Lufthansa Senator B43 Frankfurt Lounge
The absolute Flagship lounge for Lufthansa, longhaul, the Lufthansa Senator Lounge Frankfurt by gate B42/B43 is a bit of an underwhelming disappointment.
Located in the Frankfurt Non-Schengen area, the lounge exists mainly for long haul flights to the USA and Asia, which is why it is odd that Lufthansa has made the lounge pretty much as dull as can be, with just an ocean of beige coloured seats, a huge sweeping floor of lino planks, and small hygienic and functional tables and chairs.
There is the joy of the highlight of the lounge - the City Lights bar, but even that is a bit underwhelming.
Despite this, it's a comfortable, bright and airy lounge. Even if a little bit too bright, big, and empty.
NEWS: Lufthansa has opened a new Senator lounge at Frankfurt. It is the first on the network with a Spa.
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Frankfurt Lufthansa Senator B43 lounge review
The Lufthansa Senator Lounge at Frankfurt in the Non-Schengen area by gate B43 is is the main flagship long haul lounge.
The lounge is close to the old Senator lounge, in Terminal 1 on Concourse B by gate B43 on the top floor. It is in the non-Schengen area used for international flights, however you can access it from the Schengen area with an EU passport if only travelling inter-Europe, but this hassle is rarely worth it. To find the lounge walk down the long pier B on the left hand side after passport control, and past the stairs to the Air Canada lounge.
The new Lufthansa Senator lounge at Frankfurt Airport Terminal 1, is the airline's largest lounge to date, however it is still some way behind other lounges. It is still fairly small, at a third of the size of a cricket pitch or 1,800 square yards, but Lufthansa's new Senator Lounge introduces facilities that start to move Lufthansa lounges away from their rather staid image in the past, into a premium lounge. There are the usual large armchairs, with small tables between (which also have power sockets).
The bar has also had a revamp. Gone are the old bar taps, and instead there is the City Lights Bar, whose name - spelled out in one-metre-high letters - forms a room divider into the area, which seems rather like a trendy cocktail bar. The bar incorporates unique lighting effects that have been created with over 30,000 LEDs no less.
You can sit around the bar on high bar stools, looking at the lights behind it. There is a barman to mix cocktails, however this means service is decidedly slow, particularly at peak times. On the bar top is the cocktail list, with two alcoholic and two non-alcoholic cocktails. A separate bar area has two beer taps, spirits on the glass shelf, beer in the cooler on the worktop, and 3 white and 2 red to the left of this.
Food, too, has been slightly up-rated. Called the bistro area there are the usual Lufthansa lounge offerings of cheese and lard, olives, rice, ham and salad. Alas the eating area is dull, with little natural light, having just a curved wall with small tables, and three long shelves to eat on.
Most of the seats in the Lufthansa Senator Lounge are leather armchairs with low backs. It's not the most comfortable setup for prolonged working, but there's a business centre for those who want to find a desk and a power socket.
Closer to the entrance are a series of L-shaped sofas arranged to facilitate conversation; this was where most of the larger groups chose to sit.
The dining area consists mostly of two-top circular tables, although some booth and (shared) high table seating is also available.
There are luggage lockers and a smoking room. A cinema room at the back has two TVs on the wall. Newspapers are on a rack - there are alas no English papers, but plenty of German and overseas papers. There is a small and uncomfortable sleeping area, with curved recliners (which do not recline) in an area that seems to be used as the main corridor for employees. Called the relaxing area, relaxing it is not.
The lounge is however a welcome change from the old Senator lounge, which was opened in 1996, and which was looking decidedly tired, despite new furniture a few years back, and there is a great view over the B gates at Frankfurt.
Food
The hot food offerings are not particularly good in the Lufthansa Senator Lounge Frankfurt B43. Typically there are two hot options, with a pot of rice, and a pot of potatoes. However, the hot meat options normally include a colourful carrot stew, or a Beef stew. And that's it. It's on the grim side, but then again there aren't many eating options in the main part of the terminal either.There is however a decent salad bar, with a couple of decent bowls of green salad, cold cuts, and cheese.
Of note is the separate small table with towers of sadness, including nuts, popcorn, chips and gummy bears. Seeing the dire lack of hot options, these are your best options for goodness.
Bar
Odd, the bar in the Lufthansa Senator Lounge Frankfurt Non-Schengen B43 is better than the catering.There is a decent staffed cocktail bar, called the City Lights bar, with excellent and well trained staff who will mix up a cocktail on demand. There is even a cocktail menu, and an excellent collection of spirits. Whatever you do though, don't sit on the wobbly stools at the bar, which are as uncomfortable as they look.
While there's no champagne on offer, there are some decent bottles of prosecco, plus a few German red and white wines.
Two heavy-duty coffee machines with ground-to-order beans, plus a selection of teas are also available.
If you want to serve yourself, there is the usual Lufthansa collection next to the hot food offerings, including the delight of pouring your own beer.
However, there is one delight that the B43 lounge is famous for: there is a small make your own cocktail table, with instructions, opposite the refectory area.
Business Facilities
There is a small dedicated business centre, although most people sit on the high tables at the end of the lounge.Wi-Fi in the lounge is complimentary, and speeds are incredibly fast, at around 90 Mbps, which is more than adequate for downloading films onto your laptop to make up for the woeful Lufthansa IFE.
There was also a TV area tucked away in the corner, although the TV screens are much too small to be practical.
There is once again a small magazine rack, although without many magazines of note, but plenty of copies of Lufthansa's inflight magazine.
Bathrooms
A revolution for Lufthansa is the introduction of ten showers: there is a spacious shower room with a walk-in shower and long bench.The shower has a hansgrohe button mixer allowing both the hand and overhead shower to be activated at the same time.
You can also enjoy what is being called a 'modern wellness area' (I kid you not) in the Senator Spa with two spa rooms, offering massages, facials, full-body treatments or other beauty treatments by renown firm CHI-MAS. Treatments are chargeable, even for First Class passengers, and they don't come cheap. A 15-minute head massage starts from €30, while a 60-minute body treatment starts from €120. \n
Access
Lufthansa and SWISS first and business class, Miles & More Senator, HON Circle frequent flyers departing on a Lufthansa, Star Alliance or eligible codeshare partner flight and Star Alliance Gold cardholders departing on a same-day Lufthansa or Star Alliance flight.
Video: Lufthansa Senator Lounge B43
Dedicated bar
Hygenic
Spartan
Functional
Air Canada Frankfurt Lounge