Review: the Escape Lounge at Bristol Airport

This is our review of the Escape Executive Lounge at Bristol Airport.

At the time this review was written, it was known as the Aspire lounge.  It was rebranded to Escape in May 2023, with the AspirePlus lounge next door rebranded as 1903.  The rest of this review refers to the lounge as Aspire.

Reader Wendy kindly sent us a review of the Aspire Executive Lounge at Bristol Airport.  We have previously covered the other lounge at Bristol, Aspire Plus, in this review.

You can find all of our other UK airport lounge reviews here.  We’re making good progress now!

Over to Wendy:

“The Aspire Lounge at Bristol Airport is located on the upper level past security and through the duty free shop. (Below is an official photo from the Executive Lounges website).  The AspirePlus lounge is nearby – this ‘premium’ lounge requires you to a pay a £10 cash supplement if you want to get access via Priority Pass or Lounge Club.

Whilst I have never been in AspirePlus, I was perfectly happy in the main Aspire lounge and didn’t see any need to pay the additional £10.  The Aspire lounge was quiet with plenty of free seats even though the airport itself was very busy.

There was a glass front with view into the main airport area which, to be honest, wasn’t very exciting.

Food and drink

There was a range of wines (two reds and two whites) and spirits (the usual mainstream brands) as well as beers.  Alcholic drinks must be ordered from the bar …..

…. or you can help yourself at the self-service area where you can get tea/coffee and soft drinks.

As my flight was in the afternoon the menu consisted of a cream tea, hot pasta dish, ham, cheese, olives, snacks and fresh rolls. It was a great selection of food in my opinion.  The lounge also has more substantial food available to order for an extra charge.

The Aspire Lounge has free wifi and a Quiet Zone if you need to catch up on work.  Overall I found it a very decent lounge and a great alternative to busy main terminal.”

Thanks Wendy.  You can access the Aspire Lounge at Bristol Airport via Priority Pass (buy one, or get one free with Amex Platinum), Lounge Club (free with Amex Gold) or you can book access for cash in advance via the Lounge Pass website here.

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How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (January 2024)

Here are the four options to get FREE airport lounge access via a UK credit card.

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with two free Priority Pass cards, one for you and one for a supplementary cardholder. Each card admits two so a family of four gets in free. You get access to all 1,300 lounges in the Priority Pass network – search it here.

You also get access to Plaza Premium, Delta Air Lines and Eurostar lounges.  Our American Express Platinum review is here. You can apply here.

If you have a small business, consider American Express Business Platinum instead.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for the first year. It comes with a Priority Pass card loaded with four free visits to any Priority Pass lounge – see the list here.

Additional lounge visits are charged at £24.  You get four more free visits for every year you keep the card.  

There is no annual fee for Amex Gold in Year 1 and you get a 20,000 points sign-up bonus.  Full details are in our American Express Preferred Rewards Gold review here.

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard gets you get a free Priority Pass card, allowing you access to the Priority Pass network.  Guests are charged at £24 although it may be cheaper to pay £60 for a supplementary credit card for your partner.

The card has a fee of £195 and there are strict financial requirements to become a HSBC Premier customer.  Full details are in my HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard review.

PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.