A fantastic view, an interesting selection of drinks and your own passport control.

It's already a beautiful morning in the German capital, and there's not a single cloud in the bright blue sky when my cell phone alarm goes off. After the obligatory look at the morning headlines, I decided to leave my room early and set off in the direction of the “capital airport”, which is actually in Brandenburg. In the course of a long-planned flight with Aer Lingus to Dublin, I decided the evening before to have breakfast in the second lounge of BER. 

The location

The main building of Terminal 1 at BER (without the adjoining piers - North & South) runs in an elongated "i" shape. At both ends of this "i" are the (currently) only two lounges at BER, both of which are "airside" and therefore behind the security check. The Lufthansa Business Lounge is located at the northern end, the transition to "Pier Nord", which will also lead to "Terminal 2" from the end of this month (insert article). Mirrored on the southern side and the transition to "Pier Süd" with gates A30-A38, which are used primarily by "easyJet", is the lounge operated by FBB called "Tempelhof", which originally served as "Air Berlin Lounge” should become. As everyone knows, nothing came of it, although during my stay the last plane in Air Berlin colors under the flight number of the new operator "Sundair" took off into the morning sky over Brandenburg and turned into the notorious "Hoffmann curve". Destination Tenerife - an "experience" suitable for the visit, which should be mentioned with a wink.

Since some of the invited guests were already able to follow the celebrations in the Tempelhof Lounge during the course of the BER opening at the end of October 2020, I was able to get a first, albeit brief, impression at the time. Now, 1,5 years later, the right opportunity presented itself and I was a little curious about the finished "live product" and the first "real visit". Extensive information is provided about the supporting partners and airlines even before entry.

If access via the frequent flyer status of the 15 supported carriers is not possible and the ticket that includes lounge use is not available, there is also the option of either becoming a member of the "DragonPass" or paying €45 per visit ( payable by credit card at the entrance) to gain entry. It should also be mentioned that the "PriorityPass", which is a little more widespread in Europe, does NOT grant access to the Tempelhof Lounge, which means that this card can still not be used at BER.

Catering (food & beverage offer)

After the extremely limited offer that was caused by the pandemic, the Tempelhof Lounge now offers an extensive selection of drinks. In addition to (partly freshly tapped) beers, wines, sparkling wine and a selection of 25 different spirits are also available. All the classics, including three different juices, Red Bull, Tonic and Kombucha are also available in the soft drinks section.

In terms of sustainability, it should be mentioned that there is also a water system for treated drinking water, in which you can easily fill your own vessel. Of course, there is also the option of enjoying a coffee specialty. 

In terms of catering, I can only report on the breakfast service offered, which offered two warm options with scrambled eggs and English beans. Cold cuts, yoghurt, pretzels, croissants and rolls, jams and Nutella were also offered. Small glasses with fruit salad and natural yoghurt with muesli rounded off the offer. All in all, for the pre-flight snack, the choices should be perfectly adequate. 

Amenities

The equipment looks high quality for a business lounge and is colour-coordinated. There are plenty of seating and work areas in the 4 rooms. In the relaxation area, you can also put your feet up a little and follow what is happening on the southern runway through the large panoramic window front with a sofa feeling. 

A problem that is already known from the terminal is also reflected in the lounge. Since the airport was planning at a time when the use of one's own electronic devices was scarcely or not very widespread, only a few socket connections were made, which of course feels like an impossibility nowadays, since the willing traveler sometimes has a large number of devices to be supplied with electricity running around. On the one hand, there are the central charging stations already known from the terminal at selected points where there are no sockets available, and on the other hand, a large number of armchairs have already been exchanged for an almost identical model, which at least has 2 integrated USB connections. In my opinion, a feature that is also visually successful, which can make up for the embarrassment of the missing sockets a little. 

There is also a separate conference room with 8 seats in the rear area, spatially separated and thus a bit away from the action. This can be booked for an additional fee of currently €150 net per hour and has the technical equipment for a telephone or video conference. 

The positive fact that the lounge has its own exit option (passport control) should be emphasized, which is an absolute plus and a novelty for Berlin, especially for flights to other EU countries and the sometimes existing queues before departure. While there is already such a possibility in existing or newly opened lounges in large parts of the world, this circumstance was not to be found in the past at the outdated airports in Tegel or Schönefeld. Funnily enough, I still remember the wording of a lounge employee, the "Weltbürgerlounge" in the "Baumarkt-Terminal C" in Tegel, who hectically "rounded up" the guests for the passport control of a Hainan plane to Beijing because the queue before departure and the slightly better pavilion was hopelessly overcrowded and there was a risk of offloading. However, all gates in areas A, B, C and D can be reached from the Tempelhof Lounge, making ALL gates in Terminal 1 (2) independent of the destination. There is no possibility to shower or sleep. Another important note is that it is a so-called "silent lounge" in which no airport or boarding announcements can be heard. 

Conclusion

With the Tempelhof Lounge, there is a comfortable additional offer at Berlin-Brandenburg Airport with a beautiful panoramic view over the entire southern part of BER. The special attractiveness lies in the existing usability for practically everyone (for a fee), completely independent of frequent flyer status or the chosen airline, as well as the destination, since both Schengen and non-Schengen gates can be reached. 

Despite the range of potential customers, the lounge seemed anything but overcrowded at the time we visited. During my almost 2-hour stay, I counted 12 flights of the listed airline partners alone, including wide-bodied aircraft (A330-300), which is why the handful of guests really surprised me. Anyone looking for first-class shower, massage or fine dining options will not find what they are looking for here. In summary, it can be said that a solid, well-rounded product of a good business lounge is offered, which does not need to hide in international comparison. Whether all this, unless otherwise included, is worth the payment of 45 euros per person, I leave to the taste and wallet of each individual reader.