For the final portion of my Four Seasons Yacht via Turkmenistan and Saudi Arabia adventure, I flew SWISS’ Airbus A350 first class from Zurich (ZRH) to Boston (BOS). Prior to that, I had the chance to visit SWISS’ excellent first class lounges at its Zurich Airport hub.
There are two SWISS First Lounges in Zurich. In the previous installment, I reviewed the SWISS First Lounge Zurich Terminal A, which is the Schengen lounge, and then in this installment, I’ll review the SWISS First Lounge Zurich Terminal E, which is the non-Schengen lounge
This lounge is exceptional, among my favorite first class lounges in the world. There’s so much to love about this lounge. The three most impressive things are the restaurant quality dining, the outdoor terrace with plane views, and the amazing private bedrooms. But even beyond that, the lounge has great decor, lots of natural light, and is such a nice place to pass some time.
SWISS First Lounge Zurich location
When it comes to getting to the SWISS First Lounge Terminal E, there are two ways to get there. If you’re originating in Zurich, the best way is to go to the dedicated first class security checkpoint, enter the SWISS First Lounge Terminal A, and then take the limousine service to Terminal E, as you’ll be escorted straight to the lounge, with a passport control stop along the way.
Meanwhile if you’re coming from within Terminal E, the lounge is located near gate E27, so try to find that. There you’ll see both a staircase and elevators that can take you up a level to the lounge.
In the interest of being thorough, let me clarify that this is both beyond security and passport control, though if you’re arriving from the United States, you don’t need to clear security. If you’re traveling within the Schengen zone, it’s easier to use the SWISS First Lounge Terminal A, which doesn’t require going through passport control.
SWISS First Lounge Zurich hours
The SWISS First Lounge Zurich Terminal E is currently open daily from 6AM until 10:30PM, covering virtually all departures from the airport.
SWISS First Lounge Zurich entry requirements
Who gets access to the SWISS First Lounge Zurich Terminal E?
- Passengers traveling in SWISS first class same day can access the lounge whether arriving or departing; you can even use this as an arrivals lounge, without an onward boarding pass (assuming you can get through security, which is dependent on where your flight arrives from)
- Passengers traveling in Lufthansa first class same day can access the lounge, but not purely as an arrivals lounge, so there needs to still be a connecting segment
- Lufthansa HON Circle members get access to the lounge whenever flying a Lufthansa Group flight same day; there’s no need to be in first class, and there are no route restrictions
In each case, travelers are allowed to bring two adults guests and/or children under the age of 18, and all guests must be traveling on the same flight.
SWISS First Lounge Zurich seating & layout
The SWISS First Lounge Zurich Terminal E is roughly 750 square meters (~8,100 square feet), with seating for 80 guests. The first thing to appreciate about this lounge is that it has floor-to-ceiling windows throughout, with most of the lounge having apron views.
As you enter the lounge, you’ll first be greeted by the wine humidor (which reportedly has over 1,000 bottles of wine from around the world), plus a welcome table with champagne and some candy and other snacks.
If you look straight ahead, you’ll then see the center part of the lounge, which is the bar area. The dining area is to the left, while the lounging area is to the right.
The wraparound bar is the centerpiece of the lounge, and has roughly a dozen high-top seats, should you want to plop down there for a drink.
Then to the right of the bar you’ll find the area intended primarily for lounging. This is broken up into about half a dozen semi-private living room areas, separated by vertical wooden partitions.
These areas have sofas, chairs, and in some cases TVs.
Deep into this area you’ll find a conference room of sorts, containing a table with 10 seats. Under normal circumstances, anyone can just sit there and use this as a workstation, though I believe this can also be reserved for a meeting.
Then to the left of the entrance you’ll see the dining area, which is in two separate spaces. One side contains four booths, each of which could seat at least four people comfortably.
The other side is the main dining room, which has nine tables, each seating two people (though they can be pushed together for larger parties). This is a beautiful space, especially with each table having a tablecloth and a little decorative plant.
Then there’s one of my favorite parts of the lounge, which is the terrace, spanning the length of the lounge. This is only open weather permitting, and it was open during most of my visit. The terrace has plenty of seating, and on nice days they really try to make it something special, and they’ll have some kind of food or drink activation out there, like serving ice cream, cooking something, etc.
There are a few other minor things to mention. Just inside the entrance to the lounge and to the right you’ll find a machine that lets you generate a Wi-Fi code using your boarding pass. This is the same system used in all SWISS lounges at the airport. It would be much nicer if you could just connect with one click, but I guess this is the system because the lounges uses the airport Wi-Fi system.
Also in this area you’ll find a selection of newspapers and magazines.
Lastly, the SWISS First Lounge Zurich Terminal E doesn’t have a smoking lounge. However, the Terminal A location does, so if you’re a smoker, you might like that lounge more.
In terms of lounge crowding, you can expect that the lounge will generally be busy until shortly before 12PM, as that’s when most of the transatlantic flights depart by. By around 1PM, the lounge was completely empty, without a single other guest. Then the lounge gets a bit busier again in the evenings prior to overnight flights, though not as busy as during the daytime rush.
SWISS First Lounge Zurich food & drinks
Aside from the few snacks near the entrance, the SWISS First Lounge Zurich has an entirely a la carte food and drink service. If you sit in the main lounge area, there are servers roaming to offer you drinks. Upon arrival, I had a cappuccino and some water.
When it comes to proper dining, you can find the SWISS First Lounge breakfast menu below.
You can find the SWISS First Lounge lunch and dinner menu below.
You can find the SWISS First Lounge drink list below.
The SWISS First Lounge Zurich offers an exceptional dining experience. Look, lots of first class lounges offer a la carte dining, though they’re not all created equal. The SWISS First Lounge is in the top tier of lounges when it comes to dining, along with the Air France La Premiere First Lounge.
I decided to have a three course lunch, starting with beef carpaccio with cheese, arugula, sun-dried tomatoes, capers, and olive paste.
I then had the salmon with fava beans, romesco sauce, and alpine herbs
Lastly, I had the ovomaltine mousse signature dessert.
This time around I skipped the cheese fondue, but I do think it’s worth emphasizing how this is on offer, and is absolutely delicious.
SWISS First Lounge Zurich bathrooms & showers
The SWISS First Lounge Zurich’s bathrooms and showers are located on the opposite side of reception of the rest of the lounge.
The men’s room has quite some nice apron views, which is rare. The bathroom has two sinks, two urinals, and three stalls, and is cleaned constantly, as you’d expect.
In addition to the bathrooms, the lounge has two shower suites.
The shower suites are well appointed, and each has a sink, toilet, and walk-in shower. One thing that stood out to me was that the shower suite had very good airflow, which is all too often not the case.
SWISS First Lounge Zurich bedrooms
Last but most definitely not least, the SWISS First Lounge Zurich Terminal E has two private bedrooms, available on a first come, first served basis. I’d argue that these are the best bedrooms that you’ll find in any airport lounge.
The bedrooms are super nice — each room has an absurdly comfortable Hästens beds, a TV, a chair, and views of the apron.
The bedroom also has a private bathroom. I was assigned the accessible bedroom, so the bathroom setup was perhaps a bit less glam than in the other bedroom, but still had a sink, toilet, and walk-in shower.
Bottom line
The SWISS First Lounge Zurich Terminal E is one of my favorite lounges in the world. The lounge has phenomenal dining, panoramic views, an outdoor terrace, and the best airport bedrooms. If you have the chance to visit this lounge, I can’t recommend it enough.
Admittedly scoring a ticket that will actually get you into this lounge isn’t so easy, given that both SWISS and Lufthansa first class awards aren’t available with partner frequent flyer program miles nowadays.
What’s your take on SWISS First Lounge Zurich Terminal E?
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