The best independent lounges in the world are Plaza Premium: Fiumicino is in the top5
In the ceremony that enshrined Qatar Airways as the world's best airline for the seventh time, they were also awarded [...]
MCT
In the ceremony that enshrined Qatar Airways as the best airline in the world, for the seventh time, "secondary" awards were also given, among the most coveted being the recognition of the world's best independent lounges.
In this article:
Lounges, as we have explained several times, are divided into two types:
- The official lounges are those owned and operated directly by the airlines. Access rules vary by ticket type and status in different loyalty programs
- Independent lounges are all others, may be owned by airport operators, finance companies, or third-party operators
World's Best Independent Airport Lounges 2022
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The best independent airport lounges in the world are those in the Plaza Premium Group network, which operates the world's largest network of international airport lounges. The Group was named winner of the World's Best Independent Airport Lounges category, ahead of Primeclass Lounges (2nd place) and The Pearl Lounge Bahrain (3rd place).
Plaza Premium Group founder and CEO Song Hoi See said, "We are truly honored to have received the prestigious Skytrax World Airline Awards for the sixth consecutive time. Receiving the Best Independent Airport Lounge of 2022 award is a testament to the excellence of our service. The past two years have been challenging for the travel industry due to the pandemic, and we would like to dedicate this win to all of our colleagues who have been the backbone of our company. They have been our biggest supporters and have really dedicated their hard work and dedication despite the challenges we have faced. We are really proud of this achievement and will continue to provide award-winning hospitality services through our global network."
A major boost for this award must also have come from the fact that all Virgin Atlantic clubhouses, excluding the one at London Heathrow, are now managed by Plaza Premium and are real treats.
How to Access Premium Plaza
These lounges have unfortunately left the Priority pass radius, but they have not escaped from American Express. All American Express Platinum holders can access the following for free (with a guest) and unlimited to all network lounges.
The five best independent lounges in the world
As with the airline rankings, I feel I disagree 100% on the top5. Of course, on a general level the premium plazas are good, but American Express' Centurions are on another level. Perhaps penalizing these theaters is the fact that they are few in number and almost all concentrated on the American continent.
Here are in detail the top five lounges according to Skytrax:
5th place the Plaza Premium in Rome Fiumicino. This lounge is located in terminal 3, the one for non-Schengen flights. There we have been several times and our rating was 7.5: sure, it is a high grade, but at the European level there are lounges that I liked much better, for example the Pau Casals in Barcelona or the Prime Class in Riga.
4th place for the iGA Lounge in Istanbul, Beautiful lounge of the amazing airport in the Turkish capital. I visited this facility recently, the review will come out in the next few weeks. I must say that it deserves to be in this ranking.
On the lowest step of the podium goes The Pearl Lounge at Bahrain Airport.. Of the five award-winning lounges this is the only one I have never been to, but I have no doubt in my mind that it deserves the podium.
Silver medal for Muscat airport's Primeclass., absolutely one of the best in the world. Immense, it offers everything and is better than many official lounges.
First place goes to London Heathrow's Plaza Premium at terminal T2. Definitely the nicest of the group's many lounges in the London mega airport, a review of this lounge will also be coming out in the next few weeks.
N.B. Premium Plaza are at terminal 2/4/5 for departing passengers and at terminal 2/3/4 for arriving passengers.
The lounge is actually very beautiful, although it has the shortcoming of being in the belly of the terminal and having no overlook on the runway or outside the airport.
In conclusion
As with my reviews, this article recounts a subjective evaluation that is the result of a highly variable context. Many readers have said, for example, that with my review of Fiumicino's Prima Vista I was too good, I replied that when I visited it was not that bad. I disagree about the fifth place of the Plaza Premium at Fiumicino.: it is beautiful but it is inferior to other lounges, but in this case it also plays into the fact that since it belongs to the network that won, it definitely had an advantage over a single independent lounge.
