Admirals Club Phoenix Airport Review
I recently had to spend a few days in Phoenix to take care of some business. From Vegas, Phoenix is somewhat close, but the lack of an Interstate between the two cities makes the journey tedious. For that reason I flew into and out of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Thankfully I was treated to a stunning view of the Vegas Strip at dusk on my flight out.
My week in Phoenix was spent mostly in the Fountain Hills area north of Scottsdale. Think desert, isolation, million dollar homes and golf courses. It was a bit too removed from everything for me, but who could argue with the view at Sunset from the hot tub? I have grown to know beautiful desert sunsets as a Vegas resident and night after night I was truly impressed.
On my way home I flew American Airlines and had the opportunity to spend some time in their newly remodeled Admirals Club location, between gates A7 & A9 in Terminal 4 on Concourse A. I believe this was the first full size lounge to receive the makeover to a new design. (LAX Remote Terminal looks similar.) I had visited for about 5 minutes during my forced overnight stopover due to delays a few months ago, but this time I had more of a chance to explore it.
The lounge is one big rectangular space with several open seating areas, a bar at the far end, a business center and conference room at the other end and nice views of the tarmac. In an improvement over other clubs, this lounge also has a Coke Freestyle machine so you don’t have to bother the bartender for a soda. At the bar itself, well drinks and a couple of cheaper beers are free, while most libations remain an upcharge. This is standard across all Admiral’s Club locations.
The food offerings at Admirals Club Phoenix Concourse A were pretty typical. There were a couple of soups, some light appetizers such as cheese, crackers, hummus and vegetables. Cookies and delicious brownies were also out to be enjoyed. If you have been to any other Admirals Club lately then you will know what to expect.
I think the most important part of the lounge experience is the seating. In this case the decor and seating is very visually appealing and modern, but I found the comfort to be a little off. The seats weren’t uncomfortable per se, but they weren’t all that comfortable either. With that said, there are ample power outlets for charging devices and even some tablets lying around to play with.
To be honest the single largest issue I had with the lounge was a very loud and drunk businessman sitting with a group not far from us. It is a small lounge and his voice was piercing, but I don’t really blame the Admirals Club for that. Of course larger spaces give you some escape, but there really wasn’t anywhere else to go in this lounge.
Conclusion
The first time I saw this design scheme was at the Admirals Club in the LAX remote terminal and I loved it. For the most part the same design principles have been carried through to the Phoenix lounge and I think it is impressive. With United and Delta redoing their lounges as well, business travelers should soon have much nicer spaces to enjoy some time in compared to just a few years (months) ago.
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