We pay the extra for the airport lounge mainly because you can chill out.
A few years ago when we were flying with Monarch we had a long delay and we had nothing but the hard chairs in the departure lounge to sit on and as people were becoming more and more frustrated it became really noisy. We decided then that we were going to pay the extra just to get away from the noise.
I know £19.50 seems a lot, but if you had several cups of coffee, a G&T or two or a couple of glasses of wine, you would soon pay that if you were in one of the airport cafes/bars.
It is a pity they only have nuts, crisps and muffins and not sandwiches or rolls, because sometimes we are really hungry and we know that it will be a long time before our first meal on the plane and crisps just do not help. In that case, we end up having a light meal just before we go into the lounge.
It is nice to be able to read the newspapers or magazines and have the television on in the background. Depending on the time of day you go in, it is usually quiet and there are very few children.
I notice there are computers and faxes in the lounges we have used, but we have never paid to use them.
The ladies toilets are very nice; very clean and there are nice liquid soaps. The hand towels are the j-cloth type of things that I find useful for my holiday so I take a couple with me.
Another advantage of booking a lounge is that if there are few people in there and your flight is delayed, you are allowed to stay in there longer than the allotted 2 hours.
thanks for the info guys....when we come back fromgoa we will arrive at manchester then have a few hours till our flight up to scotland so def thinking of booking this....as we will be tired by then i think!
We used the one in Newcastle airport in October and for us thought it was well worth the money. No limit on drink or nibbles and really quiet, I also think it depends what time you fly - if you've got an early morning flight I don't think we would get our money's worth.
We have used these a few times when travelling to Thailand and Goa. We love them just because they are such a relaxing way to start your holiday off. No trying to find seats, queuing, rif-raf....just peace and quiet and just what you need if you are delayed. The only problem is I am terrible for wanting to look at duty free, monsoon etc so am constantly nipping downstairs but once I have spent up I am back up there. Well worth the money, if we book one we always check in 3 hours before so we can have a bit longer. There are a few different lounges and some are better than others.
http://www.loungepass.com but we did book in November
There are 2 lounges at T2 Manchester. The Escape Lounge and The Styal Lounge. Escape doesnt allow children in below 8yrs old Styal lounge allows any children any age. We are going in the Escape for the first time next week so cant comment on how good it is. The cheapest I could get it for was £16 at OH YES, they are worth it. These are the reasons. Only £14-50 to use the Servisairre lounge at Gatwick North.
1. A GT, a wine or 2 and some nibbles and you are already in profit over the airport bars.
2. Its quiet, usually child free, have a range of mags and papers (which you can occasionally take/pinch with you)
3. Nice loo's, comfy chairs, and great feeling of starting the holiday well. Its as near as you will get to a business class experience.
4. You can dump your hand luggage there whilst you tour the airport shops with just your wallet and passport.
5. If your flight is delayed, I have never noticed anybody being kicked out.
and now some advice
a) if you book online, never tell them your proper flight time as this is the time your stint is calculated from. Tell them about an hour earlier as this is the time you will leave once the flight is called.
b) dont overdo the alcohol as this could entirely mess you up for the flight (headaches etc)
c) book other lounges when you return home. None at Goa, but the lounge at Tenerife south is the best I have been in (except for Bangkok)
d) as they are so much fun, give yourself more time at the airport than is necessary.
I have used both the longes in T1 and T2 at Manchester, they are great way to relax and a good start for the hols. More comfy and quiet than sitting in the departure lounge.
No limit to drinks and nibbles, I too have been known to slip the odd can into hand lugage -
I always book on line and calculate time so to get the full 3 hours in the lounge and have never been asked to leave if a flight is delayed.
It's a must do, couldn't contemplate traveling now without the lounge experience, after all it's a small price to pay compared to the hol, and it would be easy to spend that amount in bars and food outlets and it wouldn't be half as much fun
If you like a drink before you board it must be worth it,a coffee in Starbucks is about £3.50
Hi Pip .. this topic is for discussion about Airport Lounges. Some Goa regulars had moved on to discussing individual airlines and those posts were removed as we already have dedicated topics about those airlines, and we don't really want this thread drifting off topic. Not sure if your post was amongst those. If you have a comment about airport lounges, please feel free to post here. But if it's about a specific airline or airport, please feel free to check out or post in the dedicated topic.
Sorry i was asking which terminal i was going from so that i could book the airport lounge as dont want to ask partner so it was a surprise to him. and some kind person said i would have to say who i was flying with so they could tell me which terminal i would have to book.
Pip
x
very sorry if i broke any rules but realy did not think that i was.
It's not so much a question of breaking rules, it's more about posting in the best place to get the info you require. Part of this topic has been transferred from the Goa forum, where along with several other airline or airport topics recently, it has up until now escaped the attention of the flight experts.
David
Regardless of the airline you are flying with, most airports have lounges you can pay to use. Some airlines have specific lounges but these are for loyalty card holders, business / first class passengers or by invitation only.
Darren
Can you just turn up to one of the lounges at Manchester Terminal 2 and pay or do you need to book?
silentman wrote:Can you just turn up to one of the lounges at Manchester Terminal 2 and pay or do you need to book?
Yes, but pre-booking is highly recommended as there are only so many passengers allowed access at any one time. Refer to the dedicated Manchester Airport thread for more details.
Darren
Thanks for the info Darren
The hand towels are the j-cloth type of things that I find useful for my holiday so I take a couple with me.
have a range of mags and papers (which you can occasionally take/pinch with you)
No limit to drinks and nibbles, I too have been known to slip the odd can into hand lugage
All the above are forms of theft and increase the prices for the rest of us, however the worst offence is the removal of newspapers. The number of times I have been up since the early hours of the morning to catch the early bird flight, worked all day in a remote city and been back at the airport for a 7pm/8pm flight home only to find all the paper have gone because people have decided to take them instead of leaving them for others to enjoy which is the purpose they are provided. If you haven't finished reading the paper and your flight is called go and buy one. Rant over now.
Dave
What is the difference between stuffing your face full of crisps and nuts in the lounge and taking a few snacks with you to eat as a snack elsewhere? The last time I was at Gatwick I saw a woman, who had not used the lounge before, eat her way through 8 bags of nibbles and a couple of muffins because "I have paid for them" (she also drank a quarter bottle of brandy).
The same could be said for the newspapers, some people may ask "why buy a newspaper when I have paid £19.50 for the lounge?" I have never seen anyone take one out with them.
What would be a flipping cheek is if someone took a large bottle of wine or gin etc out of the lounge.
I have seen people take snacks with them but only a packet of crisps, nuts or shortbread each to eat later. I have never seen anyone stuff their bags with them, because the staff who work in the lounges would notice them doing it.
I don't take the newspapers out with me because I just wouldn't and anyway by the time I get to the lounge, I would have bought one and several magazines to read on the plane. I don't take cans of drink out of the lounge with me and I have never seen anyone else do it either, because it never occurred to me to do so (and I will still not take any out with me).
The only things I take with me as I have said before are two hand towels that are only worth a few pence and are the size of a tissue. I use them for taking finger marks of jewellery or wiping down surfaces in my hotel room. If that is wrong then so be it, but I think having spent £19.50 to be in there in the first place.
We don't drink or eat to excess when we are in the lounge and therefore I don't feel guilty about only taking two hand towels and if anyone says I should, then they can s*d off.
Yes, dksbbs, I guess it is a form of theft to remove a paper, rather than join a mile long line in the terminal Smiths, and then be asked for your boarding card by a bored check out operator. (what is all that about, have never worked tht one out)The reason I use a lounge is to avoid all that.
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