Updated on March 23, 2016
Pros: Stop for a drink, clean bathroom
Cons: Limited food, service, entertainment, def would not pay for this lounge
We were flying back home on Turkish Air & LOT in business class from Maldives to New York with a long layover in Istanbul and a short 2 hour layover in Warsaw. This was purchased using miles which is detailed on the first part of the trip review (see table below).
After we landed, we headed to the Bolero Executive Lounge. This small lounge was shared by just about every airline so it filled up quickly. As a result, it was difficult to take photos of the space (otherwise I would probably annoy everyone with my camera in their faces). The lounge only provides the basics but does have clean bathrooms!
THE FOOD
It's a good thing we weren't hungry after spending a day at the Turkish Air Lounge in Istanbul + eating on the flight over to Warsaw. There wasn't much food! This tomato soup was almost empty and breadcrumbs looked stale.
There was one lonely pączek (a Polish donut) and lonely it remained (I wasn't sure how old it was). This article explains “The Story of why folks eat paczki” (that's plural for pączek).
If you were hungry, it was either these rolls/bread:
or Krowki!
I'm not a sweets person but I LOVE THESE Polish candies! They are cream fudge and have a white and yellow wrapper with a picture of a cow. The name Krowki means “little cows” in Polish. If you can't find them locally, Amazon has Krowki available. I haven't had these in years so I took a few for the long flight home to New York…and a few for after that.
Prince Polo, Polish chocolate wafers were fully stocked. Not my favorite but these are pretty popular.
Mexican Coke! They have what I would normally call Mexican Coke. In New York City, you pay a premium if you can find them. In Poland, however, I understand it is cheaper to make Coke with real sugar, although who really knows the true ingredients? This guy compares a 20 year old coke with the current versions.
OPEN BAR
Plenty of Polish beer – Lech and Tyskie – was available:
If you prefer, a small selection of complimentary liquor and wines were available. I wasn't sure what the tabasco sauce was for so I did a little digging and found some recipes people might like and the opposite: Top 10 Disgusting Shots (just in case you want to surprise someone).
Have you ever tried Zubrowka Vodka? It was outlawed in the US because of a naturally occurring chemical in bison grass, which is used to make it. In the bottle, there's a blade of the bison grass.
The lounge may have been small and crowded but the bathrooms were kept clean.
One private shower was available.
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OneMileAtATime: Review: LOT Polish Business Class Lounge Warsaw
My Camera: These photos were taken using my Canon S110 Digital Camera which has been replaced by the S120. I love it – it's tiny, fits in my pocket, and takes amazing pictures/videos.
This isn’t the “official” LOT Lounge – this is the Priority Pass lounge. The LOT Lounge is “Polonez”. But they both equally have the same amenities and food.
I don’t recall many food options in the airport either… I guess everyone waits for the in-flight meal.
That used to be true, but not anymore since last summer. Polonez catering has been greatly enhanced (in the proper sense, not LH-lingo) and while not up to TK CIP lounge levels it’s a good notch above the competition.
That’s not the proper LO lounge – Polonez is (on the Schengen side) which much better offerings.
I’m sure paczek was fresh. It’s common in Poland not to take the last remaining item 🙂
Zubrowka Biala does not have coumarin do which was the outlawed ingredient in Poland. And it does not taste the same as Zubrowka proper.
Tabasco is for Bloody Mary.
I don’t get the score – why so low considering you stocked up on Krowki 😉
What’s your score (submit it where it says Reader score)? Bloody Mary, hmm. I didn’t see any tomato juice. Getting some Krowki isn’t quite enough to bump up the rating (almost ;))… but if there was anything available or fresh (they couldn’t bring out more pazcki?) then sure. Its just a place to sit down/go to the bathroom. If I had paid to get into this lounge, I would be pretty unhappy.