[CDG T1] Star Alliance Lounge at Paris Charles de Gaulle Terminal 1 (Open Oct 2023)

[yflyer]

At the recent Future Travel Experience (FTE) Asia Event held at Marina Bay Sands Singapore earlier this month, Star Alliance CEO Theo Panagiotoulias spoke about the newly opened Star Alliance Lounge at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, citing it as an example of the shared benefits of the Star Alliance for both pax as well as the airlines in the alliance.

He also spoke about recent trends in travel, for example in the past business class was dominated by business travelers, whereas now, there is an increasingly important segment of premium leisure travellers who are also flying business class, and this new customer profile also had to be factored into airlines' products and the lounge design.



This new Star Alliance Lounge is at CDG Terminal 1, where SQ currently operates, and is the designated lounge for SQ pax. This lounge has been open since mid October 2023.

[yflyer]

Fellow SQTalker 9V-SIA visited the lounge earlier this week, prior to his SQ flight back to SIngapore, and was kind enough to share photos, and a brief video, of the lounge. All photos and videos of the lounge in this thread are credited to 9V-SIA.

Photo Credit: 9V-SIA

[yflyer]

Automated boarding pass scanners to enter the lounge.


Photo Credit: 9V-SIA

Lounge seating, with good airside views...


Photo Credit: 9V-SIA



Photo Credit: 9V-SIA

Corridor which runs the length of the lounge...


Photo Credit: 9V-SIA


Photo Credit: 9V-SIA

Food station separating the seating area from some mini cubicles...


Photo Credit: 9V-SIA


Photo Credit: 9V-SIA

Mini cubicles in yellow...


Photo Credit: 9V-SIA


Photo Credit: 9V-SIA

[yflyer]

Work tables...


Photo Credit: 9V-SIA


Photo Credit: 9V-SIA

Rooftop garden...


Photo Credit: 9V-SIA

[yflyer]

Wine Cellar...


Photo Credit: 9V-SIA

A dedicated wine cellar and drinking lounge...


Photo Credit: 9V-SIA


Photo Credit: 9V-SIA

Dining area...


Photo Credit: 9V-SIA

To end this brief report, here is a short video of the lounge, and some of the breakfast dining options...

Video Credit: 9V-SIA

Thank you very much, 9V-SIA, for sharing the excellent photos and video!

[MAN Flyer]

Looks very nice. They must have kept the SQ (FCL/TPR) Lounge designers well away as it has plenty of natural light, tarmac views and an outdoor area.....

I seem to recall visiting another *A lounge at CDG about 10 years ago.

[9V-SIA]

I liked the lounge. Decent offerings for breakfast.

I don't know what SQ has against tarmac views and/or sunlight

On a separate note, the inflight food ex-CDG is excellent! Try the BTC beef udon soup for breakfast!

[yflyer]

Two Years On: The Star Alliance Lounge at Paris Charles De Gaulle (CDG) Terminal 1

The Star Alliance Lounge at CDG T1 has been open for just over two years, since October 2023. On SQTalk, we were fortunate to have photos of the lounge shared by 9V-SIA, when he visited in mid November 2023, just a month after opening. Those pics are at the start of this thread.

How has the lounge evolved after 2 years? What is the lounge experience like these days?

I visited this lounge last week, at the end of a short wine-tasting trip to Bordeaux, via Paris. I spent time in the CDG T1 Star Alliance Lounge in the evening before my flight SQ337 CDG-SIN. A full trip report covering the trip to Bordeaux is, of course, in the works, however I thought I would share my impressions of the lounge in this thread before working on the TR.

[yflyer]

CDG Terminal 1 is an iconic airport terminal designed by architect Paul Andreu. It has a distinctive circular design, and was originally surrounded by 7 smaller satellite terminals. When CDG re-opened in 2022 after the pandemic, satellites 1,2 and 3 were renovated and combined into a single large satellite terminal, serving mainly non-Schengen (i.e. non-EU) flights, and that is where the new Star Alliance T1 Lounge is located.



To get to the satellite terminal and the lounge, you checked in as per normal at CDG T1, then proceed up the covered escalators in the middle of the main circular terminal structure...



...before proceeding through yet another series of long tunnels...



...to the large new satellite terminal, where you go through passport checks and security before emerging into a large shopping atrium and gate area.



The Star Alliance Lounge is located one level up from the shopping and gate level, accessible via lift.

[yflyer]

The main banner above the lounge entrance shows just the Star Alliance logo.



There are autogates which open when you scan an eligible boarding pass. For eligible guests, the autogate also prompts you to ask if you are checking in a guest. There was a manned reception counter next to the autogates.



The lounge entrance was decorated for Halloween. Either that or one of the passengers has been delayed for a very very long time.

[yflyer]

The first thing you saw when you entered was a very inviting bar, with an ice bucket full of bottles of sparkling wine, and an impressive array of spirits on the shelf.



From there, you could turn right to head to the wine room and dining room, or head left for more seating, work area and showers.



Decor was stylish, and everything still looked really new.



Some sofa seating faced large windows.



There was a curved seating area, the tea salon...



...with a selection of teas and coffees available.



The convex side of the tea salon had more seating installed, facing the windows.



There was a spacious work area...



Proper work tables...



...and several enclosed private rooms where you could work in silence and even do video calls.



There was also a large open-air seating area, which I think would be very popular in the warmer months.

[yflyer]

Given that this was France, where some of the world's best wines were produced, there was a beautiful wine room.



There were a selection of French red and white wines on offer, all supplied by the winemaker Gerard Bertrand, from in the South of France.



Four white wines...



...and two reds.



I tasted some of these wines, and thought there was a decent selection of styles and grape varietals on offer. The wines I tasted were young, fruity and accessible.

That said, I had just come from a week in Bordeaux, and had tasted some very fine wines there, so maybe my tastebuds were now a little spoilt.

Perhaps I was also hoping for a little more choice than just wines from a single winemaker, although the sheer variety of wines made by Gerard Bertrand were certainly impressive.

[yflyer]

I headed back to the bar counter for some bubbles.



I sampled a glass of each bottle.



Very refreshing, although I might have missed having Champagne rather than Cremant just a little.



The liquor selection was quite decent.



The basic food groups were well represented...



There was something I had not encountered in any other lounge in Europe: Moutai!



Mixers were in refrigerator under the bar.



So far so good, a tick in the box as far as wine and liquor was concerned.

My next stop was the dining room.

[yflyer]

I headed to the dining area...



There was a decent buffet selection on offer, comprising both cold selections and appetisers...



...as well as a decent spread of hot selections.



Salads...



An impressive cheese board...



Smoked salmon...



Cold cuts...



Cream soup (as well as a separate pot of miso soup)...



A bread cart...

[yflyer]

Moving on to the hot selections...

There were tasty beef empanadas...



Steaming hot mussels in parsley and garlic butter...



On the Asian front, there were what looked like shrimp har gao. I can't say they tasted like authentic har gao, but at least an attempt was made...



The selection of mains was pretty satisfying.

Hake fillets with lemon and dill butter sauce...



Delicious beef tortellini...



Very satisfying beef meatballs and wild rice...



Salt cod fritters...



Italian style sauteed vegetables...



Gyoza and vegetarian noodles...



A small dessert spread...



...and muffins.



Overall, this was a satisfying buffet spread. There were both hits and misses on offer but I think most folks would be able to find dishes that they liked.

What I did miss was live cooking stations, such as those at SQ and NH Business Class Lounges, as well as TK's amazing Istanbul lounges, which would have elevated the food offerings even more.