The best airport lounges in the U.S.

See what Atlanta, Chicago, and Los Angeles airports have to offer, and find out which carrier has the best.


American Airlines Admirals Club

Service? Liked: Day-pass holders are treated as well as elite fliers are (the concierge in Chicago patiently explained the entire layout of O'Hare so that I wouldn't miss my plane).

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Disliked:Nothing.

Food? Liked: Select clubs have delis serving fresh food at good prices ($9.50 for a club sandwich) in nifty little containers you can carry onto the plane—the chef's salad I picked up in Chicago (was delicious on my flight to LAX.

Disliked:They're stingy with the freebies.

Drinks? Liked: Yes, it's $9.50 for a cabernet, but the generous pour in Chicago made it seem like a deal.

Disliked:The anemic Bloody Mary in Atlanta.

Chill Factor? Liked: The Chicago lounge has plenty of room to spread out. LAX's club offers music players with Bose noise-canceling headphones; massage chairs are a buck a minute, but proceeds benefit cystic fibrosis.

Disliked: Atlanta's small, cramped, almost windowless club.

Facilities? Liked: Spick-and-span shower facilities in Chicago and LAX. ?Disliked: Atlanta's bathroom—it needed a scrub.

Extras? Liked: The children's room in Chicago and LAX (keeps noisy kids a safe distance away).

Disliked: The club in LAX—it's in terminal four, so only ticketed American Airlines passengers can visit.

Overall Score? 3.5 out of 4 stars

Continental Presidents Club

Service? Liked: Loads of staff.

Disliked: The welcome withered when LAX front desk saw I wasn't on a Continental flight.

Food? Liked: It's the only lounge that offered Fritos.

Disliked: Other than the Fritos, there was very little to eat; the Presidents Clubs served the least food of any lounge on this tour.

Drinks? Liked: The open bar (with premium pours at a price); friendly bartenders.

Disliked: The Manhattan I paid for in Atlanta was dreadful, the coffee sludge.

Chill Factor? Liked: So quiet in Los Angeles that I dozed off and almost missed my flight.

Disliked: Cramped quarters during Atlanta's afternoon rush.

Facilities? Liked: From the seating areas to the bathrooms, these clubs sparkled.

Disliked: Single-seater unisex bathroom in Atlanta—lines can be frequent.

Extras? Liked: A little banter with the bartender in Atlanta earned a free upgrade to premium vodka (Grey Goose).

Disliked: Only one TV in Los Angeles, and it didn't get ESPN.

Overall Score? 3 out of 4 stars

Delta Sky Club

Service? Liked: The kind front-desk clerk in Atlanta who let me in for free.

Disliked: Attendants who neglected to enforce quiet-zone rules in several clubs.

Food? Liked: The cold cut spread in Atlanta's concourse E.

Disliked: Limited food selection overall (squirt-(tube hummus can't save dried-out carrot sticks).

Drinks? Liked: Free drinks; local microbrew on tap in Atlanta.

Disliked: Watered-down coffee from a push-button machine ((it wouldn't perk up a mouse).

Chill Factor? Liked: Skylights and views in Atlanta from an uncrowded club on the second level of concourse A; finding the hidden business center behind the check-in desk at LAX.

Disliked: The din of cell phone chatter in Chicago's cramped, crowded lounge.

Facilities? Liked: The showers at gate 14 on concourse E in Atlanta—this is the former first-class lounge, and it shows. ?Disliked: The line for Chicago's single-seater bathroom. ??

Extras? Liked: Putting greens in Atlanta's concourse T and in Los Angeles.

Disliked: Lack of quiet zones.

Overall score? 2.5 out of 4 stars

United Red Carpet Club

Service? Liked: Free drink tickets at LAX and the unsolicited free upgrade to Premium Economy at O'Hare lounge.

Disliked: Serious service slump during rush hour at O'Hare.

Food? Liked: Fresh veggies for dipping in prepackaged ranch dressing; individually packaged yogurt and applesauce in Chicago.

Disliked: Crushed prepackaged crackers and overall lack of food selection.

Drinks? Liked: Fresh-brewed cup of joe. Minute Maid juice (orange and apple) machines at O'Hare.

Disliked: Paying for the booze.

8 things airlines won’t tell youChill Factor?  Liked:The cell phone-free Westin Renewal Lounge at LAX, complete with a gigantic flat-screen TV playing footage of a babbling mountain brook.

Disliked: Chaotic lounges at O'Hare mirroring the madness of the concourse.

Facilities? Liked: Nothing.

Disliked: Wishing that the toilets at the busy O'Hare clubs had the same sanitary seat covers that are available in public toilets throughout the airport.

Extras? Liked: O'Hare's United Express customers will appreciate the club in isolated concourse F.

Disliked: Lack of clubs in Atlanta; no printers in business centers; trouble with a T-Mobile hotspot at O'Hare (at B7).

Overall score? 2 out of 4 stars