Review: Lufthansa Senator Lounge B Frankfurt

General details

Opened: 5th July 2011
Opening Times: 5am to 9.30pm (pre-COVID)
Capacity: 300
Showers: Yes
Spa: Yes
Bar: Yes
Wi-Fi: Yes
Multi-standard Power Sockets: No
USB Charging Sockets: Yes
Wireless Charging: No
Dress Code: None

Lounge access

Lufthansa has three lounge tiers; Business Lounges, Senator Lounges and First Class Lounges.

Senator lounges like this one are only available to a select group of passengers, as follows:

• Miles & More Senator members*
• Miles & More HON Circle members*
• Star Alliance Gold passengers^
• Lufthansa / Swiss First Class passengers
• Star Alliance First Class passengers

* Travelling on a Lufthansa, Star Alliance or LH codeshare partner flight on the same day
^ Travelling on a Lufthansa or Star Alliance flight on the same day

Those departing in Business Class on a Lufthansa or Star Alliance flight are not eligible to use the Senator lounge – but instead can use the Business lounge.

Lufthansa’s lounge access policy is a little unusual, with a Star Alliance Gold member flying Economy Class eligible to use the Senator lounges, while a Business Class passenger with no status is relegated to the Business lounge, one level down.

For most airlines, like SIA, the opposite would be true!

Lounge Access
COVID-19

At the time of writing, you’ll also require proof of vaccination, or a negative COVID-19 test within the last 24 hours, or proof of recovery from COVID-19, to access this lounge.

Buy your way in

During this period of lower travel demand, Lufthansa is also selling access to its Senator Lounge for any passenger, regardless of loyalty programme status level or flight details. You simply need to have a valid boarding pass for the same day with any airline.

Access to this lounge is available for EUR 39 (around S$62). You can book Lufthansa lounge access at this dedicated site.

Location

Frankfurt Airport Terminal 1 is split into departure gate zones for Schengen and non-Schengen destinations, and as such Lufthansa operates four Senator lounges at the airport:

• Senator Lounge A (Schengen)
• Senator Lounge B (non-Schengen B gate departures)
• Senator Lounge C (non-Schengen C gate departures)
• Senator Lounge Z (non-Schengen Z gate departures)

Senator Lounge C is temporarily closed at the time of writing.

You can actually visit any of the lounges you like (assuming you are lounge-eligible), regardless of your destination or departure gate, but do note that when you pass from a Schengen to a non-Schengen part of the airport you’ll undergo an immigration and security check.

If you pass from a non-Schengen to a Schengen part of the airport, another security check is needed.

That makes it a bit of a hassle to do a ‘lounge safari’ at Frankfurt, so like most people we visited the lounge closest to our departure gate, which in our case was the Senator Lounge B, near gate B43.

While the Senator Lounge B is the smaller of the two non-Schengen options currently operating, it does boast a tended bar and a Senator Spa, neither of which you’ll find in the Senator Lounge Z.

Getting to the lounge is easy, because Lufthansa has bright orange signs directing passengers to its lounge facilities.

Opening hours

Th Lufthansa Senator B lounge at Frankfurt is usually open from 5am to 9.30pm each day, however during our visit the morning opening was set at 7am due to the limited flight schedule.

At the time of writing the morning opening hours have been extended to 6am and this may be changed further, so do check the Lufthansa Lounges page for the latest information.

Our visit

We visited the lounge prior to a Singapore Airlines flight from Frankfurt to Singapore in First Class, departing at 10pm.

That’s effectively the final flight of the day from the B section, though there are also around five Lufthansa flights departing in the 9.50-9.55pm window, including a long-haul service to Sao Paolo, so the lounge does remain quite busy right through to closing time.

First impressions

When you arrive at the lounge entrance on the departure concourse level near gate B43, there are two podiums where staff will check your entry eligibility and vaccination (or COVID test) status.

For those vaccinated in Singapore like us, showing fully vaccinated status via the TraceTogether app was sufficient.

After that it’s a short escalator ride up to the main lounge entrance, where no further entry checks were made.

Once inside there’s a service desk to the left, which doubles up as a reception during quieter hours, at which times you’ll find the podiums downstairs may be unattended.

Flight information screens are available in the lounge. Do note that no boarding calls are made, which is a blessing with Lufthansa flights departing every five minutes at certain times of day, including this evening period prior to the SQ325 departure.

COVID-19

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, mask wearing in the lounge was mandatory, though many people removed their mask once seated, which was in common with the regional restrictions for dining in Frankfurt and the surrounding region at the time, so it’s quite understandable.

Because we had Singapore mobile phone numbers, we didn’t have access to Germany’s Luca app during our stay and therefore were not able to check in to the lounge via QR code.

The reception staff therefore gave us a registration form each to fill out for contact tracing.

We completed these at our leisure once settled, since you can drop it off with the desk on departure.

Note that the Luca app does now support registration for those with international mobile numbers, so this process should not be necessary for most visitors anymore.

Storage lockers

There are 24 storage lockers you can use in this lounge if you’re travelling with bulky hand luggage or you need somewhere to store your duty free shopping, or other valuable items.

These are located on the left side as you enter the lounge, and about half of them were in use during our visit.

Seating options

We headed straight to the back of the lounge where the main seating area is located, with plenty of natural light from the windows running down one side.

It was moderately busy when we arrived at around 7.30pm, though there were still plenty of seats available and we managed to secure a pair by the window.

For those who like a view of the airport activity, these seats provide a great option for some plane watching.

The low leather armchairs are a Lufthansa lounge staple. They provide good back support if you’re working on a laptop, for example, and there’s a decent sized table between each pair for food, drinks and other small belongings.

Even when the lounge is full and you’re sharing one of these ‘quartets’ of seats with other passengers, there’s good distancing between them to ensure you don’t feel too ‘hemmed in’.

At the far end of the seating area there’s a TV lounge, probably best suited to those wanting to watch a live sporting event. While we were there, the 24-hour news was showing.

At the far end of the seating section near the TV area (and also at the opposite end nearer the bar) there are pairs of reclined loungers behind half-height privacy screens for a more relaxed experience, with a larger table for your belongings.

There are also a few rows of well-lit high tables with power sockets, for those who prefer to work or dine on bar-style seating.

The dining section itself also has a range of low tables, high tables and booth-style seating.

“City Lights”

When Lufthansa first opened this lounge in 2011, “City Lights” was the name it gave to the cocktail bar, a relaxing lounge with sofas, set within a glass walled area housing these enormous illuminated letters “CITY” near the entrance and “LIGHTS” along the back wall.

Pendant LED light fittings hang from the ceiling and the section certainly has a nice differentiated feel compared to the rest of the lounge.

“The bar incorporates unique lighting effects that have been created with over 30,000 light-emitting diodes. A bartender is in attendance to fulfil guests’ requests for drinks and mix cocktails or classic long drinks.”

Lufthansa, 2011

The tended bar pours a selection of drinks, though the former cocktail menu wasn’t available during our visit due to COVID-19. Here’s how it used to look.

During our visit, however, a short wine list las offered plus the bar staff would mix you a regular drink of your choice from the spirits selection.

Some decent options were still available, including Bombay Sapphire gin and Grey Goose vodka.

First Class area

During our visit, COVID-19 had meant some short-term changes to the “City Lights” bar.

The comfy leather sofas in the bar section have been replaced with an L-shaped roped-off section reserved for Lufthansa First Class passengers and HON Circle members.

That’s because at the time of our visit the Lufthansa First Class lounge in Frankfurt was closed, necessitating this area for those eligible but not originating in Frankfurt, who had this dedicated section to use instead.

Lufthansa First Class passengers originating in Frankfurt would of course proceed to the dedicated First Class Terminal, which reopened on 1st September 2021.

Since we were departing in First Class with a Star Alliance airline (Singapore Airlines), we were not eligible to use this section in the same way the First Class lounges and First Class terminal are out of bounds, reserved only for Lufthansa Group First Class passengers.

Beverages

There is no Champagne offered at the Senator lounge, with a couple of sparking wines headlining as an alternative. Here’s how the selection rates on our favourite rating website Vivino.

Sparkling Wine
	Santa Margherita Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore	3.8 stars
	Bouvet-Ladubay Tresor Brut Rosé	3.9 stars
White Wine
	Fürst Löwenstein Silvaner Trocken	3.6 stars
	Weingut Wolf Riesling	4.0 stars
Red Wine
	Weingut Andres Spätburgunder Trocken 2016	3.6 stars
	Bodegas Alconde Viña Sardasol Crianza 2018	3.5 stars

The selection is exclusively European, with no new world options, but the ratings are good for what we’d effectively call a Business Class lounge.

We sampled the French sparking and the German Riesling during our visit and they were both good, especially the Riesling – a grape we had become accustomed to during our week in the region.

Over at the main buffet section you’ll also find a regular bean-to-cup coffee machine.

There is also a selection of teas and soft drinks.

A soft drinks dispenser was temporarily unavailable.

For the beer lovers, of course this is Germany so there are two self-serve dispenser taps still available (pandemic or no pandemic!), pouring chilled Becks or Franziskaner Weissbier, with appropriately-labelled glassware.

Dining

Here’s where the Senator lounge fell short during our visit – the food selection.

Just before we flew it had only just become possible to dine in the Lufthansa lounges again, due to COVID-19, and so the selection was significantly limited compared to normal.

That’s understandable and actually didn’t worry us too much – we had a late afternoon farewell lunch with friends at a nearby hotel before setting off for the airport, plus we were boarding a 13-hour flight to Singapore in the excellent SIA First Class, where we knew we would be wined and dined on demand!

If you’ve just arrived in the lounge hungry from a hard day of work, however, the selection sadly isn’t impressive.

Only three hot dishes were available; Tomato Soup, Chicken Drumsticks and Tomato Rice.

These were located behind a counter where you had to order, rather than self-serve, due to the restrictions at the time.

We kept ourselves going with a small plate of the chicken and the rice, again knowing that we’d be eating copiously on board.

It looks underwhelming, and is probably not what we’d have chosen given a wider selection, but to be fair we have to say it was actually very nice!

If it wasn’t to your taste, however, there would literally have been no other hot options aside from soup.

In terms of cold options, Lufthansa was offering a selection of food in individual containers to get around the no-buffet restriction:

• Swiss Sausage Salad
• Mediterranean Bulgur Salad
• Stewed Apples with Sour Cream and Crumble

There were also packaged pretzels available, which Lufthansa used to offer on tall sticks for you to pick fresh, so this also looks like a temporary COVID measure.

On the plus side, you can now easily take one or two of these with you to enjoy on your next flight!

Fruit and other snacks were also available in the lounge.

Since our visit, Lufthansa has announced that things are improving when it comes to both the food and drinks selection in its lounges.

“In our lounges in Germany we are again offering you more and more services. This, of course, also applies to the food and beverage offer. We now welcome you with a full range of drinks and a still limited but growing selection of hot and cold dishes.”

Lufthansa, November 2021

For those with a sweet tooth, one thing that never went away in Lufthansa lounges was the ice cream freezer and the sweets selection, both of which still featured during our visit.

Business facilities

A small business centre is located on the right side as you enter the lounge, with around a dozen cubicles featuring a desk with individual reading lights and power outlets.

There is also a printer and photocopier for those who need it.

This section remained mostly deserted during our evening visit, so it seems like a good place to get some more serious work done if you need to.

Reading materials

There’s a library section along the wall near the business centre, however due to COVID-19 (presumably) there was really nothing of interest stocked here – only Lufthansa’s shopping catalogue.

Connectivity

Most of the power outlets in the lounge are two-pin Euro sockets, so this is one lounge where international travellers will be well advised to bring an adapter plug along with them!

Between each pair of leather armchairs there are two power sockets and two USB power sockets.

At the high tables under the flaps you’ll find both Euro and US-style two-pin sockets.

Finally in the business centre there are also 3-pin UK-style outlets, like those we use in Singapore, alongside a US plug under a flap.

Wi-Fi is complimentary and easy to log into via your laptop or mobile device.

We picked up the following speeds during a test while visiting the lounge:

• Download: 22.4 Mbps
• Upload: 28.6 Mbps

These aren’t blisteringly fast but should be sufficient for getting most work done.

Showers

The Lufthansa Senator Lounge B at Frankfurt has 10 showers.

That’s a great opportunity to freshen up before a long flight, especially if you’re departing late at night and have potentially had to leave your hotel room in the afternoon.

If you want to make a beeline straight for the showers, they are on the left after the reception desk as you enter the lounge.

An attendant will either assign a shower for you or add your name to the list and provide a buzzer to let you know when the next one is ready.

When we were in the lounge at about 8.30pm, there was a short 15-minute wait for a shower.

Each shower suite is a spacious private room and has a sink, separate toilet, changing bench and large walk-in shower.

The sink has a back-lit mirror, while there’s a full-length mirror on the wall next to the changing bench, to ensure you look tip-top before re-entering the lounge again!

Next to the sink you’ll find toiletries by L’Occitane – in this case a liquid soap and a body lotion.

There is also a foldable luggage rack for you to pack or unpack your clothes without having to kneel down on the floor in the process!

The shower itself has both a conventional and rain-head option, water pressure is good and temperature control works as it should.

L’Occitane shower gel and shampoo are provided on wall-mounted dispensers.

Hooks are installed on the wall for your towel and clothing items, though no hanger is provided.

A wall-mounted hairdryer next to the sink also doubles up as a shaver socket.

You can request amenities including dental kits and shaving kits from the shower attendant if you need them.

Here’s a video overview of the shower suite:

Spa

Lufthansa introduced the Senator Spa to this lounge, comprising two treatment rooms in the same section as the shower suites.

The spa is operated by the CHI-MAS Institute.

All spa treatments are payable, even for First Class passengers, and they aren’t particularly cheap ranging from around EUR 30 for a 15-minute head massage to EUR 200 for some of the 90-minute options.

You can view the full spa menu here.

During our visit the spa was closed due to COVID-19.

Smoking room

Here’s something you don’t see in Singapore lounges – a smoking room.

There are high tables with stools and low dining tables and chairs available here if you also need to work or dine while smoking.

Due to COVID-19, the smoking room was limited to six guests at a time when we visited the lounge.

Quiet room

A quiet room is available in the lounge with four flat-bed surfaces, including pillows and bedding.

It was fully utilised when I went to take a photo so I could not access it, but here’s a shot from a recent review by Live and Let’s Fly.

The Lufthansa Senator Lounge B at Frankfurt Airport offers a perfectly decent pre-flight experience, with a good variety of seating options, nice outside views and spacious, well-equipped showers.

In most respects, however, it won’t blow you away, and it’s not a lounge we’d rush to the airport early for.

The food selection was the most disappointing aspect, though that was partly down to COVID-19 at the time of our visit, and this situation should hopefully improve as restrictions are progressively lifted, like the airline promises.

Our key takeaway here is the Senator lounge’s strange guest disparity – welcoming Star Alliance Gold members flying in Economy and Star Alliance First Class flyers, but not those in Business Class without status.

If you’re in the first group – this lounge is definitely a step above what you can expect when flying with most Star Alliance airlines, especially SIA – who are only just concluding that Elite Gold members deserve their own toilets and showers at home base!

Review Summary

3.5 / 5 among airline-operated Business Class lounges

Lufthansa Senator Lounge B Frankfurt Good views, a tended bar, nice seating options and great showers, but the food selection was disappointing, partly due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Visited: September 2021

(Cover Photo: MainlyMiles)