After a wonderful two days in Prague, we headed back to the airport for our 7:25 flight on Airberlin to our next destination, Bucharest. Having arrived at the airport very early, we had plenty of time for some, ahem, lounging before our flight. Thanks to Priority Pass, lounge access was on the menu, and we made our way to the Erste Premier Lounge in Terminal 2. There are actually two Priority Pass lounges in Terminal 2, the other being the Menzies Aviation Lounge literally next door. I will be posting a review of that lounge later in this series.
Date of Visit: October 27, 2015
Location
After clearing security for Terminal 2, turn right towards the C and D gates, and you’ll find an elevator to the right to take you up to the second floor. After stepping off the elevator, turn left and follow the signs to the lounge.
Access
SkyTeam Business Class and elite members can access the lounge, along with Priority Pass cardholders as noted above. Anyone, however, can pay to access the lounge for a fee of CZK 720 (~$28) per person. Opening hours are 5 AM to 10 PM daily.
Review
After checking in at the desk, there is a food/drink spread and seating to the left, and a seating area to the right, with the restrooms on either side in front of the desk. We headed over to the left side of the lounge, which is where I took all of the photos in this post. The seating on the right side appeared identical, however.
Before checking out the food and drink, we went to find seats to put down our bags, and I spent a few minutes taking photos of the seating area. Contract lounges such as this one can be hit-or-miss. So imagine my surprise to find that this lounge is…really nice. The seating area features a variety of different comfortable chairs, featuring a clean, modern design. Given that we were visiting during peak evening travel hours (~6 PM), the lounge was moderately crowded. However, there is plenty of seating, and with translucent partitions separating small groups of seats, the back portion of the lounge had an intimate feeling to it. The rows of couches against one wall looked reasonably comfortable if you want to stretch out a little.
The one negative – an acute lack of plugs at the seats. I couldn’t readily locate any. Not planning to use my laptop on our flight to Bucharest, I ended up using it to keep my iPhone charged. On the other hand, WiFi in the lounge is free, password protected, and pretty fast. There are also a handful of workstations towards the back of the seating area, with printer access also available.
The lounge also features a small childrens’ play area, if you’re traveling with the little ones. That’s a nice touch for a smaller contract lounge.
Immediately behind the food/drink stations is a long dining table if you’d prefer to watch TV while eating and/or having a beer. On both sides of the TV are a couple of flight departure boards so you can monitor whether your flight is on-time. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this lounge is the “VIP Room”; the entrance is behind the man standing below the TV. Supposedly it is like a First Class lounge, with more privacy and its own food and drink spread. Entry to the VIP Room costs CZK 1,499 (~$60) per person. Maybe next time I’m in Prague, I’ll check it out just for kicks.
Speaking of food, there are a handful of snacks available, though the selection is rather mediocre. Immediately to the left of the front desk are a few potato chips and cookies. There is also a soup pot featuring the soup of the day; I forget what was on offer that day, but my wife had a cup and said it was pretty good.
To the right of the snack selection is a basic selection of liquor, available in self-serve format.
Next to the snacks is a larger refrigerator, featuring a selection of beer, wine, and soft drinks, along with a few cold cuts and cheeses. The meats and cheeses actually aren’t bad, and you can make a makeshift sandwich with the small bread rolls also available. There just wasn’t enough available.
The beer selection is nice, featuring a variety of local Budweiser Budvar options (not to be confused with the beechwood-aged…stuff sold Stateside). I helped myself to a bottle of “B-Dark”, which proved to be an excellent choice. Then again, I don’t think there’s such a thing as bad Czech beer.
NOT to be confused with the King of Beers…
Overall, this is a perfectly decent lounge, especially for a contract lounge in a smaller airport. I’d agree with Rocky’s sentiment that the lounge is considerably nicer than most domestic airline lounges in the US. I’d even consider paying the $28 to enter if I didn’t have access through SkyTeam or Priority Pass. The food selection could be better, but hey, who cares when you can enjoy great Czech beer while catching up on cat photos on Instagram?
This post is part of my trip report series about our trip to the Czech Republic and Romania in October. Click here for the introductory post and trip report index.
