Review: SWISS Arrivals Lounge Zurich Airport (ZRH)

During my downgraded adventure to Oman, I had a roughly 12-hour layover at Zurich Airport. During that time, I checked out both the SWISS Arrivals Lounge and SWISS Business Lounge, so in this installment I’ll be reviewing the former.

While my SWISS A330 business class flight left a lot to be desired, the SWISS Arrivals Lounge Zurich is excellent, by comparison, among the best arrivals lounges out there. Not only does the lounge have very generous entry requirements, but it also has a solid selection of food and drinks, lots of shower suites, and even some nap rooms. Let’s get into the review!

SWISS Arrivals Lounge Zurich location

Finding the SWISS Arrivals Lounge Zurich is pretty easy. Upon arrival, just head through immigration and baggage claim. Once in the baggage claim area, you should see signage leading in the direction of the lounge.

After exiting baggage claim, just turn left, and then you’ll see the entrance to the lounge right there.

The lounge is actually one level up from the arrivals level, so there are elevators that you can then take up to the lounge. Even the lower level has some cool SWISS airplane art, and a couple of chairs.

SWISS Arrivals Lounge Zurich hours

The SWISS Arrivals Lounge Zurich is open daily from 6AM until 1PM. The intent of an arrivals lounge is ultimately to have a place to freshen up before you either head to the office or can check into your hotel, so it’s pretty normal for these lounges to not be open later in the day. The lounge can also be useful if you’re waiting on a train connection after a SWISS flight.

SWISS Arrivals Lounge Zurich entry requirements

What sets the SWISS Arrivals Lounge Zurich apart is its generous entry requirements. Many airlines restrict their arrivals lounges exclusively to those arriving on long haul flights, while that’s not the case with SWISS. The SWISS Arrivals Lounge Zurich is open to:

• Arriving SWISS first and business class passengers
• Arriving Miles & More HON Circle, Senator, and Frequent Traveller members

So those are some pretty great entry requirements, as the above passengers can use the lounge even when traveling short haul.

SWISS Arrivals Lounge Zurich seating & layout

The SWISS Arrivals Lounge Zurich is 770 square meters (~8,300 square feet), and it has seating for 80 people. So as far as arrivals lounges go, this is among the bigger ones.

As you enter the lounge and pass reception, you’ll first see a seating area with a few seating options, including a couple of couches, some chairs, and even a table.

Past that is the main room of the lounge, where there’s first a bar with some stools.

Then you’ll find yourself in the main part of the lounge, which primarily consists of some tables that can each seat two, with high-top seating.

Beyond the tables above, there’s also a seating area with three chairs and some side tables.

Then there’s an area with dining tables that have a bench on one side, and a chair on the other side.

The lounge also has a couple of phone rooms that have glass doors you can close, should you have a private call you want to make, or should you just want some silence.

The lounge has a variety of reading materials that guests are free to take.

As you can see, the seating is probably more functional than comfortable, since those wooden high-top seats aren’t particularly comfortable to sit on for extended periods of time.

SWISS Arrivals Lounge Zurich food & drinks

The SWISS Arrivals Lounge Zurich has a self-serve buffet, located right near all the high-top seating. Arrivals lounges generally don’t have the most exciting food selections, and this lounge was no exception, though I still found it to be pretty good.

In the morning, the food selection included all kinds of yogurt, smoothies, muesli, and cold cuts.

Closer to lunchtime, some of those items were replaced with salads and sweets.

There were also a variety of carbs, from croissants, to rolls, to pastries, to danishes, as well as several cereal options.

There were several hot options, including scrambled eggs, omelets, baked beans, and tomatoes.

The lounge has some food options available upon request, including hardboiled eggs, porridge with stewed cherries, and waffles with cream and cherry compote.

Later in the day, there was also the option of a daily soup.

As far as drinks go, there was self-serve water, juice, soda, and beer, as well as a coffee machine and tea selection.

The bar had some white wine and sparkling wine. The bar also contains a proper espresso machine, in case you want a barista coffee.

Lastly, if you’re looking for some sweet treats, the bar has everything from chocolate, to gummy bears, to marshmallows, to cookies.

SWISS Arrivals Lounge Zurich shower rooms & bathrooms

The SWISS Arrivals Lounge Zurich has 20 shower rooms, each of which is named after an international destination, which I thought was a pretty awesome naming system. You can reserve one of the showers with the receptionist at the front of the lounge, and then they’ll tell you which “city” you’re going to (I showered in “Bangkok”).

The shower rooms are simple but functional, with sinks, toilets, and walk-in showers.

Toiletries are from Soeder, and are in reusable containers.

The lounge also offers an ironing service, whereby you can place your clothes into a compartment by the door, and have your clothes ironed while you shower.

While the lounge has plenty of shower suites, the actual bathrooms are otherwise limited. There’s one men’s room that has a single sink, urinal, and toilet.

SWISS Arrivals Lounge Zurich nap rooms & rest area

The area where the SWISS Arrivals Lounge Zurich shines is when it comes to resting facilities. For one, the lounge has a rest area, whereby there are cozy seats with ottomans, with a partition between each of them. This might be a good place to sit if you just want to relax for a moment, but don’t want to get any real sleep.

What’s awesome is that the lounge has three private nap rooms, which are available on a first come, first served basis. Two of these are single rooms (without bathrooms), while one is a double room (with a bathroom). There’s no time limit for how long you can use these, as long as you leave by the time the lounge closes.

I managed to get one of the single rooms. It’s by no means luxurious, but the bed was quite comfortable, and it was possible to make the room completely dark, so I managed to take a brief nap, which helped me power through the day.

If you just want to hang out and feel like you’re escaping the airport, there’s also a TV in the room.

This is such an awesome feature, since being able to get a proper nap after landing off a long haul flight can make such a difference at times. In the past, not many people have known about these nap rooms, though perhaps as they get more exposure, it’ll be harder to snag one of these.

Bottom line

The SWISS Arrivals Lounge Zurich is about as good as arrivals lounges get. The lounge has a decent selection of food and drinks, plenty of seating, lots of shower suites with an ironing service, and even nap rooms. Best of all, access requirements aren’t at all restrictive, as even short haul business class passengers can use this lounge.

Personally I think this is the best arrivals lounge in the world when you factor in the quality and variety of the facilities with the generous access requirements.

What do you make of the SWISS Arrivals Lounge Zurich?