Malpensa, Monteverdi lounge is (probably) the saddest lounge in Europe

Small premise. the last lounge I entered before setting foot in the Monteverdi Room was The Alfursan lounge at Jeddah airport., probably the best in the world. Certainly this review is not a comparison between these two rooms, partly because it would be an unequal comparison. When I review a lounge, a hotel or a flight, I do so by trying to hold a similar standard of judgment and starting with fixed points.

In the case of the lounge, it is one thing if it is in a secondary airport like Genoa or Palma or in a main airport like Barcelona or Athens. Of course, one cannot compare an official lounge with an independent one, although it happens to find independent VIP lounges better than official ones. Currently I think in Europe the best independent lounges are that of Barcelona, the Pau Casals, and that of Riga, the only one at the Latvian port of call.

Location

The Monteverdi Hall is one of two waiting rooms operated directly by SEA, the operator of Milan's airports. The other is The Montale room, which is located in the non-Schengen boarding area Of the airport in the province of Varese.

It is located in satellite A in the area of gates A1/10, at the end of the connecting bridge to the air terminal. The escalators are located just ahead at the end of the long connecting corridor. This was the last airport lounge to reopen after the pandemic.

Access

SEA has specific agreements to provide access to this lounge for elite and premium passengers of many carriers operating at Malpensa.

Also this lounge participates in the Priority Pass, Dragon Pass and Lounge Key networks. It is possible to take advantage of the free admissions included in the American Express Gold Or enter with a guest, also free of charge, thanks to the Prestige card included in the American Express Platinum annual fee.

The lounge

What makes a lounge beautiful and comfortable in my opinion are a few factors, including:

• Runway view
• Natural light
• Facilities such as separate lounges, children's area, showers
• Buffet
• Variety and comfort of seating

In practice, this lounge has none, or almost none, of these points.

The lounge is a small open space, with masonry half walls dividing the rooms. Unfortunately, however, the lounge is on the upper floor of the satellite, in the center of the facility, and has neither a view of the runway, much less windows that let in outside light.

As soon as you enter, on the right is the reception desk where boarding passes and entry requirements are checked. Below the 4 monitors that show not only flight schedules but also service info is a kind of checkroom, unused.

Then there are scattered here and there armchairs and a sofa where guests can sit while waiting for their flight.

In the buffet area, there is an area with bar-style tables and stools where you can have a bite to eat and work on your PC. The only thing that is not missing are the correte outlets, more or less every seat has access to an outlet.

Sold out

The delayed flight forced me to wait much longer than expected in the lounge, and by late afternoon the lounge was filled with people wandering around nonstop looking for a place to sit. Unlike in the U.S., it seems that people are not prevented from entering by queuing outside, but let everyone in even if the seats are sold out.

Services

There is wi-fi and nothing else. There are no showers and the bathrooms are also few (two) and dirty, but we guests are also to blame here, not just the staff.

Buffet

There has been a change from the period closest to covid in terms of presentation. Today the products are no longer individually bagged as before, but set free as in the classic buffet.

The offerings, however, are always the same and are mediocre. There are flatbreads, small sandwiches, savory snacks, and little else. Nothing hot and does not change throughout the day. There are single-servings of salad and cold pasta in the refrigerator, as well as jars of yogurt.

Not much more generous is the offer of drinking, indeed it is definitely less rich than the Montale hall, and here it perhaps depends on the type of travelers, although low-costs are also in the non-Schengen zone. A machine for some hot (powdered) drinks, soft drinks and a couple of bottles of wine.

In conclusion

If you are looking for a chair, a drink and a packet of chips you will be satisfied. If you are looking for a nice place to wait for your flight and have a glass of wine while eating something good, you will be disappointed.