BCN – Terminal 1 – Aena VIP Miro – Airline Lounge Review

Terminal 1, Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport, Spain

Introduction

This is my review of Aena’s VIP Miro Lounge in Barcelona Airport.

This is the only lounge on D-Gates side, which is the international terminal. I’d sought to get into the other VIP lounge on the Schengen side – but was told I had to go to the D-Gates one.

I’d visited this lounge many times before, but since my last visit in 2019, it seems this lounge has had a huge refit – and is practically unrecognisable to what it once was!   

Visit Date

September 2022 at 18:00

Opening Hours

The lounge is open daily from 06:00 to 21:00.

Entry Conditions

This is the only lounge after passport control in D-Gates, and therefore is not airline-based.

I am fortunate enough to have a Priority Pass for such occasions – but, if you were a OneWorld or Star Alliance member with lounge access, but not flying in a premium cabin, I’m not sure if access would be allowed?

In my case, I was flying Business Class with British Airways – so gained entry that way. In essence, if you’re flying on an airline in Business Class from D-Gates at Terminal 1, I believe this is ‘the’ lounge.

Judging from the sign outside, airlines including Qatar Airways, United, Royal Jordanian and Turkish Airlines also use this lounge.

How to Get There

In times gone by, after security it was a left turn, through passport control, and into D-Gates.

Now, it seems much more complicated.

After security, you’ll need to go down the escalators to where the shops are. Then you’re need to turn right following the signs for D-Gates (which in my view are badly signposted).

Then up some escalators, through passport control, you’ll then walk past security again (behind a glass wall), and then through the duty free shop.

Once through the duty-free shop, you will see elevators which take you back down to the lounge.

In other words – it’s down, then up, then down again!

Layout

Having visited in previous years, and it being an ‘OK’ lounge, I was really very surprised by the radical new layout and new décor. It’s a really nice lounge, which has been done really well – and looks great.

There is a lot causal and sofa seating, which there always was.

There is some ‘semi-casual’ seating next to the large windows overlooking the terminal.

If you’re working, there are some quite nice work stations with office seating and charging facilities. Though, there probably need to be more.

There are also two large dining areas for sitting and eating. In a similar way to my review of the Iberia Lounge in Madrid, it seems the Spanish understand stand that it’s not ideal to be trying to eat on a tiny table or on a sofa!

Another different feature about this lounge were its large glass pods, which are pretty cool!

There are two things I didn’t like so much about this lounge compared to its previous iteration;

1. There were no charging sockets other than at the work stations – and the power in the floor didn’t work!
2. There was no sleeping/relaxing area, that there once was. I’d used this many times for a quick sleep before a light flight to London.

Other than that, the new layout is super impressive!

Food and Drink

Food

If there is one thing I’ve learned about the Spanish, they know to lay on a good set of food in a lounge! The main catering area is on the left of the lounge as you enter.

To a degree, there wasn’t a huge amount of hot food in this lounge – but there were plenty of cold food options. On the back wall there is a buffet wall of various dishes including chicken, noodles, fish, and various other dishes.

Next to this, was salad station – which also had various other dishes.

Also on one of the back wall was a selection of tapas-style meats and cheeses.

The catering area had a few ‘islands’ with various foods. On one of the islands there was a sandwich station.

On another island was station of croissants, croquettes, focaccia and other items.

On a third island were a variety of sweets and pastries.

There is a separate, quieter area, to the right of the lounge as you enter. This area had crisps, nuts, olives, popcorn and biscuits.

Drinks

On the drinks side, everything is self-service. There was a good array of wines, champagnes, a fridge of beer, and soft drinks to select from.

All in all, I have to say I was incredibly impressed!

Wifi

The Wifi worked perfectly for me, and I was able to get a lot of work done whilst waiting for my (delayed) flight to Heathrow.

Showers

It had been a long day, so I chose to take a shower before my flight.

To take a shower, you’ll need to tell the guys at the front desk. I can’t remember if I’d showered here before, but there are two blocks of showers, on each ‘side’ of the lounge.

The bathroom/shower looked brand new and my shower was extremely hot!

The only slightly odd thing I would say about the showers here, or at least the one I was in, is that it has no toilet! So don’t get caught short!

Conclusion

Having not been to this lounge since 2019, where it was once dark and dingy, with poor food, and relatively small – I was thrilled to see such an improvement!

It would have been nice to have some actual hot food and charging to have been thought about, but it’s a great lounge and my favourite on the D-Gates side at Barcelona!