Lounge Reviews Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Benjamin J Travel

Lounge Review: Qantas First LAX Lounge

Lounge Review: Qantas First LAX Lounge

24 January, 2017 Benjamin J Travel Comments 4 comments

I can’t count the number of raving reviews about the Qantas First LAX lounge in Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. Naturally, my expectations were high on my first visit to this lounge. I had just flown into LAX from DFW on an older 777-200 in the old Flagship First suites. I gained access to the Qantas First LAX lounge thanks to my OneWorld Emerald status and my international Cathay Pacific itinerary. This lounge also grants access to passengers ticketed…

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Lounge Review: Alaska Board Room LAX

Lounge Review: Alaska Board Room LAX

15 January, 2017 Benjamin J Travel Comments 2 comments

I’ve had several visits to to the Alaska Board Room LAX and it’s my second favorite lounge at LAX after the KAL Lounge in the Tom Bradley International Terminal. Alaska Airlines is one of those companies who knows what they do well and sticks to it! I’ve also visited the Seattle Board Room in Terminal D, but I prefer the LAX location. While the LAX Board Room is smaller and subject to crowding as well, I’ve had multiple enjoyable visits. Located…

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Soft Opening: Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge at London Heathrow

Soft Opening: Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge at London Heathrow

1 December, 2016 Benjamin J Travel Comments 1 comment

While not officially opening until the grand opening on December 7th, I had the lucky chance to visit the newly refreshed Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge at London Heathrow on only their second day of operation! Thanks to the heads up from a fellow travel geek, I happened to be transiting through London Heathrow Terminal 3 on American Airlines on this day. Chris, my Dad, and I were headed back to Dallas from our Irish road trip. This was certainly…

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Lounge Review: Returning to the Iberia Velázquez Sala VIP Madrid | Terminal 4S

Lounge Review: Returning to the Iberia Velázquez Sala VIP Madrid | Terminal 4S

13 November, 2016 Benjamin J Travel Comments 2 comments

Terminal 4S is the primary terminal for Iberia, American Airlines, and other OneWorld carriers. It’s a fantastic, award-winning terminal design with some striking architectural features. Despite all this lovely design, I do find the fact that the Velasquez lounge entrance is located inside the duty free shop. The bright silver hues of the perfume section blend in with the stainless steel doors of the lounge. The Iberia staff was polite and I was promptly checked in. The lounge is very…

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Lounge Review: British Airways Galleries First Lounge | LHR Terminal 5

Lounge Review: British Airways Galleries First Lounge | LHR Terminal 5

31 October, 2016 Benjamin J Travel Comments 9 comments

Fresh off our Virgin Atlantic flight in Upper Class from Detroit and a refreshing visit to the Virgin Atlantic Revivals Lounge, it was time to head to Terminal 5 and spend a bit of time in the Galleries First Lounge. Even after 90 minutes in the Revivals lounge, we still had 3 hours to pass before our British Airways flight to Santorini. Obviously Virgin Atlantic and BA aren’t partner airlines so we needed to re-check out bags onto BA. Once we…

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Lounge Review: Lufthansa Senator Lounge Frankfurt | Concourse Z

Lounge Review: Lufthansa Senator Lounge Frankfurt | Concourse Z

19 October, 2016 Benjamin J Travel Comments 2 comments

While the First Class lounges and the dedicated First Class Terminal get all the attention at Frankfurt Airport, I think the Lufthansa Business Class Senator Lounge in Frankfurt is worth more than just an honorable mention. After connecting from my BA CitFlyer flight from London City, I had about 2 hours to transfer terminals and explore the lounge. Fortunately, I avoided checking a bag at London City with British Airways to make the transfer at FRA relatively painless. I had arrived at Terminal 2…

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Lounge Review Escape Lounge MSP Airport

Lounge Review: Escape Lounge at MSP Airport

8 October, 2016 Benjamin J Travel Comments 0 Comment

With a decently long layover before our Air France flight to Paris, we had some time to pass at the Minneapolis airport. MSP is a pretty nice airport in itself and probably my favorite US Delta hub. We decided to have some lounge time at he Escape Lounge which is located on the upper or Mezzanine level of the terminal, right at the entrance to Concourse E. We gained access to the lounge as a part of my Priority Pass…

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Virgin Atlantic Revivals Lounge 747 Queen of The Skies

Lounge Review: Virgin Atlantic Revivals Lounge | London Heathrow

19 September, 2016 Benjamin J Travel Comments 4 comments

To be honest, I often feel a bit disappointed with some airlines’ arrival lounges. They aren’t usually as nice as the departure lounges you often see airside. Well thanks to the Virgin Atlantic Revivals Lounge, my faith in the arrivals lounge has been restored.. We had just arrived from Detroit on VS 108 aboard Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class product. Our flight had been quite the pleasure but even after a delightful flight, I crave the chance to freshen up and…

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Delta Sky Club DFW

Lounge Review: Delta Sky Club DFW

7 September, 2016 Benjamin J Travel Comments 1 comment

Located in the sleepy Terminal E at DFW, the Delta Sky Club DFW is located at the very end of the Delta gates. Terminal E is still under a complete rennovation so the Delta Sky Club DFW has moved around in recent years. I’m not an incredibly frequent flyer of Delta these days but I do have access thanks to my American Express Platinum card. But for this particular journey, we were traveling internationally in Business Class with Delta and…

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Lounge Review: KAL Lounge LAX

Lounge Review: KAL Lounge LAX

29 August, 2016 Benjamin J Travel Comments 2 comments

Ready for some relaxation before my departure for London, I headed to the KAL Lounge LAX in the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT). Since I was traveling on two different airlines on this journey, I gained access thanks to my Priority Pass membership. This lounge serves premium SkyTeam passengers in addition to Priority Pass members. Note: If you are accessing the KAL Lounge LAX using Priority Pass, you can only access the lounge between 12:00 PM and 8:00 PM daily….

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British Airways Lounge at DFW

Lounge Review: British Airways Lounge at DFW

16 August, 2016 Benjamin J Travel Comments 2 comments

The British Airways Lounge at DFW is a mini-lounge inside the larger Terminal D “Airline Clubs” complex at DFW. This complex This lounge complex is home to several international carrier lounges plus The Club at DFW, a Priority Pass lounge. Currently, airlines at this lounge complex include British Airways, Etihad, Emirates, Korean, Lufthansa, Qantas, and Qatar. We had started our pre-departure routine with the Centurion Lounge, which was painfully overcrowded. So we decided to head over to the BA Lounge. I…

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How Overrated is the DFW Amex Centurion Lounge?

How Overrated is the DFW Amex Centurion Lounge?

14 August, 2016 Benjamin J Travel Comments 4 comments

Let me preface this “review” with a full admission that I frequent the DFW Amex Centurion Lounge on a regular basis. As an American Express Platinum card holder, I receive complimentary access, regardless of airline or class of service I’m flying. Platinum Card and Centurion Card holders receive complimentary access (plus 2 guests) while holders of any other American Express card can access the lounge for a $50 fee. When this lounge isn’t crowded, it’s a decent place to grab a…

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Budapest Premium Airport Lounge

Lounge Review: Budapest Premium Airport Lounge

19 July, 2016 Benjamin J Travel Comments 0 Comment

Flying aboard Club Europe from Budapest to London Heathrow, we were provided access to the Budapest Premium Airport Lounge, which is located very near the British Airways gates. We didn’t have a lot of time to spend here but I wanted to grab a quick bite and check some emails before departure. The Budapest Premium Airport Lounge is in the non-Schengen zone. You’ll the head up a staircase to the upper level above the gate area. A lot of airlines…

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Lounge Review: Caral VIP Lounge | Mérida Airport

9 July, 2016 Benjamin J Travel Comments 3 comments

It’s no secret that the Mérida airport is a small one. For a city of over a million inhabitants, I am a little surprised at the petite nature of this Yucatan gateway. But nonetheless, there are two full air lounges at MID, although both landslide. As a Priority Pass holder, I received access for myself and Chris to visit the Caral VIP Lounge. The other lounge in the Mérida airport is the Aeromexico Sala Premier. Check-in was very quick and the…

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Lounge Review: British Airways Galleries Club | London Heathrow Terminal 3

Lounge Review: British Airways Galleries Club | London Heathrow Terminal 3

26 June, 2016 Benjamin J Travel Comments 1 comment

This review covers the British Airways Galleries Club Lounge at London Heathrow Airport in Terminal 3. There are several Galleries Clubs at LHR. Please check BA.com for a full directory. After a nice, long transatlantic flight from Dallas to London aboard British Airways in Club World Business Class, we arrived at LHR’s Terminal 5. While British Airways is the exclusive operator of flights at Terminal 5, they are also operate a number of flights from Terminal 3. Terminal 5 is…

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New Lounges for the Priority Pass Network (Including Sleeping Cabins in Paris!) Priority Pass ERSTE Prague Airport Lounge

Lounge Review: ERSTE Premium Lounge | Prague Airport

24 June, 2016 Benjamin J Travel Comments 3 comments

Continuing on our journey through Central and Eastern Europe, we were headed form Prague to Krakow via Warsaw on LOT Polish. After a sour check-in experience with Czech Airlines earlier in the week, the quick check-in at PRG and LOT Polish was a nice change. We checked our bags and cleared security in about 5 minutes. We has just short of two hours to pass at the Prague Airport. We received complimentary access to this lounge thanks to my Priority…

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Business Lounge Krakow Airport

Lounge Review: Business Lounge Krakow Airport

20 June, 2016 Benjamin J Travel Comments 1 comment

Krakow’s airport is currently undergoing a massive renovation that includes a new terminal building. While the building is beautiful and modern, I fear that growing passenger traffic will cause the new airport to be overcrowded very quickly. On our day of travel, most of the terminal was complete except the check-in desks. The old check-in desks are very small and the crowds don’t have much room to move. The new security area is spacious, roomy, and efficient. However, post-security, you…

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Main Lounge Seating

Lounge Review: Iberia Velázquez Sala VIP Madrid | Terminal 4S

13 June, 2016 Benjamin J Travel Comments 2 comments

Terminal 4S is the primary terminal for Iberia, American Airlines, and other OneWorld carriers. It’s a fantastic, award-winning terminal design with some striking architectural features. Despite all this lovely design, I do find the fact that the Velasquez lounge entrance is located inside the duty free shop. The bright silver hues of the perfume section blend in with the stainless steel doors of the lounge. The Iberia staff was polite and I was promptly checked in. The lounge is very…

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Lounge Review: British Airways Galleries Lounge at LHR | Terminal 5 North

23 May, 2016 Benjamin J Travel Comments 5 comments

After a nice Business Class flight from Dallas to London, I faced a somewhat lengthy connection at LHR. American Airlines serves Terminal 3 at LHR and since I was connecting onto British Airways at Terminal 5, that meant a lovely bus transfer for me. Fortunately, time was of no shortage. After about 30 minutes of bus rides and clearing LHR security, I was free to roam Terminal 5. In case you’ve never been, LHR is never a quiet…

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Lounge Review: Cathay Pacific Lounges at Hong Kong | The Wing Business Class vs. The Bridge Business Class

Lounge Review: Cathay Pacific Lounges at Hong Kong | The Wing Business Class vs. The Bridge Business Class

30 April, 2016 Benjamin J Travel Comments 2 comments

On my latest trip to Hong Kong, I flew American’s ultra-longhaul flight between DFW and Hong Kong on both outbound and the return. I did visit the American Airlines Admiral Club at DFW on the outbound flight which is an okay lounge. However, in comparison, the Cathay Pacific lounges at HKG are fantastic. With a 2:30 PM departure from HKG on my return flight, I arrived fairly early to the airport as I wanted plenty of time spend in one or more of…

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