I recently passed through the American Airlines Admirals Club in Denver, a lounge I reviewed extensively four years ago. Since we’ve had a pandemic in that time, has much changed?
The short answer is no, much remains the same. One thing that was no longer issued was a voucher for a free premium drink, but that should not be too much of a shock to anyone. I had forgotten they used to do that for other airlines frequent flyers until I read my 2018 review.
A Little Peek Inside
Rather tired after travelling non-stop for days on end, I arrived at the lounge. After handing over my AA boarding pass, the desk lady asked which level I was in the BA programme for some reason, then let me in. I beelined for the bar as I was thirsty.
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- Mushroom Brie Bisque
Sitting on the end of the bar was the soup station. One highlight of the Admirals Club lounges is they always have really good soup. Naturally I helped myself as it sounded quite nice.
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- A large selection of soft drinks.
Next it was time to get a drink from the machine. There are a stack of foreign (to me!) drinks there – what the hell is a Hi-C? Who is Barg?? How about an AHA? WTF? 🙂 Unusually, as I am generally into trying weirdness, I settled on a Coke since I was craving one.
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- Fruit, cookies and such.
Beside the drinks machine were free snacks. Apart from oranges and individually wrapped apples (why just the apples?!), you could have cookies, brownie bites, or “Gluten-Free Marshmallow Treats”. How mysterious they sound! I decided on nothing and headed to a seat.
Inside the Admirals Club
Quite frankly, I was very tired and took exactly two pictures from my seat, hence the little peek. There were also people dotted about the place and I wasn’t in the mood to work out how to take pictures around them.
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- Red seats for the hot people.
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- Work area overlooking the terminal.
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- My friends in the lounge!
Otherwise I connected to the Wi-Fi, had two cups of soup and THREE glasses of Coke with ice. The soup was superb as always and the drinks exactly what I required.
Overall Thoughts
If you really want a proper look instead of a little peek, my 2018 review is pretty accurate as to what is there today. There have been some cosmetic changes and what not, but otherwise exactly the same. This was one of those times where not being in the main terminal was very welcome.
Only interesting story I have is that three people got thrown out. Apparently they changed their flight and therefore no longer had access to the lounge and the staff sent them packing. I’d love to know what happened there!
Have you been to the Admirals Club in Denver? What do you think of it? Thank you for reading and if you have comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Hi-C is fruit flavored sugar-water with added vitamin C and enough sugar to rot off an elephant’s tusk. Still, a good cheap mixer with cheap vodka. (I’ve heard) 😉
“Barg” is actually BarQ’s, which is brand of root beer, which I’ve heard is not common in Europe, definitely an American thing. Sort of like Dr. Pepper.
I’ve never heard of AHA, either.
Apples are wrapped because the skin is eaten, as opposed to oranges or bananas.
Did you sit in the red chairs?
Ah-ha! The apple mystery is solved. I noticed the same thing in the Alaska Airlines lounge, and it never occurred to me that was the reason. Thanks for that!
Glad I didn’t go for the Hi-C, though it does sound like a good mixer 🙂 I’ll have to try all these next time I’m passing through an AA lounge. It’ll be interesting anyway!
Haha! No red chairs for me that day 🙂
You were likely asked for your BA Executive Club status because that is how you gained access to the lounge. BA Executive Club Silver and Golds traveling on AA or OneWorld have access because they are OneWorld Emeralds or Sapphires even if traveling domestically. (AA Platinums and above do not get similar access while traveling in the US). Access rules for US airline lounges are very different than European or Australian lounges. US airline lounges are essentially membership clubs. You pay an annual fee for access or gain it through a premium credit card. There are some exceptions that seem… Read more »
Thank you for the explanation, Brian – especially the part about the history of the lounge. Interesting that it was a Continental President’s Club beforehand! It is a very odd layout indeed, so that explains why. I should have been more specific, really. She asked me my BA status even though she already had taken my boarding pass which has “Issued by British Airways” on it and “Emerald”. That is why I was surprised. As you correctly point out, non-AA/AS elites can access the lounges on any itinerary within the US. Qantas operate a similar system in Australia with their… Read more »