I recently went on holiday back home in the Netherlands to visit friends and family. I already published the full reviews for my trip from New York-JFK to Amsterdam, which gave me the chance to visit the excellent Delta One Lounge in JFK Terminal 4, and try out KLM’s World Business Class on their Boeing 787-10. For the return leg, I flew KLM as well, from their hub at Amsterdam back to New York-JFK.
I was curious to see what KLM’s business class facilities look like when departing from their hub at Amsterdam. After all, I’ve been flyingh from Amsterdam for many years, but never had done so in business class. After seeing those alluring ‘SkyPriority’ gates, as KLM (and its SkyTeam partners) generally refer to the priority services that premium economy and business class passengers receive, it was cool to finally make use of them myself.
As part of these services, as a business class passenger specifically, you get complimentary access to KLM’s Crown Lounges. In this review I will give you my experiences of one of these lounges, namely the one in the non-Shenghen terminal, also referred to as Crown lounge No. 52. The second one is its Shengen counterpart, the KLM Crown Lounge No. 25 (which I also reviewed).
Briefly, I enjoyed my time in the lounge. It’s big, with two floors that have ample seating, some surprisingly nice food, a coffee bar, showers, spa facilities and day rooms for resting, as well as a restaurant and two bars. Unfortunately, a bunch of these facilities are at a fee. Also I found the lounge to not be too busy. However, I visited at an off-peak time, given that my flight was departing at 5:30pm on December 31st (and yes, we counted down in the aircraft!), so if you’d get here at a different day and time I’m not sure how busy it may get.
- Entrance eligibility and hours
- Location
- Crown Lounge design, layout and seating
- Food at the KLM Crown Lounge
- Further facilities
- Summary
Entrance eligibility and hours
The KLM Crown Lounge 52 is open from 4:45AM to 10PM, and thus encompasses most of KLM’s intercontinental flights. It is accessible for free for the following passengers:
- Passengers flying KLM business class on standard and flex fares;
- Passengers flying a same-day SkyTeam-operated flight in business class;
- Passengers with FlyingBlue Gold or higher, or SkyTeam Elite Plus status, flying on a same-day SkyTeam-operated flight.
Any other passengers can access the lounge at a payment, which I believe usually comes down to $50 full price. If flying in premium economy, you should get 50% off. Flying Blue Gold and up, and SkyTeam Elite Plus members can bring 1 guest in for free, but any additional passengers can get a 25% discount of the entrance fee. Lastly, Flying Blue Ultimate members can bring up to 8 guests.
Location
The non-Shengen Crown Lounge is referred to in the terminal here and there with signs that say ‘Airline lounge 52’, and the signs are plentiful so once you get through security it shouldn’t be too difficult to find it. Specifically, the signs will direct you to the entrance located in-between piers E and F, on a stretch of the terminal referred to as ‘Holland Boulevard’ as it’s home to a variety of Dutch venues. For example, the Rijksmuseum, a well-known art museum in Amsterdam, has a space here with various paintings that you can admire.
Once you come across the lounge entrance, it’s impossible to miss: A central elevator shaft encased in bright white lights with on each side an escalator up to the first floor of the lounge, and a blue, lighted ribbon along the top of the entrance.
As you come closer, you’ll notice that on one side of each escalator is a glass window pane with little shelves that hold each and every house that KLM has ever offered its business class passengers:
Crown Lounge design, layout and seating
Once you go up the escalator, you enter the lobby of the lounge, which features a high ceiling with a striking lighting fixture: the KLM logo, right above the reception desk where a team of friendly hosts is ready to help you.
At a different time, the windows behind the desk would offer a beautiful view of the apron, but alas, a long connector that allows passengers to cross from one pier to another is blocking the view.
At your typical lounge you’d have to speak to one of the hosts in order to be checked in, but here there’s actually scanners to the left and right. You cna go either way, and I found thjat what seem like may be seperated spaces, actually connect around the back, so ultimately it doesn’t matter whetehr you enter the lounge left or right. At either entrance you cna use the scanners to scan your boarding pass and the scanner will automatically approve your entry if lounge access is included with your fare (as it was for me).
If you’re a Flying Blue Gold and up or SkyTeam Elite Plus member, I’m not exactly sure what the entrance procedure is, but I found the hosts very willing to help. As I was looking for my boarding pass, a friendly hostess came over to explain what to do, so if you’d require any assistance they’d be able to help. But if I had to guess, I’d think that you’d be able to scan your digital member card or, having added your Flying Blue status to your booking, you could probably use your boarding card in such situations as well, even if you’re not in business class.
As it happened, I decided to turn left, as the sign said that that’s where the food was:
As you can see, the different zones are divided by landscape, or something. I’m not sure what the exact connection is between the zones and what you can do there, and I wouldn’t say that the interior design necessarily reflects the intended landscape, either. When you first enter the lounge using the left doorway, you first emerge in an area with different kinds of seating on the first floor of the lounge. Note that there are tow floors, so that this lounge altogether makes for a very big space to explore. The entrance doorways to the left or right will lead into the first floor, and you can loop around to another set of escalators that will lead to the second floor. That said, let me start by showing you the first floor.
The First Floor: self-serve buffet, beer bar, wellness area and plenty of seating
I entered through the doorway on the left after scanning my boarding pass and emerged into s corridor-like space with various kinds of seating.
There’s islands that are lined by comfy couches with little side tables, plants and light fixtures. Some interetsiung design chocies is that you can fold down parts of the backrest to reveal little tables, as you can see in the piciure below. It’s a neat little feature, I thought, that would allow more people to sit if necessary, or provide seperation between groups if needed.
There is also a row of lounge chairs looking out over the apron – though the construction that obstructs the view from the lobby also obstructs the view here, unfortunately. Outside you can see the connector passing through the view, and the gate that’s closest to the lounge appears closed in its entirety, it functioning instead as a random parking area for various ground equipment. Funnily enough, I overhead some of the attendants complain about this – they said that it was supposed to be done by earlier in 2024, and yet it was still up; hopefully it’d be done sooner rather later.
Going deeper into the lounge, there was a circular area of sorts that was home to most of the food and drink stations on this floor of the lounge. I’ll go into the actual offerings in the next section and will focus on the seating here. For example, there was a cafe area with an actual barista, with long, communal tables, perfect for larger groups, as well as smaller tables for couples or small groups alike. The seats didn’t look particularly comfortable to me. Their design is also… well, I would call this an example of Dutch design (and I say this as a Dutchman) that attempt to be ‘different’ and ‘modern’, but ends up being… quirky?
As you can see, there were also signs aplenty on how to connect to the free wifi network at the lounge. You simply connect to the Wifi network titled ‘KLM – Lounge’ and enter the password that’s provided on the sign.
If we continue along the windows, passing the barista, there was a large counter with high-top seating on both sides, as well as regular tables and a different kind of chair. These looked quite a bit more comfortable than those on the other end of the barista. These tables would be great for anywhere between 1-4 people. I also quite like the fixtures on the counter, which were made of a bronze-colored material.
At this point you can continue straight ahead or go left. Straight ahead is the ‘wellness area’ of the lounge, with a lot of blues that feel rather calming. There are a variety of setaing options here as well, including the islands with couches, the same sort of chairs as are positioned along the Windows, as well as chairs with large screens coming from the back and arm rests, giving the user increased privacy.
Then along the back wall of this space was a series of booth-like seats with little tables that seem good for somebody needing to do some work or make a quick phone call:
I’ll cover the wellness facilities later on. So, continuing back to the food area, had we rurned left, we’d reached the first of two bars, branded by the famous Dutch beer brand Heineken. There are various kinds of seating here, predominantly hightop seating, and restaurant style seating on two levels. Both levels feature couches with medium-sized tables and chairs. The upper level’s seating is similar to what’s on the lower level, but with larger tables it’s better for larger groups, and being on the upper level it also feels a buit more private.
When I went to the upper level, I got a nice overview of the remainder of this area. There are a few more kinds of seating, including larger round booths which seemed very comfortable, and high-top and normal communal tables. And then on the upper level there’s more of what I already showed above. Note that at this point the upper level slopes down gently to come back to the ‘lower’ level.
Next to this area was the main self-serve buffet. I’ll cover the food in a minute, but I’l lshow a picture just for the sake of continuity in this description:
As you then walk past the barista and find yourself in the connection between this part of the lounge and the other half of the floor. It’s also here where there are additional escalators and elevators to get you to the second floor of the lounge. The seating in this area looked comfortable with red lounge chairs and more high-top seating and communal tables.
To the right, in an alcove in the wall is an additional Heineken-branded bar-type situation, though it had only one tap and was unstaffed. I’t looked like’m not really sure if this was supposed to be an active ‘Heineken’ experience sort of thing, but it looked a little sad, with the one, bare Christmas tree just sort of standing there.
Then, directly opposite of the escalators that take you to the lounge’s upper floor is KLM’s service desk. This was staffed, at the time I was there, by 3 attendants that appeared ready to help with any questions you may have, including changes to bookings or such assistance. It’s always nice when this kind of more specialized assistance is available, as it might put you in a better position to solve issue with your flight, including delays and cancelations.
At this point you can go up the escalator, or you can continue straight ahead. Then you’d also enter the area that you’d be entering if you’d turned right at the lounge’s lobby. According to the sigh at the escalator, this area is called ‘polder’, which is a kind of Dutch man-made landscape that was previously submerged but was reclaimed and repurposed for agriculture. And then in the back of the lounge is the area called ‘Dutch mountain’.
When you enter the ‘polder’ part of the lounge, it seems it’s quite similar to the area that we passed through upon entering the lounge. The green carpets, I suppose, is what’s mimicking the ‘polder’, given that polders are usually grassy areas used for grazing of sheep or cattle. There’s the same couches and chairs, but it’s definitiely am uch bigger area than where w epassed before, and feels quite spacious and quiet.
Directly opposite this space is a KLM-branded alcove with additional seating. Not sure if there was a particular purpose for this space, though:
One alcove over is a fun little space: a long model street, showing a Amsterdam-like street view with KLM’s signature Delft Blue houses lining the street. It’s fun that KLM made a smal exhibition of this! Even the street are made out of ceramic, with Amsterdam-style streetlights.
Right next to this place is another self-serve buffet, though at this time it seemed this buffet was closed. There was only different kinds of drinks that you could get. That said, there was an open kitchen, several islands that would otherwise have different kinds of foods, and a drink station.
Walking past this buffet area, we hit the far side of the lounge, and here are a series of private booths that would allow you to work or take a phone call. This part of the lounge was also notably quieter, being so far away from the main buffet. With that in mind, this seems like a great place to get some work done. The booths also looked comfortable with well-padded benches.
If you walk along those booths you’ll enter a small corridor were you will find two iMacs setup with a printer, allowing you to get connected and print out some documents, if necessary.
Follow this corridor and you’ll come back to the terminal windows with a view of the apron (again, blocked by construction). Here are more chairs setup with tall back and armrests, for added privacy.
You may notice a glass wall just behind these chairs, which blocks off a fairly large space. This, then, is the ‘Dutch mountain’ area. As you emerge form the corridor and look left, you’ll see a series of steps, intermingled with seating, planters and various exhibits. it’s a fun way of designing what would otherwise just be a normal staircase to get to the second floor:
As you ascend these stairs, you’ll find booths and various benches, and I especially enjoyed the various models of KLM planes, going back to their first propeller aircraft back in the day, all the way up to today’s Boeing 787s.
If you keep walking up, you’ll finally get to the second floor.
The Second Floor: an extended bar, observation desk, and restaurant
The first thing you’ll see when you get to the to pfloor is a large wall-mounted display of Delft-blue tiles. Those of you who have flown KLm recently or happened to watch the flight saftey video I posted as part of my last KLM review will recognize these tiles as being used in the flight saftey video! I thought it was a cool idea to take these tiles and hang them up as they were shown in the video. it adds a tangible connection to the video (and further evidence that it was, in fact, actually produced).
I do love it when airlines do something like this, really brings the nerd out in me!
Following this fun display, you turn around and are met by a large, open, well-lit space with a long bar taking center stage:
There various kinds of seating in this space. In the forefront is high-top seating, whereas along the left wall are alcoves made out of curtains, with each alcove having table with benches that mostly seem suited for a single person to take seat on.
Then, around the bar are tall, circular tables with high-top seating, as well as longer communal table. The small tables are really only buig enough for two people to have a drink at. I noticed how the chairs were all oriented towards the terminal windows and seem, intended to offer something of a view. Though, I’d think they are a little too far away to be good for that.
You can find the same chairs over at the communal table, which would generally be the place for larger group to take seat at:
And finally, there are some lounge chairs opposite of the communal table. To be honest, I felt that thsee chairs seem by far the comfiest and the most relaxing to be seated in.
At this point we’re standing next to the bar, though again I’ll leave the details of the food and drinks for the next seciton of this review. It’s just wothhwile noting for this part of the rveiw that there’s pelnty of seating along the bar:
As you then move to the other side of the bar there is additional seating. I particularly liked this area, as it has a generally relaxing vibe, with couches, living room-like standing lamps, and large booths perfect for larger and smaller groups alike. the natural light coming through the windows is also very welcome, despite the gloomy weather outside.
As you look out the window it’s apparent that there is an observation deck! You can go outside and take a seat. I didn’t do that now giving that it was freezing out and a little rainy – generally just kind of miserable weather. Alas, the setting seems of the ‘garden’ variety, with wooden benches and small circular tables. It didn’t strike me as particularly comfortable, but I did like that from this floor, the construction is not blocking the view, allowing you to actually see the apron.
Once you get beyond this general area you’re back at the escalators, and on the other side is ‘Blue’, a sit-down restaurant of sorts where you can buy (yes, buy) all sorts of snacks and small plates and more ‘premium’ alcohol.
There’s a wide variety of seating, including rectangular-shaped booths with round tablkes and more conventional rectangular tables for four people. The chairs are comfortable, made of a faux leather, and the benches of the booths are well-padded, so that whever you sit, I imagine you’ll have a comfortable time.
Alternatively, here, too, there is an option to sit outside on the deck, though with this kind of weather I really can’t recommend doing that.
With this I’ve shown you petty much all there is to see in terms of spaces, design and the available seating. The KLM Crown Lounge clearly is a massive space, with both floors providing different styles in design, mood and seating. I dare say everybody can find a seat somewhere that should offer the vibe they are looking for.
Now, from what I understand, the lounge can get very busy, so it’s probably a good thing that the lounge is so big. I will say that the upper floor seemed a lot quieter. I imagine that’s because there was, simply, no free food to be bad on this floor. Most people probably go to the buffet on the lower floor and stay there. Which, indeed brings us to that all important point: how is the food at this lounge?
Food at the KLM Crown Lounge
Food at the KLM Crown Lounge 52 can be found primarily at the main buffet or at the sit down restaurant experience at the second floor. Besides that you cna find some snacks at the barista and the two bars that you’ll find on either floor. On the lower floor, the bar, barista and main buffet are all on the same side of the lounge, with a smaller buffet also available on the opposite end of the lounge (though it was closed during my visit).
The Main Buffet
Starting with the main buffet, you’ll find a table in the center loaded with breads and different salads, and then behind it and on each side various kinds of sandwiches and hot dishes.
Starting with the middle table, you’ll find on one end a selection breads, including sliced and whole loaves as well as baguettes and buns. I had some of these and found them to be of pretty good quality.
Then, when you walka round, on either side you’ll find a variety of different cold options, predominantly various salads. It’s nice to have such a variety of options!
And then as you come around to the other end, you’ll find a selection of bowls with ‘pure’ ingredients in case the salads are not to your liking. Then, you can combine the ingredients in whatever way you wish. Some of these options are more like toppings that you can add to any of the ‘actual’ salads.
If we now go from left to right, walking along the various hot and cold options that are to the sides and back of the central table, you’ll first find a selection of fruits
Then, there were four large pots with various hot options, including a bell pepper soup, a vegetable soup, couscous and pate en croute:
And immediately next to this there was a fattoush salad and some ingredients to liven up any of the dishes that were available here.
Continuing our wlak we get to the back of the buffet, where there were various cold cuts, including hams, sausage and cheese, as well as some readymade sandwiches, which included a tuna wrap and a chicken sandwich. There were also a variety of desserts, including pineapple and forest fruit bavarois, waffles and donuts.
Then, continuing onwards, there is another station with hot options, including Thai red curry, roasted vegetables and a kind of fried rice, as well as a lasagne.
Overall, I thought the buffet included a good variety of dishes, with at least 8 hot options, various salads and ingredients, and some nice-looking desserts. I had tried the Thai curry, the sandwiches, breads and salads, and thought they were all quite good.
You probably wouldn’t fall of your chair with surprise, but I reckon you’ll find something tasty to eat to hold you over until the flight. If I did have to make on comment, it is that the presentation was sometimes a little sloppy, with name cards that had fallen over, some leftovers that hadn’t been cleaned up properly, and presenting foods in their baking trays. Still, I was more than happy with the food I had. And when I came for a second round, the staff had put out a tray with so-called ‘Appel flappen’ (which may be Apple turnovers in English?). The Dutch traditionally eat those around New Year’s Eve, so it was cool to see that those were offered to the guests at the lounge!
You’ll also find various drink stations to either side of the buffet, being machines for coffee and tea, as well as soda and taps for still and sparkling water.
Blue: the restaurant at KLM Crown Lounge
As mentioned before, on the second floor there is something of a restaurant with plenty of true restaurant seating, but with a menu that’s more ‘bar’ than ‘restaurant’. Unfortunately, none of this is complimentary and the prices are indeed rather restaurant-y (in cash or miles), which surprised me a little. After all, you’re already here, flying business class. It’s also a striking difference with the Delta One Lounge dining experience on my way to Amsterdam, where great food was all complimentary in a beautiful, true sit-down restaurant style with the appropriate service.
That said, here’s some photos of the items you’ll find on the menu. First, various bites and small plates, most of which I’d say are pricey for what they seem to be:
And then there’s a wide selection of drinks is on offer as well:
So no, this is not a place where you’d likely sit down for a drink and a bite. Which is, probably, why there was nobody actually sitting here. Then again, if I were to come here at a busier time, I wonder how many people would choose to buy something here.
Drinking: the two bars at the KLM Crown Lounge
Finally, there’s two actual bars at the lounge. One is on the lower floor, and mostly seem to offer Heineken beer, and the second one is on the upper floor, and offers a wide selection of drinks. As you might expect by now, most offerings are at a fee, in cash or miles, with only the ‘basic’ stuff being complimentary. For example, Heineken bee ris free, while the much better local Dutch beer ‘Texels’ is 5 Euro a glass, at the time of my visit.
As you can see in the back, there is a multitude of liquor options, and there’s also an elaborate coffee machine for barista-style coffee. It’s just a pity that little of it is complimentary.
Down stairs is the ‘real’ barista, or ‘coffee corner’ as KLM describes it. This is all complimentary, as is all the food and drink on the lower floor. There’s a multitude of coffee you can get, by Dutch coffee roaster Douwe Egberts. There’s also pastries and brownies that you can have on the side. I had the brownie, which was rich and sweet.
The bar on the lower floor is themed as a bit of beer bar, and in terms of beer on tap they only seem to have Heineken, and alcohol-free Heineken. On the bar is also a jug with self-serve icetea, and then they can also create some mix drinks, cocktails or if you like it that way, ‘pure’ drinks. I’m not sire whether the selection is good or not since I’m not too into liquor, but it strikes me as pretty food.
Between the bars and coffee corner, as well as the self-serve drinking stations, you can get a good spread of different types of drinks. If you want something a little more special, it will come at a fee, so don’t expect free premium alcohol or anything like that. That said, I feel as though the complimentary offerings are perfectly adequate.
Further facilities
The KLM Crown lounge 52 has a variety of additional amenities, of the sort that you’d expect at an airline’s ‘flagship’ lounge. These include sleeping rooms and showers, and the KLM Crown Lounge also has a spa, where you can get paid treatments. All of these facilities can be reserved in advance through KLM’s website, as well as at the lounge itself. For this you’d walk to the very back of the lounge, where these facilities are located.
See that corridor? That’s where all these faciltieis are located:
Just next to this corridor you’ll find monitors that allow you to book showers or request help:
When you enter the corridor, the first room on your left is the spa, which is in partnership with the ‘chain’ spa treatment provider XpresSpa. It’s a fairly big room with massage chairs, chair massages and also an apparent manicure station. Unfortunately when Ic me by the spa seemed to be closed though the hours on the door suggested it should be open. It’s possible that it’s because it was December 31st…
Then, the menu shows all the different pedicures, manicures and skin treatments that you can get. as you can see the prices are a little steep, but the truth is I’ve never head any of these services so what do I know? They may be perfectly reasonable prices. There was also a sign at the entrance to the spa with the various massages which came at a fee as well.
If we walk further into the corridor, we get to something of a Y-split. The corridor loops around and comes back on itself, so that you go down one of the Y’s arms and will re-emerge by the other arm. All along those arms are showers.
I didn’t take a shower seeing as I came from home, but I happened to find an open stall that one of the cleaners had just opened. So, I took a sneak peak:
It may not be the biggest shower, but there’s a sink, toiletries, a large mirror with appropriate lighting, and a walk-in shower with a door. I thought it looked very modern, well-maintained, very clean. I’d be happy to take a shower if I needed to, but alas I did not.
There’s also rooms that you can reserve to take a nap, behind a darkened door. I did ot enter this area or make pictures as I frankly was afraid to disturb anybody that may be there, but there’s more information on the website of KLM. Unfortunately it does seem that this is at a payment that, frankly, I think is rather steep, at 49.50 Euros for 3 hours and 75 Euros for 5 hours.
Then, the restrooms. There’s restrooms on both floor, which are clean and well-stocked with actual towels (I expected them to be paper, frankly), though not much in terms of additional amenities. Handsoap is by Marie-Stella-Maris, as is also available on board at KLM’s business class lavatories.
A final facility that I did make use of are lockers. These are located bnehind the lobby, and cna be accessed by walking to the back of the lounge richt as you enter. So, if you enter though the left entry ay, turn left and walk to the back, versus if you turn right through the entry way, you’d turn right and also walk to the back. There you’ll find a short corridor that leads to both lockers and restrooms. Enter and turn left to find many lockers of various sizes.
I stored my stuff here as I went back to the buffet to get some food. Storing your stuff ehre is easy through a key-less system that is controlled through a touchscreen. Essentially you choose the locker you want and set a PIN code to re-access your locker. The locker will then open for you to put your stuff in:
Place your stuff in the locker, close the door, and as long as you remember your locker number and your self-assigned PIN code, you can come back anytime to collect your stuff.
Summary
Overall, I enjoyed my time in the KLM Crown lounge 52. It’s a massive lounge with plenty of different kinds of seating, from couches, to dining, to lounging, to working, wiht various levels of privacy (and comfort). Overall I thought the variety of ‘vibes’ was kind of impressive, and I particularly liked the top floor, with the outdoor viewing deck, with beautiful views of the apron (if not blocked due to construction…). I also liked that there are some additional amenities (as a hub lounge honestly should have), such as nice-looking showers, a spa and rooms to sleep. Though, the latter two are (unfortunately) at a fee.
In terms of the food, there’s plenty of choice, though it is generally a little basic and certainly not ‘premium’ or anything. If you want something a little more special, you will need to pay or that, be it a better-than-Heinkenen beer, higher quality alcohol, or rather expensive bar bites. So, after having had some food, that I did enjoy, I sat by the window with the Heineken beer. Better than no beer, right?
So yes, I did enjoy my time, but in terms of the quality of an airline’s hub lounge, I think it could probably be better. The JFK T4 Delta One Lounge most definitely is much better. However, I’d say that the KLM Crown Lounge 52 is better than the SAS Lounge in Copenhagen, since it does have multiple staffed bars and a spa, even if it’s a paid amenity. As such, I’d say the KLM Crown Lounge 52 is a solid lounge – just temper your expectations a little but in terms of the ‘premium-ness’ of the lounge.
Points to Seats 
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