Although the bulk of the lounges are operated by the members airlines in the Star Alliance network, there are still a couple of them that are open themselves by Star Alliance itself. I have previously visited the First Class and Business Class Star Alliance lounge in Paris, so check them out if you would like. There are currently 7 Star Alliance lounge in the world in LA, Paris, Rome, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Nagoya and Buenos Aires. And the 8th is coming in 2019 in Amsterdam! Coming from my last city in this around the world affair that I had back last year, I was flying back in Singapore Airlines Business class back to Singapore from LA. I arrived in the airport right at noon, roughly about 3-4 hours early, giving me plenty of time to check out the lounge and one of the more gorgeous airport in the States, Tom Bradley International Terminal!
The ride was smooth to the airport as I had a last look at that magnificent highway in the city of Los Angeles. I was there at the check in counter right smack in noon, roughly about 10 mins before check in was open. There was a person in front of me in the Business Class queue and the Economy queues were already snaking up!
I was wondering what’s the hold up seeing that the counter are already manned and totally got annoyed after approaching one of the staff to see if they could start the check in. Their reply was, they were waiting for check in timing to start, only then the counter will be open. That is so not acceptable for Singapore Airlines! Seemingly it seems that it would be a bad day from now onwards. I was definitely not please with the whole experience from check in to landing, which I will share more later! The station manager was nowhere to be seen as well! Compared to the experienced I had in Frankfurt and Paris, this bunch of Singapore Air Employees are not on par! Even Frankfurt service is way better than this! Which should be something for them to reflect!
Security can be said as smooth, we had access to the premium lines given that we were flying in Business, but there was still a little wait for that as well. But for a United States standard I would be pleased with it. It took me about 10-15 mins to get thru. The Star Alliance lounge was located on the 6th floor, which you can take the lift up. It is fussless enough to find the lounge! Seemingly I was surprise that we do not have to go thru customs when we are leaving United States. I was a little puzzled at this point and check with the lounge staff!
I love the decor of the Star Alliance Lounge, all 7 of them are in the same style seeing from my experience, chic and stylish with the usage of black, wood, marble and warm lighting. Immediately after entering, there are some storage on the right and then it was a huge sitting room with plenty of seating. It does look a little more private with the usage of little curtains to segregate out sitting areas. The curtains was a nice touch. You can find the typical sofas and couches.
Nearer to the buffet area was the dining area and here you can find restaurant style seatings to cater to the dining crowd, it consists of both high top seating as well as tables. I will share more about the food later on.
The sheer size of the lounge is huge, given that how many people have access to the lounge! There was another seating area at the far end that has more feels like a stylish bar, featuring sofas lined up against the wall.
Then you also have a tv room or a mini cinema in the lounge. It seems not to be popular with the crowd at all!
The lounge also extends out to the terminal in an area where you can have the views of the gorgeous TBIT. This is also by far the most popular sitting area in the lounge. It is also where I was sited.
There was quite a fair bit of seating here, but it doesn’t feel cramp at all. Furthermore the gorgeous and high ceiling of the terminal helps. There were couches lined up on both side, with the walking path in the middle. Seats were in a set of 4 and you can also find outlets all around the lounge, which is commendable!
One of the surprise I had was the roof terrace of the lounge. It is located at the far end of the lounge, near to the showers suites! It was such an amazing space that it felt like a pool club, but for aviators. The outdoor view was amazing and you even had a little sight of the planes on the tarmac! Although no one was there seems like the weather might be a little too cold. Won’t this be perfect in spring or autumn, together with a outdoor bar. I will love it!
Let’s move on to the dining aspect of the lounge. There are all located near the dining areas of the lounge. Although there are a couple of drinks station in the main room as well. The bar is also located near the main room. I got to say that the decor around the buffet is amazing. With a grand display of wine encased between the glass. There is a noodle station with options to “make your own” noodles. The buffet line then had plenty of gourmet salads which look very amazing. There is also a couple of cakes and pudding for dessert!
Drinks wise, there were bottled beers, IPA and imported, juices, about 3 whites and 3 reds, and even a sparkling for self serving wines. They even have recommended wine pairing for the food them have. There are a couple of spirits as well as a soda fountain as well! For more drinks and cocktails, you can definitely approach the manned bar. I had a mojito and a gin tonic. Both were great, especially the mojito and the bartender service was good.
The lounge also had these shower suites and I got a chance to check it as well. It was clean and well maintain. There was no wait around the time that I was there. Although it still seems that they got improve it with better toiletries and a handheld shower head as well!
All in all this is one of the top business class lounge in the world for me! The decor is amazing and the lounge have many facilities. I was impressed at the roof terrace and would like to see it in use perhaps in warmer days. The wifi was fast and there were plenty of outlets. However there is much to be improve on the food offerings! In the near future, I would love to have the opportunity to check out the Rome Star Alliance Lounge since it represent such an upgrade to the previous options for Star Alliance passengers. Stay tuned for my upcoming flight report!
Seeing The World In Steps 