Warsaw – Chopin Airport Bolero Lounge

The last time I visited this lounge was in February 2020, when the travel situation was, I think everyone would agree, somewhat different. It’s one of several lounges at the airport, but it’s the most convenient for British Airways flights which have to depart from outside of the Schengen Zone gates. I remember last time that the signage to this lounge is pretty poor, which meant I only got lost once this time trying to find the damn thing as I sort of remembered where it was.

The staff looked confused when I came in, which is never a situation that I find ideal. I think they were just more surprised that I was in the lounge that early, which was a little over three hours before the flight. The lounge actually allows for visits which are four hours before the flight, but for those with baggage they can’t check-in until two hours before, whilst most people don’t arrive so early to the airport. But, I do and that meant I was the only person in the lounge for the best part of an hour. The staff didn’t seem annoyed though and were always perfectly polite, so that was handy.

It’s an oddly laid out lounge in terms of a lack of seating with higher tables, with these lower chairs not being as a popular. Although, by the time I left, all of the seating was in use.

I assume that lounges in airports are exempt from the new maximum numbers rule that Poland has introduced, as all the tables were taken by the time of the flight and it did feel quite full.

I think this was the only area that they discouraged seating at, although it would still be possible as the chairs were in place.

I was delighted to see that the chocolates were still there. Last time I came to a lounge at this airport, the staff were handing out all of the food and drink as opposed to there being any self-service. It was hard to ask for as many chocolates and packs of honey roasted peanuts as I wanted with that set-up, but there were no issues here.

The hot drinks area, with a wide selection of different teas.

Coffee with chocolate and some form of cake, the type of which I’ve forgotten, but it was better than it looks.

From 11.00, there is food served on trays and there’s a choice of five different meals, although it’s probably OK to get a second one. This one was the salami and cheese ciabatta, along with a salad of ham and pineapple which sounded dreadful. However, Green Eggs and Ham and all that, as the salad was really pleasant, the ham added texture as it was in little lumps (perhaps cubes sounds most tasty) and the pineapple added sweetness.

There were a few beers to choose from, this one was entirely adequate, although it’s not going to win any international craft beer awards I think it’s fair to say.

Other than how the busy the lounge was, which didn’t feel entirely appropriate given the current health situation, this was a really relaxed and comfortable visit. Staff were efficient and the lounge was clean, with plenty of food and drink. I do wonder whether they need to create more space for this lounge if visitor numbers are going to remain high, just to make everyone feel more comfortable.