in the buffet area make for a somewhat underwhelming experience. When it’s quiet, the PT International Sky Lounge is a haven away from the concourse. But when it’s busy – which is typical – you’ll be eagerly waiting for boarding time.
Ultimately, the club can’t be blamed for their crowding issue. It’s unfortunate that more airlines don’t operate their own lounge.
- The private seats by the windows
- The generous buffet
- The individual bathroom stalls
- The lack of daylight and views
- The smell of cigarette smoke
- The crowds at peak times
Bidvest Premier Lounge 1 at Cape Town (CPT) welcomes:
- Pay-in customers: relax at the lounge no matter what airline you're flying. Purchase access now and save time and money.
- Select premium customers and elite members departing on an airline served by this lounge (see airlines served).
Cards accepted
You may have access to Bidvest Premier Lounge 1 as a premium customer of one of the following airlines, or as an elite member of their frequent flyer program. Check the Access rules tab for more details, or use our lounge access wizard to find out if you have access.
Star Alliance
Access for eligible customers traveling on the following Star Alliance member airlines only.
 | Austrian (OS) |  | Ethiopian Airlines (ET) |  | Lufthansa (LH) |
 | SWISS (LX) |  | Singapore Airlines (SQ) |  | Turkish Airlines (TK) |
 | United (UA) |
oneworld
Access for eligible customers traveling on the following oneworld member airlines only.
 | Cathay Pacific (CX) |  | Qatar Airways (QR) |
SkyTeam
Access for eligible customers traveling on the following SkyTeam member airlines only.
 | Air France (AF) |  | Delta (DL) |  | KLM (KL) |
 | Kenya Airways (KQ) |  | Virgin Atlantic (VS) |
Other airlines
 | Air Mauritius (MK) |  | Condor (DE) |  | Edelweiss (WK) |
Leave a review
Overall ratings
Terrible lounge. Food is old and stale, it’s hot and stuffy, crowded and the service is rude. MUCH rather sit at the restaurant and have a good meal with some fresh air.
Sorry but this was not a pleasant experience at all. We were flying business class out of Cape Town so we got complimentary passes to this lounge and just about everything was bad.
The air conditioning wasn’t working so the air was stale and stuffy, the refrigerators were almost empty so no water or soft drinks available, the coffee was appalling (low quality dispensing machine with powdered milk) the general atmosphere was dark and mellow and it was way too crowded. The staff just stood around looking lost, not really helping anyone. No, sorry, this was not a good lounge experience.
Insist on be allowed to the one upstairs and don’t let you be referred to the second class lounge downstairs.. Did that mistake!! “Ohh sir it is so busy and warm upstairs so we have a much better downstairs..”
Drank gewoon warm in de koeling de beste man komt bijvullen en zet de warme weer gewoon vooraan😩
Air conditioing didn’t work, staff failed yo top up the one item of hot food. No newspapers and the only TV showing sport was in the smoking room. My tip would be to save your money and spend it in the bars and restaurants on the concourse as this was a BIG disappointment.
A good range of amenities, but no views and constantly crowded.
This lounge is an absolute joke. Upon walking in, two attendants were sitting behind the desk counting money and did not even look at me. I simply proceeded to walk up the stairs, upon which one of them called me back and asked for my boarding pass.
The lounge itself was cramped and packed with people, I feel like you’d be seated more comfortably outside the lounge. I was lucky to find a place to sit. The food options were basic, but I didn’t really come for the food – I mainly wanted to connect to the internet as the regular airport wi-fi wasn’t working very well.
Turns out, the business wifi wasn’t working either! I approached one of the waiters to ask about the wifi and he told me to speak to one of the managers on the floor. I pointed out that there was no manager to be found/seen on the floor. He then went in to the back area to reset the router. After that I was able to connect.
After about 15 minutes, the internet was down again. I find it incomprehensible and unacceptable that a business lounge can’t even get the internet right!
average and limited
even the wifi didn’t work
I arrived at this lounge some 45 mins before a (delayed) flight after a rather stressful rush through check-in and border-control (two lines for the entire terminal???). The lounge serves quite a few airlines and at least priority pass (which I used, as AF was not able to provide me with lounge access…). While staff is nice, the lounge gets rather cramped.
Average snacks and food which for a generic third party lounge is nothing unexpected…
Lounge has two showers and I was lucky to get one in order to get a quick shower before a 11 hr flight to Paris. Work stations were not visible and the WIFI connection was awfully slow.