READ MORE FROM THIS TRIP
• Planning A Romanian Road Trip
• Introduction: Transylvania Unknown
• Getting An International Driving Permit
• Review: The Club At ATL
To kick off our trip to Romania, Tiffany and I met at Atlanta Airport. We both arrived on Delta at around 6PM, and met up in Concourse F, which is where international flights depart from.
While some concourses of Atlanta Airport are not nice, Concourse F is quite pretty.
Atlanta Airport Concourse F
Atlanta Airport Concourse F
Tiffany and I first met up in the Delta SkyClub. We could use this since we both have Amex Platinum Cards and were arriving on Delta, and you can use the lounge even on arrival. Sitting on the SkyDeck while enjoying a glass of rose is a pretty incredible way to watch the sunset.
Delta SkyClub SkyDeck
Even when it’s dark the SkyDeck is beautiful, as they turn on the heat lamps and have some cool blue lighting.
Delta SkyClub SkyDeck
My priority was still making sure that we could review the lounge used by Turkish Airlines, so at around 8PM we headed over to the nearby Club at ATL. This is also located in the F Concourse, a level above the ground floor.
The Club at ATL entrance
The Club at ATL is open daily from 6AM until 10:30PM, and is available to Priority Pass members. It’s actually the only major Priority Pass lounge in the airport. There are two Minute Suites participating in Priority Pass, but those aren’t “real” lounges.
On top of that, the Club at ATL is the contract lounge used by British Airways, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, and Turkish Airlines. I’m surprised a new and larger lounge hasn’t been built at the airport given that there are some premium airlines there, though I guess there’s a lack of available space, and/or it’s too costly.
The Club at ATL airline partners
The catch is that we didn’t yet have our Turkish Airlines boarding passes (the gate wasn’t open, and we weren’t able to check in online), so we entered the lounge with Priority Pass. At the entrance to the lounge was some Qatar Airways lounge signage, which I found amusing, since I can’t imagine it’s a lounge they’re very proud of.
The Club at ATL entrance
There are two parts to the lounge — there’s the Priority Pass section, and then there’s the airline section. I think the Priority Pass section perfectly sums up the problem with the program nowadays.
The lounge consisted of one main room, and below is what it looked like at 9PM on a Wednesday, when the terminal was otherwise quite empty. You could barely find a seat, the lounge was loud, and it just wasn’t a very pleasant place to be.
As we walked in, Tiffany kind of gave me the “you made us leave the SkyDeck for this?” look.
The Club at ATL seating
The Club at ATL seating
The Club at ATL bar
We ended up sitting in the business center, which was the only part of the lounge that really had any space. The business center had three leather chairs and then a few desk chairs as well.
The Club at ATL business center
The Club at ATL business center
I can’t say they were in the best condition, though…
The Club at ATL business center
On the plus side, I do have to say that the lounge staff were friendly and the food selection quite good. In addition to complimentary alcoholic drinks at the bar, a server came around to us and asked if she could get us anything to drink, which was a nice touch.
The buffet was better than I was expecting, with fresh salads, wraps, a couple of types of bread, and cookies.
The Club at ATL buffet
The Club at ATL buffet
The Club at ATL buffet
There was also one vegetable soup.
The Club at ATL buffet
The Club at ATL buffet
Then there was a selection of coffee, tea, and a soda fountain, with alcoholic drinks available at the bar.
The Club at ATL coffee
The Club at ATL drinks
On the opposite side of the lounge was an area with flavored water, fresh fruit, and several types of snack mix and candy.
The Club at ATL drinks
The Club at ATL snacks
I appreciated that the lounge had fresh food rather than just packaged snacks.
Bathrooms in the lounge were clean, and there were even a couple of shower rooms.
The Club at ATL bathrooms
The lounge had a dedicated area in the very front for those traveling on British Airways, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, or Turkish. At this point the Lufthansa and Qatar Airways flights had left, but there were still departures on British Airways and Turkish Airlines.
The Club at ATL airline section
The Club at ATL airline section
This area was also really crowded, to the point that I was even less comfortable taking pictures. The food selection was marginally better, but still not good.
After spending about 30 minutes in the lounge we decided that we’d be more comfortable just sitting in the gate area. As we walked out of the lounge I thought to myself “ah, it’s so peaceful out here.”
And I think that kind of gets at my issue with Priority Pass nowadays. So many of the lounges are incredibly overcrowded, and overall airports are investing in the passenger experience.
So if I can sit in a quiet gate area somewhere with access to a charging port and free wifi, the value of a lounge is limited, aside from maybe getting a snack.
Our Turkish Airlines flight was departing from gate F1, just a few minutes walk from the lounge. Our boarding passes indicated that boarding would start at 9:35PM for our 10:35PM flight to Istanbul.
The crew showed up shortly after 9PM.
Turkish Airlines departure gate Atlanta
At 9:30PM they started boarding for those who needed extra time, and then at around 9:40PM they started boarding for business class.
Turkish Airlines departure gate Atlanta
The Club At ATL Bottom Line
The Club at ATL is the only “real” Priority Pass lounge in Atlanta, and it’s also used by four airlines for their premium passengers. The lounge was super crowded, almost unpleasantly so, though the food and drink selection was quite good.
If you have Priority Pass and want to eat or drink then I guess this is a good option, but personally I’d rather sit in a quiet gate area.
If you’ve visited the Club at ATL, what was your experience like?
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