The Swissport Aspire Lounge (Schengen) Amsterdam Schiphol

One of the reasons why I’m not a fan of flying via AMS is the size of the terminal building. We were arriving at concourse B (which is the most remote concourse of the Schengen part of the terminal), and in order to get to the partner lounge used by StarAlliance airlines at Schiphol (or the exit), one needs to go back to the center of the terminal which they call „Lounge“ (even though it is just a typical terminal shopping and dining area). Depending on which gate you are arriving at or departing from and the speed of your walking, this may take up to 10 minutes or even longer. The best thing is, as SWISS departs from concourse B as well, you’ll have to eventually walk the entire way back.





SWISS and other StarAlliance carriers use the Swissport Aspire Lounge which is located on the first floor of the central Schengen terminal „Lounge“ (don’t get confused - the terminal areas are called „Lounge 1, 2, 3 and 4“ while the actual airline lounges have two-digit numbers, for example 25 for the KLM Crown Lounge or 26 for the Schengen Aspire lounge. I know, it doesn’t really make sense). Currently, construction seems to be going on in the terminal right in front of the lounge, and the signage is a bit confusing - in the following picture, it seems like the lounge is closed for refurbishment, but actually, you just have to walk around the closed off area in order to get to the main entrance.





The Amsterdam Aspire lounge is a typical contract lounge, which means that you have relatively basic offerings (but including all you might need). Additionally, the AMS Aspire lounge is infamous for being crowded at times and not really being kept tidy, and there are almost always used tableware sitting around - furthermore, the seating is not really comfortable.





While the lounge wasn’t too crowded when I arrived (I mean, it was still relatively early on a Sunday morning), I chose to take the seat in the far right and corner of the „corridor“ in the back part of the lounge, as it seemed to be quite quiet. However, when I tried to charge my phone and my laptop at the provided power ports, it turned out that they were dead (I then used the ones in the wall instead).

In terms of views, the lounge is mainly overlooking the corridor between the Schengen security check and the duty free shops of the Schengen terminal area.





I often say that the restrooms are actually the best feature of this lounge, as they look really nice - however, there are no showers, so that is something that people might miss when visiting that lounge. Additionally, there are no recliners or seats available that are suitable for sleeping in them, and I watched several people trying to sleep in very uncomfortably looking positions on the normal seats.

While the lounge was serving breakfast during my stay here, the full range of drinks was on offer. Basically, there was a soda fountain, bottles of bitter lemon and ginger ale, several bottles of both red and white wine, a very limited selection of spirits, Heineken on tap, and a juice dispenser with apple, orange and vitamin juice.











The coffee from the machine in the last picture was actually one of the worst coffees I have ever had.

Food-wise, they had soup on offer, as well as a basic breakfast selection including cereal, ham, cheese, jam, micro-muffins, ready-made omelette and danish pastry.







Verdict

While I still know this lounge from the times I was commuting between AMS and ZRH, I have to say that it has always been very mediocre. It never found it as bad as many people on the internet were saying, but it was also never really good. This is a lounge that is ok to use if you have to wait anyway (it’s still better than hanging around in the terminal), but I would definitely not pay to access this lounge.