For nearly a year, LOT Polish Airlines has been renovating one of its primary lounges at Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW). There’s now a positive update, as this lounge has reopened, and it looks like a huge improvement over the old space.
In this post:
New LOT Business Lounge Polonez Warsaw opens
The Polonez Lounge is LOT Polish Airlines’ business class lounge in the Schengen area of its Warsaw hub. The lounge has undergone major changes, and we now get our first glimpse at the finished product. This is the lounge located near gate 25/26, and it’s open daily from 5AM until 11PM. It follows standard Star Alliance lounge access rules, so it’s open to Star Alliance business class passengers and Star Alliance Gold members.
For one, the lounge has been expanded by 153 square meters (~1,650 square feet), and has gained 64 additional seats. The expanded space includes a self-service bar, and a conference room with a screen and outlets. The lounge is now over 860 square meters (~9,250 square feet), and offers views of the terminal below.
In addition to an expansion, the lounge also has new interiors, aligning with the carrier’s updated brand identity, with heavy use of navy blue, copper tones, and amber. The new design is described as combining elegance and functionality, with modern furniture, including comfortable seats and sofas.
As before, the lounge has a special area for Star Alliance Gold members and long haul LOT business class passengers, known as the Polonez Gold Lounge. This is bigger than before as well, and offers a dedicated relaxation zone featuring loungers.
The lounge will also have a spa, known as Relax Spot by Phenomé x LOT. It will be available Monday through Friday, though is only expected to open in the first half of May. This will offer skincare treatments in partnership with Polish cosmetics company Phenomé, whose products are also available on 787s.
Here’s how Izabela Leszczyńska, LOT Polish Airlines’ Director of Product Development and Customer Experience, describes the updates:
“We aimed to create a space that not only meets the highest standards of comfort but also redefines the travel experience for passengers who value modernity, exclusivity and a premium atmosphere. The LOT Business Lounge Polonez now combines elegance with functionality – offering more space, innovative solutions and carefully selected amenities that enable both relaxation and productivity. We wanted every guest to feel special and experience Polish hospitality at the very heart of our connecting hub, Warsaw Chopin Airport. We are delighted to welcome guests to our LOT Business Lounge Polonez.”
It’s nice to see LOT investing in its passenger experience
LOT Polish Airlines has long had a confusing position in the market. The airline belongs to the Star Alliance, but is excluded from the Star Alliance transatlantic joint venture, meaning the carrier has largely operated its network pretty independently. Warsaw isn’t exactly the world’s most premium aviation market, and on top of that, historically LOT hasn’t offered a memorable passenger experience.
I’m happy to see the airline investing heavily in its passenger experience, as this is only one of several initiatives at the airline. LOT is also updating the interiors of its 787 Dreamliners, including introducing a new business class, though sadly that project will only start in late 2026, and will be completed by 2030.
Furthermore, the airline has recently opened a lounge in Chicago (ORD). Any new lounge in Chicago’s Terminal 5 is great news, as I see it, and this actually looks like one of the best lounges in the terminal.
Both of these are positive developments. I still think that LOT would be better suited for oneworld than Star Alliance, based on the geography of the alliance members, and how LOT is treated within Star Alliance. I don’t think the airline will actually swap alliances, though it would be logical, if the airline were to start from scratch.
Bottom line
LOT Polish Airlines has expanded and renovated its largest lounge in Warsaw, which is long overdue. The new lounge looks like a huge improvement over the old space, and really elevates the premium experience for those traveling within the Schengen zone.
What’s your take on the updated LOT Polish Airlines Lounge Warsaw?
The quality of the refurbishment is very poor. Panels coming off the doors because they’re not affixed properly, tables already scratched, lamp fell off the wall, several machines for steaming clothes broken. Pellegrino water eliminated.
There was a spa for years with the previous company Yonelle. I think they fired the employee who worked there for a long time to replace it with this Phenome.
If that's a "huge improvement" I'd hate to see the old lounge. Yikes!
I can't see it standing up to the test of time, and expect to see it looking pretty shabby in a couple of years.
After my wife and I got IDB'ed flying business class, and having to spend my birthday in the Mazurek lounge, LOT is way off my list of airlines to fly.
ill be arriving on a Finnair flight and then connecting onto a LO flight to YYZ in business. Anyone with knowledge of the airport know whether I can access this lounge? Is there a decent alternative in non ex-Schengen zone, if not?
“Mazurek” is the LO lounge in the non-Schengen zone - it’s decent but gets crowded when LOT has a couple of TATL departures around the same time (JFK, EWR, ORD, YYZ…).
You can go to Polonez first and then make your way to the non-Schengen gates closer to your flight. It’s a small airport and short walk. If you have an EU passport, you can use e-gates.
As for the e-gates, last time (2 months ago) I connected at WAW, none of the e-gates were working. There was one border guard for all passengers, business and economy, and the guard always let flight crews ahead of everyone else. He took several minutes to check everyone's passport, even the LOT crew. I was the second in line, and still took me 30 min to get through.
Interesting! I’m flying LOT for the first time later this month! Will def give this lounge (and maybe the $78 Volvo ride if at a remote stand) a try!
There are many sources confirming that LOT was looking into switching alliance multiple times in the recent decade. Somehow they always decided against it (or the alternative alliance refused to accept them). It's a pity because LOT has a lot of potential and oneworld could really use a massive improvement of its European network (which as things are is basically useless).
Why would LOT's potential be undermined by its membership of the world's biggest and most wide-reaching alliance?
After Project Sunrise brings flights from Sydney to Katowice, all the African members of oneworld will start flying to WAW and replace the ET feed, while the South American ones will definitely want to establish codeshares to bring tourists to KRK during the winter in the southern hemisphere. And DFW would be so much better than ORD...
Why would LOT's potential be undermined by its membership of the world's biggest and most wide-reaching alliance?
After Project Sunrise brings flights from Sydney to Katowice, all the African members of oneworld will start flying to WAW and replace the ET feed, while the South American ones will definitely want to establish codeshares to bring tourists to KRK during the winter in the southern hemisphere. And DFW would be so much better than ORD as a principal N. American gateway- after all, what's the point of flying a route from Warsaw to Chicago which only has 800k residents of Polish descent?
What really doesn’t make sense is why lot uses miles and more -a program totally unsuited to their operation and customer base. They are missing out on revenue and opportunities by not having their own ffp.
Maybe they were hoping it would lead to better ties with Lufthansa group?
This is the real issue here. TK, Aegean, and even TAP are doing absolutely fine within *A, even as they often compete on various routes/city pairs against LH and other alliance members. LOT is both big enough as an airline and based in a country with a largish and growing economy, using a competitor's loyalty scheme is such a huge missed opportunity.
Any plans to review the new lounge at ORD?
@ Aaron -- It's on my list, but don't have any firm itinerary yet. I fly out of ORD T5 more than I'd like, so I'm sure it'll happen sooner rather than later. :-)
The Gold section is also available to LO long-haul Business Class class without the Gold card.
On departure, but also on arrival if connecting onward :)
@ Tom -- Whoops, good catch, thank you! Updated the post to add that.