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In the latest series of questions posed to our travel expert, air conditioning and whether airport lounges offer value for money come under the spotlight...
Dear Holiday Guru,
I have only once used an airport lounge, at Gatwick, and I was underwhelmed. There was a long queue for drinks at the bar, the tables were messy, waiting to be cleared, and the food was average. I thought lounges were meant to be ‘exclusive’ and better than this. Are they really worth it?
Deborah Jenkins, Sheffield
Escaping the masses but have airport lounges become an expensive cliche simply not worth the money?
Holiday Guru writes: You are right to raise this concern, as airport lounges have gone badly downhill of late while prices have steadily risen.
According to consumer group Which? a decade ago the cost was typically £25, now they are often above £40.
Meanwhile, with guest numbers rising, pleasant extras such as showers, spa treatments and free magazines have gone.
So they’re more crowded and you get less. The report on airport lounges by Which? was damning.
Having visited 28 UK offerings, its conclusion was that ‘airport lounges – for economy passengers at least – are almost always a rip-off’.
It rated most 2 or 2.5 stars out of five, and one scored just one out of five – Club Aspire at Heathrow Terminal 5.
No lounge earned more than 3.5 stars out of five.
At Newcastle Airport’s Suite by Aspire, the consumer group’s inspector paid £68 to enter yet was neither offered a welcome drink nor received table service, both of which were advertised.
It is worth differentiating here between these pay-as-you-go lounges and those run by airlines. The latter are usually of high quality as they are pitched at business-class passengers.
The aviation consultancy firm Skytrax, which evaluates airline and lounge performances, deems the Qatar Airways Premium Lounge at Heathrow Terminal Four and the Singapore Airlines lounge at Heathrow Terminal Two to be Britain’s best, each scoring five out of five stars. At the latter, its reviewer found staff ‘helpful and courteous’.
According to Onemileatatime.com, an air miles advice site, the two best airport lounges in the world are the Air France La Premiere First Class Lounge at Paris Charles de Gaulle and the Lufthansa First Class Terminal at Frankfurt Airport.
It is also worth noting that for UK lounges it can often be cheaper to book via Holiday Extras, a leading travel company offering ancillary services. Doing so can bring the price of bookings down to as little as £32.99 at Stansted Airport, for example (holidayextras.com).
Usually you can use lounges for two to three hours before departure – and stay on if there’s a delay. But if you are spending £84 as a couple to enter a lounge, you may be better off going to an airport restaurant and enjoying a good meal.
Dear Holiday Guru,
During a holiday on the Greek island of Zakynthos, I stayed at apartments in Laganas but found there was a £6 daily charge to use the air-conditioning. Is this fair? I had not been told of this when booking.
Henry Kelly, London
Holiday Guru writes: This practice is not on – and you should definitely have been warned of the extra charge before booking. What next? Daily fees to use electrical sockets to charge phones? It’s important that accommodation providers are transparent at the booking stage about such add-ons.