On my way from Europe back to Japan, I flew with Swiss from Prague to Tokyo through Zurich. Before catching my flight from Prague to Zurich which was operated by Helvetic Airways, I had a chance to check out the Erste Premier Lounge in Prague airport’s terminal 2 which is the only lounge in that terminal.
Continue reading to see what it was like.
Location, Opening Hours & Access
The Erste Premier Lounge is located in Prague airport’s terminal 2, after security.
The lounge was well-signposted and easy to find. Turning right after security and walking down the terminal for a minute or two, there was a clearly marked elevator leading to the lounge. The lounge was one floor above the main departures level.
During my visit, the lounge was open from 5AM until 10PM and as of the time of writing this article, that appears to be the case every day. I recommend checking Prague airport’s website before your visit for the latest information, though.
Passengers that use Erste Premier banking services can enter the lounge for free. More interestingly for the international crowd, however, is the fact that the lounge is also a part of the Priority Pass network.
Being the sole lounge in terminal 2, it is also the lounge that airlines using the terminal invite their business class passengers and status holders into. In my case, while I also have a Priority Pass membership, I entered the lounge by being a Star Alliance Gold member traveling out of Prague on Swiss.
Lastly, all otherwise non-eligible passengers can pay for access into the lounge directly at the reception. The entrance fee is 720 CZK (about 30 USD) for a two-hour stay.
Lounge Tour
Entering the lounge, there was a reception desk where in addition to guests being checked in, some items like model planes were sold.
The lounge itself was split into two parts – one to the left of the reception and the other to its right. I visited the lounge on a weekday morning and while there were some people, there were more than enough empty seats for one to have a comfortable stay. The part of the lounge to the left of the reception, which was smaller than the part to the reception’s right, was particularly empty.
The smaller part included a counter with some snacks and drinks (more about the overall selection in the lounge later) along its walls near the reception.
In the middle of the room, there was seating in the form of a counter with four stools and a couple of groups of four sofa chairs.
Along the walls were some benches with tables and high-back chairs. Above the benches were either windows (no interesting views offered) or large photo prints. While the photos had a very generic feel to them, arguably they were better than empty white walls would have been.
In the back of the smaller room, on the left side, there was also a separate area with four computers, a printer/copier, and even an LG Styler steam closet.
Personally, I would have preferred if some of the cubicles were left empty without a computer so that people could use their own laptops there.
The main feature of the larger part of the lounge was a buffet area with a couple of refrigerators, a counter along the wall, and an island counter. Across from the buffet was a rack with some magazines.
In addition to that, there was plenty of seating too.
Just like in the other part of the lounge, there was a counter with bar stools. There were also some benches and tables along the walls – some of those were paired with dining chairs while others came with the same high-back chairs as those in the lounge’s other part.
In the middle were groups of sofa chairs.
Lastly, in the very back, there was a fairly large children’s area with some toys as well as a nice world map on the wall.
While there are supposedly showers in the lounge too, I didn’t have a chance to check those out.
Food and Drinks
The most extensive food and drink selection in the lounge could be found in the buffet area. That said, some of the lighter bites to eat as well as most drinks could also be found on the counters in the smaller part to the left of the lounge’s reception.
Starting with drinks, there were refrigerators with wine, bottled beer, and a great selection (about 10 different types) of juices. There were also coffee machines and soda dispensers.
There was also some liquor including vodka, gin, and Becherovka – a traditional Czech herbal spirit.
As I visited during breakfast time, the food selection was limited to mostly cold items.
That said, there was vegetable soup.
The cold items included salad, bread, and cold cuts including ham, salami, and cheese. Perhaps the most unique part of the buffet spread was the great selection of homemade spreads including salmon, egg, peas, and beetroot.
There were also boiled eggs.
For those preferring lighter breakfast, there was a selection of cereals and yogurts.
Lastly, there were also some salty snacks including potato chips and popcorn.
Erste Premier Lounge Prague Summary
The Erste Premier Lounge at Prague airport offered plenty of seating and, at least during my visit, it wasn’t crowded. The food and drinks selection was alright too – I especially appreciated the nice selection of juices and homemade spreads.
That said, it would have been even better if there were some hot breakfast items like sausages and scrambled eggs in addition to the provided cold items. It would also have been nice if at least one of the workstations was not equipped with a computer so that one could use a laptop there.
Overall, the lounge was a perfectly fine place to spend some time before catching a short intra-European flight. While it is not worth arriving early at the airport (and/or paying) to visit this lounge, if you have some time to spare before your boarding starts and you can access it for free in one way or another, then by all means stop by.
