*our visit to the Aspire plus lounge was complimentary but all views are my own
Everybody, and I mean everybody knows that your holiday starts at the airport. We’re no strangers to the airport lounge ourselves and it’s something we try and do as often of possible when travelling.
I hate Airport departure lounges if I’m honest and the last couple of times we’ve flown from Newcastle International the departure lounges have been chaos; with hardly a seat to be had. It felt even busier that pre-covid of I’m honest. So the serene oasis at the Aspire Plus lounge was very welcome amid the chaos that comes with air travel. And as the day we travelled to Krakow was a particularly busy one was people seemed to be rushed straight from the Great North Run finish line to catch flights and a mini super storm delayed a lot of afternoon flights, the lounge provided even more of a sanctuary than usual.
Like with lots of arms of the travel industry, airport lounges suffered from the impact from COVID with only essential flights operating for the best part of a year. The Aspire Plus lounge provides guests with comfortable seating, a peaceful atmosphere, ample workspace (should you require it!) plenty of charging ports so that you’re fully juiced up to watch an entire season of The Real World on your flight and free, fast WiFi.
One of the most coveted perks though, let’s be honest, is the complimentary food and drink. The Aspire Plus lounge offers hot food (beef Ragu and a really yummy chickpea curry when we visited) as well as a salad bar, bread, cheese, crisps, biscuits, scones and muffins.
A moment of silence though please for the fully stocked bar. One of the differences between the Plus lounge and the regular lounge is there are more drink selections available, for example Prosecco, which isn’t available in the standard lounge, and a wider variety of spirits. It’s not often Havana Club rum is available in all inclusive style deals so that was a huge win for us.
Some other benefits of the plus lounge? Snooze pods, which is ideal of you’re in the midst of an epic layover and turn into raging lunatic when we’re tired like I do. It’s open to all, regardless of which airline you’re flying with, and, possibly most importantly, it’s adults only, which instantly lowers the noise levels 10 fold and just generally makes it feel a little more luxurious.
The aspire plus lounge is due to be refurbished soon, which will involve combining it with the former BA lounge making it even more spacious. It’s going to be done in phases though meaning as little disruption or closures as possible. The plan is for it to be completed by next summer, just in time for our next city break I reckon!
I love travelling anyway and, especially on the outward journey when you’re all full of excitement. The Aspire Plus lounge just sets the beginning of your holiday off with that little something extra, saving you money on overpriced Airport dining making travelling more enjoyable and comfortable. So not only am I full of excitement, I’m also full of curry and prosecco!