Lounge Check: China Southern VIP Sky Pearl, Baiyun International Airport

Bathroom inside the China Southern VIP Sky Pearl lounge Terminal 2 Baiyun International Airport, Guangzhou. Photo / Matt Brown

Matt Brown checks into the China Southern VIP Sky Pearl lounge, at Baiyun International Airport, Guangzhou

Arrival: I landed on CZ336 from Auckland and headed for the brand new lounge, located in the new Terminal 2, which had only opened four days earlier. After showing my boarding pass for my onward connection to Paris, I was welcomed into the lounge by staff.

Location: The Sky Pearl VIP lounge is located on the fourth floor mezzanine behind the duty-free shopping. It's easy to find and well signposted.

Access: Available for Sky team Business and First Class passengers, as well as for Gold/Silver class passengers depending on their flight class.

Lounge amenities: It's a big lounge (2234sq m). It was quite busy around 5pm when I arrived, with a lot of early-evening departures but there were plenty of comfortable chairs and recliners.

There are four shower cubicles and they were the best showers I have even seen in an airport lounge. They were were nice and cool with fantastic water pressure. Guests had to register at a counter and they gave you a buzzer that beeped when your shower was ready. I was whisked in within five minutes of requesting.

Food and drink: The lounge has a fully stocked serviced bar. There were two eating areas and there's a chef making dumplings and dim sum on request — yummy. There was also a variety of mainly Asian and one or two western dishes, such as meatballs and pasta. I found myself picking at small dishes regularly, maybe because I was so tired.

Sleep stations: I discovered a little too late into my seven-hour layover that the lounge also had two sleeping rooms, fully enclosed and dark, and ideal on a long stopover.

Noted for the return journey, where the layover is 8hr 30m.

Entertainment: Families will be pleased to note there's a small kids' room for families, with a TV and games. There's a variety of international and local magazines, although I didn't see many in English. There was plenty of baggage storage with lockers provided for passengers wanting to go out of the lounge to explore the duty-free shops in the terminal.

Wi-Fi: Good, although being in China you can't access Facebook or Twitter. My VPN wouldn't connect.

Overall impression: A sparkling new lounge that provides enough space for customers to rest and to work. The staff were courteous and helpful and it was a good all-round experience.