Before I begin, this is definitely filed under #firstworldproblems! 🙂 Yet, this is my single annoyance with many airport lounges around the world.
My Single Annoyance with Many Airport Lounges
Until I found out what was behind the doors of the lounges in airports, I had no idea how relaxing the entire airport experience could be! I have always loved airports but it can sometimes be a hassle to find seating in certain gate areas and definitely can be difficult to find power ports!
The great food at the Turkish Airlines business class lounge
But, with airport lounges, that is all different! Sure, there is some overcrowding at some of the busier ones, but there is still so much to love about the lounge experience. Here are just some of the things I enjoy:
- WiFi
- Comfortable seating
- Workspaces
- Free food
- Free drinks
- Easily accessible power
Part of the beautiful Turkish Airlines business class lounge
Those are just some of the standard things that most lounges have in common. Then you have other lounges that just go way above and beyond the regular experience – places like Turkish Airlines and their business class lounge in Istanbul with a library, pool tables, movie theater, golf area, and much more. There are also lounges like the fantastic first class lounges located around the world in hub airports.
The Bathroom Situation
But, there is one thing that provides me almost a constant annoyance across most lounges. That is the bathroom/restroom. Yes, most of them are much nicer and kept tidier than many in the main terminals of the same airport and I appreciate that. My issue is not with cleanliness but with the number of available units.
I will be in some lounges where there is seating for 70 people – and a single bathroom unit for men and a single unit for women. Then there are others with far more people in them and only one or two stalls. Then there are the lounges that do not even have bathrooms in them at all!
There are some lounges that absolutely get this right (back to Turkish Airlines’ lounge again!) but many of the lounges I am in have such a small number of available stalls that the lines can rival those found on airplanes after mealtimes.
I understand that the lounge space itself is valuable and the lounge provider would rather have seating enough for everyone than have bathrooms that will see much less use than the rest of the lounge. Still, I find myself more and more just using a restroom outside the lounge before/after I am in the lounge and avoiding the lounge lines altogether.
Have you noticed this issue with lounge bathrooms as well? What is your biggest
I agree. I guess a small lounge with no restroom is better than no lounge but still. The bigger lounges seems (on average) to have small restrooms. I know space is a premium but I’ve seen lounges that could have 200-300 people in them with small restrooms.
Jeez is there anything about flying that people will not complain about. You are in an airport lounge. You are better off than at least 75% of the other people in the airport. Just enjoy the experience.
Lol – obviously, you just skipped right over the first sentence and the title being SINGLE annoyance. Yes, I recognize that it is an upgraded experience. But, there is also nothing wrong with making mention of things that could make the experience better also. Glad you are happy about 100% of your airline experiences and hope that continues!
I find this story weird. I’ve also noticed that lounges have relatively small bathrooms, but I have never ever had to wait for a stall or a urinal. Our experiences couldn’t be further apart.
Obviously, we are flying in different places/times of day. It can be quiet but if you hit some of the mid-sized/smaller lounges during the busier times, it is definitely an issue.