- Introduction: Four Times Across The Atlantic
- Review: ITA Airways Business Class A350 (MIA-FCO)
- Review: ITA Airways Lounge Rome Airport (FCO)
- Review: Prima Vista Lounge Rome Airport (FCO)
- Review: ITA Airways Business Class A320 (FCO-CAI)
- Changing Terminals At Cairo Airport: Still Complicated
- Review: EgyptAir Lounge Cairo Airport (CAI)
- My Rough Night At Cairo Airport, Made Better By EgyptAir’s Osama
- Review: EgyptAir Business Class 787 (CAI-CDG)
- Review: Sheraton Paris Airport (CDG)
- Review: YOTELAIR Paris Airport Priority Pass Lounge (CDG)
- Review: Air France Lounge Paris Airport (CDG)
- Review: New Air France Business Class 777-300ER (CDG-JFK)
- Review: Hyatt Regency JFK At Resorts World New York
- Review: AA & BA Greenwich Lounge New York (JFK)
- Review: AA & BA Soho Lounge New York (JFK)
- Review: AA & BA Chelsea Lounge New York (JFK)
- Review: Amex Centurion Lounge New York (JFK)
- Review: British Airways Lounge Newark Airport (EWR)
- Review: New British Airways First Class 777 (EWR-LHR)
- Review: Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel (LHR)
- Review: Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse London Heathrow (LHR)
- Review: Amex Centurion Lounge London Heathrow (LHR)
- Review: No1 Lounge London Heathrow (LHR)
- Review: Virgin Atlantic A330neo Upper Class Business Class (LHR-MIA)
- Is Virgin Atlantic’s Retreat Suite Worth It?
During my time at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, I decided to check out the sole Priority Pass lounge in Terminal 2, prior to visiting the Air France Lounge. Specifically, I’m talking about the lounge at the YOTELAIR CDG Terminal 2E.
I’m a big fan of the YOTEL concept (I’ve reviewed the YOTELAIR Changi Airport), as these are essentially hotels (largely in airports) with very small rooms that you can rent in short blocks of time. But in addition to the 80 rooms at this hotel (which are referred to as “cabins”), the YOTELAIR at Paris Airport also has a lounge for Priority Pass members.
Okay, I have to give YOTEL credit for thinking outside the box — the company is basically monetizing its lobby, offering some seats and a small selection of light snacks and drinks to members. It’s better than nothing, but that’s about it.
In this post:
YOTELAIR Paris Lounge location
YOTELAIR is located in Terminal 2E of Charles de Gaulle Airport, specifically at the “L” gates. Understanding the layout of Terminal 2E can be complicated, so let me explain:
- Terminal 2E consists of gates K, L, and M, each of which is in a separate pier; there’s a train connecting all three piers
- Each of the piers has its own security checkpoint once you get off the train; the YOTELAIR is located near gates 2L, though it’s before security
- This means you can access YOTELAIR regardless of which gates you leave from in Terminal 2E; you’ll just need to leave enough time to once again take the train to the concourse that has the gate you’re departing from
- However, you can’t access YOTELAIR if you’re departing from a terminal other than 2E
Once you clear passport control in Terminal 2E, just follow the signage in the direction of gates L and M.
You’ll then need to take the train one stop, to the L gates.
Once you get off the train at the L gates, you’ll have to go up the escalators, and follow the signage in the direction of the airport hotel.
You have to walk to the very end of the concourse (without passing through security). You’ll see a very long hallway, and then YOTELAIR is at the very end of it.
YOTELAIR Paris Lounge hours
YOTELAIR is open 24/7, as you’d expect for a hotel inside a terminal. Note, however, that the train between concourses has very limited operations during the night, should you be arriving very early.
YOTELAIR Paris Lounge entry requirements
The YOTELAIR Paris Lounge is open to Priority Pass members, and that membership comes with many premium credit cards. Visitors through Priority Pass can stay for up to three hours, and as I’ll cover below, there are also limits on how much you can eat and drink.
To enter with Priority Pass, just go to the front desk at YOTELAIR (referred to as “Mission Control”), where your card will be scanned, and boarding pass will be verified.
YOTELAIR Paris Lounge seating & layout
Like I said, YOTELAIR is essentially monetizing its lobby seating by being part of Priority Pass. When you enter the YOTELAIR facility, there’s a large room with plenty of seating, which is what the lounge is.
There are a variety of chairs with small coffee tables, some communal tables, some counters with high-top seating, and some tables with four high-top chairs.
What you see above is the extent of the lounge. There’s not much in the way of views, though at least it feels pretty fresh and modern. I should mention that I visited at around 5AM, so it was still empty. However, as you’d expect, it’s my understanding that this place can get really busy during peak hours, given that it’s the only Priority Pass option in the terminal.
The lounge also has fast and free Wi-Fi, and passwords for that are on signs throughout the lounge.
YOTELAIR Paris Lounge food & drinks
Lol, okay, so not only is this Priority Pass lounge essentially a hotel lobby, but there are also limitations on what you can consume. According to Priority Pass’ website, each guest gets a €10 allowance that they can use toward food and drinks. The way it’s structured is actually a bit different, though.
The lounge has a display with some drinks, a coffee machine, and a water fountain, though there’s no food on display.
The way it works, you can help yourself to unlimited complimentary water, coffee, and tea.
I was shown a menu of snacks with prices, and was told that through Priority Pass, I could select two options. There were also drinks available, and I was told I could select up to two of those.
Drinks included soda, Red Bull, juice, or beer.
I just had a cappuccino and water to drink.
I then ordered the waffle and shortbread cookies, which were brought out of the back room, and served on a tray. Those went right in my bag, and I finally got around to enjoying them a few weeks after the trip. 😉
YOTELAIR Paris Lounge bathrooms & showers
YOTELAIR Paris has bathrooms for lounge guests, which were clean and large.
I was also told that showers could be used by Priority Pass guests, though they weren’t available for the brief time that I was there.
Bottom line
The YOTELAIR Paris Priority Pass lounge is better than nothing, but that’s about it. It’s the only lounge located in Terminal 2E, so this airside transit hotel has essentially repurposed its lobby as a lounge that can be accessed through partner programs.
It’s not just that this is physically an unconventional airport lounge, but it’s also unusual in terms of its food & beverage offering. You can get unlimited coffee, tea, and water, though you can only have two snacks and drinks, for a total value of up to €10.
What do you make of the YOTELAIR Paris lounge concept?
Total waste! Lousy food options - just some basic snacks are available - and the seating is crowded. Absolute waste of money if you are taking a guest along with you...won't go again.
This is literally the worst lounge I have ever visited. Do not waste your time… a line just to use the bathroom. Can’t believe this is the only priority pass lounge in CDG.
I have never experienced a lounge without free alcolhol. Is this old comments?
It's June 2024 and if you're reading this, there's NO air conditioning in the lounge. There IS in the hotel areas so this is clearly a "maybe we can sweat out some of priority pass people early" situation.
This may well be the worst priority pass lounge in all of Europe. It's worth doing a BOTTOM FIVE ranking of the worst ones as a piece.
Omg, what a review, you are an amazing reviewer, now I know everything I needed to know about the lounge! Thank you Ben for taking all this time doing this review! You are awesome
You can only access it if you leave from gate L. Everyone else is being denied passage.
I have a 3 1/2 hour connection in CDG on Thursday afternoon. I was hoping my credit card would grant me access to a decent airport lounge, but looks like this is the only option. Guess it’s still worth visiting given the length of my stopover…
Totally agree and you may actually be somewhat generous with your score.
Fairly comfortable seats if you can get one of those but that´s about it. Just a few observations that really annoyed me:
Went there two times with two weeks in between and the mens toilet didn´t work any of the times.
As mentioned no real food but only snacks. OK soft drink selection but if you want a beer og...
Totally agree and you may actually be somewhat generous with your score.
Fairly comfortable seats if you can get one of those but that´s about it. Just a few observations that really annoyed me:
Went there two times with two weeks in between and the mens toilet didn´t work any of the times.
As mentioned no real food but only snacks. OK soft drink selection but if you want a beer og a glass of wine, you better not be there in the morning (before lunch). Maybe they have decided that all travellers travel in the same time zone??
It was freezing cold on both my visits and the desk staff couldn´t do anything about it.
Lastly it is quite secluded but hey a little bit of exercise is good for you right?
A lobby with snacks pretty much sums it up.
There is no food like lunch and drinks
It is just a name.sake it is not proper lounge like we have in India Airport
You have to search its OK only l gates which is not at all convenient to access if you are boarding from other gates.
Will.not recommend to visit.
Hi, can someone please tell me what are the costs just to use the shower facilities for 2 people. Every website I enter gives different prices.
Thanks in advance
Worst lounge I’ve seen. Long walk to get to it and confusing to find if you arrived at 2E. The door of the smoking room was open, so it was smelling like cigarettes. The only one toilet had water on the floor, soaking the carpet in front of it. Don’t waste your time
Agree saddest excuse for a lounge that is not worth the walk, even when actually leaving from L gates. The few snacks are on par from a machine. And I understand crowding is a real potential concern, but we watched as they requested and then stood by to watch a lady pack up her laptop to make she left, presumably because her 3 hrs were up but the place was otherwise completely empty. We stayed for about 10 min before heading back to the terminal.
Disgrace to be called as an airport lounge. Imagine paying for a packet of chips.
If you use the Chase priority pass which guarantees two guests for free do you get a total of 20 euros?
Doesn't Air France, which is the only tenant at CDG 2E while hosting a few Skyteam airlines, have a lounge in EACH of the three gates groups, K, L, M? (no pun intended).
I was in one of them (not the the one for the long range large planes) a few months ago and found it perfectly nice except for the cockroaches on the croissants.
I was just here a couple of weeks ago. It is a strange lounge. Past a very long passport control line for Terminal 2E, then a real hike to get there, and pre-security so you can't stay long. No real food served, but the snacks are all packaged if you want to take them with you. And at least it has pretty decent bathrooms inside the lounge. Not sure I'd bother to visit it again,...
I was just here a couple of weeks ago. It is a strange lounge. Past a very long passport control line for Terminal 2E, then a real hike to get there, and pre-security so you can't stay long. No real food served, but the snacks are all packaged if you want to take them with you. And at least it has pretty decent bathrooms inside the lounge. Not sure I'd bother to visit it again, but it was still way better than the Swissport lounge at ORD terminal 5 that I visited on the way to Paris.
I visited this lounge 2 weeks ago and I was offered one beverage and up to 5 snacks (i got 5 candy bars to put in my backpack). Looks like they've reduced the snack allotment lol.
Note that if connecting from 2F (Schengen SkyTeam flights, mostly) to 2E (L), you will have to leave and re-clear security to use this lounge.
Also, to avoid any doubt: there are other lounges in 2E: the Air France lounges in K, L, and M. As their signage makes abundantly clear: they don't take Priority Pass, and Amexes don't get you access (beyond being able to use one to buy admission... and maybe some of the Dutch/French Amex AFKL cobrands have lounge passes).
Lounge passes aren't a thing in Europe. It's very rare to be able to access an airline lounge based on a credit card, branded or not.
Until recently, vast majority of European airline-operated lounges had no way of occess other than class of service or FFP status. Nowadays some allow non-status economy pax to pay for the entry (but often only for people flying with them), and some even started accepted Priority Pass.
we went to Europe on 2015 visited three airports and got into lounges at all three with pp.
The yotel is perfect for an overnight, although it can be expensive.
The automated train between K L and M basically stops after the final departure.
There is in fact a pedestrian walkway however it’s not available for general use
Is it not possible to get from Terminal 2 to the Terminal 1 PP lounges?
You can take the local landside intra-airport tram between the terminals (they’re not close), but I can’t imagine doing it just to visit the lounges.
This is a pretty sad PP lounge, to the point that I had a second chance to go back but rather just played in one of the PlayStation booths in the terminal. This was my first "lounge" experience in CDG a while back, and I'm just glad I have enough status today to have real choices (by choices I mean AF 2F)
Not worth it. Only redeeming part of this lounge is the shower, and in any peak Air France connecting bank there will be at least a 1 hour wait. And even then it'll be worthless given the workout you'll be doing to walk back the long hallway to security.
Heard of deodorant?
I have visited multiple times. No more. Such a waste of time to visit, unless you have many hours to spend in CDG. Really a strange lounge.
This is about as unglamorous as travelling gets.
You ever fly an ultra low cost carrier out of an ultra low class city?
Very bizarre. Based on what is written on the menu and in the refrigerator, I would interpret it as saying beer has a limit of 2, and everything else is bottomless. I wonder if snacks were previously unlimited and people were getting too much so they changed it?