Chilling In Air France Lounge Sauna

I’m live-blogging my SAS EuroBonus SkyTeam Milion Mile challenge this week. Click here for background and route information.

After arriving too late at the Hilton Madrid and then again too late at the Marriott CDG Airport to sit in the sauna, it was lovely to finally sit in one for 20 minutes inside the Air France Lounge sauna in CDG Terminal 2E.

The Refreshing Sauna Air France Lounge (CDG – 2E)

I won’t rehash here the importance I place in a sauna beyond saying I consider it very healthy and it is a daily part of my routine at home. When I choose hotels, that is one of the amenities I always look for.

We left our hotel at 5:30 am from our hotel and were through passport control and security by 6:00 am at CDG. Our flight to Tunis was departing from Terminal 2E, so we made use of the lovely Air France Lounge in 2E thanks to my SAS Gold status.

My agenda was clear: a beeline for the sauna. There are only two (one for each gender) and I hoped that the men’s sauna would be empty. It was.

The sauna suite includes a changing area, a huge walk-in shower, and then the sauna itself, which is big enough for four people, though you have it all to yourself for 40 minutes (available on a first-come, first-served basis with no sign-ups).

We hopped in and I loved that the temperature was hovering above 80ºC. It felt great to sweat it out for 20 minutes (Augustine tells me he enjoys the sauna and often asks to accompany me at home, but needed a five-minute break in the middle).

It was so refreshing to step out of the sauna, shower, and finally feel awake after a sleepless night.

We then enjoyed a nice breakfast in the lounge before boarding our flight to Tunis.

My favorite part of the trip thus far has been this moment…what fun to enjoy a sauna in an airport lounge with my son!