We were there last week, so we might've been some of the people you saw crowding the lounge...
Like you, I found the people sat by the door to the lounge a bit odd. They didn't seem to do much except struggle to find our room on the list each time
However, the serving staff in the lounge we did find to be helpful. At breakfast they always came up shortly after sitting down to take tea/coffee orders. Ditto mid-afternoon. They also seemed good at helping anyone arriving a few minutes too late to get something, and were very pro-active in ensuring guests in the lounge were able to "load up" before the end of breakfast/happy hour/etc
Location wise, we found it perfect for touristy stuff. There were a handful of places open in the evening nearby, or it wasn't too far a walk / bus ride out to places with lots of good restaurants, for the evenings you didn't manage to eat enough in the lounge!