What I liked
- Large lounge
- Nice runway views
- Lots of natural light
- Excellent breakfast
- On site spa (chargeable)
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I walked into the Lufthansa Senator Lounge Frankfurt at 6 a.m. on a Saturday and had the whole place to myself. Senator is Lufthansa's first-class-lounge brand, and honestly they've underwhelmed me before.
Not this one — large, bright, a proper breakfast and runway views out the window.
I'm reviewing the Senator Lounge on the non-Schengen side of Frankfurt, by gate B43. There is another Senator Lounge in the Schengen zone.
I arrived at the Lufthansa Senator Lounge Frankfurt at 6 a.m. on a Saturday, and it was completely empty. Just me. I'd got up too early, missed breakfast at the hotel, and walked in properly hungry. Sometimes the best time to judge a lounge is when there's nobody in it.
A word of warning before you get there. This one sits in the non-Schengen zone, next to gate B43, and you have to clear passport control to reach it. That took me a full 20 minutes, so factor it into your timings. Miss that detail and the loveliest lounge in the world won't save your flight.
There's a lot to like here, and one thing that genuinely bothered me. The organic teas were superb, there's an on-site spa (the treatments are chargeable, sadly) and the drinks run to Prosecco and German wheat beer. But no champagne. In a lounge Lufthansa brands as first class, that still feels like an odd thing to leave off the menu.
If a lounge like this is your idea of a good airport, it's worth sorting your access before you fly. My Priority Pass setup and its 30% membership discount gets you into the largest lounge network in the world, so the hot food, the tea and the quiet chair by the window are waiting whichever terminal you land in.
If you're weighing up where to sit before a Frankfurt departure, it's worth a look at the Air Canada lounge in Frankfurt too. Another bright, Star Alliance option in the same airport, so you can pick the one that suits your gate.
And if this lounge is your pre-flight base, you'll want to know what comes after boarding. My Lufthansa short-haul business class review covers the seat and service.
The Senator Lounges are theoretically Lufthansa’s first class lounges. I say theoretically, because most people get in on Star Alliance status. Lufthansa has a lot of premium passengers!
In Frankfurt, you would be unlikely to see a Lufthansa First Class passenger in the Senator lounge. Lufthansa has a dedicated first class terminal. Where they drive you to the plane door in a car!
I was flying in Singapore Airlines First Class. So I don’t have access to the First Class Terminal. Even though Singapore is a partner of Lufthansa. If Singapore is your airline, my Singapore lounge at Heathrow review shows what they lay on at the London end.
Here's how you actually get into the LH Senator Lounge Frankfurt:
The Lounge Access with Priority Pass
If status isn't your world, don't panic. The Senator Lounge is off-limits to Priority Pass, but Frankfurt has two Priority Pass lounges that will happily take you.
Those two are the Priority Lounge (Terminal 3) and the LuxxLounge (Terminal 1). Handy to know which terminal you're flying from.
I have a tie-up with Priority Pass for 30% off membership. Signup here and get a 30% discount.
Unlimited membership costs $469 and gets you into over 1,700 lounges worldwide. Standard Plus is $329 for 10 free visits, so $32.90 a visit. The cheapest membership is $99.
For me, that beats terminal prices every time. A sit-down breakfast and a coffee at the gate will run you close to $30 before you've had a drink.
Add a couple of cocktails to start the holiday, and a terminal meal can hit $80. A lounge, with its open bar and hot food, is the better value all day long.
One catch. Priority Pass lounges get busy, and a full lounge can turn you away. You can pay $7 to pre-book a timeslot and guarantee your seat.
Bottom line on access. The LH Senator Lounge Frankfurt is a status-and-premium-ticket lounge, not a pay-at-the-door one. No Star Alliance Gold or eligible ticket, no entry.
The Lufthansa Senator Lounge Frankfurt is in the non-Schengen zone. Next to gate B43.
You need to go through passport control to get here. So factor that into your timings. It took me 20 minutes.
Frankfurt Airport is a maze, so let's get you oriented. This Lufthansa Frankfurt Senator Lounge sits over in Terminal 1, on the B concourse. That's the non-Schengen side, where the long-haul Star Alliance departures leave from. If you're flying somewhere far, this is your part of the airport.
Here's the honest bit. The walk itself isn't the problem. Once you're through, the lounge is right there by the gates. It's passport control that eats your time, and there's no clever shortcut around it. Join the queue, keep your boarding pass handy, and don't dawdle at duty free on the way.
One thing worth knowing. The Frankfurt Lufthansa Senator Lounge isn't a single room. There are Senator lounges dotted around the A, B and Z gates.
This review is the one by the B gates, in the non-Schengen zone. So if you land at a different concourse, you may be pointed to a different Senator lounge entirely.
Frankfurt's Römerberg is the free one I'd send you to first. It's the old town square, all timber-framed houses and that famous stepped-gable row that was lovingly rebuilt after the war. Wander over, grab a coffee, and just take it in. For a city everyone writes off as banks and glass towers, it's a proper surprise.
Frankfurt Highlights English Walking Tour
If you want someone to join the dots, book your spot here for $35. It's rated a brilliant 4.9* from over 1,300 reviews. A local guide walks you through the city's highlights in English over a few hours, so you get the history without the guesswork. Bring comfy shoes.
Frankfurt Private Walking Tour With A Guide
Want the guide all to yourself? You can book here for $55. It's rated 4.6* from 34 reviews. You set the pace and the route, which is ideal if you're short on time or wrangling kids. Fewer reviews than the big group tour, mind, so it's less of a known quantity.
Heidelberg Castle and City Day Tour from Frankfurt
For the premium day out, grab your ticket here for $146. It's rated 4.7* from 345 reviews. You get the castle, the old town and that gorgeous Neckar valley setting, all in one trip. It's a full day and it isn't cheap, but Heidelberg is genuinely stunning and worth the drive.
Browse all activities in Frankfurt on Viator — hundreds of options beyond what I've covered here.
The lounge is large. It’s a square shape. The middle of the lounge has some sort of atrium that is not accessible. The lounge is broken down into different zones:
One side of the Lufthansa Senator Lounge Frankfurt has floor to ceiling windows. There are lovely runway views. Lots of natural light.
In terms of seating, there is a variety. Lounge style low seats. High tables and stools. Restaurant style tables and chairs.
There is a spa. However, the treatments are chargeable. This is disappointing, but not uncommon. Most lounges have removed complimentary spa treatments. When I first started to travel hack, many business class lounges had free spa treatments.
There is a large business centre. It has individual booths to work in and a printer.
The decoration is similar to most Lufthansa lounges: modern, bland and uninspiring.
I would make a small comment about the manned bar. It has a classy design. There is also nice mood lighting.
One useful thing I can tell you about the hours. It was open and already serving a full breakfast when I walked in at 6 a.m. on a Saturday, so this is a lounge that earns its keep for early departures. If you've got a dawn long-haul out of the B gates, it'll be up and running before you are.
So what's the Lufthansa Frankfurt Senator Lounge actually like to settle into? Big, bright and split into zones. Grab a low seat by the floor-to-ceiling windows for the runway views, or a booth in the business centre if you need to get some work done.
It's not a design classic. But it's comfortable, and there's enough space to find your own quiet corner.
The breakfast service was similar to most Lufthansa lounges. It was excellent. The following was on offer.
I had some hash browns, cheese and Bircher muesli. The hash browns were really good. Normally, they are taken out of the freezer and reheated. These ones tasted much better.
The Bircher muesli was ok. I really like Bircher muesli, although I have had much better. It’s very popular in continental Europe. But not so much in the UK.
Coffee is served from a machine. They also lay on a big range of organic teas. I had one English Breakfast tea and one Green tea. Both were amazing. Kudos to Lufthansa for their high quality tea.
Alcohol is served in two places. Self pour from the buffet and the separate manned bar. The bar area is lovely. There is low mood lighting and nice seats.
You have a full complement of drinks including Prosecco and German wheat beer. Sadly, there is no champagne. A first class lounge should have champagne in my view.
The Lufthansa Senator Lounge Frankfurt genuinely surpassed my expectations, and given my history with Lufthansa's Senator lounges, that's saying something. It's large and bright, with proper natural light flooding in. The breakfast was excellent — those hash browns were a cut above the usual reheated ones. And the runway views gave me something to stare at while I woke up. The surprise standout, though? The teas. The English Breakfast and the green tea — both genuinely good.
Not everything landed. The spa treatments are chargeable, the decoration is the usual bland Lufthansa template, and there's no champagne in a lounge Lufthansa insists on branding as first class. That last one still nags at me.
But those are quibbles against a genuinely good lounge. Of the Senator lounges dotted around Frankfurt, this non-Schengen B one is right up there with the best. If you're heading long-haul out of the non-Schengen B gates, clear passport control early and settle in by the window. I'd happily come back, champagne or no champagne.
A quick word if you're torn between here and the Business lounge next door. The Lufthansa Senator Lounge Frankfurt is the higher tier of the two. You'll need Star Alliance Gold or a premium ticket to get in, rather than just a business class boarding pass.
If you've got the status, it's the one I'd pick.