Aspire have two lounges available in Zurich. One if you’re travelling within the Schengen Area, and another if you’re travelling outside. Prior to flying with Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong, we had the opportunity to try out the Aspire Zurich lounge located by the E Gates.
Location and Access
If you’re travelling on a flight within the Schengen Area, you’ll be able to use the Aspire ‘Terminal Centre’Β Zurich lounge. If not, you’ll be able to head over to the E Gates and use the Aspire lounge there instead.
In order to get to the lounge you need to clear security, head through passport control and then take the train over to the E Gates. The train journey is about 4 or 5 minutes long and leaves fairly frequently.
We were able to gain access as oneworld Sapphire members flying with Cathay Pacific. If you booked online with the lounge directly, it’d be β¬32.99. Priority Pass and DragonPass members can also gain access. If you don’t have access to one of these, you can sign up for a free DragonPass and gain access for Β£19 (approx β¬21). Find out how here.Β
If you’re gaining access as a oneworld Sapphire or Emerald member, you are entitled to take a guest with you. Unfortunately, the agent at the desk wasn’t aware of the rules. Initially, she very abruptly refused to admit a guest, even though we had been explicitly informed by Cathay Pacific that a guest was able to use the lounge during check-in. Luckily a colleague stepped in and confirmed that it was possible and we were all admitted.
The Space
The Aspire Lounge Zurich is quite a small space. It essentially comprises of one room, which includes various seating areas as well as a buffet space. There’s also an outdoor seating area with great views of the airport.
The interior is pretty basic. You won’t find any fancy seating. It’s best described as a functional space designed for a short wait. There are plenty of tables for dining, as well as some chairs and a few sofas.
Outside, there is a terrace which also has tables and chairs. Due to the fairly small size of the lounge, I can envisage it feeling fairly crowded during peak periods. Even though the lounge wasn’t particularly busy when we visited, it was still difficult finding somewhere comfortable to sit.
Food and Drinks
Fortunately, the food and drink offering is better than the space itself. We were visiting in the morning and there were hot food options available, albeit basic. The options were between frankfurter sausages, scrambled eggs, baked beans or porridge. There were also cold options which included cheeses and ham, bread and croissants, as well as a few cereal options.
The drinks selection was fairly good. There were a couple of different red and white wines, along with a prosecco. The quality of all of these was average, but perfectly drinkable. Mid-range spirits could also be found, as well as a full selection of soft drinks.
Although the food options weren’t particularly expansive, they did the job. Considering many contract lounges don’t provide any hot food, it was better than nothing. This said, you definitely wouldn’t be able to count on eating in the lounge to maximise sleep time onboard. The food served on Cathay Pacific, even in economy, was better.
Conclusions
Zurich is an expensive city, and as you’d expect, buying anything at the airport is too. If you visit a coffee shop in the main terminal you’ll pay at least β¬5 for a coffee. If you want a sandwich, add on an extra β¬8. This means that lounge access can be a good value option.
While I wouldn’t pay the entry fee directly charged by the Aspire Zurich lounge of β¬32.99, I would consider paying the Β£19 fee which is available with a free DragonPass subscription. If you have a couple of hours in the airport, I think you’d be able to get decent value from this.
The lounge is definitely best described as basic, but beats a few hours in the main terminal.
If you’re interested, we did a bit of plane spotting during our time at the lounge. You can see it in the video below. Don’t forget to subscribe to our channel for the latest videos.
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2 months ago[…] oneworld Sapphire members, we were able to use the Aspire Lounge Zurich which we’ve reviewed separately. In brief, it was fine for a couple of hours, but of course nothing like the lounges offered by […]