The all new TAP Premium Lounge, Lisbon airport

The all new TAP Premium Lounge, Lisbon airport

I’ve mentioned quite a few times in the past about how I’m not a big fan of airport lounges (in general). I’m usually perfectly happy wandering the terminal looking at all the interesting airplanes (and gawking at people from all over the world).

It all depends on the airport of course, but most of the time I never feel an overwhelming need to be in a lounge while I’m waiting for a flight. I certainly wasn’t craving it today, since the airport here in Lisbon is actually quite interesting with a multitude of airlines flying in and out of here that I’ve never even heard of before. Arkia? Orbest? Sun D’Or? First I’ve heard of them too.

Seeing signs all over the place for the TAP Premium lounge was too tempting to resist however, and I thought it would probably be a pretty good idea if I went and checked it out. I had plenty of time to kill, so why the heck not?

It was my total lack of enthusiasm for spending time in a lounge today that caused me to not even realize that this particular lounge here at LIS was brand new and much (much) better than the one it had just replaced. It wasn’t until I returned home and was talking to some other travelers about it when I realized how lucky I was to get to try out this fancy new hangout.

Up the escalator to the TAP premium lounge
This escalator ride up to the lounge almost felt like ascending into the heavens. A little bit of harp music would have added nicely to the experience, I think.

The TAP Premium lounge is located on the upper level of the main terminal, just above the central area where all the shops are. My first impression was that it felt like kind of an awkward entrance, since this area is so loud and packed to the gills with people. Of all the places to put a lounge, why place it above the busiest and noisiest part of the airport?

Thankfully, by the time I reached the top of the escalator and walked down the hallway to the entrance of the lounge, the noise from below had been muffled down to a whisper and I felt like I had reached an oasis as I was walking in.

Lisbon airport crowds
The view from the top of the escalator. So glad to have escaped from that!
TAP premium lounge hallway
Walking the hallway to the entrance. Heck, even this hallway looked more relaxing than all the hustle and bustle downstairs…
TAP premium lounge main entrance
The entrance to the TAP premium lounge. Nice, but no heavenly greetings from angels unfortunately (though the fine folks manning the desk were quite friendly).
Tap premium lounge check in desk
Here’s a pic of the check in desk as seen from inside the lounge.

My first thought as soon as I walked in? “Holy crap that green.” I meant that in a good way of course, as I’m a huge fan of the TAP Portugal livery and that neon green is one of the colors which makes them unique. I quite liked it. The place felt hip, modern, and very clean.

A bit too busy and noisy for my personal tastes, but overall it felt like one of the better airline lounges I’ve been in recently. I’d go as far as to say that it reminded me of a low-budget version of the Virgin Atlantic Club House at LHR. It had the exact same kind of retro 60’s style to it, but without all of the big-money flair (sorry, there’s no beauty salon in here).

Tap premium lounge inside
As you can see, this lounge is big and bright! My photography skills, on the other hand, let me down with this shot. Sorry for the blurry pic!
Tap premium lounge design
Those Jetson’s-style rings were totally groovy. This lounge would be a completely different place without them.
Tap premium lounge Lisbon airport
This is the view looking towards the back wall (opposite direction of the other pics).
Tap premium lounge windows
The entire front wall is glass with decent views to the outside world. Because of that, there are some pretty good spotting opportunities from this lounge if you are lucky to get a seat by the window.
Busy tap premium lounge Lisbon
Speaking of being lucky to get a window seat, it was quite busy in here today so I missed my chance.
Tap premium lounge free food
Ok, let’s get right to the most important part of any lounge review: the food pics! This is a pretty nice spread IMHO.
Tap premium lounge drinks
Plenty of beverage options as well.
Tap premium lounge snacks
The secondary food bar with an assortment of lighter snacks.
Tap premium lounge dining room
Cafeteria-style seating for those wanting a more traditional type of dining experience.
Tap premium lounge food meat and cheese
I didn’t even waste my time with that secondary food bar – I went straight for the good stuff!
Tap premium lounge bar
How about an ice cold beer or some champagne to go with your meal? This lonely bartender looks as if he’s just dying to pour a drink for someone.

Besides how busy it was, the only negative in my mind was the fact that the seating arrangement was a little bit awkward. There just didn’t seem to be very many different types of seating options, and I ended up finding a spot to sit along the outer wall on a weird bench-like thing. It wasn’t very comfortable, I felt like I had no privacy, and it felt odd sitting along the outer wall like that looking at everybody else (who were looking right back at me).

It was really strange. And it got even weirder when the place became even more busy with people coming to sit down right next to me. It felt uncomfortable to sit that close to complete strangers in a premium airline lounge such as this, but thankfully everyone was minding their own business and there was no touchy-feely going on.

Tap premium lounge seating
This was the best seat I could find.

Highly appreciated was the fact that there were plenty of power and USB outlets along that outer wall, and combined with the free Wi-Fi, I was a happy smartphone user during my entire time there.

Tap premium lounge seating
I think there is probably enough room to stuff a few more chairs in here. They definitely need them.
Tap premium lounge bench seating
I didn’t see too many comfortable-looking chairs in this place. Bench-seating is the predominant type in here.
Tap premium lounge full interior
Here’s a wide-angle shot of the same view to show you more of the space.
Tap premium lounge exit
And that’s pretty much it folks! Time to head back downstairs and do some plane spotting…

TAP Portugal is going through a major brand refresh at the moment, and this lounge redesign goes hand-in-hand with their new business class product that they are installing across their entire fleet. This airline is taking great strides to be one of the best in Europe, and based on what I saw from this lounge, I believe they are on their way towards that goal!

Comments (5)

  1. Freddynonstop

    October 10, 2017
    • SANspotter

      October 10, 2017
  2. ingo gortz

    December 27, 2022
    • Scott (SANspotter)

      December 30, 2022
  3. Sal

    February 9, 2023

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