The main part of a trip to South Africa I did with my dad earlier this year started at Vienna Airport where, after checking in for our flights to Zurich and Johannesburg, we spent a bit of time in Austrian Airlines’ Senator Lounge in the Schengen part of Terminal 3.
Continue reading this review to see what the lounge was like.
Location & Opening Hours
The Austrian Senator Lounge serving passengers traveling within the Schengen area is located airside in Vienna Airport’s Terminal 3.
To get there, once you are past security, instead of heading toward gates B, C, D, and F, follow the signs for gates G. Doing so will lead you to an escalator that will take you up a floor. From there, the lounge is down a long hallway and well signposted. The lounge is right next to Sky Lounge, which can be used by Priority Pass members.
Schengen area’s Senator Lounge opens every day at 5:30 a.m. It closes at 10:30 p.m., 30 minutes earlier than the non-Schengen Austrian Senator Lounge.
The lounge shares entrance, reception, and some facilities, such as restrooms, with Austrian’s business and HON Circle lounges.
Entry Requirements
Austrian Airlines’ Senator Lounges, like Lufthansa’s and Swiss’s, are available for use exclusively by Miles & More Senator and other Star Alliance Gold-equivalent status holders.
Star Alliance Gold members can use the lounge when departing Vienna on a Star Alliance airline flight on the same day. They can also bring in one guest traveling on the same flight. In the case of Miles & More Senators, those younger than 18 years, rather generously, do not count as guests.
If you do not have a Star Alliance Gold status but are traveling on a Star Alliance flight in business class or are willing to pay for access, you can use the Austrian Business Lounge.
Layout, Seating & Other Facilities
The Austrian Senator Lounge in the Schengen area was very similar to the Austrian Business Lounge next door. That said, it was considerably smaller.
Right after entrance and around the corner to the right side, there were a couple of counter-height tables with stools.
The right side of the more or less rectangular lounge was also home to a number of red benches lined with small tables, some sofas and lounge chairs, as well as a counter under some of the lounge’s windows. The lounge offered limited views of a part of the ramp and of aircraft landing on Vienna Airport’s runway 16.
Separated from the main lounging area was an area with a large TV showing CNN and a sofa across from it.
Most of the seats in this side of the lounge, as opposed to the left side, which I will talk about next, offered access to power.
There were both European-style power outlets, as well as both USB-A and USB-C charging ports.
The vast majority of the space on the (when looking from the reception) left side of the lounge was taken up by a dining area.
That consisted of a buffet spanning a couple of counters, a staffed hot food station, and seating in the form of dining tables (mainly for two), a communal table, and a counter along the wall.
Additionally, there was a walled-off sleeping room that was kept slightly darker than the rest of the lounge and consisted of three daybeds separated by wooden partitions.
Each of the daybeds had a small coffee table next to it.
In addition to the above, as mentioned earlier, there were also a few facilities shared among the Senator and Business lounges.
Those were located in the reception area and included a few phone booths that guests could use to do meetings and calls without disturbing other passengers (I am glad similar facilities are starting to appear in more and more lounges), showers, and restrooms.
Drinks
All drinks in the lounge were self-serve and could be found on the counters in the buffet area and in a large refrigerator next to it.
Cold soft drinks included, among others, still and sparkling water, Coke, flavored ice tea, and Almdudler (a carbonated Austrian herbal lemonade) in glass bottles. There were also a dispenser with infused water and large bottles of orange and apple juice.
Hot drinks included a variety of coffee-based drinks from an espresso machine and half a dozen or so different types of Julius Meinl tae bags.
The refrigerator with soft drinks was also home to a couple of different brands of bottled beer including Heineken. Separately, there was red, white, and sparkling wine.
Lastly, there were about half a dozen different types of liquor.
Food
With the exception of whole fruits, which could be found on a rack just past the lounge’s entrance and included apples, bananas, and pears, all of the food in the Austrian Senator Lounge could be found in the dining area.
At the staffed hot meals station, two mains and two sides were offered alongside risotto.
The mains included cevapcici and smoked neck of pork. The sides included potatoes and glazed carrots. I had some cevapcici for lunch and thoroughly enjoyed it.
The only warm item in the self-service area was pumpkin ginger cream soup.
Separately, there were a couple of different salads, a variety of half a dozen different types of bread and pastries, and cold cuts including ham, salami, and cheese.
Lastly, there were two desserts including strudel, as well as jars with snacks including nuts, pretzels, and candies.
Austrian Senator Lounge (Schengen) Vienna Summary
Overall, the Austrian Senator Lounge in the Schengen area of Vienna Airport is a perfectly fine place to visit before a flight to grab a bite to eat or a drink out of the, for a lounge mostly serving passengers flying on short one- or two-hour hops around Europe, selection.
That said, in terms of seating options or ambience, the lounge is nothing to write home about. As such, while the lounge is definitely worth stopping by if you have the time, it is not worth arriving at early to relax in or get some work done in.
