Is this the best Priority Pass lounge in the country?
There's a lovely new addition to the lounge landscape in San Francisco: The Priority Pass lounge called "The Club" is now open at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). While the lounge is crowded and often has a line to get in, I'd argue it's still the best Priority Pass lounge in the U.S.
There are a ton of amenities, the staff is friendly and you'll find a good selection of food and drinks.
Here's what you can expect and why you should check it out the next time you fly out of San Francisco.
The Club location at SFO
The Club opened in June at SFO's Harvey Milk Terminal 1. Both times I passed by in October, there was a line to get in; however, it was only a five-minute wait when I visited before a recent flight to New York.
As you enter the lobby area on the terminal's main floor, you'll see a large staircase.
There is an elevator behind the check-in desks, but it was not working while I was visiting (except by request of those in wheelchairs). Instead, the luggage area near the elevator was being used for storage, so people didn't have to lug their bags up two flights of steps to the main lounge.
The staircase is a dramatic way to enter the space, but hopefully the elevator won't be offline for long.
The Club SFO is definitely the nicest Priority Pass lounge I've been to in the U.S.
Unlike most of the 20 clubs in the domestic Priority Pass network, this one is chic and well designed. A dramatic lighting feature frames the space. (Although, as you can see, it gets quite full.)
I had trouble getting photos that didn't make it look packed to the gills, but it didn't feel as crowded as it looked.
Around the corner from the main dining area, there is a long, gorgeous bar serving top-shelf cocktails, beer and wine.
The Club SFO entry requirements
Travelers with Priority Pass can access The Club SFO for free. Those with LoungeKey membership also get free entry. Priority Pass and LoungeKey are owned by the Collinson Group, The Club's parent company.
Many of our top recommended credit cards include a Priority Pass membership. The Club SFO sells day passes for $75 each. On my visit, I simply presented my Priority Pass card to enter.
As previously mentioned, The Club SFO is regularly crowded. In fact, there were lines each time I walked by the space. However, the lounge does have a partial solution to waiting in long lines: a QR code-based waitlist. You can get added to the waitlist when the lounge is at capacity and receive a text when it's your turn to come in. You'll need to scan a QR code at the entrance, which may include a short wait, to use the system.
All the amenities, though, may make it worth your time.
The Club SFO amenities
The Club SFO has some of the best amenities you'll find at any domestic lounge at SFO. My favorite feature was the little seating area at the top of the staircase with a "first-of-its-kind microclimate fireplace," according to the lounge. It uses water vapor and fancy lighting to mimic a real fire. Plus, the space never got completely full.
There's also a nice area for snoozing, a feature The Club SFO calls a "rest zone." Unfortunately, a shortage of lounge chairs means you won't always be able to get a spot; there are just four chairs in total, all facing a gorgeous lighted wall feature. During my stay, there was one brief moment when the room was empty.
Additional seating areas include various workspaces, individual sofa seats with high walls and individual quiet rooms off to the side marked "privacy" that some folks had turned into nap rooms.
There were dozens of small seating areas, most filled with passengers killing time before their flights (including one passenger who turned two chairs into a makeshift bed).
Views were not the best feature of the lounge, although you could see some planes through a few windows in the distance. There were views of the terminal walkway below.
The lounge has a wellness center, but you'll need to ask for access. It was locked up during my stay. The small room is equipped with two Lululemon Studio Mirrors, yoga mats, yoga blocks, gym towels and water.
Finally, the lounge has three small "luminescence" rooms that you can reserve for 20-minute intervals. They come with adjustable lighting and temperature controls. I was able to reserve one for a quick meditation and to escape the hustle and bustle of the main lounge.
All the reservations for the lounge can be made through an app that you access via a QR code.
Note that you'll need to pay $25 to use the showers. There are three in the lounge, including one that is fully wheelchair-accessible. It's nice to have the option, even if you do have to pay for the pleasure.
I spent the $25 during a more recent visit and it was a nice feature to have especially since the nearby Alaska Airlines Lounge doesn't have showers (though the American Airlines Admirals Club does)
I appreciated that each shower had a rainfall showerhead and a shower wand. Amenities were by the German cosmetics brand Babor.
The bathrooms were clean and tiled with fun phrases like "standing room only" at the men's urinals. There was even a diffuser to keep the bathrooms smelling clean.
The lounge also offers a lactation room for nursing mothers.
Wi-Fi at The Club SFO was lightning fast — possibly the best I've ever found at any lounge. As you can see below, download speeds came in at 284 Mbps and upload speeds at 248 Mbps. Wow.
There were also plentiful outlets throughout the lounge.
The Club SFO dining and bar
The lounge bar was a popular spot, but I never saw long lines for cocktails during my visit.
Back in the large main dining room, a walk-up buffet attracted quite a line as it transitioned to lunch during my visit.
The food spread was impressive, with the chefs replenishing the vittles as guests quickly snatched them up. Items included California fruits, a carrot-coconut curry with jasmine rice, orange chicken and broccoli cooked in pineapple soy.
There was also a wine buffet station serving Chalk Hill and Foley wines, but it was closed during my visit.
Finally, there were a few other beverage stations offering a coffee machine, a soda water tap, teas, fountain soda and a few other treats.
Bottom line
The Club SFO is already proving to be incredibly popular thanks to its beautifully designed two-floor space, large selection of fun food and beverage choices, and many interesting amenities. I'm a little concerned about the crowding, but that's true of nearly every lounge these days — especially during prime time.
If this is the direction The Club brand is going in, I'm all for it.
I can definitely say it's the nicest Priority Pass lounge I've been to in the U.S.
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