If you are flying out of Amsterdam Schiphol Airport AMS, you will need to know the best airport lounge, depending on what class of flight you have booked, which airline you are flying with and whether you have status with an alliance like Oneworld, Skyteam, or Star Alliance.
Amsterdam Schiphol is one of the world’s largest airports, with more than 71 million annual passengers. There are currently 8 Amsterdam airport lounges you can access, plus a private VIP lounge facility and an international rail lounge. This is exactly 10 lounges, and we have picked the best below.
Free Airport Lounge Access
If you have not paid for Business Class or First Class, you can access airport lounges for free if you have an unlimited 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. KLM Crown SkyTeam Intercontinental Lounge 52 (non-Schengen)
KLM has two wonderful flagship lounges at Amsterdam Schiphol airport. If you get the chance, you must visit them. They are very “Dutch”, and that’s a good thing! The KLM Crown SkyTeam Intercontinental Lounge 52 (non-Schengen) s located between the E, F, and G Gates near the non-Schengen departures. If you’re flying long-haul to Asia or America, etc., on KLM, this is the best airport lounge in Amsterdam airport.
You can access either Amsterdam KLM Crown Lounges for free if you are:
- Flying out from Amsterdam airport in Business Class or First Class on Air France, KLM, Delta, or any other Skyteam airline on the same day. a ‘same-day’ ticket
- Flying out from Amsterdam airport and have Blue Platinum or Gold and SkyTeam Elite Plus and are flying on a Skyteam operated flight (plus one guest)
- Flying out from Amsterdam airport and have Flying Blue Silver status if you are prepared to pay a fee. In this situation, you are not able to take a guest in, but the payment to access this lounge is well worth it because this is a great lounge
- Flying out from Amsterdam airport and are a Delta SkyClub member on Skyteam flight
Skyteam airlines operating from Schiphol include Aeroflot, Air Europa, Alitalia, China Airlines, Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Garuda, Kenya Airways, Korean Air, and TAROM.
This airport lounge entrance is between piers E and F up a pair of escalators with walls literally encrusted in little dutch houses by Delft, behind a glass screen. These are the houses (containing alcohol) handed out at the end of long-haul flights in business class on KLM.
You scan your boarding pass or your Skyteam card to gain access to the KLM Crown SkyTeam lounge. Ultimate, Skipper, and C2000, as well as Platinum for Life members and their guests, are always welcome in the lounge for free too.
The lounge is a bit of a maze and is worth exploring. “Sea” is meant to be a quiet getaway to recharge with private nap rooms for a fee, as well as private showers. “City” is “a cool place to get a bite and a drink”. Both to the left or the right as you enter the lounge is “Polder” with a café to the left, “City” and “Sea” are at the end.
“Dutch Mountain” (I think this may be Dutch humor?) leads up to the second floor. There are plenty of hot and cold drinks and hot and cold food with salads. There’s a mix of meat and vegetarian meal options. Up at the very top of the lounge is the 18m long Blue Bar and an outdoor terrace with great views out to the tarmac and planes. This restaurant and bar drinks are largely chargeable with an a la carte menu. There are rumors that you will be able to spend your frequent flyer miles on this menu too. There are, however, lots of drinks available free of charge, in addition to chargeable premium drinks.
The overall look of the lounge is very Dutch with dark and light pines, bright colors, and a “classy IKEA” feel. It’s a great modern lounge, and one side has floor-to-ceiling glass windows, making it light with great views of the planes. The only problem with this lounge is that it can be hectic around the food buffet, and it can be not easy to find a free seat or table at peak times.
2. KLM Crown SkyTeam Lounge 25 (Schengen)
The other KLM flagship airport lounge at Amsterdam Schiphol airport is Lounge 25, the Schengen (European flight) lounge situated on the upper level between Lounge 1 and 2, near the D gates. This is a brilliant European flight lounge and the best at Amsterdam airport.
The Schengen Lounge 25 is for European departures, so it does not have such extensive facilities as the non-Schengen lounge but is still one of the best European lounges. It has a bright blue check-in area and can be quite busy.
There are loads of seats in this lounge, some with really nice soft reading lights and all with electrical outlets and USBs to plug into. There’s a dark, circular TV room in the center and workstation seats. There are also shower rooms in this lounge (free of charge).
There are various buffets with pretty fruit, bread, cold-cut meats, cheese, and snacks, including a massive table of stroopwafels (yum, try them if you haven’t already) and other cookies. There is then another buffet area with an enormous array of food, including hot pasta, hot noodles, hot soups, and loads of salads. More than enough to fill you up and of a decent quality. This level of food, both in quantity and quality, is unusual for a European flight lounge, making this lounge all the greater. Hot and cold, soft and alcoholic drinks, are available.
Both KLM lounges are open daily from 4:45 am until the last KLM departure.
3. Star Alliance Schengen Lounge
There are seven exclusive Star Alliance branded lounges around the world. These are some of the best airport lounges in the world and have been created by local architects with a local flair to leave you with a positive and lasting memory of that country’s culture. The Star Alliance lounges are located in Buenos Aires (EZE), Los Angeles (LAX), Nagoya (NGO), Paris (CDG), Rio de Janeiro (GIG), Rome (FCO), Amsterdam (AMS), and Sao Paulo (GRU).
Star Alliance airlines include Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, THAI, TAP Air Portugal, Turkish Airlines, and United.
The Star Alliance-branded lounge at Amsterdam airport can be found Airside at Departures 2 in the European Schengen departures area on the Panorama terrace level, right next to the Aspire Lounge 26. It was only recently opened in March 2019 and is operated by Aspire and Swissport.
This lounge is accessible to Star Alliance Gold members with same-day boarding passes and those traveling on Star Alliance flights in Business or First Class.
This new lounge is really nice with dark wood parquet floors, pictures of dutch houses on the walls, and a decent spread of food. The lounge caters for up to 150 guests, and usefully, there are power ports, with USB ports at every seat.
Floor-to-ceiling windows along the entrance means that there is plenty of natural light, and the lounge is well designed with a private feeling, cozy seating areas. There are also newspapers/magazines and a relaxation area available.
The food here is really tasty with cheeses and cold cuts along with sandwich wraps and salads. There are also cute cakes, and the buffet area is super stylish, plus there is a Dutch Heineken tap, which is a very refreshing beer. Hot food includes beef in a red wine sauce, and there are plenty of wines to try.
Bathrooms are at the far end of the lounge, but there are no showers in this airport lounge as this is a short-haul European lounge. This is the main disadvantage of this lounge as there are showers in the long-haul and short-haul KLM lounge).
You can access this lounge even if you’re flying to a destination outside the Schengen Area with a Star Alliance airlines but would need to go through passport control to enter the non-Schengen departures area of the airport.
4. British Airways OneWorld Lounge
BA has a Galleries lounge right next to Aspire Lounge 41, on the second upper level of Lounge 2, near the D & E gates for non-Schengen departures. This is a great BA lounge, which is great as there are many flights between the UK and Amsterdam. You can access this lounge if you are flying out from Amsterdam airport in Business Class or First Class on British Airways or are flying out from Amsterdam airport in any class with Silver/Gold/Premier and Oneworld Emerald/Sapphire and are flying on a Oneworld flight. The British Airways lounge at Schiphol is now also apparently accessible with a Priority Pass too.
The entrance to the lounge is through a pair of sliding doors. There are lots of square tables with stylish seating ideal for eating. The color scheme is dark seating in a very classy, bright environment. Also in the lounge are televisions and shared work tables as well as sofa seats with lower tables. The lounge has great views over the tarmac and planes through a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows.
The food is fresh but cold, with a Four Seasons Salad and Pasta Salad on offer. There are also olives, pickles, grapes, bread rolls, warm soup, cheese, and cold cuts. Snacks also include crisps. The are plenty of spirits, including vodka, gin, whiskey, and wine, for free.
There are coffee machines with tea and hot chocolate, juices and bottled waters (sparkling and still), as well as cans of beer. The only downside to this lounge is the lack of hot food. Otherwise, it’s a very good BA lounge.
The British Airways lounge is also next doos to the Aspire lounge, so if the BA lounge is full, you can use your Priority Pass to access the Aspire lounge instead.
5. Lounge 41
There are two Aspire Lounges at Amsterdam Airport, which you can pay to access even if you’re flying in Economy or Premium Economy. You can also use your Priority Pass to access, or you get “free” access if you have paid for a business class ticket on a Star Alliance airline. These lounges are run by Swissport runs 2 Aspire branded lounges at Amsterdam Schiphol.
Business and First class passengers of Aeroflot, Aer Lingus, Air Astana, Air Baltic, Air Lituanica, Air Malta, Air Serbia, American Airlines, Arke, Bulgaria Air, Croatia Airlines, Egyptair, El Al, Emirates, Estonian Air, Etihad, EVA Air, Finnair, Flybe, Garuda, Icelandair, Iran Air, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian, Singapore Airlines, Surinam Airways, Turkish Airlines, Ukraine International and United Airlines get access to these lounges.
The Aspire Lounge 41 (non-Schengen) is located on the second upper level of the departure area of Lounge 2 near E Gates. You can enjoy drinks and light snacks as well as shower facilities for an extra fee. This lounge does get busy during peak flight times.
If you are flying on Singapore Airlines, you will use this lounge, but you will be seated in a separate section within the lounge. ABN Amro Preferred Banking clients get free access to the Aspire Lounge 41 too.
6. Lounge 26
The Aspire Lounge 26 (Schengen) is located on the upper level between Lounges 1 and 2, near the D gates. You can enjoy drinks and light snacks but no shower facilities. This lounge can be found next door to the Star Alliance Schengen Lounge. Lounge 26 does get busy during peak flight times.
If you are flying on a Star Alliance carrier and are using the Schengen area (see below), you have access to a separate lounge outlined above. If you are flying on a Star Alliance airline for a non-Schengen departure, you will be using lounge 41. Singapore Airlines has a separate section within that lounge.
While this lounge is decent, we prefer the Star Alliance lounge next door so if you have the choice, go for the Star Alliance lounge.
7. Privium Club Lounge
There are two lounges you can pay for a membership to access, called Privium lounges. These lounges can be accessed by those passengers who have a membership card from the Privium program, run by Schiphol airport, enabling members to cross the Dutch border control using their iris scan machine.
The Privium Club Lounge is a 600m² airport lounge, located between Departure Halls 1 and 2 near check-in desk row 9. It offers drinks, snacks, seats, and business facilities but these lounges aren’t overly exciting as they have no windows or showers.
8. Privium Airside Lounge
Privium has a second, small lounge beyond security near pier E (non-Schengen zone). This lounge offers seats, food, and drink-free Wi-Fi and has lots of pictures of beachscapes. This lounge can also be used as an arrivals lounge by members.
To access both Privium Lounges, you need to be based in the European Economic Area and Switzerland and pay around 215 Euros for Privium Plus membership, which gets you free unlimited access to these lounges. If you buy a Privium Plus partner card, the cost is around 85 Euros, and you can buy guest vouchers for 30 Euro per person. Privium Basic membership costs 130 Euros per year but does not include lounge access.
9. Schiphol VIP Lounges
Groups of up to 20 passengers can pay for a VIP service, which includes separate security, baggage check-in, and transfer to aircraft by luxury vehicle. Access is granted to one of 7 private lounges at the Schiphol VIP Centre, located at Arrivals 4.
However, this option is extremely expensive at around €315 EUR for the first passenger plus €125 EUR per additional passenger. It is even more at €445 EUR for the first passenger plus €185 EUR per additional passenger for transfer passengers. Most flyers would not want to pay for this kind of privacy.
10. Other Lounges: Schiphol Plaza Arrivals
There is an NS International Railway Lounge for First Class rail passengers and Rail team elite members at Schiphol Plaza Arrivals 4 area. The lounge has a seating area, a workspace, and offers drinks and food as well as a bathroom but no showers. This lounge is open Monday to Friday 0800-2000, weekends, and public holidays 1000-1800.
You can access the NS International Lounge at Schiphol Airport station if you are traveling in First Class internationally on Eurostar, Thalys, Intercity Brussels. You can take one guest into the lounge with you. You can also access this lounge if you are a Rail team elite card member.
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