Review: Goldair Handling Lounge at Athens Airport

• By Ceasar Cotting
• 26 August 2019 - 9 min read

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There are two Goldair Handling lounges at Athens International Airport. We visited the Goldair Handling CIP Lounge in Hall B, Schengen zone, where the receptionist tried to deny us access with our Priority Pass. Read this review to see how we rated this lounge despite the incident.

Goldair Handling Lounge at Athens International Airport

There are two lounges of Goldair Handling at Athens International Airport: Goldair Handling Lounge, which is in Hall A (non-Schengen) while the other lounge, Goldair Handling CIP Lounge, is located in the Hall B (Shengen). We visited Goldair Handling CIP Lounge.

A visit to this lounge before our flight with Ryanair to Bucharest was quite remarkable for some reasons.

The Location Goldair Handling Lounge

We chose to visit Goldair Handling CIP Lounge because it was easier to access from our departure gate. However, we were departing from the Satellite Terminal, which made accessing any lounge difficult. All the lounges are in the Main Terminal.

Athens Airport has two terminals: The main one and the Satellite Terminal. The Main Terminal has been divided into Halls A and B. Flights to the Schengen area depart from Hall B, and non-Schengen flights from Hall A. In addition, there is the Satellite Terminal, which serves flights both to Schengen and non-Schengen destinations. Gates in Hall A and the Satellite Terminal are called Gates Axx, confusing the system. A long underground corridor connects the terminals.

Our only choice was to access a lounge in the Main Terminal. We decided to access the lounge in Hall B because no passport control is needed to reach the lounge. However, we had to pass the security check to access Hall B. When we exited the lounge, we had to exit Hall B, walk through the long corridor back to the Satellite Terminal and have a new security check there. That took time about 30 minutes.

Goldair Handling CIP Lounge is opposite Gate B13, Level 1, in Hall B. It is easy to find after you find the right hall.

Access Methods

This lounge caters primarily to their airline partners including Air France, KLM, Alitalia, airBaltic, Astra airlines and LOT. Also, the lounge accepts passengers who are members of Priority Pass, Diners Club International, Diners Prestige, Dragon Pass, Lounge Key and Lounge Club.

We assume that Goldair Handling CIP Lounge does not accept walk-in admission as even Priority Pass members can be refused entry when the lounge is busy, giving more priority to clients of their airline partners. It is still possible to pre-purchase a single Lounge Pass to the lounge.

Our Rating

Friendliness of the Customer Service

Three receptionists were not so busy when we entered the lounge; there was no queue. There were many seated visitors in the lounge, but we noticed quickly that there were still a few vacant seats. We were welcomed by a lady receptionist who first painted a smile on her face. Still, upon learning that we are entering by Priority Pass, the staff expressed openly a disappointment. She told us that she couldn't admit us, saying that the lounge was busy at that time and they prioritised clients from their airline partners over Priority Pass members. We said that it took us much effort to reach the portals of this lounge, saying that we came far away from Gate A31 just to reach this lounge, even though we needed to pass the security control. She insisted that she could not let us in and suggested that we go to the other lounge with her tense voice and facial expression. Considering that we noticed a few available seats, we convinced her by explaining that we were running out of time, so we intended to stay a maximum of less than an hour. Finally, the lady staff said, I'm letting you in, but this is beyond my capacity.

A fascinating fact is that the lounge was not becoming crowded at all, but more vacant seats appeared after our entrance. For some reason, the lounge didn't just want to have Priority Pass members.

Conversely, the kitchen staff were so friendly. They cleaned up the tables quickly and made sure all the times that drinks and food were refilled quickly as needed.

The Easiness to Reach the Lounge

The lounge is easy to find after you pass the security of Hall B. After passing security, follow the sign, business lounges. In contrast, shortly after, it is followed by directional signs leading to B9-15 and B28-31. You will find Goldair Handling CIP Lounge opposite Gate B13.

If your flight departs from the Satellite Terminal as we had, it will take time before you reach this lounge. You will be lucky if your departure gate is in Hall B of Athens International Airport.

Comfyness

Goldair Handling CIP Lounge has a nice interior, and the lounge, in general, was clean. They have comfortable wide leather chairs and glass-detailed furniture suitable for a bigger group of lounge visitors. The presence of green plants made the lounge more lively.

The lounge has a worktable with two Mac terminals. There were magazines and newspapers, free, fast Wi-Fi and a television. Though there is a flight information monitor, flight announcements are made life by the staff inside the lounge except for Ryanair flights. This lounge has no sleeping facilities, but we spotted many tired lounge visitors recovering from sleep on those comfortable leather chairs during our visit.

There were not enough power outlets near the chairs, but you can find many sockets on the computer table. There was only one toilet for each gender, and it was sometimes closed due to maintenance work. Being a busy lounge, there could have been more toilets for increased comfort for such a big crowd. There is no shower facility in the lounge. The view is to the car parking area, so unfortunately, plane spotting is impossible.

Food and Drinks

We arrived at the lounge hungry and thirsty, so it was worth a trip to savour its nice selection of Greek foods and drinks. During our visit, they had vegetable soup, pieces of bread, turkey and salmon sandwiches, Greek salad, eggplant salad, beetroot salad, beans with potatoes, pasta salad, fruits and yoghurts. We enjoyed a warm meal - chicken with vegetables and rice. They also had desserts. The drink selections were as good as the food choices. These include canned soft drinks, bottles of water, red wines but no sparkling wine, a large selection of spirits, beers and a well-working coffee machine, including a Nespresso machine and filter coffee.

Overall Rating

Despite being almost denied access to this lounge for being a Priority Pass member, we were still happy with our general lounge visit to Goldair Handling. The quite disappointing behaviour of the receptionist by reasoning that they were reaching their capacity and saying that big crowd of arriving passengers was proven untrue as we have carefully followed the situation. Otherwise, we were satisfied with the excellent catering while the other staff always ensured adequate food and beverages. The tables were cleared fast.

Bottom Line

This is the first and only airport lounge we have visited at the Athens International Airport. Based on our previous visits to other lounges in other airports, Goldair Handling Lounge offers better food and drink selection than most standard airport lounges. The lounge business did not give any reason for poor service quality. However, if you are accessing this lounge with a Priority Pass, prepare to go to another lounge if the receptionists deny your access, but confirm they have an agreement. Just be as calm and nice as we did.

Have you visited any lounges at Athens International Airport? Comment below.

Tags: review, airport lounge, Athens Airport
Destination: Greece