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YOUTUBE: United Airlines: Rome to San Francisco

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Before my United Polaris flight from Rome to San Francisco, I had the chance to visit the Prima Vista Lounge in Terminal 3 at Rome Fiumicino Airport.

The lounge is located airside after security and passport control, on the gate level near gates E51 through E61. Since it is in the non-Schengen portion of the terminal, it is intended for passengers departing on non-Schengen flights.

The lounge is open daily from 5:45 a.m. until 10:45 p.m.

Access Rules

• a long list of airline partners, including United Airlines,
• such as Priority Pass, DragonPass, LoungeKey, LoungePass, and Diners Club
• The lounge also advertises paid access for €40 per adult and €20 per child, with a maximum stay of three hours.

Unfortunately, the first thing I saw at the entrance was a notice saying that the lounge had reached full capacity and that only passengers with pre-booked reservations could be accommodated. Be mindful that this sign is only if you are trying to enter with Priority Pass or another membership mechanism. If you are trying to enter as a business class passenger, you are good to skip the line and you will always be welcome in.

Seating

The lounge opens into a large dining and seating area. Long communal tables sit beside the windows, while the buffet and bar are positioned along the opposite side. Circular lights and glossy black surfaces give this part of the lounge a fairly distinctive look.

The abundance of natural light was welcome, although the capacity warning outside proved to be accurate. The lounge was extremely busy, and many of the seats in this central area were occupied. This early afternoon time was super busy ahead of a large Emirates plane as well as the American carriers’ longer flights to Texas and the West Coast that leave in the mid-afternoon hours. 

There was quite a bit of variety when it came to seating. One section featured a row of individual armchairs, each paired with a small table and reading lamp. Power outlets were built into the wall beside the seats.

Closer to the windows were sofas and several tall privacy chairs. The perforated screens provided some separation without completely blocking the natural light from the terminal windows.

The tall-winged chairs looked particularly useful for anyone hoping to work. They created a more private space around each passenger, and I saw several people using laptops here.

Here is a closer look at one of those chairs. A small side table and reading lamp were positioned within easy reach.

There were also booth-style seats surrounded by wooden partitions. These provided more separation from the main walkway, although this section near the bar remained busy.

Another section had rows of conventional lounge chairs, once again with reading lamps and power available between the seats.

The partitioned lounge chairs came in a few different configurations and were among the more private places to sit.

For passengers who needed more desk space, the lounge had a long communal work table beside the windows. Multiple power modules were built directly into the tabletop.

The rear portion of the lounge felt a little more removed from the buffet and bar. Partitioned seating bays lined both sides of a central aisle.

Even here, the design made extensive use of wood dividers to create smaller spaces within the otherwise open lounge.

Power availability appeared to be fairly good throughout the lounge. This small group of chairs had outlets placed between the seats, which is something I always appreciate during a long travel day.

Back in the main area, a long high-top counter added another place to sit or work. As you can see, though, the lounge was packed during my visit.

Smaller seating clusters filled some of the spaces between the main sections. A placard on the console also displayed a QR code for the lounge Wi-Fi.

There was also a roped-off, carpeted seating area with a different style of high-backed chair.

These chairs had a modern swivel design, although this area was also quite busy at the time.

Overall, the variety of seating was one of the lounge’s strongest features. There were credible options for dining, working, relaxing, or finding a little privacy. The problem was simply that demand was so high that finding an open seat could still be difficult.

Food and Drinks

The buffet and bar occupied a long corridor along one side of the lounge. The glossy black tiles and large circular lights continued the modern design seen throughout the main seating area.

Rather than relying entirely on self-service machines, the lounge had a staffed bar with a proper espresso machine, bottled wine, and a selection of spirits.

The dessert selection included slices of jam tart along with several varieties of plain and chocolate cake.

The cold buffet began with a colorful salad bar featuring mixed greens, tomatoes, olives, corn, pickled vegetables, cheese, and prepared salads.

Next to that was a selection of cold cuts, sliced cheeses, and poultry. It was a fitting spread for a lounge in Italy and gave passengers plenty of lighter options.

The hot buffet was more substantial than what you find in many contract lounges. During my visit, it included risotto, green beans, a Mediterranean-style entrée, and rigatoni in tomato sauce.

There was also pizza rossa and focaccia, adding a few more unmistakably Italian options to the spread.

I had a campari spritz which was on the expectedly bitter side but still refreshing. The overall selection looked broader than the snack-only spread offered by some contract lounges. There were hot dishes, cold items, desserts, and enough Italian choices to give the buffet a sense of place.

Facilities

In addition to the main restrooms, the lounge had an accessible toilet and a shower room.

The lounge’s official website notes that shower access depends on the agreement under which a passenger enters, so it is worth checking at reception before planning to use it.

Bottom Line

The Prima Vista Lounge is a fairly well-equipped contract lounge. It has an attractive modern design, a genuinely useful variety of seating, plentiful charging options, a staffed bar, a substantial buffet, and shower facilities. Those are all meaningful positives.

The major drawback during my visit was the crowding. A lounge can have plenty of different seating configurations, but that does not help much when nearly every seat is occupied and a full-capacity notice is posted at the entrance. If the lounge is quieter, I can see it being a comfortable place to spend some time before a non-Schengen flight from Terminal 3. At peak periods, the experience will depend heavily on whether you can get in and find somewhere suitable to sit. If you are flying United or a Star Alliance carrier that contracts with this lounge, you could use the ITA Airways lounge, though it will be a further walk from your flight most definitely.

For passengers with complimentary access through an airline or lounge membership, it is certainly worth checking out. If you are considering paying the €40 walk-in price, I would first take a look at how busy it is.