Review: the tiny new PrimaVista lounge at Rotterdam Airport

This is our review of the PrimaVista lounge at Rotterdam The Hague Airport.

Rotterdam Airport is tiny. A quick glance over the departure board indicates that there are just a handful of departures per day, mostly with Transavia to popular holiday destinations. On most days, British Airways is the only foreign carrier to operate to the airport, with three daily flights to London City.

All of which makes the addition of a premium lounge at the airport a surprising – if welcome – addition.

The PrimaVista lounge in Rotterdam The Hague Airport is open from 5:30am until 7pm daily.

Where is the PrimaVista lounge at Rotterdam Airport?

The airport is so small that you can actually see the lounge from the check-in desks. It isn’t quite as easy to get to as it looks, however.

Once out of security (where they have all-new 3D scanners which are much more convenient) you need turn left and pass through to near gates 10 and 11, which are the non-Schengen departure gates.

You’ll see plenty of signage. Then head up the stairs:

At the top of the stairs turn right, walk through the odd picnic area/bar:

…. and you’ll see the lounge in front of you:

Inside the PrimaVista lounge at Rotterdam The Hague Airport

The lounge check-in was staffed by two people which is frankly overkill in a lounge this small!

It is just 150 square meters, with capacity for 20 guests.

Immediately to your right you’ll see a large board room / hot desking table. It looks nice but feels a bit open to the lounge reception, and I didn’t see anyone using it.

I was pleased to see a number of newspapers available, including the New York Times:

After this you have a small seating area with just twelve armchairs:

There is a decent amount of light thanks to the windows but you only get a view over the service vents from the rest of the building:

All the seats are the same and feature a lamp plus charging ports on the little side table between them:

To the right you’ll find an open bar and some food. The bar is self-pour and features spirits such as Jack Daniels, Bacardi and Absolut. Wines and beer are also available, as is a range of soft drinks, tea, coffee and juice.

The food selection is, shall we say, minimal. In the fridge you’ll find a couple of yoghurts and some slices of cheese and ham:

Whilst on the table you have a choice of bread, bread, bread, bread and pasta salad:

I have to admit the pasta salad was actually very tasty – unlike most airport lounges it actually had a decent ratio of pasta to dressing and other bits, so that was good.

There was also a toaster and, to my delight, a George Foreman grill!

Apart from that there were also some rice krispies, bowls of crisps, chocolate brownies and some bar snacks:

Note there are no toilets in the lounge, although there are general airport toilets just outside the entrance.

Conclusion

And that’s it. It’s a small lounge, and there isn’t much too it, but it is a pleasant space to relax in and much quieter than the busy terminal seating downstairs. It never got busy, even before my BA CityFlyer flight back to London. That may just be because some people haven’t realised that there is a new lounge yet ….

The lounge is used by British Airways for Executive Club members as well as anyone flying in Club Europe, but you can also use it with Priority Pass. If all else fails, you can also pay €25 to get in.

If you’re passing through Rotterdam The Hague airport it’s certainly worth a visit.

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How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (March 2023)

As a reminder, here are the four options to get FREE airport lounge access via a credit 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 Air Lines and Eurostar lounges.  Our American Express Platinum review is here. You can apply here.

If you have a small business, consider American Express Business Platinum instead.

Until 30th March 2023, the sign up bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to 120,000 Membership Rewards points – click here. T&C apply, see the application forms for details.

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

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

There is no annual fee for Amex Gold in Year 1 and you get a 20,000 points sign-up bonus.  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.