Review: the Aspire Lounge at Inverness Airport

This is our review of the Aspire Lounge at Inverness Airport.

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

Whilst I took the Caledonian Sleeper train up to Inverness from London, reviewed here, I returned the next day via easyJet. This gave me a chance to take a fresh look at the Aspire lounge at Inverness Airport, which we haven’t covered since March 2020.

Here it is tucked away in a corner of the terminal:

When we ran a reader review of the lounge seven years ago, it was described as “a bit like being in someone’s living room”.  This is still true.

The total seating capacity would be no more than 30, and even that would require people to get cosy on the sofas.

Here is a shot from 2020 which I couldn’t repeat due to people being in the way, and is about as wide an angle as you can get:

One side is glass walled, which is the saving grace of the lounge.  It floods the space with light, making it feel a lot larger than it is, and lets you watch the runway and aircraft a few feet away.

You may think, given the size of the space, that it wouldn’t have much to offer in the way of food and drink. This is not the case. It is fairly well equipped, although clearly nowhere near what you would expect in a Heathrow or Gatwick lounge.  You need to check the fridges because that is where most of the food is hiding.

At 3pm, there were mince pies, muffins, yoghurts, croissants, crackers and cheese, one sandwich, fruit, crisps and soup (‘soup of the day’ is still Highland Vegetable four years on!).  I think everyone would find something to suit.

As you can see, there is an empty hot food display unit which implies that some extra items appear at some point during the day.

There was no shortage of drink, with a selection of white, red and rose wine, beers, spirits and soft drinks.  Everything is free.

There are, unsurprisingly given its size, no toilets inside the lounge.  The ladies is just outside the entrance in the main area of the terminal whilst the gents requires a 30-second stroll.

That’s about it!  It may possibly be the smallest airport lounge you’ve ever visited, but it did the job perfectly well.

Opening hours vary by season.  It opens at 5am throughout the year.  Latest opening during the winter season is 5pm from Monday to Friday (1pm at weekends), whilst during the summer season from 1st April the hours are extended, especially on a Sunday when it remains open until 6.30pm.

If you are flying with British Airways then you can access the lounge if you are flying in Club Europe or have Silver or Gold Executive Club status, or oneworld equivalent. I was on easyJet so got in with my Priority Pass card (buy one here, or get one free with an Amex Platinum card as I did).

If you want to book entry for cash, you can do so via Lounge Pass from £25.99 per adult.

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How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (September 2024)

Here are the four options to get FREE airport lounge access via a UK 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 1,500 lounges in the Priority Pass network – search it here.

You also get access to Eurostar, Lufthansa and Delta Air Lines lounges.  Our American Express Platinum review is here. You can apply here.

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

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to up to 80,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 80,000 Avios. You will receive 8 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

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 £24.  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 Priority Pass card, allowing you access to the Priority Pass network.  Guests are charged at £24 although it may be cheaper to pay £60 for a supplementary credit card for your partner.

The card has a fee of £290 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.