Porto Airport Lounge Review: Is the ANA Lounge Worth It?

If you’re looking for a Porto airport lounge before flying out of Portugal’s second city, your choices are pretty simple. There’s the ANA Lounge…and that’s essentially it.

I stopped by before my flight to Copenhagen after spending a few restful days back in Porto. I’d been updating my guide to three days in Porto, staying at the wonderful Canto de Luz, taking a Portuguese cooking class in Porto, and discovering what may be my new favourite sandwich destination in Porto.

Tough assignment, I know.

My flight to Copenhagen was the bridge between that Porto break and an EV road trip around Scandinavia, so I arrived at the airport with enough time to put the lounge through its paces. I accessed it using my Visa Airport Companion membership, although Porto Priority Pass members can also use the lounge.

Having visited my fair share of airport lounges—including some genuinely excellent ones—I was curious to see what Porto had to offer.

Then I saw the name: ANA Lounge.

Wait…ANA?

Having previously flown ANA 787-9 Business Class and visited the ANA Business Class Lounge at Tokyo Haneda, my mind immediately went to bowls of ramen and self-pouring Asahi machines.

I got excited.

Reader, this is not that ANA.

ANA here stands for ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, the Portuguese airport operator. There is no affiliation with Japan’s All Nippon Airways. So, with my dreams of automated beer machines quickly extinguished, I settled in to see whether the Porto business class lounge was still worth visiting.

The short version? If your membership gets you in for free, sure. If you’re considering paying specifically to enter, keep reading.

Where Is the Porto Airport Lounge?

The ANA Lounge is located airside after security on Level 3 of Porto Airport.

According to the airport’s current information, the lounge is open daily from 4:00 AM until 9:00 PM, although operating hours can change and there may be holiday closures. I always recommend checking directly with the airport before travelling, particularly if you have an early departure or late evening flight.

The lounge sits above the main terminal area and includes an enclosed interior space plus seating overlooking the departure concourse below.

That second area ended up being important during my visit. Because this is essentially the lounge Porto Airport passengers from several different airlines can use, it can get busy. Very busy.

That was certainly the case for me.

Porto Airport Lounge Access: Who Can Get In?

There are several ways to arrange Porto airport lounge access.

I entered using the lounge membership included with my Visa Airport Companion benefit. Travellers can also access the ANA Lounge through eligible airline or business-class tickets, participating lounge programs, or by purchasing lounge access directly where available.

Most importantly for many travellers, this is a Porto Priority Pass lounge.

Priority Pass Porto: Sign up for Priority Pass

Current ANA rules state that guests may enter up to 3 hours and 30 minutes before the scheduled boarding time, with a maximum lounge stay of three hours after entry. The lounge currently lists capacity for 183 seated guests.

That sounds like a lot. During my visit, it didn’t feel like a lot.

If you already have Priority Pass Porto access through a credit card or membership, popping in is an easy decision. Paying separately is a different question, especially given the experience I had.

My Porto Priority Pass Lounge Experience

My first impression of this priority pass lounge Porto option was simply how crowded it was.

The lounge was packed enough that getting clean photos of the interior without photographing a dozen strangers was nearly impossible. That’s not necessarily the lounge’s fault—I clearly hit it at a busy time—but it absolutely affected the experience.

Thankfully, there is additional seating outside the main enclosed lounge area overlooking the terminal below. I actually preferred this space.

It felt more open, offered better people-watching, and was a little less claustrophobic than squeezing into the busy interior.

If you’re visiting at peak time and the main room looks overwhelmed, don’t immediately turn around. Check the mezzanine seating overlooking the concourse.

A Surprisingly Nice Interior Upgrade

One thing worth pointing out is that the lounge appears to have received a substantial refresh compared with older photos you may find online.

Some older reviews describe a tired, dated interior. That wasn’t entirely what I found.

One of my favourite design details was the beautiful azul-blue tiled flooring. After spending several days wandering Porto and admiring the city’s famous tiled buildings, it felt like a fitting final Portuguese touch before leaving the country.

The design isn’t going to make anyone confuse this with a flagship international business-class lounge, but the blue tile gives the space considerably more character than the generic grey-and-beige airport lounge formula.

The airport currently notes that improvement work is still taking place in the lounge, so some aspects of the space may continue to change.

Porto Airport Lounge Review: Food and Drinks

This is where my Porto airport lounge review starts heading downhill.

By the time I arrived, the food selection looked pretty picked over.

There were sandwiches and other light snacks along with a selection of fried appetizers and pastries, but this isn’t a lounge I would count on for a substantial meal before flying. Other visitors have reported soup, salads, and cold sandwiches depending on the time of day, so the exact selection appears to vary.

My visit definitely fell into the “snack before your flight” category rather than “skip dinner and eat in the lounge” territory.

That said, there was one glorious exception.

Pastéis de Nata to the Rescue

There was a pile of pastéis de nata.

And really, if I’m going to be disappointed by an airport lounge buffet, having Portuguese custard tarts available in quantity is a pretty effective way to soften the blow.

The timing was particularly fitting because I had just spent time learning more about Portuguese food during my stay in Porto. On my Porto cooking class, we even learned how to make a simplified version of these dangerously addictive little pastries.

If eating Portuguese food sounds more appealing than eating picked-over airport sandwiches—and it should—you can book the Porto cooking class I recommend here.

For another food-focused experience, this Porto wine and tapas experience is an easy way to combine two things Porto does extremely well without having to plan the stops yourself.

The lounge also offers self-service drinks, including Portuguese wine and port, beer, soft drinks, juices, tea and coffee. There was plenty of Super Bock available here.

If you’ve become attached to port during your stay, you can continue the theme before boarding. Or take the idea home and make my Porto Tónico recipe when the post-Porto withdrawal kicks in.

Just don’t expect a premium staffed cocktail bar or Champagne service here.

The Low Point of My Lounge Porto Airport Visit

Food being picked over during a busy lounge period is understandable. A spilled coffee sitting on the floor for my entire visit is less so.

Someone had spilled coffee and it remained there, uncleaned, for the duration of my stay.

That sounds like a tiny complaint, but these details matter in an airport lounge. The entire reason for visiting is to get away from the chaos of the terminal and enjoy a cleaner, calmer, more comfortable environment before flying.

Between the crowd, depleted buffet and unattended spill, the lounge wasn’t delivering much of that during my visit.

Other travellers may arrive at a quieter time and have a completely different experience, so I wouldn’t assume mine represents every hour of every day. Still, reviews should reflect what actually happened during a visit, and mine was decidedly average.

What Amenities Does the Porto Business Class Lounge Have?

Beyond food and drinks, the Porto business class lounge covers most of the basics.

There is Wi-Fi, charging access, flight information and several different seating configurations. One particularly useful feature is the availability of enclosed work booths, which can be handy if you need to take a call or squeeze in some work before boarding.

For business travellers, those booths may actually be one of the lounge’s strongest features. The lounge does not offer showers.

Toilet access is also worth checking when you visit. Porto Airport currently states that the lounge is undergoing improvement work and that lounge washroom facilities are closed during this transitional period, with passengers directed to nearby facilities outside the lounge.

That means you may need to leave the lounge to use the toilet, which isn’t exactly premium-lounge living.

On the plus side, the open seating overlooking the terminal provides a pleasant alternative to sitting at the gate, particularly when the interior gets crowded.

Is the Porto Priority Pass Lounge Worth It?

This really comes down to how you’re getting in.

If you have Porto priority pass lounge access included with a membership or credit card, I would absolutely poke my head in.

At worst, you decide it’s too crowded and head back into the terminal. At best, you find a comfortable seat overlooking the concourse, grab a drink and a pastéis de nata, charge your phone and relax for an hour.

Would I pay a significant amount specifically for access?

Based on my visit, no.

The limited food, crowding and cleanliness issue made it difficult to see much value in paying separately. Add the lack of showers and temporarily unavailable interior toilets and there simply aren’t enough premium amenities to make this a destination lounge.

This is a convenience lounge, not an experience lounge.

That distinction matters.

Other Airport Lounges From This Trip

Porto wasn’t my only lounge stop on this trip. Before heading across the Atlantic, I visited both the Air Canada Café at Vancouver International Airport and the Vancouver International Maple Leaf Lounge.

After leaving Porto, Copenhagen was my next stop before kicking off my Scandinavian EV road trip, giving me another chance to lounge hop. You can also read my Copenhagen Airport SAS Lounge review. I have an update to that review coming next.

Comparing several lounges on the same journey really highlighted the difference between lounges that merely provide somewhere to wait and lounges that genuinely improve the airport experience.

Porto, unfortunately, lands closer to the first category.

Planning a Trip to Porto?

Despite the underwhelming lounge experience, Porto itself remains a city I’m always happy to return to.

If you’re planning a trip, start with my three-day Porto itinerary for a practical introduction to the city.

For accommodations, I loved staying at Canto de Luz. You can check rates and availability at Canto de Luz before booking.

Food was a major part of this return visit. Along with the cooking class, I continued my very serious research into finding the best francesinha in Porto.

You know, journalism.

If you’d rather let someone else handle the planning, browse these Porto tours and activities.

Still working out how to get there? Compare flight deals to Porto, and if your Portugal plans extend beyond the city, check cheap rental car options.

Finally, I’ve increasingly found an eSIM easier than messing around with physical SIM cards after landing. You can save on a Holafly eSIM here.

Final Verdict: Is the ANA Porto Airport Lounge Worth Visiting?

So, should you visit the Porto airport lounge?

If it’s included with your credit card, airline ticket or lounge membership: yes. If you’re paying specifically to enter: probably not.

My experience was mixed. I liked the updated Portuguese-inspired blue tiles and appreciated the extra mezzanine seating overlooking the terminal. The work booths are useful, and grabbing a Portuguese wine, port or Super Bock before departure certainly beats sitting at a crowded gate.

And I will never complain about access to a pile of pastéis de nata.

But the lounge was extremely busy during my visit. Food had been picked over, the buffet was fairly basic, and that spilled coffee sitting untouched on the floor summed up the experience more than I would have liked.

The ANA name also comes with an important clarification. This isn’t the Japanese ANA, so forget the ramen and self-pouring Asahi machines I enjoyed at Haneda.

Think of the ANA Lounge Porto as a functional airport lounge rather than a premium business-class experience.

With complimentary priority pass porto access, I’d happily stop in again, grab a custard tart and see if there’s a good seat available.

Would I arrive at the airport early specifically for it?

Not a chance.

Porto Airport Lounge FAQ

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For more luxury travel reviews from Porto and beyond, see HERE.