Review: Alitalia Business Class Lounge Rome Airport

You could have sat in the private rooms. They were by the cappuccino machines.

Haven't been through FCO for a few years. It looks like the Alitalia lounge has been renovated and actually appears a little plush compared to the previous version (and that is saying a lot about how bad the old lounge was - private bus terminal comes to mind).

Not to be a pain, but the orange panels are transparent, not translucent. If they were translucent, you wouldn't be able to see what's happening on the other side.

Doesn't the Alitalia dolce vita lounge at FCO have a 737 flight sim for guests to play with?

the lounge in the pre-security area has a kick ass 737 flight simulator. Cool way to kill 20 minutes.

Too bad that Alitalia is the airline most people associate Italy the most with. Air Dolomiti is a first rate experience, although only regional - Northern Italy (and they've been like this before becoming part of the Lufty group).

You are always eating when you are not hungry. If I were you, I'd need a seat belt extender by now!

The comment about the lines made me chuckle. One of the things I remember reading about Italy before we visited was that Italians ignore lines, they just walk up to the front. My wife and I decided to act like the locals when we visited the Vatican museum, saved us about an hour and a half of standing in line in the hot sun.

If the way Italians behave in line isn't appropriate to you, then don't visit.

Cheers,
An Italian

"In typical Italian fashion the queues were long and disorganized, and really the most shocking part was the number of people cutting the line. They’d just walk to the front of the line as if they didn’t notice all the people waiting, and when they were told there was a queue they’d just merge into the very front of it."

And here I thought Italy was part of the civilized world.

@ Blandon -- Whoops, fixed, thanks!

@ Jk @ John -- Damnit, can't believe I missed that!

Ben, as an Italian, I'm sorry for the way some of us always cut lines.
Fortunately I found we, as a people, are (slowly) improving on that.

After 2 trips to Italy, I have stopped spending money there because of how rude, dramatic, and disorganized they are. Just not worth it... Thanks for pointing out some of the problems you had there, Lucky.

The lounge looks sad. Not that most US lounges are anything to brag about.

With regards to line-cutting, can any Italian elaborate on why this happens and whether it's really accepted/tolerated? Cutting a line in some other cultures is a good way to get beat up.

I was in both lounges and the Alitalia was a trip, what a dump!!! We were on USA flt 718, 767 service, that was a trip back in time. What a poor representation of our country. Transferred to Thai flt 944 to BKK, very nice

Check this one:
https://www.facebook.com/AlitaliaAirlines

I agree with the headline ... simply a bunch of unorganized lazybones who care a dam. Approving all the worst stereotypes one might have about italian service.... If they don't prepare food, they are most likely creating another mess! Stay out !!

Thanks for having made some many pictures for us. I have been visiting these lounges many times and I can only add that there were some improvements, but still much can be done. I do not find useful to address what the worst habits of somebody are. Vast majority of Italians do not cut any queue. I live in Rome and sometimes remind those cutting the queues to stay in line, without any violence in return. Coming back to lounges, those in Middle and Far East are outstanding, but I cannot see how the Giotto lounge is so bad if compared to most of the US ones. I agree that from a country as Italy, expectations for quality and good lifestyle are high. Thanks.

What a catastrophe that airline lounge is! It matches the revolting service. Being coeliac there was not a single thing in the place I could eat but when I saw what my partner had I thought I was spared another insult from this dreadful airline.

I wished I had taken a ship home to Australia after the flight to Abu Dhabi on the AlItalia flight. What a junk airline this is. I can't imagine how bad the service was in economy class. The airline offered me a 100 Euro credit for future use acknowledging the poor quality of the food after the flight crew lodged a complaint on my behalf (even they thought the special meal was an insult) but I refused it on the grounds that neither I nor anyone I knew would ever be stupid enough to ever use it.

I mostly agree with Fabrizio.

It's not true that everywhere in Italy people just cut lines, rude people exist everywhere in the World with no exeptions. I won't mention any nationality or country, as is up to each person to behave in a proper way according to the situation, in which they are in.

I am rather surprised that a travel consultant writes a review like this, based on stereotypes which aren't true and representative of a whole country.

By the way Italy is a civilized country.

Just flown into New York on AZ610 in Business. The flight was great, staff, food, seat, entertainment system, cleanliness, but the lounges at Rome are a disgrace. The AZ lounge was packed and noisy without any office facilities, i.e. no computer or printer. I was told that the commercial lounge next door had both. I dashed in there using my Priority Pass only to find that they also don't have any business facilities. The lounge was much quieter but with hardly anything to offer by way of food and very shabby furnishings.

I was just at the lounge at the E Gate. Is there an extra charge to not have flies with your food? The place is in sad shape.