More pictures in my blog post. I used an iPhone 5 to take these pictures and tried to be as discreet as possible to respect other guests' privacy
I had been very excited at the idea of trying Lufthansa’s First Class Terminal for a while now. After having had the chance to spend approximately 2 and half hours in it, I can attest this is the best lounge I have been so far; with distinction.
So, we left with my Porsche. That 911 was still “vroooming” inside my head while I walked to the terminal. Yes, walking. Because finding he entrance to the FCT is a little hard. With your car I mean. The Porsche GPS will take you to a rear entrance with no opportunity to park. The real car drop off is actually near the main terminal’s entrance, just on the right. I pased by it but I missed it, and I ended up circling around the airport for a good 10 minutes. In the end, I gave up and just went to the car rental return. From there, it’s a five minutes walk from the First Class Terminal. And yes, you pass by the famed taxi driver cafe.
Let me tell you this: this lounge is not over-hyped at all. Everything great you hear about it is true.
Amost there!
After being welcomed by an attendant at the door I was escorted through security inside the terminal and briefly shown around. The lounge is not huge but very spacious given that it accommodates only Lufthansa Fist Class and HON passengers. It’s very well-appointed, and the staff is super attentive. Think German efficiency with a warm touch. The attendant informed me that he would soon introduce me to another attendant that would take care of delivering me to the car once my flight was ready for boarding.
Stylish and luxurious setting
Now, I know that many people will laugh at me for this but… well… I didn’t collect my rubber ducky. The fact is: I already had a shower a few hours earlier and I didn’t really feel like soaking up on a tub. So, I just went for a quick shower. The shower room was elegant and very spacious. After changing up I was definitely ready for some lunch.
Very spacious washrooms
Luxury amenities
After refreshing myself I proceeded to the nice lounge area (both sofas and lounging chairs facing the tarmac are provided) to check my emails, and then I proceeded to the restaurant for some well-deserved lunch; I went straight away for the buffet. One note about the sofas: I find many of them too narrow and with armrests that rise too high, which makes it difficult/awkward to use a laptop. Lufthansa please take note.
Anyways, back to the buffet: the quality of food found there was simply incredible. From jamon Serrano to Parmigiano-Reggiano, from tagliatelle with shrimps to stuffed eggplants, everything was tasty and fine restaurant quality.
Buffet spread
Freshly-sliced jamon
The attentive waitress asked me whether I wanted any of the a-la-carte items, and I opted for the Wiener-Schnitzel; mindless to say, it was great, fried as it should be, with the coating separated from the meat. So much for Texas chicken fried steaks…
Today's menu Page 1
http://airwaysandtravels.files.wordp...pg?w=595&h=793
Today's menu page 2
While I was waiting for the schnitzel I helped myself with some… ehm… “appetizers”:
Tagliatelle with shrimps were perfectly cooked "al dente"
Right when I was done with my
antipasti and was enjoying my Chianti, the meat arrived. Absolutely beautiful presentation and great sides!
I suppose I do not need to mention that I felt pretty darn awesome full after the meal! An astonishing fact of the lounge is the selection of water (there is a menu with around 20 different bottled waters from around the World) and of whiskey (~85 different whiskeys).
Where do I start from...?
After my awesome meal I went to the bar, got myself a Suntori Yamazaki 12 yrs on the rocks, and proceeded to the best feat of the terminal: the cigar lounge.
I am not a regular smoker and I think that smoking cigarettes or whatever else regularly is just a way to unnecessarily shortening one’s life while making it more miserable on a number of ways. Yet, I love a good cigar every now and then: good cigars just taste great and relax me. The selection is decent, although it wouldn’t probably blow a cigar aficionado away.
I opted for a Villiger 1888; it was flavorful, smooth, strong but not overpowering: it was a good cigar. I can see why it makes sense for Lufthansa to have a cigar lounge here. With so many flights to the Middle East – and with so many premium customers on those routes – the lounge is always full: Middle Easterners love smoking, and they surely don’t shy away from a good cigar.
The lounge comes also equipped with a well-stocked spirits bar.
A short note on Europeans (and I do not mean disrespect to anyone). God I have been in the USA so long that I tend to forget how stylish and dressed up Europeans tend to be. I love that. I mean, when I travel to/from the US it’s not unusual (and so not very first class) to see people in shorts, t-shirts, carrying gym bags… here you can instead see lots of Louis Vuittons, Guccis, Zegnas… Americans might have the economic power today, but Europeans will always have primacy on style; which in the end will be an ever-lasting legacy. #proudtobeItalian
Lounging chairs with tarmac view
Anyways, my two and half hours in the lounge flew away and it was time to board my plane. An attendant escorted me and two fellow first class passengers from Spain to our car – a nice Mercedes van. Passports were checked right here, in the intimacy of the lounge in an effortless process.
Our Mercedes van
After a short ride (
video linked here), we were dropped in front of our huge Boeing 747-400 (what a chance to take a great picture) and shortly after we boarded our plane and took our seats upstairs for today’s flight to Dubai.
Overall, the First Class Terminal lived up to its name and to my (very high) expectations. The lounge was classy, the staff attentive yet unobtrusive, the food and drinks top notch. While I haven’t been to many other famed first class lounges yet, I am pretty sure that this one will be hard to beat. Good job, Lufthansa!