Review of The Yorkshire Premier Lounge at Leeds Bradford Airport

This is our review of The Yorkshire Premier Lounge at Leeds Bradford Airport.

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

Reader James kindly sent in this review of the Yorkshire Premier lounge at Leeds Bradford Airport.  Take it away James ….

“The Yorkshire Premier Lounge is owned and operated by the airport and is not part of any larger group such as Aspire, Plaza Premium or No 1 Lounges.

Access is available to:

oneworld Sapphire and above when flying BA
Skyteam Elite Plus when flying KLM
Priority Pass
Lounge Club
DragonPass
Institute of Directors members
Various airlines by ticket class (e.g. BA UK Business)
Walk-up or pre-booked paid entry (£21)

The walk-up offer is heavily promoted around the airport. Pretty much every screen that is not being used for another purpose shows ads for the lounge.

During busy times, members of Priority Pass, Lounge Club and DragonPass are often turned away – much to their annoyance – according to the member of staff I quizzed for this post.

Access is limited to two hours, although I’m never quite sure how – or even if – lounges police these policies.

Layout

The lounge has two sides – Business and Leisure. As a solo traveller or couple / small group of adults you can use either. But larger groups (4+) and those with children cannot use the Business side, which they try to keep quieter and more conducive to working.

Parties of seven or more adults must receive prior authorisation before booking and stag / hen parties are not allowed at all. The lounge enforces a ‘smart casual’ dress code.

The Leisure side has a more open feel, mostly due to the glass wall that looks out over the terminal on one side and windows overlooking the apron on the other. This makes it much brighter than the Business side, which has no windows or natural light whatsoever.

The food and drink is identical on both sides, the only difference being that in the summer the bar in the Leisure side is staffed.

Food and drink

There’s a reasonable selection and the quality is generally good – at least as good as anything I’ve ever had in a BA Galleries lounge.

They serve bacon baps, cereal, Yeo Valley yoghurt, fruit, toast, pastries at breakfast time, and a wider selection from 11:00. On the day I visited at lunchtime they were serving huge slabs of pork pie (I’m ashamed to say I managed to eat an entire slice), green salad, pasta salad, cous cous, quiche (hot and cold), pigs in blankets and vegetable soup.

Snacks such as crisps, biscuits, pastries are served all day.  You would not go hungry in this lounge.

The self-service bar offers a small selection of standard spirits, wine, and beer. The Business side bar is hidden away at the back so easy to miss. The bar in the Leisure area is easier to find and, I suspect, gets very well used!

Prosecco and Champagne are available for an additional charge.

Staff

I’ve always found the staff to be friendly and helpful. The food and drinks are replenished regularly and the place is kept pretty clean.

Information

There are large TV screens in each area, which always seem tuned to Sky News.  Each area has flight display screens and boarding announcements for all airlines are made in this lounge.

The range of magazines and newspapers is pretty reasonable:

The downsides

The lounge does not have any toilets. If nature calls, you need to use the facilities in the main terminal. The nearest toilets are opposite the lounge entrance but are currently closed for a (much needed) refurbishment. It’s a short trek to the nearest alternative, although as the airport is so small it’s no great hardship.

I find the Business side of the lounge gloomy and claustrophobic due to the lack of windows but until today I hadn’t realised that you can use either side.

In future, I may well prefer the Leisure side even though it’s a bit of a goldfish bowl with the glass wall dividing it from the main terminal.  I can imagine it could get quite rowdy during peak leisure travel periods.

Conclusion

One of the attractions of Leeds Bradford Airport is its size, which means it’s usually very fast from check-in to gate. There’s no real need to be in the terminal for a long time and you may feel it’s not worth paying for lounge access. However, with every seat in the main terminal made of solid metal with no padding, the Yorkshire Premier Lounge a definitely a more comfortable alternative.

If you were hungry and had a couple of drinks you would probably recoup the entry fee – especially so if you’re a member of Priority Pass, Lounge Club, etc. Even the walk-up fee would probably be justified. And of course, if you have free access it’s a no-brainer.”

If you want to book access to The Yorkshire Premier Lounge in advance, you can do so via LoungePass here.

How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (December 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

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

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.  Our American Express Platinum review is here. You can apply here.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

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 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

A huge bonus, but only available to HSBC Premier clients Read our full review

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.