V-Flyer

Oh, wait...

I mean the No. 1 Lounge...no, not that either, they're all gone.

I mean: "Greetings from the STN Pret!"



Just had my first Redhead, and currently awaiting my treatment... I'll stop now.

Is this part of an EU long haul. Upper tomorrow?
Have a great trip and enjoy your breakfast.
Dick D

What, no No.1 any more at STN? Must admit it's been some time since I was last there (in the days of BMIBaby) but I remember it fondly - great views and a decent bacon roll. Better than many BA lounges...

So, I take it you were served by someone with red hair at Pret then :-)

Bugger, have to fly out of STN early March and was hoping for No1 relaxation before flying Ryanair (don't ask !) ... Seems like there's a new lounge opening in spring called Escape ...
No more info about when it opens though ...

Have a good flight ! This experience will make you appreciate the CH with renewed enthusiasm....

Have a great flight! Enjoy Pret

Shame about the two No.1 lounges. I liked them however I think STN owners definitely didn't help them survive as they only announced the Gate Numbers very close to departure time (I think it's only 40 minutes) so not really enough time to walk or tram it to the various piers just to spend 10 minutes in the lounge.

Even the one at Gate 16 which is the Ryanair dedicated pier you could never be sure that your flight would actually depart from there. Add in the lack of Tripit integration, you have just a guessing game of gate numbers.

They could really do with a lounge in the main terminal however considering how packed it is in the mornings, I'm sure the lounge would be rammed as well!

Escape is the in-house lounge "brand" of the Manchester Airport Group, which now owns STN. There's one in each terminal at MAN, a new one at EMA and now one's opening at STN.

VS use them at MAN and they're not bad for shared lounges - although some Priority Pass users have reported being denied entry because they were "full", for which read hit their PP quota.

They also proactively market pay-as-you-go entry which does mean on occasions they can be taken over by groups of stags/hens looking to knock back as much "free" beer/prosecco as possible before their Ryanair flight to Magaluf! (Me? Stereotype? No!)

Thanks for the explanation Gumshoe. Makes sense, on my way to Ostrava for work in March, wouldn't have minded to try it but will most likely not be opened yet ... Will get a drink from the bar instead

I just discovered this reality today when looking to book lounge access en route to Bremen with Ryanair (the only airline with direct flights). I was horrified and have had to take an extra antidepressant of the alcoholic variety in order to cope with the prospect of having to slum it *ahem* and have breakfast in the godawful Weatherspoon or Pret.

First World Problems and all that...

Bretty wrote:I just discovered this reality today when looking to book lounge access en route to Bremen with Ryanair (the only airline with direct flights). I was horrified and have had to take an extra antidepressant of the alcoholic variety in order to cope with the prospect of having to slum it *ahem* and have breakfast in the godawful Weatherspoon or Pret.

First World Problems and all that...

Ha ha , i know where your coming from John , up until 21/2 years ago I'd never set foot in an airport lounge or even thought about it , it just never came on my radar , now I couldn't contemplate 'slumming it ' in the terminal ( obviously this rule only applies to travel without Mrs B and the kids )

So Pret were pretty good on the coffee, but failed drastically when it came to the CH burger (a WRAP? wtf?).

No Redheads, and the only fizz to be seen was in their own-brand carbonated fruit drinks.

I mean, what's VS playing at?

Oh, wait, yes it was all a bad dream...

Looks like there's been a fair bit of change at STN since I last flew from there a year ago. Seems the seafood bar, Yo! Sushi and Frankie & Benny's have all gone. What am I to do... oh well, make do, it's only a couple of hours.

Blacky I know what you mean, I never bothered with lounges until I flew VS and then started to book a lounge for other trips, in the main they're a haven.

i'm awful for wanting to be early at airports

if there's a lounge going i'll almost always take advantage

for me, the main thing is there's usually reasonable wifi and a desk/table to work at with a power point

so i can catch up on emails etc. before going offline for the flight, and everything is fully charged to use onboard or when i arrive

i liked the little lounge at ACE, i'd buy a crusty baguette first then go inside for the crisps and mini bottles of cava in the chiller, but they closed it when refurbing the terminal and looks like it will not be restored

I was looking at the (lack) of lounge availability at STN as have it "included" in my Germanwings booking next month. They proudly boast with the benefit of using the No.1 lounge

....errrrrr, didn't that close in December last year

Looks like I'll be enjoying Pret also. Have to make up for it with my visit to LHR Clubhouse on Friday !

As gumshoe says, STN is building a new airside lounge in "spring 2015" called "The Escape Lounge" - but what nobody knows for certain is whether ex-No 1. Lounge access for people with, say, Priority Pass, will be transferred over (although, again as gumshoe points out, PP does get access in Manchester, so it looks likely).