The SWISS Senator Lounge in the A Gates (Schengen) area of Zurich is a great lounge to dine or relax in before your flight.
I arrived at ZRH 30 minutes earlier than I normally would in order to try this lounge out and did not regret it. After several months of refurbishment, it is now open once again and quite beautiful.
SWISS Senator Lounge ZRH Access Requirements
The lounge, located on the upper level concourse just past security, has two sides, a business class and Senator side. The business class side is intended for business class passengers without Star Alliance Gold status. The Senator side is for Miles & More Senator members and all Star Gold passengers.
You do not even need to deal with any people if you don’t want to: automated gates open to allow access when you scan your boarding pass. Head upstairs to the lounge.
SWISS A-Gates Senator Lounge ZRH Seating
On the first level, the lounge is divided into a seating area, dining area, buffet, and more seating. The lounge was fairly crowded when I arrived, but gradually emptied out during my hour-long stay.
Nestled in the corner are several alcoves with desks where you can work and conduct calls.
SWISS A-Gates Senator Lounge ZRH Quiet Area
Upstairs, in what used to be the home of “world’s longest bar” and the lounge’s smoking area, is now a “quiet area” with couches and chairs. No food or cell phone conversations are permitted upstairs, so head up here if you are seeking solitude.
SWISS A-Gates Senator Lounge ZRH Food + Drink
My recommendation, based upon the high quality of the food, is to eat here before your flight. There’s a “live cooking” area that offered freshly-prepared meatloaf with potatoes and vegetables…it was a very tasty dish.
The buffet has excellent salads, soup, pasta, breads, fruit, and dessert. And of course plenty of SWISS chocolate.
There’s also a wide selection of drinks available, all now self-serve.
SWISS A-Gates Senator Lounge ZRH Restrooms + Showers
On the ground level, there is a shower area shared by the business class and Senator lounges. Upstairs on the Senator side, there was a single shower room intended for those with mobility issues.
Separate restrooms were present, but so busy I have no pictures.
SWISS A-Gates Senator Lounge ZRH Smoking
As I mentioned above, the large indoor smoking area has been replaced and there is now a small semi-outdoor patio for smokers.
CONCLUSION
This is a very solid lounge and a wise choice for dining prior to between flights. SWISS did a great job remodeling this lounge. It is open from 5:30 AM to 10:30 PM daily.
My son gives it a five-star rating as well:
I think you probably mean quiet area instead of quite area Not sure what a quite area would be….
You need someone to be proofing your posts. I enjoy reading your blog and like the way you think, but the obvious mistakes distract, and it is about every other post with a mistake.
Why have someone proof reading posts when David makes the corrections that we all read thru? Must make him feel important.
Priority Pass is useful.. but Lounges like this are why getting status (cheaply, on Aegean) is far superior..
Agree these types of lounges beat most PP lounges.
The A gates SEN lounge at ZRH is indeed a good lounge.
If you are passing through please just be aware that the D gates SEN lounge (non-Schengen short haul for Swiss and *A partners) is very poor in comparison. It’s easy to get to the A gates lounge – just pass through border control which is usually very quick for a much better experience.
Great review, excellent pics. Especially the pic of Augustine! He’s a keeper!
While I agree the lounge is very nice, I was not as impressed with the food quality. It was also very crowded when I was in there. I ended up using the Aspire Lounge Priority Pass down the hall and had a much nicer experience. It wasn’t nearly as crowded and the food was much better IMO.
That is the exact same coffe machine that you’ll see in US Admirals Clubs. Not sure whether to be impressed for AA or ashamed for LX.
Coffee is not great. That’s a shame.
Matthew – do you ever see a day when *G pax are shuttled off to the lesser Biz lounges?