Lounges Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Work Hard, Travel Smart

Munich Airport Lufthansa Business Lounge (MUC) – Non-Schengen

August 21, 2016 Work Hard, Travel Smart.

Overall Rating: 7/10

A flagship Lufthansa Hub lounge, accessed on this occasion at 18:00 using a Turkish Airlines Card card with a Lufthansa flight.

This lounge is adjacent to the Non-Schengen Lufthansa Senator lounge. I felt that there were minimal differences between the lounges, other than the Senator lounge being slightly more spacious and featuring a bar.

Food:

A limited selection of hot and cold food:

Cold rolls and sandwiches (ham, cheese, etc)
Soup, crisps, nuts etc
Salads, cold meats.
Meatloaf, paste, rice (additional pork option available in Senator Lounge).

Drinks:

An standard selection of beers, wines, spirits and soft drinks available for self serve. A nice feature to have the local Hofbrau München beer on tap.

WiFi and Power:

Private lounge wifi, accessed by password.
Power widely available inside on comfy chairs, and in the business centre.

Views and Comfort:

Comfortable, modern chairs with side tables. Limited views. Quiet at the time of our visit. A business area with computers and printer is available for those who wish to use it.

Staff were very helpful and friendly – a staff member even came over to ask if everything was alright when taking photos featured in this report!

London Heathrow Airport Terminal 2B Air Canada Business Lounge (LHR)

August 21, 2016 Work Hard, Travel Smart.

Overall Rating: 7/10

An Air Canada outstation lounge, accessed on this occasion at 21:00 using a Turkish Airlines Star Alliance Gold Card card with a Lufthansa flight.

This lounge is in the Heathrow Terminal 2B satellite, where the majority of the long haul services leave from. It is possible to return back to the main (A) terminal, but it is a long walk back (15 minutes).

Food:

A limited hot buffet and a selection of hot and cold food:

Cold rolls and sandwiches (ham, cheese, etc)
Soup, crisps, nuts etc
Limited hot buffet

Drinks:

A bar with a server – full range of spirits, beers and wines available. Soft drinks for self-serve.

WiFi and Power:

Private lounge wifi, accessed by password.
Power widely available inside on comfy chairs, and in the business centre.

Views and Comfort:

Comfortable, modern chairs with side tables. Good views over the apron. Quiet at the time of our visit.

London Heathrow Airport (LHR) Terminal 2B Singapore Airlines Business Lounge (LHR)

August 21, 2016 Work Hard, Travel Smart.

Overall Rating: 9.5/10

A flagship Singapore Airlines outstation lounge, accessed on this occasion at 19:00 using a Turkish Airlines Star Alliance Gold Card card with a Avianca flight.

This is my favourite lounge in LHR Terminal 2.

Food:

A comprehensive and delicious buffet selection of Asian cuisine is available from early in the morning until late:

Asian noodles, pasta, rice, curry beef/chicken, spring rolls and crab dimsum.
Sandwiches, cold meats, smoked fish, salads, cheese, pastries.
Soup

Drinks:
An selection of spirits, wines and soft drinks available for self serve.
A bar with a server for cocktails and other drinks.

WiFi and Power:
Private lounge wifi, accessed by password.
Power widely available inside on comfy chairs, and in the business section. A reasonable selection of newspapers.

Views and Comfort:

A large range of seating options. Mostly comfortable, modern chairs with side tables. Excellent views over the apron (the best ofany lounge in Terminal 2). Also an interesting concept of little self contained provate “pods” with a chair, table and power socket etc.

Quiet at the time of our visit. A business area with computers and printer is available for those who wish to use it.

London Heathrow Airport Terminal 2B United Airlines Business Lounge (LHR)

August 21, 2016 Work Hard, Travel Smart.

Overall Rating: 9/10

A flagship United Airlines outstation lounge, accessed on this occasion at 18:00 using a Turkish Airlines Star Alliance Gold card with a TAP flight.

This lounge is located at the Terminal 2 B Satellite – where the majority of longhaul flights depart from. It is possible to access this lounge when departing from a T2A gate, but it is a long walk there and back (15 mins each way).

Food:

A comprehensive self-serve buffet selection is available throughout the day:

Morning: full cooked breakfast buffet, pastries, yoghurt, cereals, fruit etc.
Afternoon/Evening: a wide selection of hot buffet – pasta, meat dishes, sandwiches and dessert options.

Drinks:

A stylish bar with service is available with a full selection of beers, cocktails and wines. There are even a few custom cocktails created directly for the United lounge.

Staff are friendly, fast and professional.

WiFi and Power:

Private lounge wifi, accessed by password.

Power widely available inside on comfy chairs, and in the business centre.

Views and Comfort:

A wide range of seating options. Mostly comfortable, modern chairs with side tables. Reasonable views over the apron.

Fairly quiet later on, but it gets very busy at the peak of the day when most US-bound flights depart. A business area with computers and printer is available for those who wish to use it.

Munich Airport Lufthansa Senator Lounge (MUC) – Non-Schengen

August 21, 2016 Work Hard, Travel Smart.

Overall Rating: 7.5/10

A flagship Lufthansa lounge at a key hub. Accessed on this occasion at 16:00 using a Turkish Airlines Gold card with a Lufthansa flight.

We initially visited the Senator Lounge next to the security area. However it was tiny, dark and unbelievably crowded, so instead we passed through passport control into the non-Shengen area and went to the lounge there.

Food:

A limited selection of hot and cold food:

Cold rolls and sandwiches (ham, cheese, etc)
Soup, crisps, nuts etc
Simple hot buffet of pasta, rice, meatloaf and pork (a meaty selection!).

Drinks:

A simple selection of soft drinks available for self serve. Local beer on tap and in bottles for self serve.

Wines, spirits and cocktails were available from the bar on request (free). However, the server at the bar was most unfriendly and unhelpful – felt like a real inconvenience to her to get a drink.

A selection of new/special interest spirits available on the bar for self service/trial.

WiFi and Power:

Private lounge wifi, no password required.

Power widely available inside on comfy chairs, and in the business centre.

Comfortable, fairly old fashioned chairs with side tables. Limited views from the lounge. Fairly quiet at the time of our visit.

London Gatwick North Terminal “My Lounge” by No 1 Traveller (LGW)

August 21, 2016 Work Hard, Travel Smart.

Overall Rating: 5/10

Quite an unusual concept – effectively a coffee shop with paid-for entry. Accessed on this occasion with a PriorityPass.

Food:

A simple selection of pastries and chopped fruit.

Drinks:
Coors beer and Magners cider available for self serve on tap (yuck!). An standard selection wines, spirits and soft drinks available.

WiFi and Power:

Private lounge wifi, accessed by signing up for the newsletter.

Views and Comfort:
Coffee shop style seating. A few plug sockets available.

London Heathrow (LHR) T5A BA Galleries North Business Lounge (LHR)

August 6, 2016 Work Hard, Travel Smart.

Overall rating: 8/10

One of five BA lounges at Heathrow T5 (others: T5A South, T5A First, T5A Concorde a Room and T5B), accessed on this occasion at 17:00 using a BA Silver card with a BA domestic flight. A short walk from ther Northern security checkpoint.

Food:
A decent selection of hot and cold food:

Cold rolls and sandwiches (ham, cheese, etc)
A hot buffet (chilli, Mediterranean chicken, pasta, rice etc)
Cold desserts and basic baked products (buns, biscuits etc)

Drinks:
An excellent selection of spirits, wines and soft drinks available with self service.

WiFi and Power:

Private lounge wifi, accessed by password.

Power available inside on some but not all comfy chairs, and in the business centre.
Views and Comfort:
Comfortable, modern chairs with side tables. Great internal terrace with wife views over the apron and Northern runway. Views from the rest of the lounge over the western end of the Northern runway. Lounge is extremely busy almost always. A busy business area with computers and printer is available for those who wish to use it.

Glasgow Airport BA Business Lounge (GLA)

August 6, 2016 Work Hard, Travel Smart.

Overall Rating: 7/10

A BA outstation lounge, accessed on this occasion at 18:00 using a BA Silver Card card with a BA flight.
Food:
A limited selection of hot and cold food:

Cold rolls and sandwiches (ham, cheese, etc)
Soup, crisps, nuts etc
No hot buffet

Drinks:

An extensive selection of spirits, witnes and soft drinks available for self serve.
A cool feature not seen before: the “Glenlivet whiskey snug”.

WiFi and Power:

Private lounge wifi, accessed by password.
Power widely available inside on comfy chairs, and in the business centre.

Views and Comfort:

Comfortable, modern chairs with side tables. Reasonable views over the apron. Quiet at the time of our visit. A business area with computers and printer is available for those who wish to use it.

Limited input from staff to clear tables – rubbish sat there for over 2 hours, and food ran out without replenishment.

Belgrade Airport Air Serbia Business Lounge (BEG)

July 15, 2016 Work Hard, Travel Smart.

Overall rating: 8/10

A contract lounge, accessed on this occasion at 14:00 using an Air Berlin (Ethiad Guest) card with an Air Serbia flight.

Food:

A moderate selection of hot and cold food:

Cold rolls and sandwiches (ham, cheese, etc)
A hot buffet (risotto, vegetables, potato)
Pastries and baked products such as egg tarts, cakes etc.
Desserts

Drinks:

Standard selection of spirits, witnes and soft drinks available to order at the bar (no charge). I ordered a whiskey and received a JD.

WiFi and Power:

Private lounge wifi, accessed by password.

Power available inside on comfy chairs, and in the business centre.

Views and Comfort:

Comfortable, modern chairs with side tables. No views, but not claustrophobic either. We were the only passengers in the lounge at time of our visit. A quiet business area with computers and printer is available for those who wish to use it.

Geneva Airport Swiss Airlines Senator/First Lounge (GVA)

June 20, 2016 Work Hard, Travel Smart.

Overall Rating: 6/10

An airline lounge in Geneva Airport, accessed on this occasion at 18:00 using a Turkish Airlines Gold Card with a Swiss flight (GVA-LHR). Also accessible using other Star Alliance Gold Cards.

I also visited the Business Lounge, which is down a short hallway from the Senator/First Lounge. Personally, I found the Business Lounge far more pleasant and spacious, with a more light and airy feel, and similar amenities.

Food:

A limited selection of hot food, with a few snacks (crisps).

Drinks:

Standard selection of spirits, beer, wines and soft drinks available:

Spirits: Gin (Hendricks, Gordons), Baileys, Vodka (Absolut, Smirnoff), Scotch (Red Label, Ballentines).
Wine: standard white and red wine (Pinot, merlot, etc… including Prosecco).
Beer: Heineken, Erdinger
Soft: standard selection – cola (light/full), lemonade (light/full), tonic (light/full), ginger ale and juices.

WiFi and Power:

Use Swiss lounge WiFi.

Power sockets available throughout the whole lounge. Sockets are available next to all seats.

Views and Comfort:

Comfortable chairs with side tables. Senator/First Lounge is quite a small room with limited views. Busy at time of our visit, with most seats taken.

Senator / First or Business Lounge?

I personally found the Business Lounge was far more modern, airy and less busy than the Senator/First lounge, with similar amenities. The photos below show the Geneva Swiss Business Lounge: