Washington DC is the capital of the United States and the airport closest to the city is Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport or DCA. Is Washington DC the birthplace of bland? You’d think so, judging by the state of the smaller American Airlines Admirals Club that serves Terminal B.
I have had the pleasure – or misfortune, depending on how you look at it – of spending many hours in this lounge, thanks to friends who live in DC. There is a larger Admirals Club serving Terminal C, but the decor and amenities are similar. This is the first time I have reviewed the Terminal B club, so let’s have a look.
A Warm Welcome
Now don’t get me wrong, while the lounge is an extravaganza of beige, the lounge staff are quite nice. Once through security, the lift to the Admirals Club is right in front of you. Up you go and you then get let in by the desk attendant.
Made To Order Guacamole
Well, here’s a twist! There is now fresh made to order guacamole available every afternoon. A lady stands at a little stall with all the fixings and you just pick what you want in it.
How About That DCA Admirals Club Decor?
Imagine being at a genteel dinner party. I guess the polite way to describe the Admirals Club decor would be to opine, “It could do with a bit of a refresh in some areas.” In this instance, that would be a very restrained way to put it.
Admirals Club Food and Drink
Entering the lounge proper and before the luggage rack is the water and nibbles area. Lemon infused ice water or just plain water is so welcome when you get to the lounge after the TSA experience. There is also trail mix such as Blueberry Thrill, Mini Yoghurt Pretzels and Cajun Harvest.
Toilet Time
Not much to say about the toilets except they are small. There is a single basin for people to use, one cubicle and one urinal. I get it, space is at a premium.
Overall Thoughts
Considering the type of people that must come through here with Washington DC being the capital of the USA and all, it’s surprising that the lounge is so very bland. It is screaming for a refresh and a better use of the space.
You can see that additions such as the guacamole station, the placement of the water jugs and so on are where they are because there just isn’t anywhere else to put them. It’s the same with the seating facing into the room rather than out to the airport – there just isn’t room to turn them around.
While the furnishing and design is dated, this is fairly easy to rectify. The division of space is the real issue here, plus the amount of people using the lounge. It is always near full. Money needs to be spent on reconfiguring the space and updating it.
Have you visited the DCA Admirals Club? What do you think? Thanks for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Also worth re-mentioning that the miracles worked by the specific staff of that lounge more than makes up for the functionality but lack of beauty of the physical club.
The staff have always been and continue to be a credit to the airline in most American Airlines lounges I’ve found. I’ve yet to come across a bad one, and certainly not in this lounge at DCA. They put some of the check-in staff to shame, that’s for sure. Thanks for the comment!
Not sure if you noticed the construction at the airport, but DCA is currently adding a new concourse for American that will include a new Admirals Club lounge. I wouldn’t expect that the current lounges would be refreshed when a new larger lounge is under construction. See: http://www.flyreagan.com/dca/project-journey-construction-underway
Thanks for the heads up – that expansion sounds pretty good! It will be great to not have to take the bus from the regional aircraft which is what I had to do when I was there. It says they are building an American Airlines Admirals Club in the new concourse, but it doesn’t say specifically that it will replace the current ones. Though, considering you’ll be able to transfer between concourses without going through security again (a real annoyance right now), maybe one lounge will do. If they do keep the lounge in my review as well, it also… Read more »
Worth mentioning – your review and photos are of the smaller Admirals Club in Terminal B/C (shared with other airlines) while Terminal C is all American Airlines and has an Admirals Club with a much larger footprint with the same offerings you mention. Both could use a re-fresh but for heavily used clubs for domestic flights they do pretty well.
Yes, you are right. I actually haven’t been to the other one, because my flights have always been departing from the B concourse, so I’ve used this lounge several times now. Thanks for pointing that out though, I should have mentioned it in the report. I’ll go back and edit the post to add that detail – thanks again!