Now back at the airport, we had time to pop to the Lounge by Menzies Aviation, which isn’t to my mind the most exciting of names for the lounge.
It was spacious and clean inside, although it was busier than this when we entered. There were a range of high and low seating areas, although a few more power points would have perhaps been useful.
This was the bulk of the food options, although there was also a blue cheese pasta arrangement which didn’t really tempt me. The chicken pieces and chicken in sauce options here all combined to be something of a chicken focused arrangement.
This was all entirely acceptable, the falafel was decent, alongside the beer, water, crisps and coffee. There was also power and wifi, so I had everything I needed to get by until the flight departed.
The beer was the Norrlands Guld was on self-pour, but it didn’t exactly surprise and delight me in terms of the taste. This obsession with lager, there are tens of different beer styles and they serve the blandest one that they can find…. The beer is rated 2.89 on Untappd which I feel just about sums it up.
Anyway, there’s more to life than beer, so I was very brave and had a second one rather than dwell on it. I also had some Baileys and told Richard as he likes to make a coffee with that and I wasn’t to know that I had finished what was left in the bottle.
The staff here were friendly and everything felt clean and organised. I gained access as Richard’s guest with his BA status, but I could have got in with my Priority Pass card as well. There are no toilets inside the lounge, but I thought that the overall set-up was reasonable. The online reviews are rather less surprised and delighted though.
“Who on earth thought it was a good idea to have hot dogs floating around in a pot with hot sausage broth on the buffet? Honestly disgusting. The whole room stank of sausage, and the smell got into both hair and clothes. It was incredibly unpleasant to have to sit in that stench and it ruined a whole change of clothes that smelled disgustingly of sausage and will stink of sausage the whole trip.”
Each to their own, but this feels a little bit excessive as a sausage hot pot is not exactly tobacco smoke. Although I understand the logic of the annoyance here, the blue cheese pasta was probably not the best choice for a similar reason. They also only have one hot food option, which does limit the number of people that they can cater for.
“This lounge is quite horrible. Technically this is not even a lounge, as a lounge should have comfortable seats to “lounge” in, hence the name.”
The word “lounge” IMO historically means the behaviour of idling, or a place to idle in…. It was very possible to idle in here in my view.
“The first time I’ve been to a lounge where my card only lasts for 3 hours, but okay, this is a matter of agreement between the lounge and the card issuer.”
Other than airline operated lounges, I struggle to think of a lounge which doesn’t have a three hour or similar limit. I wish they didn’t though, I might get to the airport even earlier, especially if there are unlimited crisps.
Anyway, I’m digressing once again. I would note that everything met my expectations, although the food offering could have been a little wider, I had everything that I needed. So, all really rather lovely.