Experience at the Fairmont Gold Executive Lounge in Wuhan Pan Ocean Fairmont Hotel

The Fairmont, as a luxury brand under Accor, has its executive lounge called the 'Fairmont Gold Lounge', which, like the Ritz-Carlton, cannot be used for free by high-tier members and must be paid for. Currently, the price difference between rooms with Fairmont Gold privileges and basic rooms is about 550 yuan, and it costs about the same to buy separately for a day. There is quite limited information available on the offerings of the Pan Ocean Fairmont Gold Lounge, so today I will share my experience. Firstly, the conclusion. If you are using the Accor Ultimate card's lounge benefits to redeem a 3-day Fairmont Gold Lounge access, I think it's acceptable. After all, you need to use the vouchers to break even. However, if you are directly booking a room above the Fairmont Gold level or spending an extra 500+ yuan per day to upgrade, I don't think it's necessary. Although the offerings of this Gold Lounge are better than the average Marriott Sheraton's cafeteria, the improvement is limited. Based on the current offerings, I think a reasonable price for two people per day would be within 300 yuan. If it's 550 yuan, you might have a better dining experience going out for a big meal. The Gold Lounge is located on the 21st floor of the hotel, and it's quite spacious. Moreover, the paid lounge is rarely crowded, and most of the time, you can almost have the place to yourself. The lounge offers breakfast, afternoon tea, evening happy hour, and all-day soft drinks, including Paris water and TWG tea, which are up to standard. The breakfast doesn't have as many varieties as downstairs, but it's more exquisite, quieter, and less crowded. The lounge uses a full set of Minghai tableware, and dining or having tea here is quite enjoyable. The breakfast includes fresh juices available downstairs, as well as fruits like blueberries and strawberries that are not available downstairs. Here you can enjoy an abundance of blueberries and a good dose of anthocyanins. There is a noodle station offering beef noodles and tonkotsu ramen that are not available downstairs. The beef is substantial, and the soup is rich, somewhat similar to Xiangyang beef noodles. The hot dry noodles are generously topped, and you don't have to queue like downstairs, and they taste even better. The hot and cold dishes are basically the same as downstairs, but the smoked salmon is of better quality and comes in larger slices. Additionally, there are steamed eggs with black truffle and some steamed dim sum with black bean sauce ribs. So, if you have the Fairmont Gold privileges, you can definitely have breakfast in the lounge. Afternoon tea is served from 2:30 to 4:00 PM, offering a classic three-tiered afternoon tea set, including five sweet treats and three savory items, one set per room, one of each kind. The quality is quite good, although not as good as the recently reviewed Zhengzhou Intercontinental, but it still reaches the level of being sellable. However, it might not be enough if there are many people. The alcoholic beverages during the evening happy hour are much better than the average Marriott, with bottles worth over 200 yuan including Bowmore 12 and Grey Goose vodka. Havana Club 7-year rum is also good, while the wines are quite ordinary. The sparkling wine looks like Blanc de Blancs Champagne from afar, but it's actually just an ordinary semi-sweet sparkling wine that is easy to drink and tastes not bad. The hot dishes and main courses are quite disappointing and can be almost ignored. Although the dishes change daily, they are not tasty. The best thing is probably the garlic French bread, but there are only a few slices each day. Aside from the drinks, the lounge is just slightly better than the Marriott Sheraton. To break even on the drinks, you'd have to consume three bottles in one meal. If you can't drink, going out to eat would be a better choice. In summary, I do not recommend paying for it.