A few months ago on my way out of Vegas to Southeast Asia, I made sure to arrive at McCarran International Airport a little early to visit The Club at LAS. Currently The Club has two different locations, with one being in the brand new terminal 3 and a smaller club in the older D gates located in Terminal 1. Since my flight left out of the D gates, I visited the smaller lounge there.
As far as lounges go, McCarran has never been too competitive with other airports. Considering it is often an origin or destination and not a transfer airport, many airlines have opted to forego offering a lounge. Within the past year though, The Club at LAS and the American Express Centurion Lounge have opened up. For most, The Club will be a more affordable option than the Centurion Lounge. The cost to enter The Club is $35 at the door. (A $10 discount coupon can be found on their website.) Alternately, those with a Lounge Club membership can enjoy The Club for $27. (The Chase Ink Bold/Plus come with a Lounge Club membership with two free visits per year.)
The Club is located to the left as you ascend the escalators from the Rotunda. When I visited, they had a large advertisement sign sitting in the walkway with an arrow pointing towards the entrance of The Club. I found it very easy to find. When I entered, it took a minute for the employee to notice me and come over to swipe my Lounge Club card. She was the only one working and had to both work the bar and the front door. Since the space is so small though, it didn’t seem to be much of a problem.
As far as amenities go, this location doesn’t have a lot. The bar includes an average selection of beers, wines and spirits. (Certainly better than the Admiral’s Club.) Also, there is a small spread of snacks including cookies and crackers and some small fruit. The Club does also include free internet and there are newspapers and magazines spread around for your reading pleasure. The real benefit to The Club was how empty it was. I spent around an hour in the lounge and at no time were there any more than two other people inside.
While an empty lounge is nice, comfort is equally as important. I found the chairs to be comfortable and there were ample outlets lying around so that one could get work done. Also, in the back they did have a computer workstation with printer for last minute jobs that need to be done. Despite being small, The Club has three distinct sitting areas. One, located in the back near the computer workstation, overlooks the rotunda. The second, lines a wall of glass looking back towards the new Terminal 3 and the last and largest area is near the bar and snacks and probably houses the most comfortable seating.
I did ask the employee and she said you can switch from The Club in Terminal 1 to the one in Terminal 3 without a charge. This is good since the other lounge is a simple train ride away and is much larger. It also has showers and additional amenities which may be of more use to someone on a long layover or who has just come off of a long flight. The Club in Terminal 3 has the same cost as the Terminal 1 location, so the choice of which one to visit is really a matter of needs and convenience.
In conclusion, while The Club at LAS doesn’t really compare with the Centurion Lounge, you do not have to be an American Express cardmember to enter, the fee is as low as half ($25 vs. $50) as the Centurion Lounge and the space is pleasant and comfortable. For a longer layover or if it were very busy, The Club may not be ideal, but for a short pit stop I found it rather pleasant!
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Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
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[…] The Club at LAS. I received free admission to this club with my Lounge Club membership. See my review here. […]