With these airport luxury lounges, it’s by reservations only, at these exclusive hideaways. They will pamper you with comfy lounge chairs, world-class chefs, spas and interior spaces meticulously designed so you feel like you’re getting the royal treatment.
Let’s face it, some of the best places on Earth are far away and sometimes you just have to go halfway around the planet to seal a deal.
Either way, your layovers are golden opportunities to prep you for the next leg of your trip and these lounges are built to impress.
Plaza Premium Lounge – Heathrow Airport, London
The first stop is the Plaza Premium Lounge headquartered in Hong Kong. With lounges worldwide, we’ll feature their flagship lounge at London Heathrow Airport.
You’ll be greeted as you depart and have all your airport hassles handled by a seamless end-to-end airport experience.
From baggage handling, and lounge stays limousine transfer to buggy service, your numbers up for some stress-free travel.
You can indulge in a range of tempting dishes from both a hot and cold buffet, inspired by cultures around the world. There is also a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks available. Bookings need to be made at least 1 hour in advance. If you’re the master of your own schedule and prefer flying in on your own private jet, you would definitely enjoy these aviation expos and shows that run all year round.
Lufthansa First Class Terminal – Frankfurt, Germany
Welcome to the First Class Terminal in Frankfurt, Germany. Lufthansa is so serious about luxury that they’ve dedicated an entire terminal to ensure you experience the good life. Better.
A personal assistant will be waiting for you in the reception area to take care of all your travel formalities swiftly and discreetly. The assistant will then accompany you through security and take care of the check-in procedure for you.
There are also two quiet rooms with day beds, four shower rooms (one with a bathtub), and a Cigar Lounge. We wrote more on a day in the life of traveling on Lufthansa here.
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse – Queens, New York
Virgin Atlantic is also a strong contender for its airport luxury lounge in New York’s JFK Airport. This lounge is praised for giving the feeling of an upmarket bar in the Big Apple.
The lounge has gold ceiling decorations, a giant sofa made entirely of red balls, a pool table, and an extensive cocktail menu.
But those wanting privacy can escape to the person-sized cavities in the walls, which are wool-lined and given ‘intimate’ lighting.
Not a hotel room, but nice that passengers can escape to their own private space during layovers.
There are even complimentary pajamas for those who are so inclined. If passengers want to be pampered, the in-house spa offers treatments using specialist Dr. Hauschka products.
A nice touch while the New York hairstylist Bumble & Bumble can make sure you are suitably coiffed.
Finnair Premium Lounge – Helsinki, Finland
Private Jet Charter nominated the minimalist Finnair Lounge in Helsinki as one of the best luxury airport lounges. The space is filled with Nordic-inspired furniture from the Finnish design company Marimekko.
The brand-new Platinum Wing and parts of the renewed Finnair Business Lounge are now open so you can enjoy Nordic tastes, more variation, and healthy options.
Swiss First Lounge – Zurich, Switzerland
Taking a cue from its Germanic sister airline, SWISS has phenomenal first-class facilities at its Zurich hub. The carrier’s First Lounge has a nearly 4,000-square-foot terrace for plane-watching as well as work suites with capacity for up to six people.
There’s also a conference room, an à la carte restaurant, and a casual American Diner. Throw in their wine humidor with over 1,000 bottles and we’re talking first-class all the way.
We discovered the First Lounge offers pure luxury through and through with its other amenities. Two hotel rooms, a conference room, mini-suites, a champagne bar, and two restaurants ensure that you can enjoy every comfort. And you can relax and enjoy the views from the 352 square meters off the terrace.
The chefs in our 5-star à la carte restaurant will also be happy to fulfill individual wishes at any time of the day. Alternatively, you can enjoy the fabulous delights from the USA served in the American Diner.
Two hotel rooms with double beds, an en-suite bathroom and panoramic views of the Alps are available for their Lounge visitors’ convenience.
The hotel rooms cannot be reserved in advance which makes sense, so you’ll need to crack the whip with your personal butler to beat the others to the lounge.
