March 2025. We’re embarking on a train trip to Sicily. We fly from Brussels Airport to Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport with ITA Airways. Then we take an Intercity Notte sleeper train by Trenitalia from Roma Termini Railway Station across Italy to Syracuse. Yes, the train is loaded on a ferry to cross the Strait of Messina. After visiting Syracuse, Catania and Palermo, we return to Rome, and home. With 25,832 km², Sicily is only 20% smaller than Belgium (30,689 km²). Quite a lot in four days.
Danny has twice paid a visit to the Diamond Lounge at Brussels Airport. The one at A-Gates, for flights within the Schengen Area, and the one at B-Gates, for flights outside Schengen. As Italy is well within he Schengen Area, we visited that one. And it’s my turn to write about that lounge.
Why the Diamond Lounge? On 15 March, the process of ITA Airways joining Star Alliance from SkyTeam wasn’t completed. So, no The Loft for us. The Diamond Lounge is run by Brussels Airport itself and offers a haven for passengers not eligible to go to The Loft.
Diamond Lounge at A-Gates
Both lounges are next to each other, but to access the Diamond Lounge, you must cross the most dreary, unimaginative and uninspired corridor of the airport.
The lounge itself has a straightforward, L-shaped lay-out. The area features some airport lounge staples such as restaurant-style tables and chairs, more hotel lobby style seats and low tables and of course a buffet.
The buffet offering was similar to a ‘high three’ or ‘low four’-star hotel. Hot options, cold options, bread, fruits, baked goods. Waffles, because Belgium, and pancakes.
Stealthily, Danny poured me a mimosa. Indeed, that orange juice was surprisingly sparkling.
As you can see on the photos, the colour palette ranges from beige to brown. Very neutral.
So?
“All in all the Diamond Lounge is now an okay lounge thanks to its overdue refurbishment. It still isn’t anything special but it certainly beats waiting in the terminal”, Danny wrote in 2022. I concur.
The Diamond Lounge is ‘mid’. Could be better, could be far worse. It’s okay. Being okay, being mid, is very Belgian.
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Waiting in line for an hour to get in? Not worth it. Expand capacity or close down!
When was that?