For many years before I started learning about miles, points and credit cards, my airport experience consisted of getting to the airport, going through security, and then sitting at my gate until my plane took out. Now, thanks mostly to a Priority Pass membership, I usually hang out in airport lounges if I have extra time. While there is a wide range of quality between different airport lounges, in almost every case, being in an airport lounge beats sitting in the terminal. Naturally, most of the really good lounges (like the Emirates First Class lounge or the Qatar Al Mourjan lounge) are reserved for premium cabin passengers and not available for Priority Pass members.
The Worst Airport Lounge in the U.S.
I read an interesting article in the Daily Mail titled “Inside the worst airport lounge in the US with a less than two star rating: ‘dark, dingy pit of windowless sadness‘”. Of course I clicked on it to see what they had ranked as the worst airport lounge, and was not surprised to see them talking about the Swissport Lounge in Chicago O’Hare (ORD). I have visited the Swissport lounge before and was…. not impressed.
(SEE ALSO: Chicago O’Hare / ORD Priority Pass lounge review – Swissport lounge)
Here were a few of the quotes from the Daily Mail article
- Online reviews of the lounge have complained of its poor food, dingy lighting, rude staff and lack of amenities.
- Swissport Lounge at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago has 1.8 stars on Google and a rating of 1.5 out of 5 on Yelp.
- ‘It’s like hanging out in the early 90s at your friend’s basement at the house his divorced dad rented. Dank. Dark. Weird stains,’ one visitor said of the lounge on Reddit.
- ‘Don’t go there. Ever. The best part of the experience with this lounge is leaving it. It is a dark, dingy pit of windowless sadness,’ another wrote.
I Think There’s A Worst Lounge
So while I agree that the Swissport Lounge is bad, I think there’s a worse lounge in the United States – the IASS Hawaii Lounge
(SEE ALSO: I may have found the worst Priority Pass lounge in the United States)
The IASS Hawaii lounge LITERALLY does not have any food at all. Not even snacks and cold finger food. Instead, all it has is some coffee makers and a drink cabinet with a few cans of Coke products.
Sadly, this is now the only Priority Pass lounge option available in Honolulu
Other Candidates For The Worst Lounge
When I previously wrote about bad airport lounges, a few other suggestions were listed out (though not all of these are in the United States)
- Premier Club Lounge in Kahului (OGG)
- The Colorado Springs Airport Priority Pass Lounge
- The two IASS lounges at Tokyo Narita
- the KLM lounge at IAH
- Club Mobay: Priority Pass Montego Bay Jamaica (MBJ) –don’t expect to get in
The Bottom Line
The Daily Mail recently posted an article listing the Swissport lounge in Chicago O’Hare as the worst lounge in the United States. While I agree that the Swissport Lounge is not great, personally (having visited both), I think the IASS lounge in Honolulu is worse.
What do you think is the worst airport lounge in the U.S.? Leave your thoughts in the comments below
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Ahhh the KLM lounge at IAH. Where dreams go to die.
I had to pleasure or displeasure of visiting the Swissport lounge at ORD for the first time yesterday. I was flying DELTA but since I only had an hour to waste I didn’t want to use one of my limited sky lounge visits with just an hour to kill. They were admitting Priority Pass members. This was absolutely the worst lounge I have ever been to in the US. A cave with no windows, no bathrooms, and no charging outlets. They did have a few drink options with self serve alcohol. They also had a few premade sandwiches and instant noodles. There were other snacks like chips and cheezits. The only positive I have for this lounge is that the internet worked well. I got my fill of of snacks and drinks and left for the much more pleasurable experience of sitting by my DELTA gate. Where I had a nice and comfortable corner seat with as many charging ports as I wanted. That was my first and will be my last time at that lounge.