Review: Absheron Lounge at Heydar Aliyev Int’l Airport (GYD)
Absheron Lounge is one of the Priority Pass lounges in Heydar Aliyev International Airport (GYD) at Baku, Azerbaijan. I had to catch an early morning flight returning home to San Francisco from the JW Marriott, so I might as well check out what Azerbaijan’s international airport has to offer with its airport lounges.
How to Get to the Absheron Lounge
The Absheron Lounge is located in the International Teminal (Terminal 1) at the third floor, in which you can access after passing through security check. The name of the lounge is derived from the Absheron Peninsula, in which the city of Baku resides on. Right next to the lounge is the Business Class Lounge, but because I flew economy, I didn’t have access to it. Its size definitely eclipses the Absheron Lounge, which is just a small rotunda.
Inside the Absheron Lounge
The lounge is quite a small one, and considering that Azerbaijan is still under the radar, and the fact that I was there at 6 am, I was the only guest there. The staff spoke minimal English, which was fine.
To enter, I had to check-in at the reception of the Business Class Lounge because the Absheron Lounge does not have a reception desk. I was able to access the lounge thanks to my Priority Pass Select I received from my American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card that gives me unlimited access to thousands of airport lounges across the globe. For the Absheron Lounge, I can stay up to 2 hours maximum after entering.
The seats have some low chairs and tables, including with caravanserai designs.
The lounge’s ceiling appear to have its design inspired by the Heydar Aliyev Center and the mud volcano crater of Gobustan.
While the food looks at least decent from the outside, the taste was bland, and it was served cold, making it the worst lounge food I’ve ever had so far. There are mini-fridges in which you can freely take bottled drinks like water, soda, and even beer. Since the food was terrible, the drinks are the lounge’s only saving graces.
Another big flaw of this lounge is that there’s no flight departure screen that I didn’t feel too comfortable sticking around for too long. With that said, I made my way out of the lounge and took some more bottled drinks with me. I only spent around 30 minutes inside the lounge to check out other lounges because I didn’t like it there.
Other Lounges in Heydar Aliyev Int’l Airport (GYD)
I tried to check out other lounges in GYD including the Khazri Lounge, Baku Club, and Salam Lounge. So, I made the attempt to descend down to the Ground Floor. But, once I was on the escalator to head downstairs, a staff shooed me away, implying that the whole Ground Floor is closed. Sadly, that concludes my airport lounge adventure. Since, I’ve already exited the Absheron Lounge, I can’t enter the lounge again as Priority Pass Select only gives one entry before your upcoming flight. I then spent the rest of my wait at the waiting area of my terminal.
Conclusion
Well, I can safely say that the Absheron Lounge is the worst airport lounge I’ve been to so far. The food was disgusting and it had no departure screen to check for flight time. The only positives are the free drinks you can grab and the nice ceiling design that reminds me of the cool parts of Azerbaijan I went to see.
I wish I can say or write more about this lounge, but there’s so much I can write when the lounge is much smaller than the lounges I’ve visited. The fact that every other lounges are also closed due to unknown reasons, except for the Business Class Lounge next to the Absheron Lounge that I couldn’t visit, makes the review of the airport lounges of Azerbaijan a very short one.