This Iberia Business Class Lounge Madrid Review is part of a trip report including Iberia Business Class, plus reviews of luxury hotels and dining in Marrakech, Morocco. For the prior posts, please see:
British Airways Galleries Lounge at JFK Terminal 7 Review
Iberia New Business Class A330-300 Review
Solano at Four Seasons Marrakech Restaurant Review
Atlas Mountains Berber Village Experience
Amanjena Review, Marrakech, Morocco
Amanjena Restaurant Menus and Dining
Iberia offers three Business Class Lounges in Madrid: the main Iberia Velázquez VIP Lounge in Terminal 4S on the first floor, which this review is of; the Iberia Goya VIP Lounge also in Terminal 4S on the ground floor; and the Iberia Dalí VIP Lounge in Terminal 4. They all offer private work areas, WiFi, buffet dining, bar, showers, and accessible facilities, so the main difference is that the Iberia Velázquez VIP Lounge is open 24 hours, while Iberia's other two Madrid business class lounges are open 6am-midnight.
Perhaps the most confusing thing initially was how to access the lounge. It was a good thing that the Iberia associate who helped us with our boarding passes told us to enter it through the duty free shop, as I wouldn't have expected the Iberia business class lounge to be located there. But sure enough, here's the sign for it in the Duty Free Shop:
A few steps further brought us to the lounge entrance:
We were greeted and presented our boarding passes. Here's who has access to the Iberia Business Class Lounges:
- Passengers with a same day Iberia Business Plus or Business Class boarding pass
- Oneworld Emerald and Sapphire elites with a same day oneworld boarding pass
- Iberia Plus Platinum and Gold frequent flyer members with a boarding pass valid for the day on an Iberia or oneworld flight to access the VIP Lounges of companies in the oneworld alliance
- Iberia Plus Platinum and Gold frequent flyer members with a boarding card valid on the day for flights operated by the Iberia Group and/or marketed by Iberia to access to any of the VIP Lounges Iberia offers around the world
We were on a Friday afternoon flight, and while there were other passengers in the lounge, it wasn't that crowded, with plenty of open seating.
We'd had a delicious and substantial breakfast at Amanjena but quite early that morning, so the munchkin and I were both ready for a light lunch to tide us over until our in-flight meal in Iberia Business Class.
The buffet had several hot options, including a chicken dish, vegetable casserole, potatoes, fish, rice, and mushrooms, and Spanish style tortilla made with potatoes and egg.
There were also cold vegetables, such as carrots and tomatoes, and of course olives:
I was glad to see smoked salmon and queso blanco (fresh white cheese) and that was my main snack, along with a wedge of tortilla:
Various cold drinks were on offer in the cold case, along with sandwiches and yogurts (although these packaged yogurts were a far cry from the delicious Amanjena housemade yogurt).
There were also fresh whole fruit and donuts, and an espresso machine.
I was especially happy to see individual size cups of Haagen-Dazs ice cream: the munchkin and I split some Belgian Chocolate ice cream.
There were also various wines offered, and a self-serve bar with liquors and soft drinks.
To access the free WiFi, you have to ask for a WiFi card at the lounge reception. Each card provides a scratch-off username and password, and is valid for 30 minutes of use from activation. Somewhat annoying if you're in the lounge for awhile, as you'll have to use several cards, although several other business class lounges I've been in also have had similar WiFi cards.
Aviation geeks can enjoy the view of the runways. As we enjoyed our snack, an Emirates plane rolled by:
Verdict: The Iberia Velázquez VIP Business Class Lounge in Madrid has everything you'd expect for an international business class lounge and refreshingly, at least during our visit, wasn't overly crowded (unlike, say, the incredibly crowded Swiss Business Class Lounge in Zurich–see Swiss Business Class A330-300 Review). While I wouldn't go out of my way to spend extra time here, for our 30 minute layover it was just what we needed to grab a quick bite, a drink, and check email.
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