Mastercard Lounge Prague Review
During my recent around the world trip, I had a layover of a couple of hours at the Prague airport. I was actually excited for this layover since it gave me a chance to try out the relatively new Mastercard Lounge.
As of this writing, Mastercard has two of their own branded lounges in Europe, one in Budapest and one in Prague. They have various agreements with other lounges, however these two carry their branding and distinct design scheme.
Location & Entry
The Mastercard Lounge is located in Terminal 1 of Václav Havel Airport in Prague beyond passport control. Priority Pass members get free entry when flying on non-Schengen flights.
Mastercard Elite cardholders pay 1,499 CZK (~$65) for the first person and 1,000 CZK (~$43) for each additional person. If you don’t have a Mastercard Elite card, the cost is 3,500 CZK (~$153) for the first person and 1,000 CZK (~$43) for each additional person.
As you can tell, the prices seem quite high. Thankfully I was able to use my Priority Pass membership from my American Express Platinum card to get in for free.
Overall Impressions
While I am not sure if this was their intention or not, the Mastercard Lounge PRG feels a lot like the U.S. Centurion lounges. Of course there is the noticeable yellow and red color scheme, but the seating styles and decor feel very similar.
At any given time there were 10-20 people in the lounge during my visit, meaning it wasn’t very crowded at all. There are three distinct areas within the lounge, all with more than enough seating.
Seating
Much like the Centurion lounges in the U.S., the Mastercard Lounge PRG has a variety of seating options including wide couches, chairs and lounges to lay on. Unfortunately, unlike the Centurion and other high-end lounges, the seating is uncomfortable.
While the chairs/sofas/lounges look very nice, they are all extremely hard. It is as if they overlooked the need for padding when desigining this lounge. Sitting on most of the chairs/lounges was like sitting on a hard park bench. Very disappointing.
Food & Beverage
The Mastercard Lounge PRG is stocked with a variety of food items. Cold items such as cereals and light snacks are complimented by sandwiches and a couple of hot dishes. During my visit the hot dishes were Fusilli with Chicken & Peperroni and Couscous with Roasted Vegetables & Pecorino.
I wasn’t overly hungry during my visit, however I did try both of the hot dishes. To start, neither was particularly hot, however they were both alright. I have had much worse food in airport lounges, but that isn’t saying much. The food in this lounge is definitely passable, but I wouldn’t go much further than that.
As for drink, the Mastercard Lounge PRG has a soda fountain with a variety of flavors along with a fully stocked fridge with water, a variety of juices and beer. There is also a limited selection of hard liquor available for self-service.
Facilities & Internet
The lounge has a pretty standard internet connection. It wasn’t particularly fast, however I was able to get some work done.
While the Mastercard Lounge PRG is light on facilities, it does have individual work stations, several private television viewing areas and a business center. Once again pretty typical offerings, but definitely appreciated.
Conclusion
While I did enjoy my visit to the Mastercard Lounge PRG, it wasn’t as nice as I expected. When I first entered I was drawn in by the attractive decor, but I came to realize the lounge looks nice, but seems to have been built on the cheap.
The food & beverage offerings were pretty standard for a business class lounge in Europe, but the price of admission is incredibly steep. Sure Priority Pass members get in for free, but the regular admission charge is a bit crazy. I certainly can think of better things to do with my $65-$153!
With that said, I did enjoy the variety & privacy of the seating options, however I was extremely disappointed with the comfort. There are quite a few Priority Pass lounge options in PRG and next time I am traveling through the airport, I think I will try one of the others.
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Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
The MC lounges are available in Prague and Vienna, not Budapest. Also, you might need to recheck the fees. At minimum, they have changed since this review was posted.
Why so high on the entry fee. Seems crazy.
Not sure. I’m sure the majority of people that they get enter with Priority Pass.