While not everyone has the ability to be flying on deluxe business class tickets, at times you have to rely on contract lounges in order to make your travels just a little more comfortable. The Petra Lounge in Amman, Jordan is one such lounge designed to meet that need. It provides an alternative that is typically accessible through a credit card membership, or by purchasing access at the door. I would take a quick visit on my travels through Queen Alia International Airport.

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This post is one chapter on our trip to Jordan, Israel and France during the end of the pandemic. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status, Hertz Gold Plus Rewards and Alaska Mileage Plan. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.

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Review: The Petra Lounge, Queen Alia International Airport, Amman, Jordan

This review is of the The Petra Lounge, at Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Jordan.

Dependent on your departure area and carrier, you may also have access to the nearby Royal Jordanian Crown Lounge – Queen Alia International Airport, Amman Jordan.

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Our departure flight today was on Royal Jordanian Business Class Amman – Tel Aviv. Having already checked in with Royal Jordanian Crown Class Check In at the Queen Alia International Airport, and having visited the Royal Jordanian Crown Business Lounge, I thought I would take the time to heck out the nearby Petra Lounge Amman, Jordan for curiosity’s sake.

Locating The Petra Lounge – Amman:

The Petra Lounge occupies a multi floor space over in the left or northern concourse space immediately below the departures hall for international departures. The access point is easily located on the end of the concourse before the concourse splits into left and right for departure gates.

After clearing security, you’ll find yourselves wandering through Amman Duty Free. Once you exit the duty free, you’ll will be located in front of these departure board screens. From here, it is a simple left and a five minute walk down the airport concourse.

There is substantially less retail stores and outlets out on the concourses. If you’re planning on picking up a souvenir, you’d best do it near the Amman Duty Free zone, otherwise you might find yourself doubling back to the main stores.

After a short walk to the concourse gates, keep to the left towards the Gates 202 – 210 and you’ll find The Petra Lounge access on the left shortly after the WHSmith’s Bookshop.

The Petra Lounge was generally easy to find. While it would be less convenient for those departing from an opposite concourse, you shouldn’t have any difficultly locating the lounge prior to your departing flight.

Accessing the Petra Lounge:

The Petra Lounge is the Queen Alia International Airport’s credit card membership lounge.

The lounge is affiliated with Priority Pass with is available through select credit cards memberships including The American Express Platinum Card and Mastercard World Elite credit cards that include a Lounge Key membership.

I gained access to the lounge today after presenting a digital Priority Pass membership card. After entering the lounge, I passed down a short hallway where my entrance was processed.

The lounge shares space with the Petra Lounge transit hotel, which was located on the second floor. With reception located on the third floor, I was asked to descend in the elevator the the bottom first floor. After getting off the elevator on the ground level, it was a hard right down a slender hallway leading to the lounge space itself.

During my visit, the lounge did not appear to be contracted with any major (or minor) international carriers. As a result, the lounge appeared to exclusively rely on paid or credit card membership entries.

Inside The Petra Lounge:

The Petra Lounge takes decor to a more traditional Middle Eastern level by offering a blend of traditional and semi traditional furnishings. The red and the white couches may not be to everyone’s tastes, but there is no question that it will leave an impression.

It’s probably worth noting that there is nothing “Petra” related in the lounge. You won’t find any ruins, artifacts or references to the UNESCO designated World Heritage monument. Rather, the lounge appears to be named as such on a Kingdom of Jordan branding basis only.

After walking the short elevator hallway, visitors to The Petra Lounge found themselves in the main lounge “living room” seating area. The seating area wrapped its way around the glass windows of the lounge space, and eventually wrapped its way around to the right hand side of the lounge down a thin corridor walkway. The darker blue colours on the walls of the lounge made the space a little darker than it should have been, in my humble opinion.

The Petra Lounge occupies the basement level of the Queen Alia International Airport building on it’s northern concourse. Accordingly, it has some space limitations and doesn’t have the terrific day light windows or concourse views that the Royal Jordanian Crown Lounge has just up the way.

Eventually making my way down the corridor, I found myself heading towards the food and beverage area.

The lounge seating itself was satisfactory. There were no challenges in locating a place to sit. Although I didn’t happen to find the seating or the layout all that comfortable. By design, the layout of the lounge had foot traffic wandering through much of it. As a result, I didn’t find the space super inviting.

Food and Beverage:

Firstly, the beverage program isn’t the lounge’s strongest point. This isn’t something that I might expet in the Middle east but it’s worth mentioning if you happen to visit.

The lounge offered some really elementary level spirits and wine. By elementary, I mean that I only saw Johnny Walker Black Label and Smirnoff Vodka without much ice available. There were one or two house wines available as well, but it seemed to be more of an after thought and I didn’t see anyone actually enjoying a drink before their flight.

Leading down the hallway towards the food and beverage area, there were a number of chairs and tables set up. The decor was elegant white, along with dark laminate flooring.

There was also a primary dining area, where seating was set up for tables of two and four. This appeared to be the focus area of the lounge, as most of the travellers on my visit were gathered in the dining area.

The dining area contained a simple buffet of food. The buffet was really popular with visitors as many were helping themselves.

The buffet was pretty substantial and contained almost entirely Middle Eastern cuisine. I wasn’t able to identify most of the salads, but it sure looked interesting and tasty.

There were also hot items available, which is something I always appreciate when visiting any airport lounge.

The lounge also featured some middle eastern dessert items. The dessert items consisted mostly of baked pastries, which is consistent for the region.

I hd a quick visit to The Petra Lounge before returning to collect MrsWT73 at the Royal Jordanian Crown Lounge Amman prior to departing on our Royal Jordanian Business Class Amman – Tel Aviv flight.

My Thoughts on The Petra Lounge Amman:

The Petra Lounge Amman offers an alternative for those that can not gain access to larger and slightly more luxurious the Royal Jordanian Crown Lounge Amman.

While the lounge isn’t as exciting or as glamorous as the Royal Jordanian Crown Lounge, you’ll find all the basic necessities; except for maybe an elaborate bar service at this particular space. There is substantial buffet food available, and aside from the place being a little dark and institutional in nature, it wholly served the need for a contract business lounge prior to your flight.

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If you’ve visited The Petra Lounge – Amman, did it meet your needs and expectations ?

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