LIS – Terminal 1 – TAP Premium Lounge – Airline Lounge Review

Terminal 1, Humberto Delgado Airport, Lisbon, Portugal

Last Visit: 24 May 2022 approx. 6pm

Introduction

This is my review of the TAP Premium Lounge at Lisbon International Airport.

I was traveling back from Lisbon to London for business and because I needed to check in a bag, it actually worked out cheaper to travel in Business Class for around £87 than pay to check the baggage!  

Seemingly, at the moment (at least) there are only two lounges open at Lisbon’s capital airport – this lounge and the ANA Portugal lounge, which I have reviewed separately.

Lisbon’s airport is TAP’s primary hub, so I was expecting good things about what should be their flagship lounge.

Entry Conditions

Whilst the ANA Lounge caters for Skyteam and OneWorld carriers – seemingly, the TAP Lounge is purely for TAP and Star Alliance passengers.

Accordingly, access for passengers flying Star Alliance (TAP, United, Swiss, Lufthansa, etc) would have access either as Star Alliance Gold members – or flying in First or Business class.

As I’ve written about previously, seemingly Star Alliance now add the condition that if you want to bring a companion, they must be on the same flight.

Opening Times

The lounge is open daily between 05:00 and 00:00.

How to Get There

Taking a walk through the Food Court at Terminal 1, you will some escalators and clearly marked signs. Follow these, and the TAP Lounge is the second at the top of the escalators.

Layout

In a similar way to the ANA Lounge, the TAP lounge is it overlooks the runway – so plenty of action to see and some great views!

There are plenty of seating areas, mostly of coffee table and sofas.

Unless I missed something, the seating was either casual or dining – and there wasn’t anywhere I could find to work or quietly take a call – or sleep!

At the one end of the lounge there is a bar, with casual seating.

At the other end of the lounge is a self-service buffet with dining seating.  

Food and Drink

Food

Compared to the ANA Lounge, the food here was by far an improvement! The hot food was limited to a single choice of chicken with rosemary rice.

Additional options with sandwiches, cheeses, fruit, cake, etc were available. This is substantially better to the ANA Lounge that’s for sure!   

Drinks

On the drinks side, if you didn’t want to venture to a full bar service – there is a fridge full of beers, lagers and soft drinks.

Wifi

Wifi was available, without the need for a password. The connection was stable, though I was only using it for emails.  

Showers

Showers were available, however not in service – presumably due to Covid-19. There are around 4 to 6 of these.

Portugal in my experience, has been somewhat slower at getting ‘back to normal’ than other countries from the Covid-19 pandemic – so this may explain why the shower was inoperable. Hopefully it will be soon!

Conclusion

On a ‘layout’ basis, this lounge is a little poor. It is lacking in quiet areas to do business calls, and areas to sleep.

However, in comparison to the ANA Lounge, it is miles ahead in its catering offering – though nowhere near as good or as advanced as it could/should be!

This is somewhat surprising given this should be TAP’s flagship lounge – and should be out there to make an impression! As well as make an outward impression for long-haul customers of Air Canada and United.

If I had to take my pick between TAP and ANA Lounges (assuming I had access to both)……..for places to work/rest the ANA wins – however if you want to eat food which isn’t sandwiches – TAP by far ticks the box.