Has anybody used the 1st class lounge at the Zurich trainstation?

What do you feel is the value of the service/facility?

I used it once at Zürich HB, as a guest since the bloody 2nd Class GA was not allowed ( even with a month upgrade to 1st class ). My boss had a 1st Class GA. Peaceful and nice place to relax enroute to another destination.



http://www.sbb.ch/en/travelcards-and...bb-lounge.html

Terms of Use here

Would you consider a 1st class GA, if there were more lounges like that around the country?

LIB, are you considering buying a ticket (or was that just trams?)?

I really do not need a lounge in Zürich since home is pretty close by. The 2nd class GA is already expensive and will go up at every December when the timetable change ( 9th December 2011 ).

Presently, the Klassenwechsel to 1st class will do for me ( especially when part time jobs fund it ) - about 3 months out of a year especially during colder months ( lovely space and warmth in 1st class ).

I might be tempted for more lounges at border points eg Geneva / airport, Lugano / Chiasso, Basel, Konstanz, St. Margarethen, Buchs, SG etc.

No, not at all..I was just curious what the perceived value of that particular lounge is.

Yes, a friend and a relative have each bought me beers there. One time it was as crowded and noisy as any bar, the other it was quiet and comfortable.

(You didn't really ask me, but) No.

Have used the Zurich lounge. It was nice but nothing to go out of the way to use, etc. If I had a long layover to wait for a train, it is handy, but otherwise, getting in/out of Zurich is very easy on my route, so not much need. And a sort of gripe, I have children and the place is not at all child friendly. I can understand if they want to attract the excutive business traveler, but don't make it impossible or disincentive for everyone else.

As for other places, there is supposed to be one in Geneva after the train station renovations, as I recall. Again, for the same reasons, if I get stranded there, ok, but generally on my route, etc. not much need for it. I would see a bigger need in perhaps Basel, or other places that connect to euro trains, i.e. where there can be longish layovers and delays.

edited to add: did use a similar type of lounge in Austria, so on the longer haul, european rail lines, they can be handy when delays or long connections are the norm.

I usually arrive at the train station 5 minutes before departure... I didn't even know they had lounges.

My husband has a 3 train commute, Oerlikon-Belp - till January anyway, and he's got a 1st class GA. He likes the lounge in Zurich, usually he waits there when he's missed the Zurich-Bern train in the evening. He got the 1st class GA so he could work more easily on the train and be more comfortable in the nearly 4 hours a day he's been commuting. But he says the lounge is nice, he appreciates it and he uses it - sort of an unanticipated benefit.

I hope that "'til January" means you're moving so that he won't have to commute 4 hours a day. Good Lord that's gotta be tearing the family apart.

He did this so I could finish my treatments in Bern. We figured for one semester, we could do it, but he is a tired pup. We're fine though. He has a fairly flexible schedule - it just really sucks when he has to be there at like 8:30 or 9 AM. We are moving to Winterthur in January where he'll have a much better commute.

We are not people who commute well over a long time. Even in the US, we had only one car between us, and never more than half an hour away from work. I could not imagine spending an hour or more in the car each way each day.

I used to think I'd like to live in Zuri and commute to Basel... so glad I opted not to even though I would prefer the social opportunities in Zurich. I did the hour-each-way commute in DC for 10 years... I don't miss it at all.

I guess that's why the idea of sitting in a lounge blows my mind... why would anyone want to spend more time than they need to instead of getting to/from where they need to be?

there's a BK, McD and various kebab shops very close or in HB. if i have a few spare minutes in HB, i wouldn't be spending it in the lounge

EDIT: as you can tell, i have KFC on the brain due to the w/e KFC-deprivation

KFC ? This must be new and should be of interest to the OP

It certainly wasn't a factor in mine. Now that I know it exists, though, I'm going to start making use of it. Let's do the math:

I'm at the HB roughly 15 days a month.

A coke at the HB kiosk costs, what, 3.50?

If I get a coke every day, that's the equivalent of 52.50. If I get one for the girlfriend or whatever other guest I have wtih me, that comes out to 105 CHF per month.

You *almost* have the difference between 1st and 2nd class GA right there. ;-)

Certainly, plus you get free wifi as well.