Cw novice

FLR was a pleasant surprise. Although the spirits were pretty odd, especially the "official" vodka of UFC and gin that was more paint stripper than botanical.

FlightDetective

CX in HKG, LHR are both nice, as is Qantas in T3 at LHR. I also like the Flagship Lounges in the USA, though the LAX one is my least favourite due to the design. I'll echo others - I also like the AS lounge in the North Satellite in SEA. Really nice, much nicer than any Admirals Club (though they are getting a new design). For a small airport, the Spitfire Lounge in Southampton impressed me.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the La Croix du Sud Lounge in Toulouse is pretty bad, and I've always hated the DAA lounge at Dublin Airport too. Sala VIP in Pisa was also pretty crappy.

CatchThePigeon

LHR T5B is a favourite of mine mainly especially after visiting T5 South or North and finding it an oasis of calm.

RAK (Marrakech) was pretty poor. No drinks on display and food looked unidentifiable. I asked for a beer and was given a 25cl can and advised I could have a maximum of two. But the BA lounge was bliss compared to the PP Pearl lounge which offered coffee or water and that was it. The lounge had a number of different style seats but all with the common theme of being terribly uncomfortable to sit on.

lhrsfo

Yeah, that was pretty grim for food but at least it was easy to get a seat. Personally I dislike T5S - impossible to find anywhere to sit and, if you do, it�s covered in other people�s detritus.

St Elmos Fire

The Venice Marco Polo lounge (Priority Pass) is genuinely weird and a complete hash. There's a modern but stark section nearest the food and beverage (more on that below), beyond that there is a strange open square of 90s greeny-grey sofas around some really huge worn out Persian-style rugs. Looking at a variety of images, it looks like it used to be ALL like this, and it's been half refurbished. The rest of it has either been left alone or had the least worn out of the old furniture shunted into it. Beyond that there is what I can only describe as the Center Parcs Tropical Swimming Paradise section and a small concrete rooftop terrace overlooking the apron. Turning a corner, there is a high breakfast bar with some iPads, some little work cubicles which are quite smart, then a TV room with six big chairs facing six TVs mounted on the wall. There's also a small rotunda with some red chairs and not much else and finally the toilets, which boast only four cubicles and no urinals, and are decorated in a mixture of AAdmirals Club imitation teak and dark grey marble. The lounge is big, but the modern area was packed while other areas were deserted.

The food and drink bar is staffed (eugh) and I could see one bottle of white wine and one bottle of prosecco in it. I could see no beer but it was 7am. Coffees were made to order by a barista and were as exceptional as you'd expect in Venice!

Online reviews seem to rate it, but I thought it was awfully queer.

alanw

The Monteverdi lounge in MXP is another dreary, overcrowded space that hasn't been updated since 1991, with either no or inedible/strange snacks and a single one-holer restroom for the entire lounge which lacks a door that locks. Beverages are limited to warm 25cl waters or the tiny little juice cans of warm sugar Coke.

cbyrne92

Flagship lounges in the states, CX lounges in Asia and Europe and actually, the JAL lounges in Asia are pretty good, BKK in particular as an outstation.

Worst so far for me has to be Dublin when considering what a high traffic route it is...

TTmex

Cathay and Qantas lounges for me the best. Worst so far was BCN about 2 years prior to COVID. Plates of half eaten food stacked high and flies all over it. Lounge stank of crap. Went back earlier this year and is much improved now. Someone mentioned the GVA lounge being terrible before, it has indeed been refurbished and is excellent. Only problem is doesn't open until 6am which is no good for BA's 6.30am departure.

Duck1981

Yup

Top: All AA Flagship Lounges, CX at LHR T3; AS Lounge in JFK was also nice last Friday

Flop: Marhaba lounges in Dubai

CarefreeBA

All about relativity for me. Personally, CX "The Pier" at HKG is one the 'coolest' and most well designed lounges you can get in with a silver card but it has never been that practical for me. Besides, you compare food there to other airports it's great, but to the standard of food in the city of Hong Kong itself, it's really not that good.

I think AA Flagship lounges are very good, especially with brighter design and lighting and better than the CX lounges providing they're not too busy.

I'm pretty sure there are worse lounges than this, but I detest the Aspire Lounge in Amsterdam. It cannot be too much more difficult to put some more hot food options on the table for premium passengers. The lounge also gets very full all the time.

Cw novice

One of the things I liked most about the AS Lounge staff was their friendliness which did contrast to the coldness of the CX staff in HKG. As good as the Pier is/was I did find this to be at odds with the setting.

This may have been due it being in 2019 when there was a great deal of unrest in HKG.

celtic_warrior

If it's anything like the platinum lounge it will
be a big step up from the previous lounge

AJA_

I can confirm that FCO is a very nice lounge indeed and somewhat of an outlier. But I do agree the rest of them in Italy are a bit of a let down. I agree with the comment regarding Venice - odd. Another Italian lounge that is not great is BLQ.

My favourite has already been mentioned which is the CX lounge in LHR T3 purely for the dim sum although I am also rather partial to the lounge at MAD - it's light and airy and the food and alcohol is decent (last visit in 2019 so it may have changed)

The worst Ive been in this year has to be LIS which has that weird black ceiling affair with TV screens. Overcrowded and genuinely not pleasant, particularly as the furniture is also black including the side tables - I feel like I need to use the torch from my mobile just to see what I'm doing. It's not so bad if you get one of the chairs overlooking the runway but the food offering could be better.

davem4

MAD lost its ice cream. Drinks remain as they were.

AJA_

I never had the ice cream so while some may mourn it's not something I would cry over