For our return journey from Rome FCO with Aer Lingus, my best attempts to have ample time to review the British Airways lounge were significantly thwarted by the mess that was the Aer Lingus check-in queue, followed by the lengthy immigration queues at Rome’s Fiumicino airport.

By the time we finally reached the lounge – accessed by way of the first escalator up and away from the duty free, and a backtrack backwards to the lounge – we had barely 15 minutes to spare, hardly enough time to take pictures let alone devour the required amount of wine.

The reception is just outside the lounge and after some initial confusion over whether our boarding passes would scan us in or not (they did, as AerClub members, but note, those on Aer Lingus Advantage tickets definitely need the lounge pass printed out), we were quickly admitted inside.

There is no washroom facility and the nearest is back outside the lounge and a walk back up towards the escalator on the left.

I was very impressed by the lounge – upon entering, it felt spacious, with ample seating of various types, and is fronted by a long, staffed, counter bar where you can – and I did – ask for a coffee, or more helpfully, a large glass of wine.

Flanking the counter on either side are tables for dining or catching up on work, while behind the staffed counter is a small buffet area where you can find cold meats, as well as pizza squares, pasta and a few other hot food bites.

Knowing that I had only 15 minutes in which to enjoy several glasses of wine, I prudently tucked right into a plate full of pizza squares before continuing my walking tour of this unexpectedly stunning lounge.

I will however say that the lounge was quite busy – and because I get very awkward taking pictures so obviously when others are nearby and also don’t want to feature someone, I’m afraid lounge photos for this review are at a premium.

Walking further into the lounge and away from the buffet selections, we arrived at a beautiful floor-to-ceiling window area with plenty of seating in rows, and fantastic views out over the apron.

British Airways really did excellently to someone manage to get hold of this space – with the exception of the lack of toilet facilities, which was now well forgotten, this is a really lovely, comfy and well-stocked compact lounge for an airline not actually based out of the airport.

With such little time to spare, I stayed glued to the window as I watched our Aer Lingus flight land – realising I had at least 1.5 more glasses of wine worth of time to enjoy the lounge a little further. The wait staff at the counter were only too happy to oblige.

Before long, it was time to make tracks once again, with our gate now having being changed to the far-closer E2 (just underneath the escalator back downstairs).

In conclusion, British Airways have done a great job – considering the size of their presence and the total eligible passenger volume for this lounge and airport – making such a compact space so functional, enjoyable and scenic to be in. This is definitely a lounge you wouldn’t mind too much spending a short delay enjoying.