this lounge holds a special place in my heart as the first lounge i ever took a shower in — actually not too long ago (last December), but before i started my review series several months later.
ease of access and location: after entering the lounge, make a right and the showers are down a hallway along the right side. if no one is at the desk, sign yourself in (last name, time, origin and destination airports). both times that i’ve been here, the attendants have been quite brusque, but don’t worry, they won’t actually bite. their English may be limited, but it will all work out. i had to wait a couple minutes (“ZWEI MINUTEN!”) for the room (“NUMMER VIER!”) to be ready but other than that there was no line.
the rooms are decently-sized with ample space for your stuff. hooks with hangers are distributed along the wall, but oddly no hook near the sink for a towel.
the goods: towel on the floor outside the shower, a folded bath towel, and a hand towel underneath the amenities. no face towel/washcloth. the quality of the towels isn’t that great, but they have a pleasant fabric softener smell (sadly not my favorite Lenor). there is a combo shampoo/body wash dispenser mounted in the shower.
amenity-wise, you get a toothbrush set, a shaving set, a comb, a tube of lotion, and a disposable cup. i don’t think they were any special brand, but the body wash and lotion seemed to be decent enough. there is also a hair dryer and outlet with switchable voltage.
shower:
a pretty standard shower. top knob controls water flow, bottom knob the temperature. the hot water was hot and even, but a word of warning: unless you want to make a big wet mess everywhere (ahem), you probably don’t want to turn the top knob all the way up. there’s no shower curtain and even with medium flow the towel functioning as the mat will get quite damp. beware how you position your body parts lest you dribble water all over the floor (e.g, when washing your hair, don’t stick your elbow out). so yeah, there can indeed be too much of a good thing — beware the sink as well (don’t turn it on full blast) or you will end up with a sprinkled wet crotchal area. ahem, err, not that i’m speaking from experience… : (gott sei dank for the hair dryer!)
cleanliness and state of facilities: for as gruff as the shower attendants/cleaners are, they do a great job maintaining the showers. unlike several of my experiences elsewhere, everything is in tip-top shape and working order. certainly no complaints here.
overall rating: 4 out of 5. other than water pressure that is too strong for its own good, this shower has everything i want. certainly not luxurious, but definitely gets the job done. space for my shit? check. continuous hot water? check. clean? check. toothbrush? check. i’m glad this was my first ever shower experience those many months ago as it did a great job setting expectations.