The end of the previous instalment had me clear of transit security, and hunting for an EVA Air lounge in Taipei before continuing my journey to Seattle. EVA Air operates several lounges in TPE, in this case I ended up at The Infinity. I have visited the The Infinity many times on previous trips, as well as The Star with which it shares a common entrance. Nonetheless, I was looking forward to seeing how Covid has affected the lounge offerings.
The Infinity: Entrance and Overview
The Infinity lounge is located on the upper level of the central concourse between the C and D piers. The lounges were very quiet when I arrived. At the time I travelled, I believe EVA were directing all lounge-eligible transit passengers to The Infinity, while originating passengers were directed to The Star or the other lounges as per their entitlement. Thus I was directed right to The Infinity.
The Infinity is nicknamed the ‘Tron’ lounge by many frequent flyers due to its décor. This is mainly due to the futuristic lighting around the main seating area near the buffet. It could alternatively be described as resembling a karaoke lounge, in particular with the black sofas by the dimly-lit far walls.
Other seating options around here include pairs of armchairs across the same black round tables as above.
One issue with this part of the lounge is the lack of power outlets. I chose a seat by the window overlooking the landside check-in area below, and thankfully there was a power outlet here. However it was mostly obscured by the chair, and only a sharp eye would notice it.
Closer to the entrance, there’s more rows of armchairs. There was a long table/counter which overlooked the check-in area. This was designed for working and had power outlets obviously positioned, though it seemed there were more chairs than outlets.
For those who are looking to work, free WiFi is available of course Speeds were decent on my phone, on a Speedtest, the download speed clocking in at 52MB/s.
Besides these seating areas, there isn’t anywhere for passengers to stretch out during a longer transit. In fact during my stay in the lounge, I saw lady decide to lie down on the sofa that circles the large column. Given the lounge was almost devoid of passengers, this wasn’t an issue, just a slightly inelegant solution. While The Infinity was designed to look futuristic (hence the Tron moniker), in my view it’s starting to look a little tacky and dated.
There’s no distancing with the seating, but with only a handful of passengers in the lounge that evening, this happened naturally anyway.
Food & Beverage
All the F&B is concentrated in a buffet area in the deepest part of the lounge. The hot food was mainly on the left, while beverages were on the right. In the middle was a salad bar, desserts and breads.
Apart from gloves and hand sanitiser being made available on the middle island, which passengers were requested to use while taking from the buffet, there were no sign of any Covid protocols.
There was 3 warmers each containing 3 dishes, mainly Asian food plus a pasta. There was also a couple of soups and some bamboo steamers containing a small selection of dim sum items. The food honestly looked very unexciting, so I restricted myself to just a bowl of the Chinese soup and a couple of bao (Chinese steamed buns), all of which were just average tasting.
A salad bar that clearly hadn’t been refilled for awhile was in the middle island. Also on the middle island were a small selection of desserts, none of which appealed to me.
Apart from the usual soft drinks and hot beverages, there was a small alcohol selection. Nothing too exciting here. In any case, I was saving my alcohol consumption for the next flight.
Around 10.30pm, a staff member went around informing the 4 (including myself) passengers in the lounge that they would be clearing the buffet area. On a whim, I asked him if they had any ice cream, since I recall seeing some in The Star on prior visits, but I wasn’t sure if The Infinity ever had any, or if Covid cost cutting had got to it. He informed me that The Infinity never had ice cream, but he could bring some over from The Star if I wanted. He returned a couple of minutes later with 2 scoops of strawberry ice cream as requested.
While the ice cream itself wasn’t anything great, this was another example of the very high level of service that EVA provides. This willingness to accommodate requests was evident throughout this journey, whether on the ground or onboard.
Showers
Not wanting to go 24h without a shower, I had immediately requested to use the showers when I got to the lounge. It was a good thing I did that quickly, as a sign outside the showers indicated the last shower entry was 9.30pm. (It was around 9.25pm when I got to the lounge)
There are a total of 4 shower rooms, with each given names such as “Fantasy Flow” and “Star Drops”
The shower rooms in The Infinity are spacious and equipped with a toilet, while shower rooms in The Star lack a toilet.
A pair of slippers and various amenities such as a shower cap and dental kit were provided. The toiletries here were L’Occitane.
The shower itself had 3 types of outputs to choose from: a fixed, high-mounted similar to but not quite a rain shower, a normal shower head on a hose, and 3 torso-level jets.
The toilet was equipped with a bidet and heated seat.
With only 4 shower rooms, the wait can get long during the morning peak when many long-haul arrivals come in, and passengers connect onto the morning intra-Asia bank. During my transit in TPE back in 2019, I tried to shower at the The Star after arriving from SFO, only to be told the wait would be at least 45min. On that occasion, I hopped over to the SilverKris Lounge instead and was able to use the shower immediately. (The TPE SilverKris Lounge has not reopened at time of writing, and anyway could do with some serious upgrading).
Other Facilities
A business centre is located near the entrance, if passengers need to print or otherwise need to get online but don’t have their own device.
Beside the busines centre, there were lockers available for passengers to store their carry-on bags.
Conclusion
While The Infinity is still a pleasant place to spend a couple of hours, I feel it’s starting to show its age. The limited number of power outlets is a clear indicator of a lounge designed a little too long ago. It isn’t particularly suited for getting in some proper rest as well. The F&B options were a little uninspiring too, though perhaps that was partly due to the relatively late hour. On the positive side, the lounge hasn’t suffered any Covid cuts, and is essentially back to normal.
Overall, while The Infinity isn’t the most exciting lounge to visit, it wouldn’t put me off transiting Taipei on EVA Air in future. With Singapore Airlines showing no signs of opening its even-more-dated SilverKris Lounge, EVA’s lounges are the only Star Alliance options currently. (It should be noted that Singapore Airlines is actually directing its lounge-eligible pax to the Plaza Premium Lounge instead). With Taiwan’s border controls returning to almost normal soon, I’m sure the lounges will start getting packed again.
Have you been to The Infinity? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments!