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The new SWISS Senator Lounge Zurich A

Florian Buechting Airports and Airlines No Comments

After a long time of renovation, SWISS re-opened their Senator and Business Class Lounge at the A Gates / Schengen of Zurich Airport in July 2018. As I had a couple of Zurich flights in that time, here is a review of their new facilities.

SWISS Senator Lounge A – Location / Overview

If you pass the security check and cross the duty free shop of the upper level, the SWISS Lounges are almost there, it is just some steps away on the right hand side (at the same location as the old lounges). The entrance area has been completely re-designed with more separate lines for Business Class / Priority Pass passengers and Star Alliance Gold / HON / Senators, who access the Senator Lounge. Thereby, you now enter the Senator Lounge by passing the reception area straight on, while the Business Lounge is on the left hand side – this has been vice versa before the renovation. On lower level, there are also the shower facilities.

In general, the Senator and Business Lounge are very similar. There are some points where you can even look from one lounge to the other. The review is on the Senator Lounge, though.

  

SWISS Senator Lounge A – Dining

The dining concept is maybe the first change which you will recognize when you enter the Senator Lounge: there is live cooking now. When I visited the the lounge in the evening times, though, this more means that the staff is composing a dish for you rather than really boiling something – in early July, I got a lovely burger, while at my second stay, there was a delicious Cesar Salad. During breakfast times, the do live scrambled eggs, though – love it! There are typcially also other dishes which are ready to serve yourself.

On the left hand side of the live cooking station, there is a wide variety of drinks including the coffee machines. I loved their selection – you could even go for Iced drinks – which are really quite cold if you add some ice cubes to them, nice feature. SWISS also serves Sirocco teas, which I fell in love with during my Hotel Glärnischhof stay. On the other sides of the cooking station, there is a selection of bread and some salad (or cold cuts during breakfast times).

  

  

  

  

SWISS Senator Lounge A – Working

I absolutely love the new working facilities in the renovated SWISS Lounge. There are some high chairs and table, which are quite comfortable to work at. The best feature, though, are definitely working cabins, where you could easily have a phone call without disturbing someone or being disturbed / listened to – just close the glass door behind you if your feel like it. The internet connection is very fine, though it might be slightly slower than in other location during peak hours.

  

  

A very nice feature are the refurbished power plugs, which now not only feature the Swiss format power plugs, but the Central European, the UK and the US one as well as USB ports to charge your devices. As far as I could see, these kind of plugs are used all over the lounge.

SWISS Senator Lounge A – Relaxing

Right in front of the cooking area, there are restaurant / cantina like tables and chairs, which are maybe not too charming, but very functional. On the same level, you also find much more comfortable leather armchairs, which are maybe your best option if you do not go for a big bite and want to have a chat with colleagues and friends.

  

  

If you want to lay down and relax a bit, you should take the stairs to the upper level, where originally the lounge bar has been located. In this “quiet area”, there are some plushy seats with TV sets (individual remote controls), from where you also have a nice view of the lounge. On the other side, there are some lounger-alike rests, which are nicely separated and thus also give a lot of privacy if you feel to have a short nap.

  

  

  

The sanitary faciltiies are on main level, a very nicely designed area with automatic sliding doors. The basins feature Rituals products. Right next to the restrooms, there is a small smoker area, which looks a bit small and limited and thus also got some nice nicknames in other reviews of the SWISS Senator Lounge. Having a smoker facility in lounges nowadays is not that natural nowadays, so I would see that “drug cage” rather as feature.

  

  

SWISS Senator Lounge A – My View

The refurbishment of the A Lounges in Zurich Airport are definitely worth the long waiting time. SWISS did a great job. Likely, you will add that the upgrade on the Business Lounge side is even much more significant than on the Gold / Senator level – but definitely the services and atmosphere in the new lounge are significantly better than this used to be in the past. My favorite place is still the Air Canada Lounge in Frankfurt Airport, which I most frequently use during the LATAM flight from there to Madrid, and Swiss’ lounges at the intercontinental E Gates are still still outstanding. Nevertheless, I use this lounge frequently and love it (e.g. on my flights to Dubai in April). The new Swiss Lounge is definitely a great stay!

 

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