During my current review trip, I had an extended layover at Delhi Airport (DEL). In a previous installment, I shared my thoughts on the incredible Air India First Lounge.
While at the airport, I knew I had to finally visit the Encalm Xenia Lounge, which opened in late 2025. I had heard great things about this, and wanted to check it out for myself, even though I had to pay out of pocket for access. I must say, I was absolutely blown away by the quality of this lounge, and it might be the nicest airport lounge I’ve ever been to that’s not run by an airline. While access isn’t cheap, I thought it was well worth it.
Why I paid $125 to access the Encalm Xenia Lounge
Encalm operates several lounges at Delhi Airport, including the Encalm Prive Lounge and the Encalm Xenia Lounge. The idea is that the former is a business class lounge, while the latter is a first class lounge, and neither are accessible via Priority Pass.
Many airlines contract out to these lounges, so if you’re flying first class on British Airways, Emirates, Lufthansa, SWISS, etc., you can use the Encalm Xenia Lounge.
You can also outright purchase access, at the cost of 12,000 INR (~125 USD) for two hours. Meanwhile if you have access to the Encalm Prive Lounge, you can upgrade to the Encalm Xenia Lounge at a cost of 7,000 INR (~73 USD) for two hours. Since I was flying Air India, I wasn’t entitled to access to this lounge, and I just paid outright. Of course that’s expensive, but I wanted to give it a shot.
Obviously that’s quite a bit to spend on lounge access, especially in a country like India (where average buying power is lower for the local market than in the United States, so that’s especially expensive, on a relative basis). Then again, in absolute terms, an American Admirals Club day pass would cost you $79, so this is only around 50% more, though admittedly with more time restrictions.
Anyway, I have to say, this was money well spent, and I thought the lounge was absolutely spectacular. I’ll have a full review soon, but let’s start with some initial thoughts.
The Encalm Xenia Lounge can compete with the best!
I spent two lovely hours at the Encalm Xenia Lounge. I was the only guest there the entire time I was visiting, and there must have been at least six staff to look after me. Goodness gracious, talk about overly attentive service. Let me just mention that I imagine the experience is completely different and not nearly as good if you visit late at night or early in the morning, when it’s “rush hour.”
The lounge primarily consists of one large rectangular room.
There’s a bar area, then there are a couple of more traditional seating arrangements, and then there are these semi-private nooks, each with their own reclining seat, chair with table, etc. I couldn’t help but chuckle how the staff emphasized how each little area has its own “private” coffee station. If I have six people looking after me, I’m happy to let them prepare the coffee for me. 😉
The service in here is unbelievably good. There’s a massive selection of a la carte dining and drinks. I started with a glass of Moet, and the entire bottle was just brought out, and placed on ice.
I then went for another cocktail, which was phenomenal.
And how nice is this tea trolley presentation?
The food is also great, with all kinds of small and large plates, so that you can mix and match (I’ll of course share the full menu and drink list in the review).
The lounge also offers complimentary massages.
Then there’s even a private bedroom that guests can use, which feels more like a hotel room than a nap room. However, between all the drinks I had, plus the amazing meal, plus the spa treatment, I couldn’t quite find time to squeeze in a nap. 😉
The lounge also offers complimentary golf carts to the gate, though I didn’t need that, since I was just going back to the Air India Maharaja Lounge. Besides, I needed to get in some steps to even partially start to work off that food and those drinks!
This is an incredible lounge, and while I realize I spent a lot of money to access this, it’s among the best value lounge access I’ve received, in terms of actually offering a quality experience. I also think this might be the best airport lounge I’ve been to that isn’t operated by an airline.
Bottom line
I had heard great things about the Encalm Xenia Lounge Delhi, and finally had the chance to check it out… it lived up to the hype! It’s so rare to see a non-airline or credit card lounge be high quality, since there’s the tendency to closely control costs, given how monetization works.
So along those lines, the Encalm Xenia Lounge is fabulous, with nice design, attentive service, a la carte dining, great drinks, included massages, and even access to a bedroom.
If you don’t have access on account of your ticket, you can outright buy access for around $125 at the door. That’s obviously not cheap, but at least they deliver an amazing experience.
Anyone else love the Encalm Xenia Lounge Delhi?