Why you Need to Book a Manchester Airport Lounge

They were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic and took a while to return; now is an excellent time to try one. On our last trip away we took the opportunity to introduce the kids to a Manchester airport Lounge. It was a brilliant way to begin our holiday. Nice and relaxed, food options for all and unlimited drinks. What more do you want really?

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Which Manchester Airport Lounge?

Depending on the airlines and who’s travelling, there are a range of airport lounges at Manchester airport. We were flying from Terminal 1 this time where there are 4 lounges. 1 of them is for Emirates first-class passengers which unfortunately was not the one for us! The other lounges are the Escape Lounge, the Aspire Lounge and Lounge 1903.

The Escape is the most relaxed and the lowest-priced lounge. However, it’s the only one without runway views. The 1903 and the Aspire both have runway views. The 1903 doesn’t always allow families and their site states they are allowed “from time to time”. The Aspire and the Escape do allow families, no problem. Aside from the cost the other difference is that 1903 includes premium drinks including champagne and prosecco, the others charge extra for these.

Adult prices¹:
Escape Lounge – from £31.99
Aspire Lounge – from £39.99
1903 Lounge – from £49.99

Peace and Quiet

Airports are stressful places, with the exception of Changi Airport in Singapore (the dream). There’s a lot of notice, a lot of people who mostly don’t know where they are going and a whole lot of uncertainty. Where will you sit? Where will you eat? Will we get served our food before we need to board our flight? Who knows? We pre-booked a Manchester airport lounge which meant we had a table reserved and luckily for us, it was in a quiet corner away from the bar which was the busiest area.

There was a self-serve buffet, hot drinks and soft drinks that were self-service, small fridges with bottles of beer and a bar for draught beers, wine and spirits. So we got quiet, a definite place to eat as it was buffet no waiting for service.

Food and Drink included

Each lounge is slightly different as to what food and drink is included. During our stay at the Escape Lounge Manchester Terminal 1, we arrive at 12pm ready for the lunch buffet. There was a good range of hot and cold options. Hot included Mac N’ cheese, chicken, sausages and corn on the cob amongst other options. There was a soup of the day, a selection of sandwiches, salads, snacks and cheese. Basically, even the fussiest of us were able to find enough to eat to feel satisfied. They also offer vegan and gluten-free options.

There’s no limit on the drinks, as long as you don’t get silly! There were soft drinks available at a self-serve fountain. Hot drinks, again were self-serve with a selection of syrups and sugars to go with them. A selection of beers to grab from the mini-fridges at the buffet and the bar was fully staffed serving wines and spirits.

Stress-free

Having the lounge pre-booked made it as stress-free as can be. You usually are allowed 3 hours in the lounge, so book for 3 hours before your flight is due to depart. We were due to fly at 15:05 so we booked the Manchester airport lounge from 12:00 knowing if things were on time we’d have to leave after 2 and a half hours for boarding but if it was delayed slightly we could stay as long as we had booked for and spend minimal time in Manchester airport.

The other bonus is charging ports and plug sockets dotted around. great for my teenagers who need to be plugged in, especially when travelling with an airline without in-seat charging docks.

Value for money

All in all, I think it was good value for money and I would do it again. We paid £112 for the 5 of us which sounds like a lot but in reality, we would have gone to a restaurant and sat and had a meal, we all would have ordered at least one drink and it would have not been much cheaper.

On top of that, we would have been worried about whether we’d get a seat in our preferred restaurant and whether we’d have enough time to eat our meal before we were called for boarding. Not to mention no plugs and the places are usually very busy and you have to wait for service. To me, I definitely think it was good value for money.

Have you used a Manchester airport lounge before? Which ones do you like and not like? Manchester Airport itself is a big, busy and fairly stressful airport, here’s my guide on how to save time and make it less stressful.

Thanks for reading

Becky x

1. Prices per adult as stated on Manchester airport and Aspire Lounge Websites on 16/08/2023 ↩︎