Plaza Premium offers a network of lounges around the world. And while I’ve visited many of them, I’ve never been to one I enjoyed as much as Rome.
Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) is not my favorite airport in the world. But during my extended EasyJet delay earlier this month, the Plaza Premium Lounge served as a welcome haven to pass the time.
Sure, the lounge has comfortable seating, plenty of power ports, and wi-fi, but what truly impressed me was the food. Genuinely tasty, freshly-prepared Italian pasta and pizza. And of course coffee.
Some Plaza Premium lounges have buffets while others have a la carte menus. This lounge has a bit of both. If you’re hungry, you can order customized pizza and pasta in addition to an extensive buffet of hot and cold items.
For my lunch, I enjoyed a nice salad followed by delicious spinach cannelloni, meatballs, and pizza margarita. The pizza was placed directly from the oven onto my plate and instantly (and easily) became the best pizza I have ever had at an airport.
I wasn’t in the mood for any wine, but there was a nice selection of regional wines as well as other alcoholic beverages at the bar. Basic items are free, but more complex cocktails or top-shelf liquor does incur an additional fee.
But of course, no meal is complete without coffee. There was a time when I would not drink cappuccino in the afternoon so as not to offend the cultural sensibilities of a land in which cappuccino is reserved for your croissant in the morning. These days, unless I am in a business meeting, I don’t care and will order one in the afternoon or evening. I still receive the occasional eyebrow raised, but I certainly appreciated a strong cup of coffee to conclude my meal:
CONCLUSION
There are a lot of nice Plaza Premium lounges at airports around the world. So far, though, my favorite lounge is in Rome. As an aside, this lounge is also a Priority Pass lounge, hence how I gained entrance.
Hi Matthew,
it’s Marcello. A long-time reader from Rome, Italy.
Probably as a matter of national and local pride, I’m asking you whether you feel that FCO has improved – even slightly – over the years. The owners have invested consistently in recent times and some indicators seem to show that FCO now ranks among Europe’s top airports, but your travel experience puts you in the position to provide a fresh and unbiased perspective.
Thanks in advance for your feedback and keep up the great work!
Best,
Marcello
Hi Marcello! Thanks for reading. I don’t mind FCO at all and think the new terminal is beautiful. But the crowds for security and passport control are typically annoying. I think the lounges themselves are beautiful (both this one and the Star Alliance lounge), but the Schengen common areas are a bit dingy/drab.
Sorry Marcello, but while the interior of FCO now works pretty well in respect of the passenger experience, eg, good lounges, efficient gates/boarding, unfortunately the arrivals/departures are nothing short of a Effing national disgrace/scandal/embarrassment/tragedy. Hopelessly mismanaged, awful queues/ pathetic signage/ appallingly slow. Particularly so for passengers arriving on long hall and without access to E gates. It is hard to imagine a worse experience ( well, maybe LAX, JFK…)
Looks like a great option. Isn’t this lounge in the non-Schengen area? For a flight to Switzerland does this mean you cleared exit controls and then recleared customs after your visit?
Hi Dan, it is non-Schengen. Because of my long delay, it was worth the long lines (to exit). Only took about 30 seconds to re-enter.
Nice. The best Priority Pass lounges I’ve been to are in SIN where you can choose from several good quality, modern lounges that are on par with a decent airline lounge.
Just got back from FCO and can attest, this was a great lounge. Filled up on aperol spritz and made to order pizza!
Nice!
Imagine getting made-to-order pizza and pasta in a U.S. Priority Pass lounge — “imagine.”
Closest thing is ordering the Uno pizzas in United’s ORD United Club.
“margarita” is a good drink, “margherita” is the basic pizza, as shown in one of your pictures