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THE ALVIATOR'S VERDICT
A very pleasantly surprising contract lounge, with a quiet atmosphere, varied seating, and good food and drinks |
4.5
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After a very pleasant stay at the AC Hotel by Marriott Gavà Mar, it was time to head to Milan on Singapore Airlines. Singapore Airlines operates a unique fifth-freedom flight between Barcelona and Milan, where passengers continue onwards to Singapore. Passengers between Milan and Singapore stay onboard the aircraft, which means those disembarking at Milan are counted as Schengen passengers, whereas those continuing on at Singapore are non-Schengen passengers (where they have to undergo passport control prior to boarding). Singapore Airlines even boards these passengers through two separate gates, the logistics which I’ll talk more about when I review the flight.
Anyway, Singapore Airlines uses the Sala VIP Pau Casals Lounge at Barcelona Airport for their Milan-bound passengers, located in the Schengen area of Barcelona Airport. Technically all Singapore Airlines premium passengers have access to this lounge, but those continuing to Singapore are directed to the Miro VIP lounge, located in the non-Schengen area of the terminal. For context, this lounge won Priority Pass’ Global Lounge of the Year award in 2013 (not majorly impressive – imagine if the U-Fly alliance was handing out airline awards – but at least it’s saying something).
Here’s a review of the Sala VIP Pau Casals lounge, including the location, seating and atmosphere, food and beverages, internet and facilities, and more.
Sala VIP Pau Casals Lounge Barcelona Access and Opening Hours
The Sala VIP Pau Casals Lounge Barcelona is open daily from 4:30 AM to 11 PM, and is a contract lounge, available to a variety of airlines. Singapore Airlines is one of these airlines (unfortunately I didn’t take a picture of the display board that had a list of eligible airlines on it, and I can’t find that list online).
Alternatively you can access the lounge through Priority Pass or Lounge Pass, or walk-in from €40.
Sala VIP Pau Casals Lounge Barcelona Location
The Sala VIP Pau Casals Lounge is located right past customs at Barcelona Airport, just at one of the ends of the main departures hall. In fact, the check-in agent never told me which lounge I was entitled to, so I was under the impression I had to clear immigration to visit the Miro VIP lounge, though saw the Sala VIP Pau Casals lounge on my way there with the Singapore Airlines logo (amongst many others) on the entrance. Signage at Barcelona Airport was excellent, so I could find the lounge fairly easily.
The lounge itself is located one floor above the departures hall, so I got up the escalator in order to access the lounge.
Sala VIP Pau Casals Lounge Barcelona Entrance
A lounge agent scanned my boarding pass and pointed me into the lounge.
Sala VIP Pau Casals Lounge Barcelona Seating and Atmosphere
The Pau Casals lounge allegedly stretches 2,527 sq. m, and it does feel massive. More than ever I was appreciative of the variety of seating, to suit whether you where there for a coffee or drink, a full meal, working, or lounging. The lounge takes the shape of an “outer square”, surrounding a glass square that overlooks the terminal on the level below.
The front room of the lounge faced the terminal, and featured armchairs as well as loungers facing the terminal.
Sala VIP Pau Casals Lounge Barcelona Seating
A separate area had more loungers, as well as a few round tables with transparent partitions.
Sala VIP Pau Casals Lounge Barcelona Seating
Near this end of the lounge were some massive desks for working. I took time off work for this trip to spend time with family (to the point where I didn’t bring much with me), though I know on a separate occasion I’d massively appreciate a desk of this size, especially in the presence of natural light.
Sala VIP Pau Casals Lounge Barcelona Seating
Round the corner was some sofa seating, which seemed to be the most populated area of the lounge (which otherwise was fairly empty). There were more loungers on this end, though they faced the airport’s terrace. You won’t get much in the way of tarmac views here.
Sala VIP Pau Casals Lounge Barcelona Seating
This is a bit of a tangent, but I do really like that Barcelona Airport has an outdoor terrace with seats and restaurants. It was a sunny day, and quite a few people took advantage of the space. Given that many head to Barcelona to have a holiday by the beach, it definitely felt fitting for an otherwise city-style airport (which was run fairly well on this Wednesday morning).
Sala VIP Pau Casals Lounge Barcelona View (?)
On the last side of the square was some more restaurant-style seating.
Sala VIP Pau Casals Lounge Barcelona Seating
Additionally, near some corners were more types of seating, including sofa seating (I’d have loved perching up here with my family) and some other cubicles. Presumably the area behind is a nap room area of sorts, though I missed it during my stay.
Sala VIP Pau Casals Lounge Barcelona Seating
While power ports weren’t in particular abundance (and they weren’t universal), they were accessible by many seats, particularly by armchairs and private cubicles.
Overall, there’s a huge variety of seating, and the lounge felt quiet.
Sala VIP Pau Casals Lounge Barcelona Food and Beverages
The food spread was featured along a single column of the lounge, next to some restaurant and bar-style seating.
Sala VIP Pau Casals Lounge Barcelona Food Spread Area
I was there in the morning and the food spread felt fresh, and items were also rotated within the spread during the duration of my stay (I can’t speak for whether the pastries get stale as they sit there throughout the course of the day). I particularly enjoyed the Spanish cold cuts and cheeses on offer, as well as the small selection of tapas – yum!
Sala VIP Pau Casals Lounge Barcelona Food Spread
Here are a few plates I indulged myself in, including Ibèrico ham, cheese, gazpacho, shrimp salad and roasted zucchini with romesco sauce. The gazpacho was particularly divine, and I had three glasses before becoming self-conscious.
Sala VIP Pau Casals Lounge Barcelona Tasty Food
There was a selection of wines, teas and soft drinks on offer, complete with some light bites. I’m not the biggest tea drinker, wasn’t thirsty, and wasn’t going to avail myself with alcohol this early in the morning, so I simply snapped a picture and moved on.
Sala VIP Pau Casals Lounge Barcelona Drinks and Bar Snacks
This is a strong food selection for a contract lounge, and everything was very tasty.
Sala VIP Pau Casals Lounge Barcelona WiFi
This lounge didn’t feature its own WiFi connection, and instead used the WiFi provided by the airport. The good news is that the airport WiFi was fast, and measured 16.28 Mbps down and 46.57 Mbps up. It wasn’t as easy to connect to however, and you had to verify your email address to browse without a time limit (otherwise you were limited to 45 minutes).
Sala VIP Pau Casals Lounge Barcelona Facilities
In terms of other lounge facilities, there are no showers, unfortunately. This is contrary to what the Priority Pass website says, though I specifically tried to seek shower rooms out, and couldn’t find them.
The lounge does feature two large meeting rooms, neither of which were occupied during my stay.
Sala VIP Pau Casals Lounge Barcelona Meeting Room
I didn’t find a nap room in the lounge, though I may just have not been looking closely enough.
Conclusion: Sala VIP Pau Casals Lounge Barcelona
The Sala VIP Pau Casals Lounge Barcelona is excellent for a contract lounge, and I was mainly impressed by the many seating options on offer. This is a pleasant place to spend some time before a flight, and has plenty of places to relax and work. The large desks for working available throughout the lounge were particularly nice. I also really enjoyed the food spread, which was above average in quality for a contract lounge.
I wouldn’t come early to visit the lounge, and it does lack showers, though I wouldn’t be deterred from a long layover here. It’s certainly a great option for Priority Pass cardholders.
Read more from this trip:
Have you visited the Sala VIP Pau Casals Lounge at Barcelona Airport before?
Good report. In my recent visit It was too crowed, poor food, very few warm. And a long and tedious waiting to access due to an archaic manual control.