Review: Lufthansa Senator Lounge London Heathrow

On my recent Europe trip, I flew from London to Venice on Swiss via Zurich. As Star Alliance Gold through KrisFlyer, I wanted to stay with the Star Alliance network for my “internal” travel within Europe. On my departure from London Heathrow, I was able to visit the Lufthansa lounge in London Heathrow Terminal 2. This was a lounge I was quite familiar with, indeed this was my 4th or 5th visit in 4 years. Certainly not as regular as some Lufthansa Group flyers, but quite a fair bit somewhere not based in Europe.

I’m going to review only the Senator section of the Lufthansa lounge London Heathrow. This lounge is a fairly typical Lufthansa lounge, and largely unremarkable. It’s acceptable for a short wait killing time before a flight, but not a lounge worth making time specially for. It’s a pity all the better Star Alliance lounges are out in T2B where long haul flights depart. If you’re departing from T2A and really have a lot of time to kill, it might be worth making the trek to T2B and back, but otherwise the Lufthansa lounge is acceptable for the time-conscious and those who don’t fancy the long walk.

Location and access

The Lufthansa Lounge London Heathrow Terminal 2 is located on the right after security. Turn right after security and it’s impossible to miss the lounge. The lounge contains both a Lufthansa Business and Lufthansa Senator lounge. The Senator lounge is a separate space within the lounge.

At the main entrance, Senator Lounge-eligible guests will be given a small QR code printout by the lounge dragon. To get to the Senator Lounge, walk through the Business lounge and head for the Senator entry, scan the QR code on the scanner beside the entrance and watch the doors slide open.

The Senator Lounge is accessible to Lufthansa Group HON Circle, Senators, as well as Star Alliance Gold flyers in any class on Star Alliance flights. First class passengers on any Star Alliance flight also get access. Although I was travelling in economy, I was able to access the lounge by virtue of KrisFlyer Elite Gold – and by extension Star Alliance Gold – status.

The Lufthansa Senator Lounge London Heathrow

The space

The Senator Lounge isn’t a massive space, and is smaller than the Business Lounge. Thankfully, it wasn’t too crowded on this weekday late morning, unlike my last visit in May where it was absolutely packed. When entering the Senator Lounge, the buffet is immediately on the right, with a dining area on the left. The dining area has proper dining tables and chairs.

Moving further into the lounge, the seating changes into rows of armchairs with a shared table/console between each pair of chairs. Those who need a surface in front of them for dining or working are probably better off at the dining area.

Each side table between the armchairs had a couple of power sockets. There was a single socket each of the UK type-G and European Type-F.

At the deepest part of the lounge, surrounded by darkened glass panels and a wall with greenery print, was a relaxation area with loungers. I would think only passengers who are extremely tired or have a really long time before their flights would use these. There were side tables here if one intends to lean back with a drink in hand.

If you really need to do serious work, there was a work area with a row of desks and a couple of desktop PCs.

Toilets were located down a corridor behind the magazine rack. These were clean but nothing of not here. The Senator Lounge London Heathrow (and the Business Lounge) does not have showers. If you’re in desperate need of a shower and have the time, best to head over to the lounges in T2B. Although the walk back to T2A might cause one to breakout in sweat.

Overall, I would describe the Senator Lounge as functional and comfortable. When it’s packed, it can feel a bit of zoo, but otherwise the space is acceptable. There’s different zones and types of seating to cater to passengers with different needs, which is probably the most important factor in a lounge. Showers might be useful, but clearly Lufthansa have felt it unnecessary given the short distance to its central European hubs within the group.

Food & beverage

The buffet area takes up around a quarter of the total Senator lounge space. The selection is pretty typical of Lufthansa Group lounges, meaning fairly limited in terms of hot food. On this day, there was a soup and 3 hot dishes, which seemed to be mostly vegetarian for some reason. The only meat dish was a chicken leek & mushroom hot pot. Besides the hot dishes, there was a couple of cold wraps and sandwiches, plus the usual breads, cold cuts and cheeses.

In terms of liquor, there was a prosecco for sparkling, and a couple of red and white wines each, plus beers and various spirits and hard liquors. There were bottled beers, but more interestingly a couple of lagers on tap too. The usual soft drinks were present as well, plus a coffee machine.

I had hoped to get a light lunch in the lounge since we would be spending lunchtime on our way to Zurich, but I alas was a little put off by the lack of meat choices. I do eat my vegetables, but the food offerings on this occasion didn’t really interest me at all. Unfortunately on this occasion I had to pin my hopes on getting some decent food during the transit in Zurich, where I intended to visit the Swiss Alpine Lounge.

The drinks selection was solid, and should be sufficient to keep most passengers happy and hydrated. The Vivino ratings of the wines are decent for an airport lounge, with perhaps the exception of the prosecco.

Conclusion

The Lufthansa Senator Lounge London Heathrow is sufficiently pleasant and comfortable for a lounge, when it’s not crowded. It’s a minor step up from the Business Lounge one has to pass through first (I believe the only differences are an additional food item and some of the alcohol selection). I wouldn’t come to the airport too early if flying short haul from T2A, but if I did have loads of time to kill, I would probably make a beeline for the superior SilverKris Lounge or United Club in T2B.