MAD Ground Experience & IB Velazquez Lounge
MAD Ground
We landed and were bussed to the terminal. We entered and there was security with no line for premium passengers. Luckily I was third person in. Security wasn't open and there was a uniformed woman yelling at us in Spanish. I asked her to translate. She growled and refused. 5 minutes later the line opened. Laptops and items in pockets needed to come out but nothing else. There were escalators to the terminal entrance. The Priority Pass lounge was well signed and we found it immediately but there wasn't a single sign for the Iberia lounge. We had to run around for 20 minutes only to find out the entrance was in the middle of a Duty Free.
Iberia Velazquez Lounge
There was no line upon entering the lounge. The woman scanned my boarding pass immediately and invited us in. She gave me the stupidly easy wifi credentials that I will not repost here. The lounge was packed when I entered and I couldn't find 2 free seats next to an outlet. When plugging my iPhone in, I had the same problem as in TLV. Every time I moved the phone, it stopped charging. It seems the issue is my cable as my brother didn't have the issue. It was really aggravating, but not sure what I could do about it.
I took a shower immediately after arrival. There are 4 shower rooms and 1 was available as soon as I asked. Next to the sink there was a basket of unbranded shampoo, shower gel, and moisturizer. Under the sink were shelves with a body towel and 2 hand towels. There was also a toilet. The sink was a large ceramic bowl with no drain cover, which is a pain because I wear contact lenses that need to be cleaned. I used a hand towel to cover the sink hole. The shower had a rather weak shower head and jets I didn't try. I also couldn't figure out how to get hot water so I took a warm shower.
The lounge had the typical soda selection, small bottles of water, large bottles of water, a coffee machine, an interesting looking bottled chocolate drink, chips and fruit. There was also sandwiches, granola, and a lame looking food bar. Perhaps the highlight this lounge for non kosher passengers is the wine bar with a printed wine menu. I don't know any of the wineries or if they're any good but there was a nice selection, and a visible wine cellar. For those who keep kosher, the main attraction is probably the ice cream freezer. It's stocked with single scoop cups of Haagen-Dazs. 3 flavors were out today: Belgian chocolate, strawberry cheesecake, and macadamia nut brittle.
In terms of other bar drinks, there was canned Spanish beer, and mid shelf hard alcohol. Interestingly, they had sherry which I don't think I've ever noticed in an airport lounge before. The lounge's ceramic plates and mugs had the logo of Melia Resorts. I'm not sure why, but I imagine it's some sort of partnership.
At 405pm I asked the lounge agent of there was gate information. He told me the gate and gave me directions. No gate information was posted on the monitors. The gate was about a 5 minute walk, and our passports were checked before entering the gate area. Boarding was in progress when we arrived, we got in the business line and were on board a few minutes later. There were separate jet walks for premium passengers and coach, which would in theory allow the FAs to begin service without coach customers clogging the aisles.