- Mr Plane Guy
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
KLM Crown Lounge: My Honest Amsterdam Schiphol Lounge Review
(And Why I Preferred the Terminal)
By Mr Plane Guy | Plane Travel News & Reviews with Altitude
Disclosure: This guide contains affiliate links which help keep this blog flying high (and keep my airport G&Ts flowing). There’s no extra cost to you.
If you’re researching Amsterdam airport lounge options, especially the KLM lounge Amsterdam for non-Schengen flights, here’s the truth I wish I’d read before my trip. KLM’s flagship Crown Lounge 52 at Amsterdam Schiphol should feel premium. It should feel calm. It should feel like a warm, blue-and-white KLM hug before boarding.
Instead? It felt a bit… slecht. (That’s Dutch for bad, and honestly the kindest word I can use.)
Let’s jet straight into it.
The Very Long Walk… To Chaos
Lounge 52 isn’t close. You will walk. And walk. And walk.
Eventually you find it wedged behind an aircraft jetty, as if the lounge was squeezed into the last available corner on the Schiphol map.
But once inside, no premium haven awaited.
Instead I met:
Heaving crowds
Dirty plates stacked on tables
People sitting on floors
Zones spilling into each other
A constant hum of stress
It was giving Westfield food court at peak Saturday, but without the fries.
The Lounge Layout: Five Dutch-Themed Zones (Lovely in Theory…)
KLM have split the lounge into five areas, inspired by Dutch landscapes:
Sea – recharge, refresh, sleep
Polder – eat, drink, work
City – bar and buffet
Dutch Mountain – entertainment
Sky (Upstairs) – Blue Bar, Blue Restaurant, terrace
It sounds poetic. It should create flow. But when a lounge is this overcrowded, all five areas blur into one giant, noisy obstacle course with crockery houses watching silently like tiny ceramic judges.
Food & Drink: From Soggy Croissant to Slightly Better Lunch
Let’s be clear: breakfast was a letdown.
I’m talking:
A soggy croissant
Semolina porridge
Processed scrambled eggs
Random slabs of cheese
A 'stingy' cappuccino machine
However…When breakfast ended and lunch items appeared, it did improve.
I grabbed:
An open chicken sandwich, surprisingly lovely
Sweet potato soup, genuinely warming and tasty
BUT… I still couldn’t find a seat to sit and eat it.
Upstairs: The Blue Bar (Swanky, Sunny, Stylish…)
Now here’s the twist: the Sky zone upstairs is absolutely stunning.
It’s:
Bright and flooded with natural light
Full of Delft-blue touches and Dutch china
Packed with proper aircraft views
A beautiful open bar space
The most “premium” part of the entire lounge
I thought: finally, THIS is what a flagship Schiphol lounge should feel like!
So I took a seat at the Blue Bar and waited. And waited. And waited.
10 minutes… nobody came. In the end, I gave up.
Later I learned that most drinks here cost extra (even for business class passengers). In a flagship lounge. At the airline’s home base. That felt… odd.
A gorgeous space, but functionally pointless.
Wi-Fi: A Stress Test I Didn’t Ask For
Like most humans in 2025, I rely on Wi-Fi the way I rely on oxygen.
But the Crown Lounge had other plans:
Couldn’t log in
Tried again
Tried again
Mild panic
Finally connected after some technical witchcraft
A flagship lounge should not require a full on IT meltdown to connect to wifi.
Here is my Plane Review: KLM Cityhopper Business Class Review: I Paid £60 to Upgrade… Was It Worth It? (Amsterdam to the UK)
Plane Views? Technically Yes, But…
Downstairs views are blocked by a huge metal jetty. You can see aircraft… sort of. But upstairs is the true gem, if you can look past the fact nobody seems to serve you there.
Opening Times
For anyone planning ahead: KLM Crown Lounge 52 is open daily from 4:45am to 10:00pm.
Better Lounge Options at Amsterdam Schiphol
Good news: Amsterdam has excellent alternatives.
✔ oneworld Lounge Amsterdam Schiphol .👉 Review here.
Sleek, modern, and genuinely premium a complete contrast to Crown Lounge 52
✔ Aspire Lounge Schiphol (Priority Pass)
My next stop and I have a feeling it’ll be calmer and more usable.👉 Priority Pass up to 40% off, the best offer I’ve ever seen
Why Priority Pass Is the Ultimate Travel Hack
Whether you’re flying KLM or even easyJet, Priority Pass gives you access to over 1,800 airport lounges worldwide, including the Aspire lounge at Amsterdam Schiphol.
Why it’s worth it:
Global access to 1,800+ lounges.
Saves £££ versus airport food & drinks.
Comfort, Wi-Fi, and peace before take-off.
Works across airlines, perfect for frequent UK travellers.
Hurry… these deals vanish without warning.
Final Verdict: Beautiful Concept, Chaotic Reality.
As a loyal traveller and former airline crew member, I want to love KLM, but this KLM business class lounge Amsterdam experience fell short.
The Blue Bar is genuinely gorgeous. The Dutch-themed zones are clever in theory. The lunch items were nice.
But the reality?
Overcrowded
Dirty
Stressful
Poor food options early in the day
Chaotic seating
Slow/no service
Extra charges in premium areas
A fight to get Wi-Fi
This lounge didn’t feel premium, calm, or organised and I never thought I’d say this about a business class lounge, but:
I actually preferred the terminal.
Next time: oneworld Lounge or Aspire Schiphol all the way.
KLM’s inflight service remains great, but the ground game here needs serious work… preferably before another slab of cheese is served.
Hello, I’m Paul a professional jet-setter and all-around plane travel pro. After 15 years working in and around planes, I became a flight delay expert at a London airport and mastered plane travel hacks, a PLANE flight expert with BIG travel plans but small carry-on.
Now, I share PLANE travel news, tips, reviews, and deals with honesty, humour, and zero baggage! Thanks for reading KLM Crown Lounge: My Honest Amsterdam Schiphol Lounge Review.
Plane Extras
The PLANE Smart Way to Take Off
Here are my go-to travel extras that help keep this blog (and me) airborne.
🅿️ Airport Parking Compare prices and save up to 75% at Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and more with Compare Parking Prices UK →
🍸 Lounge Access Why wait at the gate when you could sip a pre-flight prosecco?
Get 30% off a Priority Pass membership → and access 1,800+ lounges worldwide.
🌍 Travel Insurance Don’t fly without cover. Coverwise (by AXA) offers annual European cover from £10.20, including medical consultations and pre-existing conditions.
🎒 Plane Essentials My must-pack travel gear, from cabin-size backpacks to neck pillows that actually work. Shop my curated Amazon Storefront →
📱Stay Connected Avoid roaming shock. Arlo eSIMs → give you instant data in 180+ destinations, no SIM swap required.
💳 Boost Your Avios Earn faster and fly farther with my Amex Gold referral →
or track reward seats via Reward Flight Finder →.
Comments