Newquay Executive Lounge
At the small Cornish hub of Newquay it's a pleasant surprise to find there is a full business class lounge. Technically this lounge is owned and operated by the airport, but pretty much the only passengers to use it are those on FlyBE, except in mid-summer when Lufthansa's business class passengers get the perk too, and for a few hours it becomes the defacto Star Alliance lounge at Newquay.Newquay Executive lounge review
The Newquay Executivelounge is unattended (even though there is a small reception desk) so make sure you ask at checkin for the door code. The four digit code is written down on a small piece of card, and you punch the code into the door. Finding the door is easy: it's at the far side of the main airport waiting lobby, past the small snackbar. If you are Priority Pass, present your credentials before security at the Information Desk to the right of the check-in desks.
The Newquay business class lounge is lovely; small, compact, and feeling exclusive, it is the way all business class lounges should be. Plus, it gets hardly any traffic, and so it still has that very new (if slightly broom-cupboard) feel.
There is seating for 24 people, mainly in large squishy brown leather armchairs, although there are also a couple of sofas along the far walls, set around low coffee tables, and with a couple of palm trees in pots to complete that Cornish feeling. Around the walls there are some quite nice photos, most of which have been taken by the airport staff. At the far end is a lovely alcove - and the only window - with just one seat and a coffee table, overlooking the airfield and the two gates. It is by far the best seat in the lounge. There is one wall-mounted television (which is usually turned off, however it does receive Freeview, and when on it is often on News 24) and a separate flight departure screen, although when a flight departs, there's usually a shout across the inside of the hut (sorry, airport) to hurry people along.
Interestingly, the development of this lounge was paid for via the curious Newquay passenger charge, of five pounds levied on all passengers: a curious way of getting economy class passengers to pay for the perks of those up the pointy end.
Food
Forget coming to the lounge for food: there really isn't any. However the designers realised that for most English passengers on a short flight, what they really want is some chocolate and several beers. Hence there is a large wicker basket of chocolate bars, and another of crisps. No wonder the staff at the airfield tend to refer to this room as the free sweet shop: Kitkats, Maltesers, Smarties, Maratons, Drifters, and Mars bars: there's enough free sugar on tap to have you running around the terminal. Add to this the crisp basket with Walkers and Doritos, and it actually makes a refreshing change from the usual lounge fare.
Bar
Finally, there is a bar, and although this looks poor too, actually it offers some pretty choices. Forget spirits: all the offerings are in the small fridge under the worktop on the left side as you enter. Beer is either Corona, Peroni or Budweiser. Wine is the usual British drinking wine of Jacobs Creek, in white or rose variants, or an anonymous Italian, while red is right on the extreme top of the unit (and rather hard to reach). There are also small bottles of tonic water (but, of course, no gin), and larger bottles of Coke and Fanta, plus banana and chocolate Yazoo milkshakes, and orange and apple juice cartons.
Bathrooms
There are no showers in the lounge, but there are two unisex toilets, in the corridor in the nearside corner, and a vending machine offering toothbrushes.Business Facilities
Business facilities are spartan. There are no computers in the lounge, but there are three simple workstations in the far corner, with a net port (bring your own RJ45 cable). There is also free secure wifi in just in the lounge (the code is on a laminated card sitting on one of the tables, although this tends to move around) but it is very slow. Better is the free (unsecure) wifi throughout the whole airport terminal: take your pick, but remember to bring your own laptop. There is no telephone or fax in the lounge, but there is a payphone next to the snackbar outside if you are really desperate (which you may be: mobile reception at NQY is notoriously poor, and good luck finding any 4G). \n
Access
Pay landside - cost tends to vary by month.
At the moment Executive Lounge Entry is £15 and entry can be purchased from the Information Desk in the check-in hall. Priority Pass lounge users can also access the lounge - please present your proof of membership at the information desk prior to passing through security
Video: Executive Lounge
