*our visit was complimentary however all views are my own
It’s finally, finally feeling like the world is starting to open up again and with the recent announcement that passenger locator forms are no longer needed for returning to the UK, the stress is slowly easing from international travel. One thing we’ve always been a fan of, since our honeymoon in 2013, is an airport lounge. And since a lot f us will be travelling again for the first time in over 2 years, an airport lounge is the perfect way to kick off your holiday.
We’ve been to the Aspire Lounge in Newcastle a few times now and were thrilled to be invited back for our recent holiday to Malaga. Depending of the time of your flight, if you were considering having some food at the airport anyway, and perhaps a few drinks at the bar, then an airport lounge could actually save you some money. But has Aspire in Newcastle been able to survive the pandemic and come back stronger? Let’s take a look…!
Pros
It’s much more relaxed than the hustle and bustle of the departure lounge, it’s nice a quiet, there’s plenty of comfy seating, and once you’ve paid your entry fee, everything is complimentary, including all food and drinks
There were two hot food options; a chicken pasta and a chickpea curry, both of which were really tasty. Our flight was at 7.30pm on this occasion so was great to have some proper dinner before our flight, where they would undoubtedly charge us over a tenner for a sandwich.
There’s also a small salad bar, plus cheese and biscuits, scones and crisps – you’re unlikely to go hungry!
There was a vast array of drinks on offer; beers, spirits, wines etc, all of which were branded and the guy at the bar was really friendly.
There’s charging points at or near every table so you can get all your gadgets fully juiced up before your flight
Because of the décor it still gives you that ‘pub/bar’ atmosphere, so you feel less like you’re in an airport therefore the whole experience is much more relaxing and the time we were waiting for our flight absolutely flew over (no pun intended!)
Cons
In Newcastle there are actually two Aspire lounges, the main one and an adults only one. At the moment, the adults only section is only available to Emirates customers which is a shame as that’s the area that overlooks the airstrip – which is always a pleasant view. The regular lounge has no natural light.
Of course, the lounges are available for everyone and sadly when we visited there was a group of men (quite frankly old enough to know better) who had had a few too many free sherbets and were quite loud and sweary – not ideal considering there were kids around, and also doesn’t really make for the relaxed atmosphere we’re use to. It didn’t ruin our time there but something to be mindful of I guess.
In other lounges we’ve been in the drinks are self serve, which we personally prefer; it just saves having to queue at the bar and you can see exactly what’s on offer in your own time rather than being served all the time.
All that aside though, if you’re someone who likes a few drinks or a burger king before your flight then an airport lounge is a no brainer for me. And if you haven’t travelled in a while and want something that’s a little extra treat before you head off somewhere exciting it’s the perfect way to start off your holiday!
The Aspire Lounge at Newcastle Airport is £24.99 per person for 3 hours access, however they do have a policy whereby if your flight is delayed, you can stay in the lounge until your flight leaves (or the lounge closes). You can find more information on the Executive Lounges website.
