There have been several threads on this forum and the UA forum about the quality of *G lounges. A few days ago I took an internal SK flight from ARN (Stockholm) to Goteborg. I had called SAS before leaving to confirm that as a UA 1K I could go to their lounges. It took 25 minutes before they came back with an answer (in the affirmative). I got to ARN early (SK refused to put me on an earlier flght even though there were seats available) and I asked where the lounge was. Took 10 minutes of discussion before they told me since I was in the domestic terminal (terminal 4) and their initial response was: If you are not Eurobonus Gold, you can't get in. So they told me (good thing, since it seems to be through a secret door) and I ventured upstairs. There were turnstiles that didn't move so the woman in charge told me to duck under one of the turnstiles (she vanished and others entering the club found that they could figure this out themselves). Once inside, I found: (1) a soda fountain; (2) a coffee machine; and (3) an empty refrigerator To be sure, the seats were better than the crowded ones in Terminal 4 (they don't let you into the more spacious boarding area until it is almost time to ge on the plane ). The club had nice hardwood floors, but every time someone walked on them, their soles sounded like thuds.

The worst *A lounge I've seen is any of the SEN lounges at FRA. Food and drink cater to peculiarly German tastes that most international travellers don't find appealling. On top of that, there is no division between the designated smoking and non-smoking areas, so everywhere reeks of smoke. No computers. Generally at least as crowded as the gate areas. The one plus is that, if willing to wait two hours, a shower might be possible.

I strongly disagree, compared to most RCC the FRA Sen lounges are fairly good, they offer food, free drinks and showers (for which I never waited for than 20 minutes).

by far the worst *G lounges i've been to are the dark, decrepit and alcohol-less TG lounges at CNX and BKK domestic terminal.

the dark & decrepit oberoi lounge at BOM used by SQ also deserves (dis-)honourable mention, but that's not officially a *G lounge.

The LH Business Lounge at FRA is _better_ than the LH SEN lounge. Yes, it has showers, but it's so small and stinky and crowded it's a disgrace! However I do think the (now old) BKK *G/F lounge was pretty poor.

I found the Taj lounge at DEL to be the most amusing/interesting/different - in the sense of the poor overly stuffed wait staff in their tuxedoes and bow ties in the stiffling heat and the coke delivered with a flurish on a silver tray.... Sad really the number of staff vs. passengers in that lounge too, but that I suspect is an artefact of the "Indian System" more than anything else. I found it downright embarassing at times. I'm quite happy with a self service bar rather than a dollied up goon constantly at my side. I'm not a Maharajah (though at least one bloke I saw in there, with his semi-harem and bow-towing Air India staff - including a personal escort from the aircraft's first officer (3 striper w/ pilot wings) - could well have been...).

The RG Lounge @ LAX is about the top of my list of the worst lounges I've ever been in.

Since I am a frequent traveler within Sweden I use this lounge a lot! And I agree, it is not much of a lounge. To give the full story; this lounge closed down last year. Back then it was a pretty good place with computers, sandwiches, snacks and better choice of drinks (non alcoholic though except for some 3,5% beer). When they closed down this place it started a storm by Euro Bonus Gold card holders, their most important customers became angry and complaints started rolling in to the SAS customer service centers. So they decided to reopen again this year. But as you already noticed: no food at all, no computers, a small old TV and a really bad selection of drink choices.
And the problem with entering is a hassle. If holding a *G that is not EuroBonus one will have to walk to the service center and ask them to open. It is officially a Star Alliance Gold lounge but the entrance machines do not accept other cards than EBGs.

Maybe lounge budgets/services really do (and should) reflect the carrier's revenue; since those for mainly longhaul pax invariably offer more/better food and drink, reading material, free internet access and - crucially - showers; while BD clearly doesn't want to spend very much at AMS, BRU or CDG.

Airlines with a reputation for great service (VS and CX, for example) invest in making innovative lounges part of the product, but the need to offer the Elite members of Alliance partners reciprocal access has made hub lounges like LH Senator at FRA, AC Maple leaf at YYZ and any UA RCC (except International First Class) overcrowded, noisy (only SK at CPH and ARN provides a booth for mobile phone users) and the opposite of relaxing. To LH's credit, you can get a shower within 5 minutes at MUC T2 at 6am, but FRA just doesn't have the capacity to cope with more than 2 or 3 longhaul overnight arrivals at a time.

The carrier that manages to get it right is SQ at SIN, treating a lounge visitor flying in Y to KUL as well as one flying in F to LHR (as their loyalty deserves).

The Thai Lounge at Kathmandu gets my vote. Small, not much in the way of food (Good food seems to be one thing TG lounges do well) and sectioned off from the departure hall by some kind of partitions, rather than being in a truly separate room.

It's actually more pleasant and spacious to stay in the general area...until they cram you into the pre-boarding lounge that is....

Agree with your sentiments above and the three BD lounges you mention are relatively "basic". However even these lounges could have some imagination spent on them to make them interesting, even it is introducing a "Guest Beer", different biscuits every month, changing the nuts or perhaps just changing the layout.

I have been travelling to BRU for (too) many years and was saddened when the new terminal opened as the SAS lounge moved to the new pier leaving just the BD loung on the B pier. For as long as I can remeber they have served chocolate chip cookies, short cake cookies and bombay nut mix. These lounges are used by the same passengers week in week out so a little variety is always welcome and need not actually cost any more.

the KLM lounge in ams gets my vote. Not because it is so bad (although it isn't great by a long stretch of the imagination) but because the staff can be appalling. Once I had to literally stop a 'blue matron' when she was yelling at an elderly Japanese couple for not showing her their boarding pass (which they had already shown to another staff member).

The Thai lounge at Vientienne is bl**dy aweful!!!!!

The LH lounge at LHR is pretty crappy, and that is putting it mildly. Another one of the most horrible lounges I have seen is the LH lounge in BOS, but that was a while ago, they might have done something in the meantime. Last time I was there, there were no windows, it was stinky and just ugly.

Some other bad *G lounges...well, you can't really expect much there, but there is some contract lounge in Recife which is really not very good (but they have computers they make you pay for if you want to use them, at least). I was not particularly fond of most UA lounges I have seen either.

Great lounge: e.g., SilverKris in SIN.

I would agree that the SEN lounges in FRA are disappointing. Crowded, not much food, long waiting lists for shower (even for paid F travel), just not what you would expect from a First Class Lounge at a home airport of an airline. But still not the worst....

For me the Lotus Lounge in CMB is the worst(SQ is using the lounge). It stinks, is dirty, filthy. No windows. The food looks like it is sitting there for days (cooked food kept lukewarm - ideal for all kinds of bacteria growth). They have a guest book. Most of the coments are extremely negative.

I don't think it is fair to count KTM, DEL, etc. in this discussion. Those are not even "real" lounges to begin with. And these cities are hardly major hubs of Star Alliance (or any other alliance for that matter).

Among "real" lounges, I agree that BKK (Thai *G lounge) is about the worst I've ever been to - it's a perfect place to catch malaria from all the bloody mosquitoes. But even LHR (UA RCC) is pretty pathetic.....dark and dingy... I would expect it to be far better. In LHR, the BA lounges ("Terraces") are superb (specially the Concorde/First Class lounge). In fact, BA has the best collection of lounges around the world.

My favorite Star Alliance lounges are SFO and NRT (United lounges and both relatively recently opened). Another one that I like is MEX (although I haven't been there for a couple of years, so I don't know it's current state). To me the most important "amenity" in a lounge is large windows / abundance of natural light. All three of these lounges have that. After that, I rank other amenities like internet access, peace-and-quiet, shower facilities, food, beverages, etc.