During my recent transfer in Helsinki, I visited two lounges. First, I visited Almost@Home – a Priority Pass lounge, and then I went to the Finnair Lounge in the non-Schengen area. This post is a review of the latter.
After getting to the reception near gate 36 and waiting for my turn to check-in, I was sent to the right. There is also another lounge – Premium Lounge – on the left side. That one is, however, accessible exclusively to Finnair’s and oneWorld’s top status holders.
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I had access to the Finnair Lounge as I was flying Finnair’s business class to Bangkok. Besidess Finnair’s business class passengers, the lounge is also accessible to premium passengers of other oneWorld airlines, and oneWorld status holders. It is also possible to buy a three-hour access to the lounge for 48 EUR.
Lounge Overview
Main Floor
After entering the lounge, on the left side, there is the buffet area. The buffet area is made out of the bar, and a couple of counters and kitchen islands. More about that further down.
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Behind the buffet area there is a small seating area with dining tables and counters.
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On the right side of the reception, the main seating area can be found.
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The part of it closest to the buffet is in a dining configuration with some tables and chairs. Further to the right, there are some individual sofa chairs, as well as sofas with coffee tables. There are also counters bordering (and dividing) the main seating area.
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Finally, there are also some reading materials, FIDS, computers (iMacs), and restrooms along the wall to the right of the entrance. Further down in the lounge, a small kids’ room can be found.
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The lounge should also have showers as well as Finnish sauna, however, I didn’t explore that further.
Raised Section
In the back of the lounge, there is a section that is raised compared to the rest of the lounge. This section is mostly designed for relaxing.
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There are some sofa chairs with power outlets. There are also lounging chairs with ottomans along the wall. Most interestingly, however, there are two sleeping pods.
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Food & Drinks Selection
All of the food and drinks were in the buffet area to the left of the reception – split thematically among the various counters and kitchen islands.
First, there was the bar.
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Here, one could ask the server for a drink or two from a selection of complimentary and premium liquor, as well as wine. There were also some Sunshine Martinis. The main meal – mashed potatoes with meat sauce – and soup were available in this area as well.
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Next to the bar were three kitchen islands.
The first one of those housed the salad bar and other light cold meals.
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Watermelon and melon cuts, as well as a dessert and juice could be found on the second one.
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The last one featured a coffee machine.
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Behind the islands, there was a counter with a soft drink dispenser, as well as three kinds of beer and two types of wine on tap.
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Finally, along the wall behind the islands, there was a counter with some bread and cream cheese, cookies, wine, and hot chocolate and tea.
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Finnair Lounge Non-Schengen Helsinki Summary
Overall, the lounge is very nicely designed and the sleeping pods and sauna are something that is rare to see in other lounges. However, during my visit, it was crowded making it hard to find a place to sit. On top of that, the food selection could be better – especially more than one option for main and dessert would be welcome.
Still, the lounge is a nice place to spend a couple of hours relaxing before a flight. Especially, the lounging chairs on the raised floor are quite comfortable. That is, if you can grab one.
