Budapest Airport : Platinum Lounge (Schengen)

This lounge visit was before my flight on Wizz Air from Budapest in Hungary to Athens in Greece and it’s located near to gate A8. There was a friendly welcome when I entered, although the lounge looked very busy and I wasn’t sure if I’d get a seat when I first looked around.

The lounge got much quieter quite quickly as it emptied out when all of the 06:00 flights were announced.

I sat here initially before finding higher seating around the corner, although there was someone playing TikTok videos loudly from his phone for around half an hour that I pretended not to be annoyed about. I put my own headphones on so I couldn’t hear him. Without sounding old and grumpy, this situation about a quiet space being invaded by noise is becoming more common and I can’t say that I particularly like it. Although on a Chiltern Railways train the other day, a passenger told another passenger in the quiet coach to please shut up and I was quite impressed at his bravery. Anyway, I digress.

This is nearing the perfect breakfast that I can expect in a lounge, the cold meats were rich in flavour, there were cubes of roasted chicken, thousand island dressing, pasta and numerous other items. There were other displays with croissants, cereals and other similar items. I’d add that the croissants were flaky, buttery and delicious, perhaps hotel companies such as Travelodge could cast their eye over their offerings.

This was most welcome first thing in the morning. I didn’t look at the alcohol section as it was early morning, but there was a coffee machine and a selection of juices. It was a little odd that you have to go behind the bar area to help yourself to these things, but there is clear signage that this is how it works.

The staff were helpful and the lounge was spotlessly clean. There were several power points available and different types of seating to suit all tastes, with no music playing other than that of a loud customer on his phone. There was only one male toilet and one female toilet which was a little inadequate at times, although a fair few lounges don’t have any provision at all and so I think we’ll all cope as my friend Julian says. The on-line reviews for this lounge are pretty terrible, which I don’t quite entirely understand but perhaps I must have visited at the right time. I was in soon after the lounge opened which would have helped with the cleanliness, but I thought that the staff were rather engaging although others don’t agree….. I was quite happy with my two hours here and I used my Priority Pass to get in for free.