Review: Delta Sky Club O’Hare International Airport Terminal 2

Review: Delta Sky Club O’Hare International Airport Terminal 2

On a recent flight to the East Coast, I used my AMEX Platinum credit card as a way to get complimentary access to the Delta Sky Club at ORD. Access can be gained either through status (Diamond Medallion) or a combination of status (Gold and Platinum) and an international ticket, regardless of where you’re sitting in the cabin. If you are using an AMEX Platinum credit card, you must be ticketed on a Delta flight to gain entry. You can also gain access by purchasing a Delta Sky Club membership for $545 annually. Another way to gain access is by purchasing a day pass for $50 but I’d highly recommend not doing that.

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 Seating Area

The Delta Sky Club at O’Hare is located in Terminal 2, Concourse E, right across from gate E6. During my visit here on a weekday morning, I was expecting it to be packed since it’s the only Delta Sky Club at ORD. Fortunately for me, it wasn’t even half full and there was plenty of seating available.  Just about every seat was situated by an outlet and the layout and ambiance were very appealing. There are two larger seating areas which are separated by a wall.  It’s not a huge lounge relative to other Delta Sky Clubs but since Delta doesn’t have a hub in Chicago, I suppose they can mostly get away with it for the time being.

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Food Selection

Delta has really enhanced its breakfast offering over the past couple of years. Unlike their competitors (I’m looking at you United), they actually offer a hot breakfast. I had the omelet with salsa and since it was bought out just a few minutes before I got there, it was fresh and flavorful. There were also multiple flavors of yogurt, cereal, a variety of bagels and bread, donuts, and pancakes. Their espresso machine offered a variety of beverages and I chose the cappuccino.  Compared to other legacy airlines, Delta has done a great job with their food offerings and improving their on-the-ground experience.

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Miscellaneous

The Delta Sky Club does have a business center with a computer and access to printers. It also has clean restrooms (based on my experience) without showers. It’s a nice place to get work done or grab a bite before takeoff. Having warm offerings for breakfast and not being crowded certainly adds to the appeal. With Terminal 2 at ORD set to be replaced by a Global Terminal in the upcoming years, there is a great chance a newer Delta Lounge will have a much larger footprint at ORD. Until then, this lounge is perfectly capable of getting the job done for most business and leisure travelers.

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Review: The Updated Centurion Lounge Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)

Review: The Updated Centurion Lounge Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)

The Centurion Lounge at DFW moved to a larger 12,000 square feet space in September of 2018, expanding their footprint by an additional 3,000 feet. Their old lounge was excellent but it certainly felt crowded at times so the additional space should help alleviate that. Rather than going up the escalator to enter the lounge as it was previously, you will find the entrance to the lounge on the ground floor. This will lead to an elevator which you take to the second floor to enter the lounge. To enter the lounge, you need to be a holder of the AMEX Platinum Card, AMEX Business Platinum Card, or the AMEX Centurion Card. Other AMEX cards won’t get you in.

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Food (Breakfast)

My wife, son, and I were here during breakfast hours and I remember how great the spread was the last time I was here back in 2017. The items may have changed but the breakfast was still awesome.

Breads
The sweet corn muffins were excellent. My wife loved the oatmeal with granola.

Granola

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Centurion Lounge always delivers with their fresh fruit offerings.
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Salsa and tortilla chips for breakfast? Why not?
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Goat cheese egg frittata.  This was the best part of having breakfast here. Delicious and you’re probably going to get up for a second serving.

In addition to the items pictured above, there was also pancakes and fresh juice. Since there were multiple people behind me, I refrained from taking a picture at that particular time.

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The espresso machine can make a variety of beverages. I got their latte and it was delicious.

Seating Area

As you would expect with the lounge that has expanded by more than 3,000 square feet, seating was plentiful and not once did I feel like the lounge was overcrowded. Certain sections of the lounge were more trafficked than others but in general, there was plenty of seats for everyone.

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They had different types of lighting to suit everyone’s needs.

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Bar area
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Conference table

Business

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For those that need a conference room, Centurion DFW has one.

Kids Room

This is one of my favorite aspects of this lounge. They had a dedicated children’s playroom and it was perfect for my 5-month-old son as he was able to enjoy his first ever visit to an airport lounge.

 

 

Miscellaneous

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The restrooms were clean and there was also a dedicated shower area that you could utilize upon request at the front desk.

This lounge also has a spa where they give you a complimentary massage. I forgot to measure the Wi-Fi speed but I can assure you it was fast. I have not visited a Centurion Lounge where connectivity was slow. The old Centurion Lounge was among my favorites and AMEX has delivered and improved the experience at their newly renovated Centurion Lounge at DFW. Just keep in mind, AMEX no longer allows passengers who have landed at their final destination city to use a Centurion Lounge in that particular city. Prior to the rule change, if Dallas was your final destination, you could still visit by showing your boarding pass.  I think this is a fair rule change to alleviate crowding concerns. AMEX also won’t allow you in if your departure time is more than 3 hours away. I believe this is also a change for the better. As far as this lounge, it scores a perfect 5/5 and continues to be my favorite Centurion Lounge I have visited thus far. There are a few others under construction and I’m looking forward to visiting the one in JFK once it opens later this year. That lounge will be the largest Centurion Lounge at 15,000 square feet.

Lounge Reviews: Centurion Lounges at Miami International Airport and Buenos Aires Ezeiza International Airport

Lounge Reviews: Centurion Lounges at Miami International Airport and Buenos Aires Ezeiza International Airport

Over the last 10 days, I was fortunate to transit through two airports that feature a Centurion Lounge. You can read about the Centurion Lounge at Miami International Airport right here and the Centurion Lounge at Buenos Aires Ezeiza International Airport right here.

Lounge Review: Centurion Lounge Buenos Aires Ezeiza Aiport

Lounge Review: Centurion Lounge Buenos Aires Ezeiza Aiport

Over the last few months, I’ve been quite fortunate to transit through airports that feature an AMEX Centurion Lounge. Ezeiza Airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina happened to be another one of those airports. Centurion Lounge access is complimentary for those holding an American Express Platinum card. You can read about the benefits of the AMEX Platinum card right here. Cardholders are also allowed to bring in two guests so my wife also benefited.

This lounge is located in Terminal C past immigration/customs and security. Take the elevator or stairs up to the second floor right past gate 15 and you will find the lounge entrance. entranceBA

Upon entering the lounge, the staff at the front desk will ask for your AMEX Platinum card and boarding pass. Once they have that verified, you’re good to go.

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The food options were sweet croissants, wheat and white bread, cheese, pastrami sandwiches, and banana nut muffins with powdered sugar. Not quite the selection I’ve seen at other Centurion Lounges but certainly better than many non-Centurion Lounges I’ve visited. Fresh orange juice and apple juice were also available.

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The beverage cooler was fully stocked with soft drinks and adult beverages.

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Common area

This lounge had plenty of seating and did not suffer from being overcrowded when I was there. Perhaps traveling on a Sunday which also happened to be New Year’s Eve had a lot to do with that.

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Dining area of the lounge

One thing I noticed and appreciated about this lounge was the attentiveness of the staff. They would check on tables every 2-3 minutes to make sure any dishes and soda bottles and cans were removed.

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Plenty of empty seats in the common area. Big time plus

I loved these seating areas that had pseudo curtains. Nice touch

 

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The lounge was equipped with Apple iMac’s. It might be the first lounge I’ve seen featuring Apple. Being a long time Apple guy, I appreciated this.

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They had a room for the kids as well. Centurion Lounge is doing a hell of a job making their lounges kid friendly. I didn’t want to take pics in there while kids were there (that would be creepy) so I waited until it emptied out.  During my 2 hours there, it was certainly being utilized for most of that time.

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Great job by AMEX for remembering the population that may become future AMEX Platinum cardholders.

 

 

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The internet speed was very solid. Fast enough for business travelers and certainly fast enough for casual browsing.  Great job AMEX.

Overall, I’d give this lounge a 4.5/5. It could use a slightly enhanced food selection but it scored well on everything else. Plenty of seats, spacious,  Apple iMac’s, playroom for children, and solid WiFi speeds. The staff was very friendly and really worked hard at keeping the lounge free of clutter. If you’re an AMEX Platinum card holder and you’re flying out of Buenos Aires (EZE), be sure to give this lounge a visit.