Air France Lounge Paris Review: Facials, Long Waits

If you are flying Air France business or La Première class, or have SkyTeam Elite Plus status, you can spend your layover in an Air France lounge instead of wandering around the terminal.

Air France has six lounges in the Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. The location in Terminal 2E, Hall L has plenty of space to eat, drink and relax. It even has showers and a spa for a mini facial — if you can get an appointment.

Here’s what it’s like inside the Air France Lounge in Terminal 2E, Hall L.

The Air France Lounge in Terminal 2E, Hall L is located after security on Level 1 near Gucci and the duty-free shop, near gates L41 and L42. It’s open every day from 5:30 a.m. until 11:30 p.m. and is accessible to passengers with limited mobility.

There are also other Air France lounges in other terminals, but because Charles de Gaulle is a massive mess of terminals that don’t all connect, it can be difficult to get to locations outside of your terminal.

Flyers with Air France first or business class and passengers with certain levels of elite status can enter the Air France lounges for free.

Anyone flying in the La Première cabin gets complimentary access for themselves, one adult guest and any children under the age of 12 (no maximum on the number of children). Business cabin passengers with a Standard or Flex fare can get into the lounge, but they aren’t allowed guests.

The levels of elite status that qualify for free Air France lounge access are:

I was flying business class and have SkyTeam Elite Plus status, so I qualified for free access in multiple ways.

Passengers can get into the lounge up to three hours before a flight’s scheduled departure time or for any length of time during a connection.

The Air France lounge in Terminal 2E, Hall L opened after a re-design in January 2018. It is more than 34,000 square feet.

There are several types of seating — from tables and chairs to more comfortable lounging areas — and power stations for charging devices are abundant. Just remember, you’re in Europe and will need an adapter for American chargers.

The wall of windows overlooks a highway, not airport operations.

There are more quiet areas away from the main room that have booths where people can take calls without disturbing others.

Le Balcon is a swanky space with a reflective ceiling and a self-serve champagne and wine station.

The Air France lounge in Terminal 2E, Hall L features almost 6,000 square feet of wellness space including relaxation areas, a spa and several showers. The main area is one big room and the dedicated spaces are down hallways.

The lounge’s spa treatments are free and available every day except Wednesday. The hours for spa treatments are from 7:40 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 3:20 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on the days they are available.

In order to receive a spa treatment, you have to book on a tablet in the spa area. As is often the case with lounge spas, treatments get booked very quickly.

Even though I arrived in the lounge at about 2 p.m., I couldn’t make a spa appointment until it opened at 3:20 p.m. I set an alarm so I could go back to the spa area and make one. Once booked, I received an email and text confirmation of the appointment.

I was able to get an appointment for a mini facial for just about 45 minutes before I needed to head to my gate. It was a nice and relaxing way to rehydrate my skin before my next flight.

While waiting for the spa to open, I took a shower. I was surprised the wait for the showers wasn’t too bad, and I was able to take one as soon as I arrived in the lounge.

The shower suites have everything you need, except an exhaust fan. Taking a hot shower seemed like a good idea at the time, but then it felt like a steam room while I was getting dressed.

Shampoo and shower gel are provided, but no conditioner. There was a dental kit, a comb and a vanity kit on the counter.

The lounge also has both a small kids room and a relaxation room with very comfortable lounge chairs.

There didn’t seem to be much to do in the kids area, but there was a door separating it from the main rooms, so if the kids need to let off some steam, they won’t disturb anyone.

While I enjoyed the nap chairs in the relaxation room, it was weird to have my luggage next to me. I also didn’t know how to set an alarm so I wouldn’t miss my flight without disturbing the other relaxing passengers.

One thing that stood out was an art installation in the area near the spa and relaxation rooms that had lights that changed colors. While it was pretty, it seemed a bit out of place to me.

There is also free Wi-Fi throughout the lounge, so if you need to get work done on your layover, it is easy to stay connected.

One big drawback I noticed was that there didn’t seem to be enough restrooms for the space. I had to wait each time I went.

I was hungry when I got off my flight from Atlanta, so I was happy to see the self-serve buffet in the lounge with both hot and cold food options.

There are two food areas, one near an open kitchen area and another in the other direction.

Trays are a nice touch to the buffet so you don’t have to juggle plates, bowls and glasses.

All of the food in the lounges is sustainably-sourced with the baked goods, pastries, eggs, poultry and dairy products all being from France.

The food was okay, but I expected a bit more. There were a few hot dishes, a few cold salads and some cheeses (it is France, after all!).

Alcohol and other beverages are available from self-serve areas. While this was convenient, it would be nice in a business class lounge to have a bartender or a coffee area that was more than just a machine.

As you’d expect in France, there was no shortage of wine and champagne.

Overall, I enjoyed my few hours in the Air France lounge in Hall L. It was nice to freshen up with a shower and eat a bit. The relaxation room seemed a bit odd, since I didn’t want to fall asleep with my luggage sitting there and without an audible alarm.

One thing to keep in mind is it can be quite a walk from the lounge to the gates at the end of Hall L. My gate was about 15 minutes away. That walk can seem daunting after a couple glasses of nice French champagne.

Top photo courtesy of Tiffani Sherman.