From the second we walked into the terminal, we fell a little bit in love with Tallinn airport. As we came up the steps from our flight from Helsinki, we struck by its beauty. The gates are imaginatively and stylishly decorated, each having its own style. For our return flight, we arrived at the airport a little early and spent some time in the Tallinn Airport Business Lounge.
The Tallinn Airport Business Lounge is a shared lounge. Generally, I have a great sense of being underwhelmed by shared lounges, However, the Tallinn Airport Business Lounge is an exception to that rule.
Access to the Tallinn Airport Business Lounge
The lounge is located inside the passenger terminal, on the 1st floor, on the right side of the corridor just past the security checkpoint. There are stairs and a lift, both of which bring you out by the reception desk.
Entry to the lounge is free for business class passengers flying Estonian Air, Aeroflot, Air Baltic, Finnair, Flybe, LOT, Lufthansa, Rossiya Airlines, SAS and UTAir as well as members of the Priority Pass and Airport Angel preferred customer programmes. Furthermore, access is available to British Airways Executive Club members with Gold & Silver status and oneworld Sapphire & Emerald elites when flying on a Finnair flight.
In addition, you can buy admission to the Tallinn Airport Business Lounge for €30.
Food and drink on offer in the lounge
For a shared lounge, Tallinn Airport Business Lounge had a reasonable selection of food on offer. It offered a considerably better choice than some airline’s own lounges we’ve been to.
There were four different types of sandwiches available. These were a ham salad mini-croissant, chicken & parmesan, herring, egg & salad and pork fillet with pickle sandwiches. In addition to the sandwiches, there were two types of prepared salad and some cold savoury pastries.
There wasn’t a great deal of hot food, however, there was some soup. For those with a sweet tooth, there were some pastries and some fruit. We sampled the sandwiches, all of which tasted good, and I tried one of the savoury pastries, which was full of flavour.
In terms of drinks, there was a good selection of soft drinks and juices. The fridge was stocked with Coca-Cola, Coke Zero, Fanta, Sprite, tonic water and dry ginger. Meanwhile, the cold well held large jugs of fruit juice.
There were two white wines on offer (Gustav Riesling and Dias de Verano Muscat) and two reds (Terra Dei Ciliegi, Chateau du Pin Bordeaux). For spirit drinkers, there was Crafters Gin (an Estonian London Dry), Viru Valge Estonian vodka and Vana Tallin liqueur. In addition, Saku Kuld beer was available on draught.
Relaxing in Tallinn Airport Business Lounge
The lounge offers a choice of seating. There are easy chairs with low tables along the one wall, whilst down the other side are some armchairs. The tables and chairs in front of the windows offer the best views, as you can look out over the apron and runway.
I think we bagged the best seats, a couple of armchairs with a low table, nestled between the tables and chairs along the window. Here, we not only had comfy seats but also had the view and we were right by the fireplace too.
If you want to get even more relaxed, there’s a Vibro-massage chair. For those in need of doze, there is one of those “coffin” type sleep enclosures.
One of the best aspects of Tallinn Airport Business Lounge is the terrace. Very few lounges have an outdoor area and this one offers a view over the runway. I can imagine that in the summer it would be nice to sit outside and enjoy a cold beer while watching the planes come and go.
The other facilities
In the lounge you can get a good connection to the airport’s free WiFi, so using your own devices in the lounge is easy. If you need one there is a PC and there are a couple of TVs around the lounge. You can hear boarding announcements in the lounge and there are flight information screens there too.
If you need to freshen up between flights, the lounge has a shower room. The showers are located to the left of the reception desk, as are the loos.
We didn’t expect much from the Tallinn Airport Business Lounge, however, it turned out to be a little gem. As it is the only lounge in the airport, I can imagine that it might get a bit busy at peak times. However, I’m sure it will still be a little oasis of calm. We certainly enjoyed our time there.
