Lufthansa Senator Lounge B (Non-Schengen) at Frankfurt Airport [Review]

Airport lounges are an integral part of any premium flight experience.

The difference in the quality of lounges run or owned by an airline compared to lounges run by an airport or lounge operator can be staggering — the former usually being of much higher quality.

That said, I’ve been disappointed by airline-owned lounges in the past, including a couple owned and run by Lufthansa.

I was hoping that my latest visit would change my opinion.

Just before Christmas, I visited Prague (PRG) with some friends. As I live in Newcastle, U.K., I had the option of flying home with Lufthansa via Frankfurt (FRA) in business class for a very reasonable price.

Rather than taking a nonstop flight with Jet2 — a regional, low-cost, leisure carrier based in the U.K. — I thought I’d make the most of my trip by flying home this way to review the Senator Lounge B, as well as the flight (coming soon).

What Are Lufthansa Senator Lounges?

Senator Lounges are more premium than Lufthansa’s business class lounges.

They can be found at Lufthansa’s hubs — Frankfurt (FRA) and Munich (MUC) — as well as global destinations such as London (LHR), New York (JFK), and Zurich (ZRH).

Business class tickets only afford you access to Lufthansa’s business class lounges, while passengers flying in first class get access to Senator Lounges.

However, if you’re flying in first class departing from Frankfurt then you also have access to the Lufthansa First Class Terminal that’s leagues above any airport lounge you’ve probably been in before.

You can also access Senator Lounges no matter the ticket class if you have either Lufthansa Miles & More Senator or Star Alliance Gold status.

Frankfurt has no less than 3 Senator Lounges: Senator Lounge A in the Schengen departures area and Senator Lounges B and Z in the non-Schengen departures area.

Hot Tip: Our full list of U.S. Lufthansa lounges details locations, hours, and more (including a map!).

Lufthansa Senator Lounge B at Frankfurt Airport (FRA)

The lounge is open daily from 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Given the inconsistent state of the pandemic, these times are subject to change, so double-check before your visit.

You’ll have access to this or the Senator Z Lounge (which was temporarily closed when I was there) if you’re flying to a non-Schengen destination.

Hot Tip: The Schengen Area comprises a group of countries in Europe that allow their nationals to move freely between member states without having to go through passport control.

Location

The clue for the location of the Senator Lounge B is in its name: it can be found in the B gates area of departures, right beside gate B43.

Gaining Entry

The reception desk is outside of the lounge, rather than inside where you’d normally find a lounge reception desk.

To gain access, you’ll need to have either a first class ticket with Lufthansa or a Star Alliance member airline or Star Alliance Gold status.

My business class ticket alone wouldn’t have been good enough, but I have Star Alliance Gold, so I had no issues getting in.

Neither cash nor lounge access programs can be used to enter the lounge.

Hot Tip: Watch out for airline status match promotions. I rarely fly Star Alliance airlines, but thanks to TAP Air Portugal, I was able to match my British Airways Club Silver status to Star Alliance Gold for around $110. 

First Impressions

This was my first visit to this particular lounge.

Having been rather underwhelmed by my previous visits to Lufthansa business class lounges in Frankfurt and Heathrow Terminal 2, I was impressed by the comparative bright and airy feel of the Senator Lounge B.

My second observation was that this lounge seemed a little cozier and less corporate than my previous 2 visits.

The color scheme throughout was a blend of creams and whites with splashes of Lufthansa’s classic navy and orange hues.

Seating

To the right on entering was a large seating area fit for eating. It did remind me a little of a school cafeteria, though.

Plants added a welcome injection of color and a feeling of hominess. Most of these tables had no power outlets within easy reach.

Past the eating and buffet area were a few rows of high-top workstations, complete with power outlets to keep you charged up.

Next, I came to this TV area. The seating setup was similar to what you’d find in an updated cinema, though the news channels on display quickly ruined the cinema vibe.

Given that the TVs neither played sound nor had subtitles, the whole area was rather pointless…

…save for the views out of the window.

The final space I came to was a large relaxation area with soft and sumptuous Lufthansa-colored armchairs separated by a side table. Each seat had access to a power outlet.

This is where I dropped my anchor for my time in the lounge, as I could combine eating, working, and plane-watching from my seat.

The most corporate-feeling area of all was back towards the entrance, just off the restaurant area.

It reminded me of my university study rooms and brought back feelings of late-night deadline stress. That, plus the fact it had no windows meant that this would be the last place you’d find me in this lounge.

This lounge also has a separate, smaller space for those flying in first class. The main first class lounge for Lufthansa is located near gate A13 in Pier A.

I didn’t see anyone policing the boundary between the business and first class areas, so I probably could have pitched up here if I really wanted to.

Food and Beverage

Now on to my favorite part of any hotel, flight, or lounge review: the food and drink.

Let’s start with the eats.

Food Options

You can judge a lounge by how good its snack selection is. I was impressed with the jars of sweet candies and assortment of savory snacks.

Cold options included jars of either potato salad or barley salad with baby spinach and berries…

…and a pretty bog-standard romaine salad with mozzarella, parmesan, and cherry tomatoes.

On to the hot stuff. Options included a hearty farfalle pasta in a tomato sauce…

…frankfurter sausages (it wouldn’t have been Frankfurt without them)…

…and vegetable stew with smoked pork.

The stew was perfect as I wanted something healthy with vegetables — the kind of food that’s usually hard to come by while traveling.

I thoroughly enjoyed my entrée of delicious stew with a side helping of plane watching across the apron — perfection.

Quintessentially-German pretzels and bread rolls were also on offer.

Back to the healthy theme, there were fruit bowls filled with oranges and bananas.

And in terms of sweet treats, guests could choose from a slice of the excellently-named Granny’s Classic Marble Cake…

…or Black Forest gateau custard — another classic German dish.

Drink Options

The selection of self-serve beverages on offer was exactly what you’d expect to find in a lounge.

Options included iced water…

…Coke, Fanta, and Wasser (which I’m guessing was soda water?) from a soda station…

…and bottles of Becks and Franziskaner Weissbier beer, along with tomato, orange, and clear apple juice.

The Senator Lounge B knows what’s up with its 2 German beer taps and branded glassware —- pints always taste better than bottles (in my opinion)!

If wine is more your thing, you could choose from 2 white, 2 red, and 2 sparkling options. However, no Champagne was on the menu here.

For something less alcoholic and a little warmer, you could choose from a selection of no less than 8 types of tea.

Coffee was also on offer, but I’d already consumed enough coffee on this particular day, so I skipped it. But I’m confident the combination of Lavazza coffee from a bean-to-cup machine would have ticked the boxes of my high standards.

Amenities

Smoking Lounge

Given the strict regulations in the U.K. regarding smoking, especially inside, I find the different stance that some of our close neighbors take to be fascinating.

Case in point: there’s a dedicated room for smoking within the Senator Lounge B.

Lockers

If you want to head out and do a little duty-free shopping, these lockers are a great, practical addition for storing small items of luggage.

Senator Spa

In my opinion, a good lounge automatically goes to a great lounge if there’s a spa.

Some lounges offer their premium guests complimentary short massages. Unfortunately, this lounge didn’t.

The cheapest massage was a 10-minute acupressure chair massage for €20 (~$22). You could also get a traditional Thai massage, sports massage, or aromatic oil massage. Prices varied from €70 (~$78) for 30 minutes to €200 (~$223) for 90 minutes.

Reading Material

A sign that we’re still not quite out of the pandemic yet: the absence of any reading material.

Restrooms

The men’s room was exceptionally clean.

The amenities of choice were by L’Occitaine. I wonder whether it’s just a coincidence that L’Occitaine’s yellow branding fits in perfectly with Lufthansa’s color scheme…

I’ve never understood why these syringe-disposal boxes are necessary when Germany is the only place in the world that I’ve ever seen them.

Wi-Fi

I can confirm that the Wi-Fi speed was more than adequate to get some work done before my flight.

Plane-Spotting

An important amenity for an AvGeek is plane spotting ability. I can safely say that this lounge provides the goods.

This Air Canada Boeing 787 Dreamliner was just one of many jets I watched pushing back right in front of the lounge.

Look a little further, and you can even see planes careering down one of the airport’s busy runways.

Staff and Service

As is usually the case with lounges, staff interactions are minimal (unless you’re in the Centurion Lounge at Heathrow Terminal 3).

The buffet was self-service, and I didn’t go to the bar in the first class section, so the only interaction I had was with the agent at the lounge check-in. It was as transactional and business-like as you’d expect.

A team of cleaning staff were bustling around throughout my visit. While at the buffet, I noticed a few of them standing around with likely no tasks to do given there were so few people in the lounge.

COVID-19 Protocols

The Senator Lounge B’s COVID-19 protocols were just as you’d expect to find while flying these days.

The main protocol was compulsory mask-wearing unless eating or drinking.

I did notice, however, the absence of social distancing signage in the seating areas. Given that the lounge wasn’t busy, it wouldn’t really have been necessary anyway.

Final Thoughts

I was pleasantly surprised by my recent visit to Lufthansa’s Senator Lounge B in Frankfurt.

It always adds an extra level of depth and character to a lounge when you have the option to sample local cuisine and drinks before perhaps leaving the country for a long time. Lufthansa scores full marks in this area for me.

Thanks to TAP Air Portugal giving me the opportunity to match my British Airways Club Silver status to Star Alliance Gold, I was able to enjoy the Senator Lounge B even though I only had a business class ticket.

I found that the space provided everything I could ask for during a visit to a lounge: good food, great Wi-Fi, and excellent views.

Speaking of which, I’ll leave you with a shot of a beautiful Lufthansa Airbus A350 pushing back from the gate.