This is going to be rather short since I barely warm up the seat even in the lounge. Continuing on my journey from Berlin which is actually my very last stop in the EU. I decided to cut short my trip prematurely and fly to Zurich for almost a week in lieu of my returning flight on Singapore Airlines Suites back home. I flew Swiss Air, the price was alright and it was a direct routing so that is appreciated. I decided to take a flight rather than winging it out on the road since I need to be at the airport for tax refunds and trains are always a bitch when it comes to VAT Refunds! The airport is easy to get to for me with the direct airport bus from Alexanderplatz. Flight experience was a twist. I will get to that in the next post. Berlin Tegal Airport is certainly not cutting edge and seems to be struggling with capacity as well. It is certainly one of the smaller ones in Germany. There is only 1 contract lounge in Terminal A which I was flying out on which is the Airportclub Lounge. On the first note I was surprise that it is located landside although it seems that the configuration of the airport is such that there is almost no transit area. Small group of gates are located just behind the check in counter with the security as barriers.
The lounge is actually located in a corner, one level up for the terminal. In fact it is right above the custom counter which might be convenient if you are there to do your VAT refunds. The area makes me think of some unpopular mall that is of the past generation. I certainly do not have a good vibes of the place and my expectations was low as well. I entered and there was a host desk near the entrance although it was unmanned so I went to look for the attendant and informed that I would like to enter with my Priority Pass. Moment of fact, I could have just sat down for free, but hey, law abiding traveler here. The lounge is super small, and really a small space. This is perhaps the smallest one that I have seen. In fact I think that my living room is bigger than this. And by no means I live in a huge apartment. Decor was also simple. There are some couches and sofas. The place looks like it could barely fit 20 people. There are some high chairs as well. The lounge looks rather gloomy since they only rely on the natural lights from the window that faces the airport drop off point.
There is only one attendant in the lounge which is the same host, she is clearing stuff as well at the refreshment corner. The refreshments is limited. It looks like they have some stale bread, fruits and snacks. Definitely not appetizing!
There is a coffee machine and an alright selection of drinks consisting juices, soft drinks as well as 2 types of beers. Well I guess this got to be the highlight. After all this is Germany. Never too early for a pint!
The Airportclub is definitely on the lower spectrum of lounges that I have visited. There is no washroom or showers in the lounge. Wifi is available although the airport have free wifi as well. I can’t really see the benefit of coming here besides being quieter and private for a seat and a glass of beer. It is definitely not worth coming early or paying for it! I felt hurt for my bank when they are “helping” me pay 32USD for this!
Seeing The World In Steps 