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I’ve visited the Iberia Velázquez Premium Lounge in the satellite portion of Madrid’s Terminal 4 quite a few times and, although it can get quite crowded at times and finding a seat can get tough, I’ve never considered it to be in desperate need of a make over…there have always been far worse lounges out there.
Still, clearly Iberia thought differently as it has given its T4 satellite lounge a make over and the new lounge is now open for guests. If you’re a oneworld flyer this could be an important lounge for you as this is the lounge you’ll almost certainly be using if you’re flying long-haul out of Madrid on a oneworld airline.
The refurbished facility is larger than it used to be (it now occupied 2,500 square feet) so hopefully that will alleviate some of the overcrowding I’ve witnessed and, according to Iberia, it now offers more services.
Guests can expect….
- Unlimited Wi-Fi connection, furniture with USB charging ports throughout the room, and coming soon Smart Touch TV informing of services available at all times.
I’m pretty sure guests have always had “unlimited wi-fi connection but the addition of USB ports is definitely a bonus.
- Larger, improved restaurant areas with services for every taste and need. Cold and hot buffets are available as well as a traditional restaurant. A Health Point is soon to come, and coffee and tea are served in several different areas.
The fact that the restaurant is larger worries me a bit as this could mean that the extra space the lounge found from somewhere has been used here and not on general seating. Still, I definitely like the idea of the “health point” as I often struggle to eat healthily when I’m traveling.
- A “Vinothècque” offers a selection of 22 exquisite Spanish regional wines –13 reds, eight whites, and one rosé.
The lounge in the satellite terminal has always had one of these so this isn’t new….but I’m pleased they haven’t done away with it during the refurb as I quite like it.
The wines in the old Iberia lounge
- The rest zone features chaise-longues, and there are six large shower cabins with all the amenities.
Chaise-longues are a nice addition (as long as they don’t look like the garden furniture British Airways recently added to the Concorde Room at Heathrow) and I like the word “large” in the description of the shower facilities – the old showers were ok but definitely not large.
Shower facilities in the old Iberia lounge
- A special area for children offers television, traditional games, and games consoles.
Iberia says that it will be the food service that’s the central focus of the new lounge with “larger, improved restaurant and buffet areas which adapt to the different times of day and night, while always accommodating the biological clocks of long-distance travellers.”
Customers also now have a choice of being served in a restaurant-style manner or they can choose to serve themselves from hot and cold buffets.
Bottom Line
Overall the changes to the Iberia Lounge sound pretty positive so this should be good news for travelers. The installation of USB ports will be helpful as the old facility only offered European-style 2-pin power outlets which weren’t all that useful if you had forgotten your adapter back at home (yes, I’ve done that a few times).
Hopefully the expanded area the lounge is now housed in will mean that the overcrowding issues are alleviated and that there won’t be a scramble for seats during the busier times of the day.
If anyone is passing through this lounge in the next few weeks it would be great if you could let us know (in the comments section) what you think of the new facility as it will be a few months before I anticipate a visit.
