Thanks to a highly unexpected trip to Chicago, I found myself the recent guest of Dublin Airport’s 51^st & Green Lounge, the sole lounge offering for anyone heading stateside – at least, as I’m told, until its temporary closure from October this year for renovations.

This trip came out of nowhere, a side-effect of changes in my actual full-time job; before I knew it, I was making plans for an unforeseen trip to the US; scrambling to figure out if I still had a valid ESTA, seeing whether it made more sense to fly directly from Shannon (unfortunately an ancient 757 on United didn’t hold much allure) or traipse up to Dublin.

Aer Lingus, at least at certain times of the day, appears to be outgrowing its premium check-in area and I was met by a slow-moving queue of several people ahead waiting on one of the two check-in agents.

My personal visit to the check-in desk however was brief, and my luggage was quickly tagged and sent on its merry way, while I was issued with a boarding pass after having my window seat preference reconfirmed.

There was a very real danger of me running into colleagues and having to socialise, which wouldn’t have shown me in my best light at such an hour of the morning, and so I almost sprinted to security and onwards down the multitude of escalators leading me to Dublin Airport’s US preclearance area.

Thankfully the repeat security check seems to have been done away with and after a boarding pass scan at the top of the escalator, and then again at the bottom of the escalator, I was quickly admitted to the US immigration hall, checked, and sent to wander the corridors once more.

51^st & Green is found at the very end of the post-preclearance corridor, making sure you’ve earned your visit by the time you reach it.

As I wandered in, a passenger was having a very one-sided argument with the incredibly patient lady at reception over why he wasn’t allowed in despite holding Jetblue status. To the best of my knowledge, Jetblue don’t either pay for lounge access or have any of their own lounges as of yet, so I’d love to know where in the world has this argument worked out so far.

On the other hand, I was quickly welcomed inside to what was a very calm and peaceful space at this time of the morning (it did get a little busier closer to the time of the flight around 10am, but never chaotic).

It’s been years since I was in 51^st & Green and while I know it’s shortly closing for renovations, it still holds its own very well – especially when, as in this case, access is granted by virtue of airline cabin or status.

There are fantastic ground level views right out across the airfield, and a wide variety of types of seating available; I ultimately settled on a table near those huge windows so I could indulge my inner geek, at least for an hour or two.

Probably the only real disappointment was the very low capacity of the gents toilets relative to the size of the lounge; I can only imagine how long the line gets, let alone the ladies, during busier periods. If one thing is in need of expansion during the forthcoming renovation, this is it.

I indulged in a sandwich available from one of the mini fridges under the breakfast counter, along with a double espresso from a coffee machine. There are a number of hot food items available as well, with the unacceptable addition to any Irish breakfast plate – ostensibly due to US agriculture rules – of turkey bacon. Overall, you’d be unlikely to go hungry.

After a double espresso and pepped up for the morning ahead, I decided to indulge in that most important of lounge traditions regardless of the time; a stiff drink.

As is common with all the other Dublin Airport DAA-run lounges, a cardboard sign warned me about the ‘two complimentary drink’ maximum – which I haven’t ever yet run up against in terms of policing but find just so off-putting. I can never tell if this sign is primarily to put off large groups going wild or is actually to be applied to all passengers as a way of charging for additional drinks.

Anyway, I quickly commanded what turned out to be an incredibly sharp G&T, and repaired to my seat to enjoy the views for a final half hour before deciding to repair to the gate area and socialise with my now-waiting colleagues.

Overall, a very pleasant and peaceful visit to 51^st & Green – even though it may be the final visit in its current form, but I look forward to seeing what comes post-renovation.