We had a lengthy layover in Amsterdam, as we were arriving from Abu Dhabi at around 6:30AM, and were departing to New York at 1:25PM. I was happy to have some time to get caught up on work between flights, and also to check out KLM’s new Crown Lounge at Schipol Airport.
KLM is currently finishing construction on their new flagship lounge. The airline is opening this lounge in stages. They opened the first section of the lounge in December 2018, and the plan is that by this fall the lounge will be fully operational.
Once the renovations are complete, the lounge will offer around 1,500 seats, compared to the previous 800 seats. On top of that, the lounge will be around 6,800 square meters, compared to the previous 3,200 square meters. So at 73,000+ square feet, this should be one of the largest airline lounges in the world.
When I visited the lounge a few months ago the first section was open, but not the rest. In the meantime it should be significantly bigger, and they’ve even opened the Blue Restaurant, which is a paid restaurant inside the lounge.
Anyway, open landing we followed the signage in the direction of “Airline lounge 52,” which seems like an odd way to describe the lounge, and reminds of airline lounge naming in China (e.g. “Changsha Airport First Class Lounge #138,” or something).
This involved first going through security. Transit security was a zoo, which I guess shouldn’t be much of a surprise given the number of flights landing around this time from all over the world.
There was a separate security checkpoint for US-bound flights, though all security checkpoints let out in the same area. The line was really long, and there was no separate SkyPriority queue, so it took nearly half an hour to get through.
Amsterdam Airport terminal
Eventually we arrived at the entrance to the lounge, located between concourses E & F.
KLM Crown Lounge Amsterdam entrance
I love that the escalators have the cute Dutch houses displayed. My goodness, how I’d go to town if there weren’t a glass shield and if I had 60 seconds to help myself to as many as I wanted, Supermarket Sweeps style…
KLM Crown Lounge Amsterdam Dutch houses
Once you take the escalator up to the first level of the lounge, you can either turn left or right. You can scan yourself into the lounge using your boarding pass, so it’s almost like entering a train station.
KLM Crown Lounge Amsterdam reception
As mentioned above, the lounge wasn’t completely open yet, though it was already huge… but also really, really crowded. The below pictures were mostly taken when I first got to the lounge, when I’d say it was moderately full, but it got way busier.
Just inside the entrance and to the right is a typical lounge seating setup, with rows of leather chairs facing one another.
KLM Crown Lounge Amsterdam seating
There are also some dining tables with chairs in this area.
KLM Crown Lounge Amsterdam seating
There are plenty of alternative seating options as well, though — I’ll let the pictures of those speak mostly for themselves.
KLM Crown Lounge Amsterdam seating
KLM Business Lounge Amsterdam seating
KLM Business Lounge Amsterdam seating
KLM Lounge Amsterdam seating
The quietest area of the lounge was inside the entrance and to the left, since it seemed like most people entered towards the right, for whatever reason.
KLM Business Lounge Amsterdam seating
The lounge also had a couple of desks with KLM representatives should you need help with your flights, as well as some kiosks where you can help yourself.
KLM Lounge Amsterdam customer service desk
KLM Lounge Amsterdam
Design-wise the coolest part of the lounge, no doubt, is the set of stairs leading up to the second floor. I will say that while it looks cool, it’s not all that practical if you have luggage.
KLM Lounge Amsterdam
KLM Lounge Amsterdam
KLM Lounge Amsterdam
There’s plenty of seating along the stairs.
KLM Business Lounge Amsterdam seating
KLM Lounge Amsterdam
KLM Lounge Amsterdam seating
KLM Lounge Amsterdam
Alternatively you can visit the upper level of the lounge by taking the escalators up, as they’re located on the other side of the lounge.
KLM Lounge Amsterdam escalators to upper level
Below is some of the lounge signage to give you a sense of where things are located.
KLM Lounge Amsterdam signage
On the upper level are the Blue Bar, Blue Restaurant, and terrace. When I was there the Blue Restaurant (which is paid) wasn’t yet open, and the outdoor terrace was also closed (though that might have just been because it was winter).
However, the Blue Bar was operational, and at the time was the nicest part of the lounge to hang out in.
The centerpiece of the second floor area was the bar, though there were also some high-top tables, communal tables, semi private tables separated by curtains, and some couches.
KLM Lounge Amsterdam dining area
KLM Lounge Amsterdam dining area
KLM Lounge Amsterdam upper level seating
KLM Lounge Amsterdam upper level seating
KLM Lounge Amsterdam dining area
KLM Lounge Amsterdam dining area
KLM Lounge Amsterdam upper level seating
KLM Lounge Amsterdam upper level seating
KLM Lounge Amsterdam
KLM sure does have quirky design, and I love it — it’s not often you see a disco ball in an airline lounge!
KLM Lounge Amsterdam
KLM Lounge disco ball
At the bar there’s beer on tap, self serve wine, and a soda fountain, and they can also prepare you an espresso drink from a “real” machine, rather than the self serve ones they have downstairs.
KLM Lounge Amsterdam bar
KLM Lounge soda fountain
KLM Lounge snack mix
KLM Lounge cappuccino
Next to the bar is a small buffet, consisting of sweets, stroopwafels, yogurt, cheese, cold cuts, bread, hardboiled eggs, and more.
KLM Lounge buffet
KLM Lounge breakfast buffet
KLM Lounge breakfast buffet
KLM Lounge breakfast buffet
Again, I love the quirkiness of their offerings — it’s not often you see candy hearts and chocolate sprinkles in an airline lounge buffet.
KLM Lounge breakfast buffet
KLM Lounge buffet
Much like in Delta Sky Club®, they don’t use real silverware or plates.
KLM Lounge spoons, forks, and knives
The lower level of the lounge also had several self serve food stations, with a largely similar selection.
KLM Lounge Amsterdam buffet
KLM Lounge Amsterdam buffet
KLM Lounge Amsterdam buffet
KLM Lounge Amsterdam buffet
KLM Lounge Amsterdam buffet
KLM Lounge Amsterdam buffet
KLM Lounge Amsterdam coffee machine
There were also several stations with alcohol, though the selection wasn’t especially high-end.
KLM Lounge Amsterdam alcohol selection
We spent several hours in the lounge working, so I have a few more thoughts on the lounge in general:
- The lounge got really, really, really busy; this is a hub lounge that all SkyTeam business class and Elite Plus passengers have access to, so that isn’t a surprise, though fortunately when the lounge is fully operational it will be 70,000+ square feet
- Because of how big the lounge is, service isn’t at all attentive, but rather the staff are constantly running around clearing plates and glasses as fast as possible, as they can barely keep up
- Despite the lounge being full, the Wi-Fi was lightning-fast
- The lounge has some really unconventional music playing; for example, they had rap music playing, including many lyrics that had the “n-word,” which you probably wouldn’t hear in the US
- The lounge only had four showers at the time, so the wait for a shower was several hours
Our flight to New York was scheduled to board at 12:35PM, so we left the lounge at around 12:20PM.
Amsterdam Schipol Airport terminal
We were departing from gate D43, which was about a five minute walk away.
KLM departure gate Amsterdam
KLM 787
Boarding finally started at 12:50PM, and I was excited to get on this flight and get some sleep (though that didn’t really end up happening).
KLM Crown Lounge bottom line
During peak hours, just about all European hub lounges are zoos. For example, recently I was in a Lufthansa Business Lounge in Munich where there wasn’t a single open seat, and there were dozens of people sitting on the floor.
With that in mind, I think KLM’s new Amsterdam Crown Lounge is actually well done. When complete the lounge will be massive, and it’s nicely designed. The lounge has a terrace, restaurant, bar, and should also have a spa soon.
I love some of the quirky design elements they use for the lounge — as an airline KLM just has so much personality.
I will say, however, that the complimentary food and drink selection isn’t amazing. On top of that, due to the volume of people using the lounge, the buffets are constantly being depleted, and the staff can barely keep up.
So despite those criticisms, I’d give this lounge a thumbs up compared to the flagship business class lounges offered by British Airways, Lufthansa, etc.
All that being said, I think KLM’s EVP of Customer Experience may be a bit optimistic when he said this about the lounge:
KLM aims to offer the most attractive lounge in the world; a destination in itself. The new lounge concept ties in seamlessly with KLM’s strategy, centring on providing the ultimate hospitality experience, innovation and perfect customer service.
You’ll need to be traveling in business class or have elite status with SkyTeam to access this lounge, but there are a lot of great lounges out there available to you through credit cards with lounge access.
If you’ve visited KLM’s new Amsterdam Lounge, what was your experience like?
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