Prague’s Vaclav Havel Airport is home to four Priority Pass lounges. When we visited in October, we spent a little over an hour in the MasterCard Lounge in Terminal 2. We had an enjoyable time and would definitely go back without question if in the Prague airport.
Beautiful Prague.
The MasterCard Lounge is located post immigration and post the large duty-free shop that everyone passes through on the second floor. In short, once you pass through the duty free shop, turn left and follow the signs for lounges. Take the first set of stairs you see and the MasterCard Lounge is at the top of the stairs on the left. Note – security happens right at the gate to your flight, not before duty free or lounges (if you buy liquids in the lounge, it will be sealed in a special bag and you will be permitted to bring it on the plane as long as the bag remains intact as sealed by the duty free store). We checked in quickly and were off to explore the lounge!
The lounge is located at the top of these stairs.
Here it is – the entrance!
Check in with a boarding pass and Priority Pass card. Despite the looks of this picture, checkin was quick.
Interestingly enough, the other Priority Pass lounge in Terminal 2, Menzies, is located directly across from the MasterCard Lounge. We did not have enough time to check it out (check-in for flights to the US in Prague takes a LONG time), but, if you have the time, it would be easy to lounge hop between these two lounges.
The other Priority Pass Lounge in Prague Terminal 2.
THE SET UP
The MasterCard Lounge in Prague is quite large, and it was not overly crowded on our visit. TheMasterCard Lounge is set up in 3 general areas – the entrance area, complete with tables and close to the restroom, a middle area containing most of the food and drink items, and the main area, which has great runway views with lots of seats set-up in two person nooks (kind of annoying for families or groups of 3, like us).
Runway views!
The main seating area – the touches of green were quite nice!
Bar seating in with the food.
Prague cityscape was an interesting touch!
The area just passed checkin.
THE FOOD
There is definitely a good selection of food at the MasterCard Lounge – a variety of hot and cold food, as well as a selection of snacks (my favorite!). For example, in the main lounge area, there is a a table with a selection of nuts, chips, and pretzels, enabling travelers to grab a quick snack without going though the main food and drink area. I was very happy with the food served at the MasterCard Lounge and I actually had a full lunch here prior to boarding our flight back to NYC.
Snacks on snacks!
Aside from the snacks, the food is served in the middle of the lounge in a joint buffet/bar area. When we visited during lunch time, the MasterCard Lounge had only a small selection of hot food out, but it was quite tasty. Particularly, the MasterCard Lounge offered a warm leek soup, chicken nuggets, and breaded chicken. And I have to say, the breaded chicken was awesome! Much better than it looks in the pictures. Dan, Tinh, and I all went back for seconds.
Really delicious breaded chicken. The pictures do not do it justice at all.
Leek soup – better than this picture.
Chicken nuggets are always a winner.
In addition, to the hot food, the MasterCard Lounge had a standard selection of normal cold foods, such as cereal, fruit, breads with jam and other toppings, as well as a mini fridge full of meats and cheeses and, MY FAVORITE, four types of Prague’s famous open faced sandwiches! Yep, they were serving a veggie cheese-based variety, a salami/pickle/potato salad version, a seafood variety, and a ham and cucumber one. I was really pumped about this and it was a very nice local touch for a Priority Pass lounge.
The famous open-faced sandwiches.
Cold selection.
Milk & cereal.
I have to say, I am usually just ok with Priority Pass lounge food – its free, probably similar quality to overpriced restaurants in the main terminal, and again, its free. However, the food here was a notch above normal, and I really appreciated that. Good work, MasterCard Lounge!
THE DRINKS
Like the food, the drink selection was excellent and full of local touches. First, there were cold Budvar (a popular Czech beer and the original Budweiser, yet much tastier than its American knockoff) beers everywhere with proper glassware. What?! Yes, matching Budvar glasses to drink your final Budvar of the trip! A very nice touch.
Budvar with a matching glass!
In addition to Budvar’s everywhere, the MasterCard Lounge also had a decent selection of Czech red and white wine, as well as a selection of liquors. Everything is self-serve, so you could have as much or as little as you like. I had a glass of red Moravian wine and of course, that final Budvar in a matching glass!
Czech wine and Czech and international liquors. They were even serving Becherovka from our food tour!
Juice & white wine.
In addition to alcoholic beverages, the MasterCard Lounge offers an excellent espresso machine serving Lavazza coffee, as well as many juices, sodas, and other mixers. The one thing that I did not love, no bottled water – only pitchers of water…
Fancy espresso machine.
Lavazza cappuccino – my favorite!
More juice and that water that is not in a bottle…although the lemons were a nice touch.
AMENITIES
The MasterCard Lounge is an interesting lounge. At the entrance, there are several display cases selling what I believe to be duty-free items? That was strange. Nevertheless, there is a small business center, the standard international newspapers, a small children’s playroom, and WCs with showers. I did not use the shower but the WCs were clean and located inside the lounge.
Business area.
Child’s play area.
WC.
STEAL OUR LOUNGE
MasterCard Lounge: Prague International Airport, post passport control, second level. Open daily 5h30 – 23h30. Complimentary entrance to Priority Pass holders and MasterCard Corporate Card holders.
Menzies Aviation Lounge: Prague International Airport, post passport control, second level (directly across from the MasterCard Lounge). Open daily 7h – 19h. Open to the public for a fee starting at $29 USD. You can purchase a pass here.