The Senator lounge in Frankfurt on the Z-gate level (non-Schengen) welcomes Lufthansa Senator and First Class passengers as well as Gold members of Star Alliance airlines.

Location and welcome

It is clearly marked and indicated, impossible to miss. It is located where the two legs of this part of the terminal meet so it offers the best possible walk time to and from the gates.

Upon arrival at the lounge, the staff scanned my boarding pass and sent me to the Senator Lounge. In fact, there is also a business class lounge for Lufthansa Business and Silver passengers. Being in connection on a flight in First class I have the right, this time, to the Senator.

Appearance and layout

In Frankfurt, the Lufthansa lounges all look alike. The German airline cannot be blamed for its lack of consistency.

As soon as you enter, you’ll find the buffet and the beverages.

Then we have in front of our eyes a huge space filled with armchairs as far as the eye can see. Partitions break up the impression of space a little to give a side if not more intimate at least less cold.

The chairs are comfortable, fairly well spaced and the whole thing is clean and doesn’t look worn.

Here and there we find more private spaces that have specific vocations.

Business areas for working.

Booths to isolate in order to make a phone call without annoying everyone else.

Relaxation areas.

And a smoking area.

Not to mention a “Porsche” activity, a partner of the airline that has clearly understood in which lounge its potential customers are located.

Of course toilets and showers. Clean without being fancy.

There’s not much more to say: it’s all about Lufthansa. It looks big, clean, solid, without any form of show-off. Efficiency and functionality above all. It is calm, we are not crowded, all we ask one to lounge to pass the time between two flights.

At the time I visited the terminal was relatively empty so the lounge was as well. At a glance I think that there is plenty of room to handle large load peaks, especially since the “simple” business passengers and Miles&More Silver have an equally large lounge next door which – to my recollection – differs from this one only in the filtering of clients, not in the service.

Food

The buffet is varied and well stocked. Of course with a very Germanic connotation on the selection of dishes offered. Sausages, meat in sauce, schnitzels, rice, potato salad, crudities, soups, cold cuts and cheese.

Basic, yes, but effective. It’s solid, there’s really enough to eat without having to be satisfied with starving doses and it’s “good” if you understand that you’re not there for a gastronomy contest…although. But we’ll talk about that later.

The offer of drinks is very varied.

Of course hot drinks tea and coffee, the usual “softs”, available in large quantities (water, juices, sodas) and a very rich selection of alcoholic beverages that goes from beer on draught to …. almost everything.

I would have liked a more premium offer...consistent with the drinks that will be served in First in flight.

All accompanied by appetizers and sweets.

I noticed that the staff was very vigilant about available stock and was very proactive in “topping up”.

So it is on that it is not french gastronomy but to take again the devoted expression it is solid, it is good and that does the job.

General atmosphere

At Lufthansa a lounge is a lounge. It has to deliver a certain level of service on a sufficiently large scale, so we avoid any overpromising or fussiness that would not survive in the long term or a sudden surge in demand.

It’s premium, quiet but some will say that it lacks a touch of luxury given the expected clientele. But what is German luxury? Sobriety.

So yes, for a premium lounge I would have liked something less standard, more differentiating, with stronger premium markers but at least we are sure not to be disappointed.

Service and staff

When you don’t see the staff, it means they did their job. Apart from noticing that they were careful with the refill of the buffet and that the tables were cleared promptly, I have nothing to report, especially since my only human interaction was with the reception staff.

The only thing that surprised me, when comparing with other airlines, was the total lack of recognition towards the passenger, especially First Class. Not a word or special attention, never called by name… Very surprising when you know the practices of the competition.

Bottom line: yes for efficiency, average for experience

Not much to add. It is sober, it does not sell dreams but it largely keeps the promise.

After, as I said, I could have hoped for something a little better than the business lounge.

My main complaint is that this lounge is for First Class passengers. In Frankfurt, Lufthansa has a superb First Class Terminal with a service of a completely different level and an accompaniment that is similar to that of the Air France La Première lounge. Yes, but …. mainly concerns passengers departing from Frankfurt, who check in there and benefit from the end-to-end First Class service.

Passengers connecting to a First Class flight in Frankfurt will find themselves in this lounge (or a similar one depending on the terminal), which I find more than discriminating for people who, in any case, travel in the airline’s most premium and expensive class.

They can still go to the First Class Terminal (FCT)…but by their own means which means leaving the terminal, going back to landside, walking to the FCT, going through the controls etc. And they have no information about it…there are those who know and those who do not. Knowing moreover that Lufthansa is very good at organizing short connections, we can say that given the time to spend there the game is not always worth it. But the connecting First Class passenger may be surprised at the total lack of recognition given to him compared to other airlines.

So to conclude I will say that as a Senator or Star Alliance Gold I can be satisfied with this lounge, when you are a connecting First Class passenger and you know that there is the FCT for those who leave from Frankfurt, you may find the experience really disappointing and grumble a bit.

In short, depending on my “context” when I visit this lounge, my appreciation is not at all the same.

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