Arrival Lounges – Red Eye relief
I fly to Europe a lot. Usually those trips are red-eyes, leaving in the evening from the East Coast and arriving early morning in Europe. When I do this, I typically go straight to work. This requires changing and shaving in tiny (European) airport restrooms. I tried doing this in-flight but airplane restrooms are not designed for changing clothes! When traveling in Business Class, most airlines offer Arrival Lounge facilities in key airports where they have red-eye flights coming in. I have personally used Arrival Lounges in London and Frankfurt (flying United) and they are a life saver! They have showers, nice spacious ones that too where one can easily change, etc. Moreover, they even have great breakfast! Some of these lounges apparently even have pressing service where they will press your clothes while you wait (I am assuming for a fee).
At London’s Heathrow (LHR) Airport, where United has multiple early morning flights coming in, it has its own arrival lounge. In Frankfurt (FRA) the lounge I got access to was a Lufthansa Arrival lounge. Both were excellent.
I personally did not even know these lounges existed – it was not like someone from United told me about them when I was checking-in or on landing. In fact, I flew a couple of years ago to Paris and remember changing in restroom, only to find out later that United had an arrival lounge at Paris’ Charles-de-Gaulle (CDG) airport. Below is a full list of United’s Arrival Lounges. Some of them are actually hotels. If someone has used one of the hotel lounges, please share what they are like and how to access them by leaving a comment below :
| Airport | Arrivals facilities |
|---|---|
| Amsterdam, Netherlands (AMS) | Mercure Hotel Amsterdam Airport Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel & Conference Center |
| Barcelona, Spain (BCN) | Business Center – Terminal 1 Arrivals |
| Belfast, Northern Ireland (BFS) | Hilton Templepatrick Hotel |
| Berlin, Germany (TXL – Tegel) | Mercure Airport Hotel Berlin Tegel |
| Birmingham, England (BHX) | Hotel Novotel Birmingham Airport |
| Brussels, Belgium (BRU) | Sheraton Brussels Airport Hotel |
| Dublin, Ireland (DUB) | Carlton Dublin Airport Hotel |
| Edinburgh, Scotland (EDI) | Holiday Inn Express Edinburgh Airport |
| Frankfurt, Germany (FRA) | Lufthansa Welcome Lounge, Terminal 1, B Departures |
| Geneva, Switzerland (GVA) | Möevenpick Hotel & Casino Geneva |
| Glasgow, Scotland (GLA) | Holiday Inn Glasgow Airport |
| Hamburg, Germany (HAM) | Courtyard by Marriott Hamburg Airport |
| London, England (LHR – Heathrow) | Arrivals Lounge, Terminal 2 |
| Madrid, Spain (MAD) | Meliá Barajas Hotel |
| Manchester, England (MAN) | Radisson Blu Hotel Manchester Airport Etrop Grange Hotel Manchester Airport |
| Milan, Italy (MXP) | Sheraton Milan Malpensa Airport Hotel, Terminal 1 |
| Munich, Germany (MUC) | Hilton Munich Airport Hotel, near Terminal 2 |
| Oslo, Norway (OSL) | Radisson Blu Airport Hotel, Oslo Gardermoen |
| Paris, France (CDG) | Sheraton Paris Airport Hotel in Terminal 2 |
| Rome, Italy (FCO) | Hilton Rome Airport Hotel (Available for customers whose final destination is Rome) Alitalia Le Navi or Borromini lounges (Available for customers arriving and connecting through Rome) |
| San Francisco, CA (SFO) | United Arrivals Lounge, Terminal 3, Baggage level |
| Shannon, Ireland (SNN) | Park Inn by Radisson, Shannon Airport |
| Stockholm, Sweden (ARN – Arlanda) | Radisson Blu SkyCity Hotel Stockholm-Arlanda |
| Zurich, Switzerland (ZRH) | Swiss Airlines Arrivals Lounge |
Thanks for this great article and list! I travel transatlantic somewhat regularly as well, and like you never even thought about arrival lounges until somewhat recently, and they’ve been a huge improvement to my travels since I found them.
I’m curious – you discuss the hotel route and list Hilton Rome Airport Hotel as an option in Rome. What pointed you to that as an option? Any idea what the access process is like? I’m trying to figure out if that would be based on fare class / tier on airline ticket, airline status (you seem to be listing UA/*G which would work similarly well for me), or Hilton status (would Gold be sufficient or need higher?).
I have an upcoming trip to Rome/FCO and if I can get access to this Hilton to use when arriving that would amazing. So thanks in advance for your help!
@Jay, unfortunately United has ended the Arrivals Lounge program partnership with hotels, like the Hilton in Rome. That being said, many airport hotels do offer short term room rentals by the hour for a fee. Many European airports also have pay per visit arrival lounges which have showers. See this list for Rome. The Landside lounges are what you need: https://www.sleepinginairports.net/airport-lounges/rome-fiumicino-airport/casa-alitalia-lounges.htm