Lounge Review: CPH Aspire and Apartment Business Lounges

In July last year I used both the Aspire lounge and Apartment Business lounge at CPH. The oneworld website only mentions the Apartment lounge as being accessible to Finnair passengers, but I was informed at check-in that Finnair passengers could also access the Aspire lounge.

Both lounges are located to the right after security, one level above the departure lounge in the Schengen part of the terminal.

Aspire Lounge

The Aspire lounge's entrance is discreet, tucked away between the Design Letters and ICHI stores. I could only find stairs to access the lounge, so I'm not sure what those requiring a lift would do.



The lounge is a long and very narrow rectangle, with washrooms at the end closest to the reception and a variety of seating and buffet areas spread out through the space. Only one buffet - closest to reception - was in operation early in the morning during my visit. Food options were meagre, and none of the seating options were comfortable. The lounge has views over the top of the departure lounge retail stores on one side, and across the narrow check-in concourse to offices on the other. Despite being fairly modern in design, given its location the overall space feels claustrophobic and something of an afterthought.





Apartment Business Lounge

The Apartment Business lounge shares a reception with the Aviator lounge (sponsored by Carlsberg) and is supposedly the more premium of these two lounges - although I couldn't tell much of a difference. That being said, the Apartment lounge is of overall better quality than the Aspire lounge, although a quality lounge it is not. Another lounge with seemingly no lift access, the stairs for the Apartment and Aviator lounges can be found between La Place and O'Leary's eateries.



The Apartment lounge is accessed to the left of the shared reception desk and is set over two slightly different levels. Upon entry you'll find a small buffet and partially tended bar, beyond which is a variety of seating in a mostly square space. Food options are meagre but a slight step up from the Aspire lounge. In an attempt to make the lounge feel more premium than it is, there's a fake fireplace, some aircraft models, wall art and bookshelves with a few interesting aviation and travel-themed items scattered around. A lower seating area once overlooked the apron, but now has a far less interesting view of the departure lounge extension; this is the more comfortable and private seating position in the lounge. Washrooms are located off reception and are shared with the adjacent Aviator lounge.









In summary, both of these lounges at CPH are pretty poor, but at least there's a choice should one be more crowded than the other.