Thanks to time zone placement, there isn’t anywhere better in the whole world than the continent of Europe for a well placed Business Class Arrivals Lounge. As a result of many intercontinental flights arriving in the morning, airlines are well poised to offer space to refresh; take a shower or take a breakfast before heading into town. We had an opportunity to take in one of the world’s best Arrival Lounges by exploring Swiss Airlines Arrivals Lounge in Zurich, Switzerland.

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Review: Swiss Arrivals Lounge, Zurich International Airport, Zurich, Switzerland

“The Swiss Arrivals Lounge at Zurich International Airport is the jewel of Star Alliance’s Arrival Lounges. It offers twenty shower suites, a full buffet and an open bar.”

After a fun Swiss Airlines Business Class Nairobi – Zurich flight, it was an amazing and culture shock arrivals experience in Zurich after departing Nairobi. A true example of mature economies that actually have money and resources to build beautiful functional infrastructure, just to move people around.

Locating the Swiss Arrivals Lounge:

We got stamped-in at Zurich immigration and proceeded to the easily marked Swiss Air Arrivals Lounge. The lounge is located after customs on the public side in Zurich International Terminal “A”.

My wife is always commenting that she’s never in my social media world so here she is lookin’ sharp after an overnight flight!!

Accessing the Swiss Arrivals Lounge Zurich:

Access to this Arrivals Lounge is allowed for arriving Swiss long haul business class passengers.

Access is also granted for travellers in First Class SWISS and Lufthansa, HON Circle, Miles & More Senator, Business Class SWISS and Lufthansa, Miles & More Frequent Travellers. There were some isolated reports of Star Alliance Gold card holders obtaining access, it is not a published benefit.

In our case, as Swiss Business Class Long Haul Passengers, a show of the Swiss Air boarding pass at the reception and we were admitted. 

Inside the Swiss Arrivals Lounge Zurich:

The Swiss Arrivals Lounge Zurich is a pretty impressive place. It’s among the largest arrivals lounge that I’ve experienced in the world, both inside and outside of the Star Alliance Network.

Over twenty shower suites:

We individually arranged access for a shower since we felt pretty grungy after the trip out of the Maasai Mara yesterday afternoon. An ATM style key card is given which is placed in the door, affording access to the shower room. There were twenty one individual shower rooms, each named after a long haul designation Swiss served; Montreal, Boston, Nairobi, Chicago etc… There was even a water feature in the shower waiting area. 

The shower suites themselves were exceptionally clean, well maintained and spotless. They offered a peek a boo shirt pressing service, with a cubby hole to leave garments for pressing.

Our shower room also offered a complimentary pressing service and the nicest hot rain shower we experienced on our trip. Of course, being Swiss, the facilities were immaculately clean.

The Lounge Seating Area:

After we took 30 minutes to freshen up, we headed over to the lounge area of the facility. The Swiss Arrivals Lounge was overall a super nice facility- exactly what an arrivals lounge should be.  There was a lot of space to stretch out in, all attired in a sleek and contemporary design.

In addition to the regular seating location, there were some relaxing loungers towards the rear of the lounge space.

Computers available for the internet:

There were a row of computers available to catch up on business or any other use you could imagine.

Food and Beverage in the Arrivals Lounge:

After our freshen up in the shower suite, we enjoyed a light breakfast from the buffet in the lounge. It was very convenient to have this out for us, and to have the ability to leisurely fill up during our connection.

The lounge offered both fresh baked breads, a hot section and a European cold cut section.

There were fresh rolls, an assortment of cheeses, cold cuts, eggs, baked tomatoes, even a variety of complimentary freshly made smoothies were available.

We relaxed over a snacky breakfast here in our newly cleaned state, ready for the next leg of our adventure. 

Again, it was pretty shocking to see how far ahead first world countries have gotten in comparison to some parts of Africa. This was made more pronounced by arriving in the beautiful Zurich airport. 

The Bottom Line on The Swiss Arrivals Lounge Zurich

The Swiss Arrivals Lounge is a must visit feature if you happen to be lucky enough to arrive in Zurich on Swiss Air. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here. Our time here was spent in solitude with only 3 other travelers in attendance during our ninety-minute visit. It seems there is little reason to stay here if you are arriving to Zurich as most head onto their final destination. Despite this, everything was super well organized, another stark contrast from our African journey. This facility easily holds the crown for the best Star Alliance Arrivals Lounge worldwide so far to date.

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