- Introduction: The Long Way To Florence
- Review: Etihad Business Class A350 (ORD-AUH)
- Review: Etihad Arrivals Lounge Abu Dhabi Airport (AUH)
- Review: Burj Al Arab Dubai (What An Experience!)
- Review: Bulgari Hotel Dubai, UAE
- Caviar All The Way To Bologna: My Emirates First Class Non-Review
- Review: Four Seasons Florence, Italy
- Truffle Hunting In Tuscany With Savini Tartufi
- Review: Masaccio Lounge Florence Airport (FLR)
- Review: Lufthansa First Class Lounge Munich Airport Satellite (MUC)
- Resisting Temptation In Lufthansa First Class
For the return portion of our trip to Florence, we flew from Florence to Munich to Chicago on Air Dolomiti and Lufthansa (with the first segment in business class and the second segment in first class). In this post I wanted to review the Masaccio Lounge, which is the only lounge at Florence Airport (FLR).
Florence Airport is quite small, and not particularly nice. Don’t arrive early to use this lounge, though it’s also better than spending time in the terminal. Let’s get into the review…
In this post:
Masaccio Lounge Florence Airport location
Florence Airport has a single terminal. Once you clear security, just head through the duty free shops and toward the gates.
There you’ll see signage for the lounge.
If you walk for another couple of minutes, you’ll see the entrance to the lounge on the left, behind frosted glass.
Masaccio Lounge Florence Airport hours
Currently the Masaccio Lounge at Florence Airport is open daily from 5AM until 8PM, though presumably those hours are subject to change as flight schedules evolve. You can expect that the lounge will be open prior to any scheduled departure from the airport.
Masaccio Lounge Florence Airport entry requirements
The Masaccio Lounge is used as the contract lounge for any premium passengers at the airport. For one, the lounge is open to Priority Pass members, as that membership comes with many premium credit cards. The lounge is also used by premium passengers traveling on any airline departing from here, ranging from Air France, to British Airways, to ITA, to Lufthansa, to SWISS, and more.
We ended up sitting near the entrance, and one thing I couldn’t help but notice is just how many people were being rejected. Even though this lounge has entry requirements that are as lax as they could possibly be, so many people still weren’t eligible. One person tried to enter with expired United MileagePlus Premier 1K status, one Qantas Club member tried to enter, one person tried to enter based on sitting in an exit row, etc.
Do people really not know better, or do they just think that they’re going to get an exception for some reason or another?
Masaccio Lounge Florence Airport seating & layout
The Masaccio Lounge was pretty full when we arrived, and only got busier during our stay there, so I wasn’t able to get too many pictures of the seating. When you enter the lounge, you can either turn left or right. If you turn right, there are some clusters of leather chairs, as well as some high-top stools along a wall.
Then if you turn left, there are also some rows of seats, in two separate rooms.
That’s the extent of the lounge. By the time we left, every single seat was taken (well, except a block of four seats, which seemed to be reserved for one guy traveling on Air France — I suspect he was connecting to a La Premiere (first class) flight.
Masaccio Lounge Florence Airport food & drinks
After feasting on food in Tuscany for a few days, there was nothing in the lounge that even remotely tempted me. One part of the buffet had croissants, rolls, sandwiches, cookies, and a variety of pastries, along with some self-serve wine and liquor.
Across from that were some coffee machines, plus a machine with filtered water.
There was also a fridge with soft drinks, as well as some fresh food items, like green salad, pasta salad, and more.
Masaccio Lounge Florence Airport bathrooms
The Masaccio Lounge Florence Airport doesn’t have showers, but does have a couple of individual bathrooms, which have both a toilet and a sink.
Bottom line
The Masaccio Lounge at Florence Airport is your basic contract lounge at a small European airport. There’s nothing bad about it, and there’s nothing great about it. It’s just average. There are places to sit, a modest selection of food and drinks, and bathrooms.
The lounge does get quite busy during peak periods, given how many premium passengers fly from Florence (it’s a pretty affluent tourist market). At other airports, sitting in the terminal might be more comfortable, but the terminal at Florence Airport is rather unpleasant otherwise.
If you’ve visited the lounge at Florence Airport, what was your experience like?
Some contract lounges in Europe are decent. I think Venice is ok, and I've had good luck in large Nordic airports. But Florence is a tiny airport: even with the runway extension, only smaller jets can circle in to land. Pisa was intended to be the main airport in Tuscany, but, well, people want to go to Florence. So it's a tiny, crowded airport with a small, oversubscribed lounge.
Access conditions are constantly changing,...
Some contract lounges in Europe are decent. I think Venice is ok, and I've had good luck in large Nordic airports. But Florence is a tiny airport: even with the runway extension, only smaller jets can circle in to land. Pisa was intended to be the main airport in Tuscany, but, well, people want to go to Florence. So it's a tiny, crowded airport with a small, oversubscribed lounge.
Access conditions are constantly changing, and people will try any number of things to get in. Those used to the privilege but not interested to know how it works mechanically might think the dragons just see the card and wave then in, not realizing that lounge access is always a business transaction with someone getting billed for it. And sometimes, you just don't know.
Hi Ben, I think us frequent travelers should not blame those not knowing lounge access rules and, as a matter of fact, the concept of an airport lounge. I’ve recently witnessed a couple who got in with a lounge invitation (probably based on premium cabin) and couldn’t believe they got complimentary drinks and snacks …
"Do people really not know better, or do they just think that they’re going to get an exception for some reason or another?"
While some people are genuinely confused, many people think that they can talk their way into the lounge based on all the bloggers and social media influencers who put out false and misleading information (like wearing a suit gets you an upgrade on a domestic flight). Others probably try bribing their way...
"Do people really not know better, or do they just think that they’re going to get an exception for some reason or another?"
While some people are genuinely confused, many people think that they can talk their way into the lounge based on all the bloggers and social media influencers who put out false and misleading information (like wearing a suit gets you an upgrade on a domestic flight). Others probably try bribing their way into the lounge. I'm sure a tip of $25 or $40 in some parts of the world gets you into a lounge.
"A tip" of 40$?
You can buy lounge access almost everywhere for less than that and only a small number of lounges is worth 40$ or even more. In some places you can have a fine meal for 40$.
This is an outstanding lounge in my opinions. Coffee + biscuits is all what I need before a flight.
Great to see that my priority pass membership can also be leveraged here.
Will be doing a FLR-CDG-JFK flight in La Premier (well, to JFK) later this year and was wondering what there was to do at FLR as we usually just fly to FCO and use Freccia trains to expand out from there when we're back home to visit family. I have a morning flight to CDG but was curious about the lounge sitch. This is helpful. I'll stay at home until I absolutely need to leave the house to make it up there.
Very helpful. Thanks!
Contract lounges are such an embarrassment. They’re good for a bottle of water and nothing more.