American Airlines Lounge - Buenos Aires

[dawnprincess]

I posted this before but think it got lost under a slightly different topic. Has any one bought a day pass to this lounge prior to their flight out of Buenos Aires? Is it located in the international terminal? Worth the $75 for DH and I for a day pass? Our flight doesn't leave until 12:15 a.m. We plan to do a 7-8 hour tour which ends at the airport, but even with the long delays people say to expect, that leaves an awful lot of time to kill before our flight. Any advice would be much appreciated!

[Keith1010]

I have used the lounge in this location. I didn't pay because we are members of the Admirals Club. It's not a whole lot different from most of the lounges. If you are at the airport for several hours it is a bit more relaxing to use the lounge than to sit in the terminal but in the end it's really a personal decision.

 

Keith

[dawnprincess]

Thanks Keith! Is the lounge located right in the International Terminal, so fairly close to our departure gate? Just want to be sure that it is not located too far away from where we would depart, or that we'd have to go through security again after leaving the lounge. Do they offer beverages and snacks? I've heard that there isn't a lot of food available for purchase in Buenos Aires airport. Do you recall? Thanks so much for your help.

[Keith1010]

Dawnprincess, the lounge is located after you go through secrurity on the second floor near gate 9. It's a short walk to the gates.

 

I would get to the airport early. After you check in and go through that hole process you have to get on another line to pay the airport departure fee (us dollars, are accepted) and then you have to go through multiple security lines.

 

Keith

[dawnprincess]

Thanks so much Keith -- just the information I need!

[ReadyToFloat]

Worth the $75 for DH and I for a day pass? Our flight doesn't leave until 12:15 a.m. Any advice would be much appreciated!

 

The airport at that time is somewhat chaotic, as most US flights leave between 9pm and 1am. If you want to relax prior to getting on your flight, and have some time to kill, I would have paid $75 in your instance for that lounge area as opposed to sitting crammed and busy gate areas.

 

IMO, probably worth it! By the way - there's not too many nice food options at the airport... if you can eat a good meal prior to the airport, I'd suggest that, as there is not a lot of selection (mainly sandwiches), the lines get long (and slow), and the last time I was there they ran out of almost everything.

[dawnprincess]

Thanks so much for the added info. Yes, I think the $75 is well worth it for a bit more comfort while waiting for our flight. I've also heard about the lack of food choices at the airport, so we'll try to be prepared for that as well.

 

I tell everyone I know that Cruise Critic is the place to find the answer to nearly every cruise or travel related question under the sun, and everyone is so willing to help and offer their advice. Thanks again!

[marazul]

Keith,

many other Adm. Club lounges have food available. Same in BA?

M

[2serendip]

Not to put an unhappy face on your decision, but we were in three Admiral's Clubs a couple of weeks ago (on our way to the Galapagos and back) and were very disappointed. We were at the Admiral's Clubs in Los Angeles and Miami and in Quito, Ecuador. We were not in Buenos Aires. Four of us had free privileges; two other friends did not and debated the $50 pp fee (not $75 so maybe BA's club is better.) Each of the three clubs were very dingy and shabby, not very clean, fairly crowded, and had very little for refreshments. In the morning we found coffee, no juice, no complimentary bottled water, no food. In the afternoon there were apples and crackers and a small selection of cubed cheeses. All drinks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, were available at regular, inflated, airport restaurant prices.

We thought we might have done better waiting in one of the cafes on the concourse, and we were very glad that our friends had not paid $100 for a disappointing experience.

This was the worst lounge experience we've had, and we've had many very good ones. We concluded that AA must be cutting back to help with their budget shortfall and the fuel problems.

[gdimanzo]

The difference between Buenos Aires Admiral Club and the others I know around the United States are: BA offer complimentary internet wireless access, free alcoholic and soft drinks (self service) from sodas to beer or Baileys, in the evening you'll find cheese and crackers. There's no hot food service like in the US or bartenders.

There's at least one full restaurant on the 'air side' but is in Terminal A (AA Admiral Club is in terminal B). Nothing fancy, I just eat there once courtesy of AA for a 36hours delay :rolleyes: .There's a corridor connecting both terminals.

One thing to notice also is that since Buenos Aires is almost 5,000 miles away from the US many frequent flyers get to Platinum status fairly fast and instant access to the BA Admiral Club. So Saturday's night are a little crowded at the lounge too. (All AA flights depart between 8:30pm and 11pm)