During a recent layover in Atlanta, we spent two hours at The Club at ATL using my Priority Pass membership (this is a benefit of my Chase Sapphire Reserve card). ATL is one of the busiest airports in the country so this lounge gets lots of traffic. The Minute Suites options in Atlanta (or anywhere for that matter) are generally not that appealing, so most Priority Pass members head here instead. The Club at ATL was the first lounge I ever visited (It was Dan’s too!) and I have been here multiple times, but after my most recent visit I’ve had a change of heart about it.
The Basics
Access to the lounge is available to Priority Pass, Diners Club International, Lounge Club, LoungeKey and First Class, Business Class and Designated Guests flying on British Airways, Lufthansa, Qatar and Turkish Airlines. Several credit cards offer lounge benefits to cardholders. Day passes are available for $40 per person as well. Children 12 and under are admitted free….for now. As as I mentioned last week, The Club Lounges are rolling out a few devaluations; Starting September 1, only children age 2 and under will be admitted free and any children older will count towards the two guest limit. Also, travelers will be limited to accessing the lounge three hours or less before their departure time. The lounge is open daily from 6:30 am to 10:30 pm EST.
The Club at ATL is easily accessible regardless of the airline you fly. It is located in the International Terminal/ Concourse F on the mezzanine level by the chapel. You can get to Concourse F from any concourse by taking the “Plane Train” or by walking on the underground walkway after you have passed through security. The entrance is standard for The Club Lounges with an automatic sliding glass door at the entrance and a check-in desk. This is where it looks the best…
General space
Check in at The Club at ATL was quick and easy. We showed our boarding passes and Priority Pass card and entered within a minute.
As you enter there is a roped off section to the left for travelers flying on British Airways, Lufthansa, Qatar and Turkish Airlines. This area was fairly empty while we were there. The main section of the lounge is essentially an open room with large windows and seating that overlooks the roadways and runways.
General Seating Area
Bar Area
Business Class Area was nearly empty
We instantly noted that the main section was fairly crowded and very loud. The seats we took were dingy and worn. The power outlets on our seats had food all over them and the floor was a mess. Carpet was missing by our seats and there were stains and crumbs everywhere. The lounge looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in weeks.
This hasn’t been cleaned in a long time.
Are those blood stains?
There is also a tiny room with 2 desktop computers that is considered the “Business Center”. There are bathrooms and a shower as well which is nice if you have a long layover or international flight.
Food at The Club at ATL
It seems that many domestic lounges offer a fairly basic set of food options, and the choices at The Club at ATL followed suit. We arrived during the hot breakfast window which runs from 6:30 am-10 am EST and consists of bacon, eggs and breakfast potatoes. My daughter Junebug was very happy about the bacon and would have eaten 15 pieces if we hadn’t stopped her. There were other food options including bagels, pastries, English muffins, peanut butter and jelly roll-ups, fruit, yogurt, granola and cereal.
Beverage options included coffee, tea, Coke products, and infused, still and sparkling water. The self-serve coffee machine offered numerous choices but some of the supposedly clean coffee cups were filthy (I asked an attendant and was assured I pulled my mug from the “clean” pile”). I found a usable cup on my third try but still cleaned it out for good measure. There is also a nice full size bar that includes a decent selection of beers, wine and some lounge specific cocktails. My wife had a mimosa and the service was quick.
The dirtiness at The Club at ATL continues…
WiFi?
The WiFi offered at The Club at ATL was easy to access with signs offering login details placed in multiple spots around the lounge. The speed didn’t seem to be that fast and wasn’t noticeable better than the LTE that our phones provided.
Conclusion
Overall The Club at ATL needs a cleaning at worst and a major overhaul at best. It is too small considering the volume of travelers moving through the airport and it is pretty filthy. We tend to overlook less than ideal conditions when traveling (a year of backpacking will teach you to deal with all types of conditions) but The Club at ATL was noticeably tired looking and honestly pretty disappointing. It’s worth a stop for a drink at the bar and a quick bite to eat, but temper your expectations unless they make some changes. I’d love to see some improvement in the space (or even a cleaning) next time we connect through ATL to bring it more in line with the very nice The Club Jax lounge that we recently visited.
Have you been to The Club in ATL recently? What are your thoughts on the lounge and would you say another is worse?
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
I had a nice morning stop at the ATL Club a few weeks ago followed by a visit to the BOS Lounge and the Lounge at BOS was much much worse. No one at the bar, bathrooms out of toilet paper…
The BOS lounge sounds like it may give my ATL experience a run for its money!
ATL is our hometown and we have traveled a lot – domestic and international. Comparatively ATL lounge is the worst of all other Airport lounges we have visited / experienced.
The lounge size is not compatible with the size and the flow of the passengers at this Airport. This is perhaps the major reason for poor quality of services, food etc.
Now in order to cope with the overcrowding, the passengers cannot access the lounge right away, but have to register first and wait outside until they are called in. Although, overcrowding has been reduced, but passengers are still suffering as they have to wait outside the lounge for their turn to be called in. There’s still no improvement in food quality or services and the place gives an untidy feeling.
The place needs overhaul and major improvement in everything. Waiting outside to reduce overcrowding is not a permanent solution but stressful as passengers have to manage their departures from various gates at this busy airport. Lounge is a facility and it’s useless if becomes nuisance.
The IASS Lounge in HNL is the worst. No food. The furniture and chairs are from the 1980’s. Seriously bad. The only reason to go there is AC and POG juice. Not sure how they get away with charging priority pass for members to use the place.
I like the club in ATL compared to most priority pass lounges.
It “almost” seems like the IASS Lounge is worse than the regular terminal! I’ve generally liked the ATL lounge in the past but it seems like it has been on a decline during my last few visits. Thanks for sharing Jay!
I officially complained about dirtiness about 6 months ago and obviously nothing changed.
Completely opposite of spotless Delta lounge across.
I can’t believe sanitary inspectors didn’t force closing.
It has definitely gone downhill in the past few years. I hope it’s better next time we stop through.
ed. not the editor. you need an -ed after “stop”.
“…hadn’t stop her.”
Great eye! Thanks!
Minneapolis P/P Lounge has got to be the worst I have ever been to.
Was it the golf themed one?
They shouldn’t even bother.
15 pieces of bacon. This is exactly why the want to limit free kids to 2 years of age.
I was using hyperbole with that one but very fair point there Byron!
At least it wasn’t 15 cocktails!
I’ve entered and immediately departed more airport lounges than you can count. I find a nice quiet gate, buy myself a treat and relax in peace with my book and toys. Lounges today are good for a first-time flyer I guess, so they can brag about it.
Please don’t come here. Save your money and time. The place is dirty and has mold. They hire incompetent staff that mishandles food and they never deep clean the space. You’re better off going to delta sky club or united club.
The ATL club is always crowded. The club has few outlets. The food selection mid / late day is more than acceptable, and better than most legacy clubs. I visit this club twice a year. Other than my issues mentioned above, I’m ok with them.