Berlin Tegel Airport (TXL) is designed in a 1960s hexagonal design and was opened in 1974. It has several airport lounges, but which is best if you are flying in Business Class or have a Priority Pass or relevant credit card?
Most flights leave from Terminal A, or Terminal B. Fewer flights leave from Terminals C, D, or E. The problem with this airport is that each gate has individual passport control and security. This means no lounge is post-security, and you should leave your airport lounge at least 30 minutes prior to departure to clear security screening before your flight. If a flight is delayed after going through security, you can’t then double back to the lounge. You will then be stuck at your departure gate.
Free Airport Lounge Access
If you have not paid for Business Class or First Class, you can access airport lounges for a fee or for free if you have a Priority Pass or an Amex Platinum card. To get extra bonus referral points and advice on the Platinum American Express and other free-lounge-access credit cards, have a read of our best credit cards for luxury travel.
1. Lufthansa Senator Lounge, Terminal A
The Lufthansa Senator Lounge Berlin is the best lounge at Berlin Tegel Airport. Access is limited to passengers flying Lufthansa First Class or holding a Star Allice Gold Status. The views are good, and there is plenty of seating, but the highlight is the extensive buffet with beautifully presented food. For breakfast, there is whole and cut fruits, yogurts, Bircher Muesli, hot scrambled egg, boiled eggs, cheese, cold cuts, pretzels, rolls, and bread.
For drinks, there are spirits and wine, soft drinks, and beer in the fridge. There’s also a coffee machine.
2. Lufthansa Lounge, Terminal A
There are two Lufthansa airport lounges at Berlin Tegel Airport, the Lufthansa Senator Lounge Berlin, which is harder to get into, and the Lufthansa Lounge in Terminal 1 on the first floor, close to gate A0. Lufthansa premium and elite passengers can access this lounge.
There are good views from this lounge of the parking areas as well as the tarmac. The lounge is large and slightly less dated than most of the other lounges at this airport.
The main difference between the Lufthansa Business and Senator Lounges is the buffet. The Senator lounge has a good buffet, but the Lufthansa Business Lounge has a very limited buffet.
That said, this lounge offers the second-best food of any airport lounge in Berlin with hot scrambled eggs, bread, croissants, yogurt, cold cuts, cheeses, veggies, and fruit (whole and fruit salad).
For drinks, there are spirits and wine, soft drinks, and beer in the fridge. There’s also a coffee machine.
3. Air France Lounge, Terminal A
You can access this lounge if you are flying First Class or Business Class on Air France, Alitalia, and KLM. SkyTeam Elite Plus members can also access this lounge. To get to this lounge, head to Gate A15 and then up the spiral staircase or take the lift up, and you will find the British Airways lounge and the Air France lounge on the floor above.
This lounge has plenty of natural light with angled windows which seem to magnify the light and make the seats sitting under them very hot if the sun is out. So while you can see the runways and planes from these windows, these seats are not always the best spot to choose.
The lounge is quite small but has plenty of seating, two fridges with beers, Heineken and local beers, as well as soft drinks and wines and sparkling Prosseco. Snacks are sandwiches, cakes, fruit, crisps, and cheese, plus there are soft drinks and a coffee machine (pretty good). To be honest, the food is very much snacks rather than a full meal, but it is nice to be able to grab a soft drink somewhere a little more peaceful than the gates.
4. British Airways Terraces Lounge, Terminal A
The British Airways Terrace Lounge caters to travelers on Oneworld airlines which include Finnair, Qatar, Iberia, and Royal Jordanian.
Located in the same place as the Air France lounge but on the lower floor, this lounge is mainly accessed by British Airways premium passengers and has a full-service bar with a nice selection of wines and hardly any snacks, just meat, cheese, and yogurts. Don’t come here to fill up!
The lounge is small and feels dated, but there are big, angled windows to one side overlooking the airport roadway. It’s OK but not great and not worth spending much time in.
5. Berlin Airport Club Lounge, Terminal A
This Priority Pass lounge is located on Level 2 in the Terminal A of Berlin-Tegel Airport before security, the same as the other lounges, so leave 30 minutes to get through security and to your gate. There are big windows in this lounge, but the view from Berlin Airport Club is to the parking lot, which isn’t very inspiring.
The lounge itself is small, and you can pay for entry (subject to availability) for 30 Euros. There are no toilets or showers in the lounge.
Food-wise, there are warm sausages and meatballs, bread, cold tomatoes, yogurt, cake, cookies, and crisps. For drinks, there are spirits and wine, soft drinks, and beer in the fridge. There’s also a coffee machine.
6. C Lounge, Terminal C
Oneworld premium passengers flying out of Terminal C can access this small lounge with wonderful floor-to-ceiling windows looking out at the planes. The buffet includes complimentary soup, cold snacks, soft drinks, and alcoholic drinks.
Copyright Luxury Travel Diary 2014 - 2024. Duplication outside of luxurytraveldiary.com is forbidden.
Note: Benefits & upgrades subject to availability. Benefits offered correct at the time of writing. Terms & conditions apply. Enquire for more information. Posts may be sponsored by the proprietor or brand being appraised. All opinions remain our own & are in no way influenced.
