The only lounge at KEF is the Icelandair Saga Lounge, which has modest offerings but hits all the basics for being a decent European lounge.

Location of the Icelandair Saga Lounge KEF

The Icelandair Saga Lounge is near Gate A15 and is currently the only lounge found at KEF airport. The lounge is before passport control, meaning it can be used for departures both within and outside the Schengen Area.

To access the lounge, just look for the signs that lead you to the escalator up to Floor 3.

Once at the top of the escalator, you’ll see an elevator going back down to the main level and also the entrance to the lounge. There’s nothing else up here so you can’t get lost.

Access rules

The Icelandair Saga Lounge KEF is open from 5AM to 5PM daily. However, there are times during the year (perhaps summer) when the lounge is open until 1AM. You can reliably expect it to go until at least 5PM daily.

The following guests have access to the Icelandair Saga Lounge:

• Icelandair Saga Premium passengers (no guests)
• Icelandair Saga Gold and Silver elite members + 1 guest
• Certain Icelandic-issued credit cards when flying on Icelandair
• Flying in business class on certain airlines including airBaltic, Austrian, British Airways, Delta, Discover, Edelweiss, Finnair, LOT, Lufthansa, SAS, United Airlines (no guests)
• Having oneworld Sapphire or Emerald status under one of the following conditions (all +1 guest):
  • Alaska Airlines status (when flying Icelandair)
  • British Airways status (when flying British Airways)
  • Finnair status
• Having Star Alliance Gold status under one of the following conditions (all +1 guest):
  • Miles and More status holders flying Austrian, Discover, Edelweiss, LOT, Lufthansa
• Having SkyTeam Elite Plus status when flying Delta but excluding status earned via Delta (+1 guest)

Confusingly, there’s also a PDF they created that has slightly different rules. Rules do change as other carriers change their contracts with this lounge. Before your flight, you’ll want to do a little research to see if you have access or ask the staff when you check in on arrival.

Seating at the Icelandair Saga Lounge KEF

For the most part, the lounge is just one giant open space. You might think that the lounge could get crowded in here given it’s the only lounge at the airport, but at least when we were here in the morning, it wasn’t bad at all. In the center of the lounge, you’ll find a pile of stones. It’s the easiest way to validate where you are in the lounge if you get lost easily.

There is a small placard on the pile of rocks to let you know what it is. It’s a travelers guide so you don’t get lost in Iceland, of course.

As for the seating itself, I like to think of it as the white cloth side and the black leather side. Up above was the white cloth side and down below is the leather side. Pretty simplistic, but it works. It seemed like much of the seating was already arranged to be convenient for couples or families to chat.

If you prefer some more rigid tables for eating, you’ll find tables and barstools near the dining area.

Or, if relaxation is more of your thing, there is a nice section of daybeds facing the window. Not a bad place to do some plane spotting.

There are views of the apron from here, as you can see in the photo below.

The food in the Icelandair Saga Lounge KEF

Food in the Icelandair Saga Lounge is served buffet style. Compared with other lounges, we’d say it’s on the simpler side. It seemed more consistent with an above-average lounge in North America rather than some magnificent spread. Honestly, it was a bit better than we were expecting coming in considering Icelandair doesn’t operate any true business class cabin. I mean, Copa operates a true business class cabin but the spread in their lounge doesn’t come close to this one. And that’s where my mind was coming in.

On top of that, Iceland is expensive, so running a lounge like this can’t be cheap for Icelandair regardless. We’d get it if they just kept things low cost.

Anyways, we’ll mostly let the photos do the talking. We were here for breakfast service and left before it switched to lunch.

Before you ask, no, there are no scrambled eggs here. In fact, aside from some hardboiled eggs, you’re not going to find any eggs. It’s not like many chickens live on Iceland!

Drinks

If you get thirsty, there are plenty of options to keep you hydrated (or remove your hydration). You’ve got the orange juice and apple juice pictured above or the coffee machine below. Off in the distance, you can also spy some hard liquor if you need that kick in the morning.

There are also two large refrigerators with glass doors. One has plenty of soft drinks inside.

While the other is packed with beer and wine. The beer at least appeared to be all local brands.

Kids area

A little surprisingly, the lounge has a small area for kids. It’s not much–just a little area with some magnet tiles and a few other building blocks mixed in. But at least there’s something here to entertain your child!

Char at least enjoyed herself here for a bit after eating. Oddly enough, this setup isn’t that far away from the section with the daybeds. You’d think they would design the relaxation area to be away from the kids area, but I guess that’s why they get paid the big bucks.

Now, if you really want to hang out in a play area in the airport, you might find more for you outside the lounge. This small play structure is with the non-Schengen departures. I’d imagine there are other spots in the rest of the airport.

Showers

I didn’t have enough time to check out the showers on this trip, but a shower room is available. Just chat with the front desk upon entry if you’d like to use it.

Might as well also call it out here that toiletries are from the Blue Lagoon. Could be your last chance to enjoy their amenities until the next time you’re in town.

Recommendation: It’s nice enough but don’t go out of your way

We like the Icelandair Saga Lounge at KEF. In our opinion, the airline does a good job maintaining this lounge in spite of the fact the focus isn’t generally on premium travel. Still, it’s most certainly not one of the most aspirational lounges we’ve been to within Europe or elsewhere. If you have access, by all means come here and I think you’ll be fine. But we wouldn’t go out of our way to plan a long layover here. Iceland is far too beautiful to spend it just sitting in a lounge.

Have you tried out the Icelandair Saga Lounge yet?

View other posts in this series:

• Trip Introduction: Springtime in the Land of Fire and Ice
• A Nice Time at the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse LAX
• Simple But Effective: Virgin Atlantic 787-9 Upper Class LAX-LHR
• Sofitel London Heathrow: Great for LHR Terminal 5
• Now With a Nice Kids Area: British Airways Galleries South
• The Reykjavik EDITION: Simple Luxury But Not Perfect
• The Steakhouse (Steikhúsið): A Great Spot in Reykjavik
• Forréttabarinn Reykjavik: Excellent Small Dishes, Good for the Family
• Northern Lights in Iceland: What to Know and How to Find
• Blue Lagoon Iceland: What You Need to Know Before You Visit
• Driving in Iceland: About As Simple As In The United States
• Vik, Iceland: An Excellent Day Trip From Reykjavik
• The Amazing Golden Circle in Iceland: Path and Activities
• Best Things to do in Reykjavik with Kids
• Where to eat in Reykjavik with Kids
• Icelandair Saga Lounge KEF: Simple But Calming (this post)