Ringway airport "private" lounges.........is it worth the cost ??

[Dave7]

When we book a holiday through an agent I get the quote and just before I pay the deposit I ask for a couple of free lounge passes. I've never been refused, they can get them discounted anyway. £45 is very steep though.

They actually offered me free passes............then, after the deposit was paid found out they couldn't actually do it......so knocked £50 off the bill. So technically they are paid for but now it is in my control I am wondering "is it really worth it"?

 

[Dave7]

Dunno, bunch of pubs and eateries tho http://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/at-the-airport/restaurants/

very helpful............thanks

 

[TVC]

They actually offered me free passes............then, after the deposit was paid found out they couldn't actually do it......so knocked £50 off the bill. So technically they are paid for but now it is in my control I am wondering "is it really worth it"?

Supposing you are travelling from Cheshire then you don't really have a long journey. They work for me when I've had a 2-3 hour drive or coach trip to get to Heathrow or Gatwick, because it is nice to relax in comfortable chairs in a quiet environment before a long haul flight.
Perhaps they are not worth the cost if you don't get any benefit from them.

 

[Dave7]

@Dave7 which terminal are you going from?

Midweek early mornings in T3 are full, with not a lot of spare seats in the central area.

T1's usually ok for seating, T2 don't know about as I never use that one.

Terminal 1 (just had to check).............Sunday morning

 

[ufkacbln]

Look at your tickets

Several times I have found it cheaper to upgrade the ticket and gain extra luggage, enhanced boarding, better seats AND use of the lounges

 

[PaulB]

Not worth it. In a previous life I travelled frequently enough to earn access to those lounges and lapped it up at first...but then realised they offered little to nothing in the way of comfort or benefits so I stopped going in them altogether.

 

[Dave7]

Look at your tickets

Several times I have found it cheaper to upgrade the ticket and gain extra luggage, enhanced boarding, better seats AND use of the lounges

I don't have the tickets. Its a package holiday.

 

[nickyboy]

Terminal 1 (just had to check).............Sunday morning

I just checked back...I used the T2 Escape lounge (included in my ticket price). It wasn't great and I told Mrs N (who is flying out of T2 soon but on a charter) not to bother as the entry fee represented poor value

Food options aren't great...some cereals. Only one hot item per person (I had a bacon sandwich). Coffee was OK but nothing special. I was on a morning flight so can't comment on alcohol. Seating is poor. It's like a café, not like a lot of lounges. It isn't a relaxing space and there are no decent views

Don't know how similar T1 and T2 are but if T1 is similar I wouldn't bother. As others have said there are better paying options elsewhere

There are decent lounges in MAN but the T2 Escape isn't one of them

 

[srw]

BA gave me a free silver card a couple of years ago, so I've used their lounges at LHR and elsewhere a few times. The main advantage is having a relatively quiet space in which to sit - Terminal 5 at Heathrow is busy and quite noisy, while the lounge is busy but quiet. The food on offer is very ordinary, the wine is OK, the beer horrible, the fridges not cold enough and they keep the spirits at ambient temperature so the gin and tonic is never properly refreshing, although it's quite pleasant to get mildly tipsy at someone else's expense before squeezing myself into an over-small metal tube for a couple of hours.

If I had to pay for it myself (and I know you can't with a BA lounge) I probably wouldn't bother. I'd go and find a sit-down restaurant or pub.

 

[nickyboy]

BA gave me a free silver card a couple of years ago, so I've used their lounges at LHR and elsewhere a few times. The main advantage is having a relatively quiet space in which to sit - Terminal 5 at Heathrow is busy and quite noisy, while the lounge is busy but quiet. The food on offer is very ordinary, the wine is OK, the beer horrible, the fridges not cold enough and they keep the spirits at ambient temperature so the gin and tonic is never properly refreshing, although it's quite pleasant to get mildly tipsy at someone else's expense before squeezing myself into an over-small metal tube for a couple of hours.

If I had to pay for it myself (and I know you can't with a BA lounge) I probably wouldn't bother. I'd go and find a sit-down restaurant or pub.

The difference is that the airline specific lounges (which are largely run as a flyers' benefit) are quite different from the Escape lounges (which are run as a business). I only used the MAN Escape lounge as I was flying an airline that didn't have it's own lounge. It was probably the worst lounge I've been in, and I've been in some proper shonky ones (and some fab ones too to be fair)

 

[Hill Wimp]

@Fab Foodie

 

[NorthernDave]

Not quite the same I know, but we used the Virgin Trains East Coast "First Class" lounge at Leeds station recently and it was a massively underwhelming experience and I can only say that I'm glad it was included in the ticket cost as I'd be feeling short-changed if I'd had to pay for it.
'Free' hot drinks - from a vending machine and not particularly good one at that, no sign of the free fruit / biscuits and phone chargers that didn't appear to be working (on the three tables I tried). The toilets were clean though, if a bit utilitarian.

Unless you've got a really long wait (and it doesn't sound like you have), then £45 seems an awful lot for a couple of drinks and a bacon butty. If your flight is delayed, are you allowed to stay in the lounge until it's time to board, or is there a time limit?