With the A-gates Swiss Business and Senator lounges near capacity during our recent layover in Zurich, the staff there recommended we go to the Alpine lounge as it would be much less busy. That turned out to be great advice because not only was the Alpine lounge less than 50% full, the lovely decor and great natural light was welcome after a long flight from the US and previous layover that morning in Frankfurt.
Location and Access
While there are signs overhead directing you to the lounge, it is more conspicuous than most. Located near the transfer desk, you enter through an automatic door that opens to a spiral staircase up to the lounge. The theme is immediately clear with mountain-themed digital panels surrounding the staircase and warm wood elements inside.
We were able to access the lounge on a connecting business class flight, connecting from Frankfurt on Lufthansa and flying Swiss on to Naples, Italy. There has been some confusion on access, but per the Swiss website, it is available for Lufthansa Group First Class, Business Class, Senators, HON Circle members and Star Alliance Gold members.
Seating, Food and Amenities
The lounge features 96 seats, spread across a few different rooms. We sat at one of the large, communal tables to enjoy the panoramic tarmac views and were happy to find plenty of power outlets underneath the table. In addition to the large tables in the main room, there were a row of more private tables for 2 along the row of windows. On the other side of the lounge was additional seating in a more traditional lounge setup, including fun wood-block tables for drinks or laptops.
The food selection was pretty broad, with a range of bread, pastries, cereals, nuts, salads with different toppings, soup, candy, chocolate mousse, and tiramisu. They also had a live cooking station that at the time was making fresh pizzas. It was not possible to order a specific type; they alternated between a fish topping and one with ham. We tried a slice of the ham pizza, and it was quite good.
While this lounge does not have a traditional bar, the self-serve drink selection was very strong. It had beer on tap, a nice selection of liquor (including some local Swiss products), wine, champagne, soda, juice, and sparkling water. They also had 2 nice coffee machines that could make a wide range of drinks
Beyond that, there were restrooms, but no showers. We stayed about 1 hour before our flight to Italy, and be happy to visit this lounge again on a future visit.
Tl;DR: The Swiss Alpine Lounge at Zurich’s A-gates is a quiet, mountain-themed sanctuary that serves as a perfect escape from the often-overcrowded Senator and Business lounges. It offers bright tarmac views, a cozy rustic-modern aesthetic, and solid food and drink options. Accessible to Lufthansa Group Business/First passengers and Star Alliance Gold members, its “hidden” spiral staircase entrance near the transfer desk keeps crowds low and the atmosphere serene.
