Marco Polo Club – Venice (VCE)

I am almost speechless to describe how much I love the Marco Polo Club lounge– they should have sent a poet. From the massive, tastefully decorated spaces, the open atrium and patio and quiet area to the incredible food and drink options, this is my second favorite lounge in the world (I will link here if I ever return to the lounge in Bari, which takes the #1 spot). This lounge scores almost perfectly in every metric, and I was honestly sad to leave it when the time came for my flight.

The Facts

Finding the business lounge can be tricky since, despite considerable renovations to the Venice airport, it is still gorged with lobster-red tourists recklessly wheeling their roll-aboards around like weapons. After security, you’ll need to proceed past the shops and restaurants to the runway windows, where you’ll find escalators to the second floor. Once there, you’ll find it hidden at the end of a long hallway, with very little signage. The lounge has excellent food options (enough for a legit meal), WiFi, free showers– nearly anything you might want.

The Positives

Almost everything about this lounge is a positive, so the following are simply the highlights for me.

The Space

The renovated Marco Polo Club is incredibly spacious. The entrance gives way to a large general seating area, with a bank of recessed desks on one end, a quiet area and atrium on the other. Despite the huge amount of travelers at the airport, you won’t struggle to find seating, or even to take a nap.

The Shower

As readers know, I really love when lounges have showers, and at the Venice airport, it was almost essential after the punishing 95-degree heat. The shower was clean, free and included everything needed, even a single-use towel.

The Food

I wasn’t hungry when I got to the lounge, but it didn’t matter because I ended up going back for food 4 separate times. This lounge has always featured good meat and cheese borek, but also has an assortment of Italian dishes that will satisfy any dietary requirement. The whipped cream pie they served was simple but delicious and a dedicated barista pulled some excellent espresso for me.

The Negatives

I am at a complete loss to come up with a single negative for this lounge– it’s as close to perfect as a lounge can be. I was unable to measure WiFi speed, because I was so busy stuffing my face with borek, so it’s possible that speeds may not measure up to all the other amenities.

Final Grades