Lounge Review: The Suite Brussels

The Suite Brussels is the new Non-Schengen departure lounge of Brussels Airlines at Brussels Airport. I’ve already reviewed The Loft, the Schengen Lounge, which I find quite nice (besides the fact that the lounge is always overcrowded). Sadly, The Suite Brussels leaves a lot to be desired.

Generally, I expect lounges for long haul flights to be superior than lounges for regional flights. Interestingly, that’s definitely not the case in Brussels, where The Loft Brussels is actually a more than just decent lounge. Meanwhile, The Suite Brussels comes with a bland design, a lacking atmosphere and an average food offering.

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I’m not quite sure why the renovation of this particular lounge went in the wrong direction, but it definitely did.

Seating in The Suite Brussels

The Suite Brussels comes with three different areas with the two smaller ones being quite nice.

Meanwhile, the large area, where you can also find the buffet, somewhat reminded me of school. It’s basically a large room with tons of small tables, each with two chairs.

Even though there are windows with views of the side-tarmac (there are not really any airplanes), The Suite Brussels feels quite dark. Plus, the furniture looks somewhat cheap.

The four televisions, mounted right next to each other, to the very end of the lounge, don’t really add anything positive to the atmosphere of the lounge either.

If you spend time at The Suite Brussels, I’d thus recommend to check out the smaller areas with armchairs and other comfortable furniture as these are way nicer.

Don’t get me wrong: The Suite Brussels is not exactly a bad lounge when it comes to the interior, but it just leaves a lot to be desired if you have been to The Loft Brussels, which is indeed a very nice airport lounge.

Buffet at The Suite Brussels

Managing expectations can be challenging when it comes to reviews. Nevertheless, I’m still of the opinion that a departure lounge for long haul flights like The Suite Brussels should offer a superior buffet.

Well, it does not. Not only is the buffet as such quite small, but there are also no hot options available at all. The cold buffet per se is absolutely fine with a few salads, cold cuts and such, but that’s not really what I’d expect at an international Star Alliance Lounge in Europe.

You can also enjoy croissants, pastries, bread and waffles, but that’s basically it. Decent coffee and a choice of soft drinks, wines and beers round up the offerings.

Yet, it’s worth noting that the quality of the food was actually good.

Entertainment at The Suite Brussels

An area in which The Suite Brussels is at least not bad are the entertainment options.

You can find a few televisions mounted at the wall, tons of newspapers and magazines available at different spots throughout the lounge, decent Wi-Fi and also a business center.

Sadly, the latter leaves a lot to be desired. I don’t really get why the business center as such looks such cheap (especially the technical equipment) compared to The Loft Brussels.

The latter lounge also offers Surface tablets, which you can’t enjoy at The Suite Brussels.

Bottom line The Suite Brussels

The Suite Brussels is not a bad lounge if you fly to London for example. Yet, I’d be quite disappointed if I’d fly to a long haul destination with Brussels Airlines or another Star Alliance carrier.

For an international departure lounge, The Suite Brussels just lacks atmosphere, a good buffet and a decent business center. While it’s nice that there is a new Non-Schengen Lounge at Brussels Airport, I wouldn’t go as far as saying that the renovation was successful.

 

Curious what the world of lounges has to offer in comparison?