Exclusive first photos of the new Escape airport lounge at Stansted

The new ‘Escape’ lounge at Stansted Airport opened on Monday.  ‘Escape’ is the in-house brand operated by Manchester Airports Group, who own Stansted.

(This is part of our series of reviews of airport lounges across the UK.  You see all of the reviews here.)

You can book your entry in advance via the airport website here.

‘Escape’ is the first airport lounge to be located in the main departure area at Stansted, on the mezzanine floor.  This means that EVERY passenger can use it, whichever pier they are flying from, although children under 6 are not allowed in.

The lounge takes part in Priority Pass.  It is also part of Lounge Club so it is a good place to use the two free Lounge Club passes that come with the – free for the first year – American Express Gold card (review).  Alternatively, you can buy entrance in advance to guarantee a spot.

Thank you to Mark for these first pictures of the new Escape lounge at Stansted.

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You can find out more, and book, on this page of the Stansted Airport website.

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How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (September 2021)

As a reminder, here are the three options to get FREE airport lounge access via a credit or charge card:

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with two free Priority Pass cards, one for you and one for a supplementary cardholder. Each card admits two so a family of four gets in free. You get access to all 1,300 lounges in the Priority Pass network – search it here. 

You also get access to Plaza Premium, Delta and Eurostar lounges. The card has a sign-up bonus of 60,000 points which is a special offer running to 2nd November 2021.  Our American Express Platinum review is here. You can apply here.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for the first year. It comes with a Priority Pass card loaded with two free visits to any Priority Pass lounge – see the list here. 

Additional lounge visits are charged at £20.  You get two more free visits for every year you keep the card.  

There is no annual fee for Amex Gold in Year 1 and a special 30,000 points sign-up bonus until 9th November 2021.  Full details are in our American Express Preferred Rewards Gold review here.

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard gets you get a free LoungeKey card, allowing you access to the LoungeKey network.  Guests are charged at £20 although it may be cheaper to pay £60 for a supplementary credit card for your partner.

The card has a fee of £195 and there are strict financial requirements to become a HSBC Premier customer.  Full details are in my HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard review.

PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.