az530

I am flying business class on Lufthansa from Philly to Frankfurt. I hear the Lufthansa business lounge is very nice. How about the food offered in the lounge and other amenities?

lcuy

We were there Last June. Though I don't remember the specific details (we were coming off about 20 hours of flying Honolulu-Newark-Frankfurt!), my husband and I both remember the huge selection of food. There was a long buffet f cold items, and a bunch of hot food as well. I know we took showers there, and I'm sure we used free wi-fi. Can't remember any other details. It was a great place to spend a few hours.

DonTopaz

PHL-FRA: I don't know anything about the lounge in PHL. But when you arrive in Frankfurt, you will have access to both the regular business lounges and the Arrivals lounge. The arrivals lounge is much nicer: it has a full breakfast buffet, plenty of showers, and it's <u>much</u> less crowded than the regular business class lounge. You'll find the arrivals lounge after you exit the baggage claim area.

The arrivals lounge is primarily for people whose final destination is FRA. If you're only changing planes in Frankfurt, you can still use the arrivals lounge, but it is something of a hike (as is just about everything in FRA), and you'll have to go through security an extra time.

On your return from Frankfurt, there's a business class lounge in the non-Schengen area from which you depart. It will have a decent food spread (a couple of hot choices, breads, snacks, fruit), a full bar, and a section for been on draft. At certain times of the day, the lounges can get extremely crowded, but it's still better than the gates. There are a limited number of showers in the business class lounge, but you may have to sign up on a list and wait for one.

Don

az530

Thanks, it sounds like the US carriers could take a lesson from Lufthansa.

travelgourmet

I don't find the Lufthansa business class lounges in Frankfurt to be very nice at all. I would say they are a step below the average US airline lounge. The food choices are not actually very exciting, and you have to pay for internet. The design of the ones I've been in have all the warmth of a bus terminal.

Remember that Lufthansa actually has three levels of lounges. They have first class lounges/terminals, Senator (elite) lounges, and business class lounges. The business class lounges are the bottom of the barrel and it shows.

simpsonc510

I would agree that US carriers could add a lot more food options in their lounges. As far as design goes, there are some nice US carrier lounges; LH is of German design, and is based on everything having its use. Sometimes German design is pretty basic, but everything usually works very well! It just doesn't have any extras without purpose.

I do happen to like the LH lounge in FRA.

Don, what can you tell me about the LH first class int'l lounge in FRA? I'll be going thru there in a couple of weeks from now.

DonTopaz

<i>Don, what can you tell me about the LH first class int'l lounge in FRA?</i>

http://www.fodors.com/community/air-...-frankfurt.cfm

You will be eligible to use the FC lounge, but not the FC Terminal.

simpsonc510

Thanks, Don. I knew you could lead me to a thread. My layover is not very long, but long enough to visit an int'l lounge. I'm arriving on LH and flying out on UA, all in 1st class.

nz101

I went to one of their lounges a year ago (but I can't recall which one it was) and it was utter rubbish, I was really disappointed. It was packed with people at like 7 in the morning, no room to sit. Only had about two toilets, and the food bar I didn't even bother with. However, I think they might have renovated it now.

travelgourmet

<i>LH is of German design, and is based on everything having its use. Sometimes German design is pretty basic, but everything usually works very well! It just doesn't have any extras without purpose.</i>

As someone who appreciates functional minimalism, I wince every time someone uses it as an excuse for ugliness. The Lufthansa business and Senator lounges are simply cold and ugly. They feel very 80s (much like FRA, in general), which is not a good thing.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/airline...n/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/darrenmak/3414080396/

Cowboy1968

What's the point? One poster likes it, one doesn't. I don't care.
I care more about availability of seats (which can be an issue during the morning rush hour), selection of food and beverages than for interior decorating.
If you want to see the probably most depressing Star Alliance business lounge then visit the one in Brussels' Schengen pier. Since the dawn of ages their food offer consists of: the cheapest sliced Gouda and ham money can buy, plus aged rolls. Plus some packaged marmelade. Period.
But they have beautiful carpets there LOL

travelgourmet

<i>If you want to see the probably most depressing Star Alliance business lounge then visit the one in Brussels' Schengen pier.</i>

I think the Lufthansa Business class lounge in Boston is worse. The lounges in Terminal E are all stuck in a windowless basement, but Lufthansa went out of their way to make it look like a holding cell.

AnselmAdorne

<i>I think the Lufthansa Business class lounge in Boston is worse. The lounges in Terminal E are all stuck in a windowless basement, but Lufthansa went out of their way to make it look like a holding cell.</i>

I haven't been to the LH lounge in Boston, but it sounds like the Air Canada Maple Leaf lounge in CDG. It's in the basement of that satellite pier at 2A. It is a dungeon. On the plus side, the bar is open at 8 am.

travelgourmet

The Boston lounge is definitely a dungeon. LH completed the look with stacking chairs as furniture, aligned in rows, facing a tv placed too high on the wall. Feels like a waiting room at a hospital.

Rumor has it that it is going to be renovated, but there is only so much one can do with the space available there.

simpsonc510

Travelgourmet, I'm not trying to use minimalist design as an excuse for ugly. In fact, I didn't say the LH lounge was ugly. I'm just saying that German design is functional. No frills added. My SLK convertible is a good example of that!