Best (and worst) lounge your Silver card gets you in.
#16
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 1,025
For all its excellence in other aspects of relaxation, luxury, and joie de vivre, Italy in my experience just cannot come up with a decent airport lounge for some inexplicable reason (disclaimer: I've yet to visit FCO, of which I hear good things).
The lounge in CTA looked more like a storage room for excess chairs, than a lounge; maybe if they removed the reception desk, they could fit 12 pax at a time instead of 10.
TRN was the only airport in my adult life I've ever flown out of stone-cold sober, as their idea of a "rum and coke" was a splash of local nail varnish remover, followed by a splash of room temperature supermarket cola from a communal 2L bottle, followed by an entire half of a lemon floating on top, all served in a paper coffee cup, with no ice.
BLQ at least has the nice touch of a private in-lounge security line, but it's also fairly small; and, they serve some of the worst pizza I've ever tasted in my life... and it's in Italy!
The lounge in CTA looked more like a storage room for excess chairs, than a lounge; maybe if they removed the reception desk, they could fit 12 pax at a time instead of 10.
TRN was the only airport in my adult life I've ever flown out of stone-cold sober, as their idea of a "rum and coke" was a splash of local nail varnish remover, followed by a splash of room temperature supermarket cola from a communal 2L bottle, followed by an entire half of a lemon floating on top, all served in a paper coffee cup, with no ice.
BLQ at least has the nice touch of a private in-lounge security line, but it's also fairly small; and, they serve some of the worst pizza I've ever tasted in my life... and it's in Italy!
#17
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Programs: BA Gold, Mucci
Posts: 2,098
La Croix du Sud Lounge
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.
#18
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,035
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.
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.
#19
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: London & Sonoma CA
Programs: UA 1K, MM *G for life, BAEC Gold
Posts: 10,252
#20
Join Date: Dec 2014
Programs: BAEC Silver, Flying Blue Petroleum
Posts: 271
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.
#21
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: BCN
Programs: BA Gold VY apologist
Posts: 8,555
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.
#22
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: UK
Programs: BA Executive Club - Gold
Posts: 265
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...
Worst so far for me has to be Dublin when considering what a high traffic route it is...
#23
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Mexico
Programs: BAEC Gold / SQ *A Gold / Marriott Titanium
Posts: 3,696
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.
#24
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: London (mostly) & Wernstein am Inn
Programs: BAEC Gold, Marriott LT Platinum
Posts: 2,390
Top: All AA Flagship Lounges, CX at LHR T3; AS Lounge in JFK was also nice last Friday
Flop: Marhaba lounges in Dubai
#25
Join Date: Aug 2015
Programs: Hilton Honors Gold, Marriott Gold, BA Bronze, Hertz President's Club
Posts: 513
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.
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.
#26
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 1,025
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.
This may have been due it being in 2019 when there was a great deal of unrest in HKG.
#27
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Cardiff
Programs: qatar airways platinum
Posts: 741
Best I've used by a mile is the Pier Business in Hong Kong. JAL Sakura Lounge at Narita is also a favourite of mine.
The LHR T3 QF and CX lounges are good.
AA Flagships in the USA are genuinely good, visited all except DFW recently, Chicago possibly the pick for me. Possibly because it contrasts so starkly against the sweaty box that is the Galleries Lounge at ORD T5, which is surely one of the worst and it's not even a contract lounge!
I'm not expecting great things from the new QR Gold lounge in Doha, but the old "Business Class" (read: Sapphires Flying In Economy) lounge in Doha was really poor and always rammed. The ~2020 built QR Silver lounge (which is now effectively a Ruby lounge) was better but fairly bog standard. If the new Gold lounge is a big improvement it should be a pretty decent lounge, albeit not a patch on Al Mourjan.
Classic AAdmirals Clubs at secondary US airports tend to be pretty bad in terms of decor, facilities, offering and busyness.
The LHR T3 QF and CX lounges are good.
AA Flagships in the USA are genuinely good, visited all except DFW recently, Chicago possibly the pick for me. Possibly because it contrasts so starkly against the sweaty box that is the Galleries Lounge at ORD T5, which is surely one of the worst and it's not even a contract lounge!
I'm not expecting great things from the new QR Gold lounge in Doha, but the old "Business Class" (read: Sapphires Flying In Economy) lounge in Doha was really poor and always rammed. The ~2020 built QR Silver lounge (which is now effectively a Ruby lounge) was better but fairly bog standard. If the new Gold lounge is a big improvement it should be a pretty decent lounge, albeit not a patch on Al Mourjan.
Classic AAdmirals Clubs at secondary US airports tend to be pretty bad in terms of decor, facilities, offering and busyness.
be a big step up from the previous lounge
#28
Join Date: Jul 2019
Programs: BAEC Bronze, Mucci recipient
Posts: 1,805
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.
#29
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: BNE / LHR
Programs: QF Gold
Posts: 1,603
MAD lost its ice cream. Drinks remain as they were.