Where is it?
The Primeclass Lounge is located airside in the transit hall after security control. If you start your journey in Riga, pass through the shopping area, past the B-gates on your left and then continue straight ahead towards the C-gates until you see a staircase right in front of you, close to gate B1. The lounge is located upstairs.
There are several signs and the lounge is not hard to find. On top of that Riga airport is a fairly small and compact airport.
How do I get in?
The lounge is used by most full-service airlines operating at Riga airpot for their business class passengers and top-tier frequent flyers. Among the airlines using the lounge are Air Baltic, Aeroflot, LOT, Lufthansa and Finnair.
It is also possible to enter using various lounge cards and credit cards such as Priority Pass and also to pay at the reception desk upon arrival.
What’s it like?
The new business lounge opened on 25 May 2017, replacing the old Primeclass Lounge, once the Air Baltic Lounge, which had been in use for a long time. The new lounge also has a new location and measures 830 sqm with seating for 108 guests.
The reception desk and lobby area is located right at the centre of the lounge with seating areas along the large panorama windows both to the right and to the left upon entering.
The new lounge is large and spacious but feels slightly more impersonal compared to the old lounge, which had a very relaxed atmosphere. The furniture are mostly in grey and various shades of green and turquoise. There are both comfortable armchairs and odd but rather cool and comfortable sofas.
A great aspect of the lounge is the apron view. During the day you get an excellent and almost unobstructed view of the runway and the apron. Even though Riga may not be the busiest of airports in Europe, at peak times there will be some action to follow.
Food and drinks
Just like in the old lounge the selection of food and drinks is excellent, well above average and especially for a lounge in northern Europe where the focus usually is more on functionality than luxury.
There is some hot food available for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The breakfast spread is easily comparable to the one offered at a smaller hotel with for example pancakes, fried eggs and omelettes. Later during the day there are 2-3 hot dishes.
There are also some cold cuts, vegetables, sandwiches, fresh fruits, pastries and desserts available throughout the day.
Both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are available for self service, including beer, wine (including sparkling wine), spirits, soft drinks, coffee and tea. Beer is available in the fridge in the buffet area. Wine and spirits are available from the bar area in the corner of the lounge.
Facilities
Newspapers and magazines are available in the lounge as well as several TVs, free Wi-Fi and a business corner.
There are both showers and restrooms inside the lounge.
On top of this there are private meeting rooms available (at a charge) as well as private ensuite rooms with a bed for either single or double occupancy (also at a charge). These are available for a minimum of three hours.
Anything else not to miss?
A cool thing about the new lounge is the bar area located in the far left corner of the lounge. It has a proper bar desk but although it looks like it is manned, everything is for self service.
And there are appropriate glasses for each brand of the spirits as well as for the wine and the sparkling wine. There are even proper cocktail glasses, although I wonder if they allow you to mix any cocktails yourself. Nevertheless they have arranged the bar area very nicely.
Final impression
All-in-all this is a very nice lounge with a modern interior and a great selection of food and drinks. It is larger than the old Primeclass Lounge and has a very nice apron view. The only thing I miss from the old lounge is the cozy atmosphere. The new lounge is larger but also feels more impersonal.
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