Review: Newly Renovated Deutsche Bahn (German Railway) DB Premium Lounge Cologne

Ben’s Deutsche Bahn (DB) first class review dates back several years, and he did not visit a DB Lounge on that trip. As the lounge may be relevant to OMAAT readers connecting to or from a Star Alliance flight via Lufthansa Express Rail, as well as those considering a first class Rail&Fly ticket for travel within Germany, I thought it was time for a closer look at the newly renovated DB Premium Lounge in Cologne.

Deutsche Bahn — literally “German Railway” — is Germany’s national railway company and an intermodal Star Alliance partner. Lufthansa stopped flying between Cologne and Frankfurt in 2007, replacing the route with today’s Lufthansa Express Rail service in cooperation with DB. Express Rail is now available from more than 25 German cities.

I have taken Lufthansa Express Rail between Cologne and Frankfurt many times. This time, however, I was traveling on a regular train ticket from Cologne to Munich. Both my ticket type and BahnBonus Platinum status gave me access to the recently renovated DB Premium Lounge in Cologne — so naturally, I had to check it out.

For those unfamiliar with BahnBonus: That is DB’s loyalty program and works much like an airline frequent flyer program.

DB Lounge locations & access

Deutsche Bahn operates 13 DB Lounges across Germany. Seven locations — Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Cologne, Mannheim, and Munich — also feature a separate Premium Lounge with a wider selection of food and beverages than the standard lounge. This review focuses primarily on the DB Premium Lounge concept. Opening hours vary by location, but most lounges open between 6:00AM and 7:00AM and close between 9:00PM and 10:00PM.

For OMAAT readers, the most relevant ways to access the DB Standard and DB Premium Lounge are:

• First class Rail&Fly tickets: probably the real sweet spot. More than 50 airlines offer these in connection with a flight booking, typically for around €60 each way in 1. Klasse (1st Class).
• Lufthansa Express Rail passengers traveling in business class.
• Lufthansa Express Rail passengers with Miles & More Senator or HON Circle status.
• Passengers with a same-day first class DB long-distance Flexpreis ticket — essentially a fully flexible, refundable fare. Pro-Tip: Children under 14 travel free when accompanied by an adult and may also enter the lounge under the adult’s ticket where applicable.
• BahnBonus Platinum members holding a valid ticket.

Access is valid nationwide for the entire day — before, during, and after the journey. In other words, there is some serious lounge-hopping potential here for anyone determined to maximize a train ticket.

BahnBonus status access will be less relevant to most OMAAT readers but since Ben is a completionist: Silver members receive eight lounge vouchers, Gold members may use regular DB Lounges with one guest, and Platinum members may also access Premium Lounges as long as they hold a valid ticket.

Despite Deutsche Bahn having joined Star Alliance as an intermodal partner in 2022, Star Alliance Gold status apparently still does not provide lounge access; only Miles & More Senator and HON Circle members receive it when traveling on Lufthansa Express Rail. Maybe anyone has had a different experience?

Lufthansa Group remains the main airline offering Express Rail, although selected DB services can also be booked under United and Air Canada flight numbers. These are operated by ICE trains — DB’s flagship Intercity Express category, or Germany’s considerably slower and less reliable answer to the Shinkansen, which admittedly makes it not much of a Shinkansen at all.

My trip from Munich to Cologne and back

This was a private trip from Munich to Cologne and back to meet an old school friend, helped by the fact that I had recently acquired a rather respectable pile of BahnBonus points.

• Friday — Munich to Cologne: 09:46 departure; 14:17 scheduled arrival; 14:29 actual arrival; 1,500 BahnBonus points for a restrictive first class ticket.
• Saturday — Cologne to Munich: 9:54 departure; 14:29PM scheduled arrival; 14:41 actual arrival; 3,000 BahnBonus points for a flexible first class ticket, as I wanted some freedom over my return time.

DB Lounge & DB Premium Lounge Cologne

Germany’s DB Premium Lounges differ in design, but they generally share the same food menu and beverage selection — with one crucial exception: Munich gets different beer. The menu changes quarterly and can be viewed online. There are both hot and cold dishes. Some lounges offer table service, while others use a buffet or counter setup where you collect your order and carry it to your seat.

The DB Lounge Cologne is located inside Cologne Central Station, directly by track 1 on the upper level between the A and B passageways. It is well signposted — as long as you already know where to look for the sign. The station itself could hardly be more central: Cologne Cathedral is directly across the street, and the Rhine is only a short walk away.

The lounge reopened earlier this year following a major renovation, which was the main reason I wanted to visit. Well, that and maintaining my personal relationship with an old school friend. I found the new design modern and appealing. I used the lounge twice — after arriving on Friday afternoon and again before departure on Saturday morning. Even on Friday it was calm and never felt excessively crowded.

The layout is straightforward. The Premium area is on the right, while the regular DB Lounge for status members is on the left. The regular side was somewhat busier. As is standard across Germany, regular DB Lounges offer water, soft drinks, and hot beverages, while DB Premium Lounges additionally serve food and alcoholic drinks.

The Premium section begins with a dining area featuring tables and chairs, along with the usual lounge furniture — sofas, armchairs, and a counter with high stools. A corridor leads to a quieter relaxation area with high-backed armchairs that provide a welcome degree of privacy.

There was also a selection of worthwhile daily newspapers and magazines (in German) as well as Der kleine ICE — literally “The Little ICE” — a children’s magazine that is every bit as important to my kids as the rubber duck is to Ben.

There were also clean restrooms, which may honestly be the greatest luxury available at a German train station. If necessary, you can buy perfectly acceptable food and drinks from a bakery, snack stand, or sausage counter downstairs. But sitting down peacefully on a clean toilet and taking a proper dump? That may be the true premium benefit of the DB Lounge.

On Saturday morning the lounge was nearly empty. I limited myself to a small breakfast of champions because I still wanted to eat something on the train:

• One wheat beer
• Two croissants with organic honey, butter, and organic chocolate spread
• Yogurt with freeze-dried strawberries and chocolate protein crispies
• > 3 Magnum Ice Cream Bars with almonds (only available in summer)

The croissants were still warm, as they are reheated before serving, and the breakfast struck me as admirably balanced and healthy. The wheat beer, after all, is naturally isotonic and contains important B vitamins such as B6. This is basically wellness.

For what it’s worth, I translated the current menu, which is also available online as a PDF:

Drinks

Hot beverages: Americano, café crema, decaffeinated coffee, café latte, cappuccino, espresso, flat white, latte macchiato, hot chocolate, and tea. Milk alternatives are available, and all hot beverages are Fairtrade-certified.

Non-alcoholic beverages: still or sparkling water, orange juice, Apfelschorle (apple spritzer), Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero, Fanta, Sprite, organic lemonade, and FuzeTea Lemon.

Beer, wine & sparkling wine: Jever Fun non-alcoholic beer, Erdinger wheat beer with or without alcohol, Bitburger Premium Pils, dry white wine, dry red wine, and Rotkäppchen dry sparkling wine.

Food

Breakfast: Croissant with butter, Bionella chocolate spread, honey, or jam; plain yogurt with optional muesli and honey, strawberry slices, and protein crispies.

Sandwiches & wraps: Farmhouse ham and mozzarella sandwich; curry couscous wrap.

Snacks: Hummus or tomato cream spread with bread; Lisa’s kettle chips.

Hot food, available from 11:00AM: Mini Alsatian-style pinsa with beef bacon; yellow coconut lentil soup.

Cakes & pastries: Franzbrötchen-style cake, inspired by Hamburg’s cinnamon pastry; mini cream puffs.

Bottom line

Given that most passengers spend much less time in a train lounge than in an airline lounge, I find the DB Premium Lounge offering more than satisfactory.

There are no proper kitchens, and the food is not cooked on site. It is presumably produced centrally, which would explain why the menu is identical across Germany. Obviously, mom’s cooking is better, and a German bakery at the train station can sell you an excellent sandwich for little money — unlike the average airport concession. Still, the lounge food is perfectly decent and sufficient for a light meal. More importantly, you get a quiet and comfortable place to sit. Waiting at a railway platform makes even the least glamorous airport gate area look aspirational.

As unlikely as it sounds, I would rank DB’s Premium Lounges among the better railway lounges in Europe: Eurostar lounges offer a strong cocktail selection when the bar is open and are therefore excellent places to get drunk; also, the absence of food helps the alcohol work faster. ÖBB lounges in Austria offer snacks and, from memory, wine (and second class passengers can buy access for €10/day). SNCF’s Le Salon Grand Voyageur lounges have a wonderfully grand name but nothing else. Meanwhile, SBB closed all two of its lounges in 2016 — due to “customer feedback,” presumably.

Am I being too generous to DB here, or do others agree that its DB Premium Lounges are genuinely among Europe’s best (bestest?) train lounges? If not, which lounge am I overlooking? (I have not been to the Trenitalia Lounges)

Delays, Deutsche Bahn’s problems & reasons for hope

One important practical point: if a delay with a Lufthansa Express Rail itinerary causes you to miss your flight, free rebooking is guaranteed (according to the Express Rail FAQ) because the train and flight are issued as one through-ticket. Whether EU261 compensation also applies remains legally unsettled. Perhaps an OMAAT reader would like to volunteer to litigate this for the common good.

Germany’s rail network was underfunded for decades, and Deutsche Bahn is now going through a major investment and modernization program. In the short term, that means extensive construction work, additional disruption, and very bad punctuality figures.

My hope is that all the construction will eventually deliver a more reliable railway.

When an ICE runs on time, the reserved seat is actually available, the refrigerators, coffee machines, and microwaves in the dining car all happen to work, and the catering was actually loaded onto the train, it is an excellent product. Admittedly, getting all of those things to work on the same journey can feel like winning the railway jackpot.

But when they do, in my opinion, the ICE has a more comfortable and attractive interior and better onboard restaurant than other European trains. The product is genuinely good; the problem is that passengers cannot rely on receiving all of it at once.

The investment program may take years (decades), plenty of patience, and probably several Schienenersatzverkehre (replacement buses) — along the way, but I remain cautiously optimistic that my grandchildren will have a reliable Deutsche Bahn.