First have a look at the newly renovated Avianca-TAP Air Portugal lounge at Miami Worldwide Airport

Who has entry to the Avianca-TAP Air Portugal lounge?

Technically, anybody flying out of MIA has entry to the Avianca-TAP Air Portugal lounge in the event that they’re prepared to pay for it. Nonetheless, there are a number of methods to get entry to the lounge without cost.

What you possibly can anticipate on the new and improved Avianca-TAP Air Portugal lounge

The 6,559-square-foot facility is provided with a quiet room, household room, relaxation space and enterprise middle. There are bogs with a altering desk, however sadly no showers. The capability is 337 visitors, however there are solely seats for 158. Free Wi-Fi is offered.

When you enter the lounge, the hallway will lead you nearly straight to the buffet space. You will move the quiet room, espresso bar and the alcohol bar on the left-hand facet. In case you stroll previous the meals, you will run into the household room and the restrooms.

As you spherical out the nook, enterprise areas full the house. There’s what I would contemplate a no-frills lounge, so you will not discover a fancy centerpiece or any art work. They’ve as an alternative opted to adorn the house with wooden planks and really impartial colours—suppose fashionable grey, white, and black.

There’s a fundamental assortment of tables and chairs, just a few lengthy tables with bar-height seating, and lounge chairs organized close to the floor-to-ceiling home windows for views of the jet bridge. Due to the massive home windows all through the lounge, the lighting is kind of incredible through the day.

The quiet room actually appears like a ready space, with chairs alongside the wall and an empty center house other than the back-to-back televisions. They have been muted throughout our preview.

The household room is essentially the most colourful room within the lounge, with a checkered neon blue, inexperienced and pink rug. Small ottomans and tables are sized proper for kids, though there have been no toys, books or actions in sight. The room did have a TV taking part in cartoons.

The remaining space is a dimly lit house with lounge chairs that did not recline, which was a bummer.

The enterprise middle had a convention desk and particular person desks with chairs, making it straightforward to get some work finished, so long as you are not distracted by the view of the jet bridge and downtown Miami.

There appeared to be an absence of shops, as they have been fairly spaced out. There was, nevertheless, a free charging station outfitted with near a dozen cables that would turn out to be useful for those who occur to pack your charger in a checked bag.

The excellent news is that you do not have to order any of the areas, as they’re all first-come, first-served. The lounge has seen a mean of 500 passengers a day, and we have been advised its peak hours are from 3 to five p.m. As soon as the lounge formally opens Friday, they anticipate an uptick in each day passengers.

Avianca-TAP Air Portugal lounge food and drinks

There was no scarcity of meals and drinks. There’s a self-serve alcohol bar showcasing Portuguese wines, American liquors and a customary Colombian spirit, Aguardiente. Instantly subsequent to the bar are three filled-to-the-brim coolers with an assortment of canned beers, sodas, water and a small number of chilled desserts.

For many who choose espresso and tea, there are two fancy espresso machines the place you possibly can customise the whole lot from the kind of espresso to the flavour and measurement. I went for a chocolate espresso, and it was divine. There are caffeinated and decaffeinated choices and several other tea flavors obtainable.

Meals is served in two methods: by way of a QR code or by means of the self-serve buffet. Breakfast is served from midnight to midday, and a mixture of lunch and dinner is served from midday to midnight.

Previous to the transform, the one meals service was the buffet. Yow will discover the QR codes on the tables. Observe that you’re going to need to be sitting on the desk the place you scan the code, as that is what informs the servers the place to carry your meals.

For breakfast, the obtainable menu included scrambled eggs with ham, seasoned potatoes, pancakes and a Colombian arepa. I ordered considered one of every simply to strive the whole lot, but when I have been to do it once more, I would in all probability simply order a number of arepas. They have been good and sizzling after they got here out, with the cheese melted to perfection and the style as genuine as I can recall a Colombian arepa tasting.

It took about quarter-hour for the meals to reach as soon as I hit “submit” on the menu. The workers was very attentive to clearing the desk after I was finished.

Proper at 12 p.m., the menu flipped to the mixed lunch-and-dinner choice. The choices obtainable have been gluten-free penne pasta in Alfredo sauce, spaghetti and pomodoro sauce, pork carnitas, blended greens, and white rice with peas (the menu stated chickpeas, however they have been in actual fact inexperienced peas).

The spaghetti was by far the one massive portion, with the others being extra bite-size. The pork carnitas have been the superior choice right here, as they have been cooked to simply the best temperature, which resulted in a juicy chunk versus a dried-out piece of pork.

The lounge workers talked about there was additionally a pastel de nata, which is a customary Portuguese custard tart, however it was not obtainable throughout my go to.

For breakfast, the buffet was stocked with an assortment of chilly cuts, cheeses, fruits, muffins, sliced bread, croissants, two cereal choices, soup and sandwich sliders.

For lunch and dinner, the buffet had a wider choice and included a salad bar, quinoa salad, egg salad, an assortment of sandwiches, a cheese board, hen noodle soup and tomato bisque, dips, crackers, muffins, cookies, fruits, doughnuts, and salty snacks.

All meals and drinks are included throughout your go to.

Backside line

The brand new Avianca-TAP Air Portugal lounge has reopened at Miami Worldwide Airport. For enterprise vacationers or households in search of an area to unwind earlier than a flight, it will get the job finished.

There’s a first rate assortment of meals obtainable, together with Colombian arepas and Portuguese pasteis de nata. The workers is prepared and prepared to assist, and there are nice views from a number of spots within the lounge.

Enterprise- and first-class passengers flying on Star Alliance airways and Star Alliance Gold members get in without cost. Precedence Cross members are additionally welcome, although they’re restricted to a three-hour go to.