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The GOL Premium Lounge in Rio De Janeiro is the lounge you’ll be sent to when flying Iberia and British Airways out of Rio but it’s also the lounge for Delta, Air France and KLM (amongst others) as well as being a Priority Pass lounge as well. This makes it one of the airport’s more important lounges and one which a lot of TFM readers will probably use when traveling through Rio.
Lounge Location
The GOL Premium Lounge is on the 3rd level of Rio International Airport’s Terminal 2 and is located past security and immigration.
Once you’ve cleared outgoing passport control you’ll first have to navigate your way through a duty free area and, when you’re clear of all the drinks and fragrances, turn left and follow the signs for the VIP Lounges.
When you reach the end of the terminal building you can either take an elevator….
….or two sets of escalators to get to Level 3:.
Once on the terminal’s upper most level you’ll see that the GOL Premium Lounge isn’t the only lounge up there – there’s a Plaza Premium Lounge (Priority Pass), a Star Alliance Lounge and an American Airlines Admirals Club too.
The GOL Premium Lounge Rio de Janeiro
As you pass through the main door to the lounge there’s a welcome desk on the right (where you’ll need to present your boarding pass or Priority Pass car) and, directly ahead, is a wooden divider shielding the lounge from the entrance.
Once you’ve cleared the lounge agents you enter the main body of the lounge through a gap to the right of the wooden divider and this is the view that greets you:
Immediately on the right is a small room with a sofa, two armchairs and a TV….
…and past this room is a sitting area with sofas and armchairs:
The lounge is set out perpendicular to the entrance and is essentially one long room divided up into different sections with floor-to-ceiling windows running down the full length of the facility.
On the far left of the lounge (near where you enter) is another sitting area with sofas and armchairs…..
….and, as this next picture should show, there are power outlets for most seats:
Also on the far left side of the lounge is a TV viewing area with chairs and armchairs built into a bench:
There are numerous power outlets and USB sockets here too:
Closer to the center of the lounge is another small seating area….
…and past this is the main dining area complete with tables, chairs…..
…and a high bench overlooking the airport apron.
Running down the length of the dining area is a long buffet table and, during my visit at around 5:00pm, there was a selection of hot and cold dishes on offer….one or two of which were a little odd.
- Penne pasta
- Tomato sauce (for the pasta)
- Béchamel sauce (for the pasta)
- Banana with chilli sauce and palm oil
- Roast potatoes
- Chicken with vegetable sauce
- Rice
- Corn and cream cheese balls
- Eggplant pie
- Mini sandwiches
- Potato, cherry tomato and basil salad
- Mixture of pickles, sausage, olives & Quail eggs
- Green salad
- Chocolate truffles
- Banana mousse
- Plum cheesecake
Juices, tea & coffee were also available….
…and there were large chiller cabinets built into the wall alongside the buffet offering water, sodas and beers.
Past the dining area is a final seating area with sofas and armchairs looking out over the airport apron…
….and, against the wall opposite the windows, are a series of 5 work booths.
These all have single power outlets (of the 2-pin Brazilian variety) but no USB ports.
As the far right end of the lounge is a small area set out with dining tables and chairs….
….and a staffed bar serving a variety of complimentary alcoholic beverages and cocktails.
The bartenders make a mean Caipirinha 🙂
Last but not least I should mention the shower rooms….of which the lounge has 5.
As airport lounge showers go these aren’t bad…..but they’re a little dated and I’m never too happy to find a shower that doesn’t have a door:
Thoughts
Negatives:
- The showers could do with modernisation
Positives:
- Friendly lounge staff
- A good size lounge with plenty of space to sit
- Lots of natural light
- A good variety of comfortable seating options
- Plenty of power outlets (although some sections have noticeably more than others)
- Good caipirinhas
Bottom Line
I visited three of the four lounges in Terminal 2 on this trip and the GOL Premium Lounge offered the better food selection of the three (although it still wasn’t fantastic) but had the poorest shower facilities.
I was in and out of the lounge a number of times between 5pm and 7pm and it didn’t get crowded (always a good sign) and there was always a choice of areas to sit in and a choice of seating options too.
Overall this is a solid if unspectacular airport lounge and a pretty good space in which to pass some time before a flight.
