Inside the worst airport lounge in the US with a less than two star rating: ‘dark, dingy pit of windowless sadness’
Airport lounges are a much-coveted travel luxury, designed to ease the often irksome experience of waiting around for a flight.
Earned through frequent-flyer points or shelling out hard-earned cash, members and visitors expect comfy seating and decent food.
However, one airport lounge is consistently rated among the lowest in the country by fed up travelers.
Swissport Lounge at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago has 1.8 stars on Google and a rating of 1.5 out of 5 on Yelp.
The lounge is a small windowless room accessible to first-class and business-class travelers on several international airlines including Qatar, Swiss and Emirates, as well as Priority Pass members.
Online reviews of the lounge have complained of its poor food, dingy lighting, rude staff and lack of amenities.
‘It’s like hanging out in the early 90s at your friend’s basement at the house his divorced dad rented. Dank. Dark. Weird stains,’ one visitor said of the lounge on Reddit.
‘But you get to pour your own liquor because there are no adults in charge.’
The lounge is a small windowless room accessible to first-class and business-class travelers on several international airlines
The lounge bar has no staff so guests must make their own drinks.
‘Don’t go there. Ever. The best part of the experience with this lounge is leaving it. It is a dark, dingy pit of windowless sadness,’ another wrote.
‘If your goal is to make a 4.5 hour layover at ORD somehow more terrible than it already is, this is a pretty good approach,’ a third added.
Other reviewers complained that they had been turned away with Priority Pass tickets when the lounge was too full.
Jorge Da Silva, head of North America lounges for Swissport, told the Wall Street Journal that the O’Hare lounge is indeed not up to scratch.
The company, which operates more than 100 lounges in 20 countries, said it is due a multi-million dollar lounge expansion and makeover.
Swissport said the renovation, in tandem with an undisclosed airline, is still awaiting official approval from the airport.
‘We are fully committed to improving the passenger experience at ORD,’ Da Silva told the outlet.
Online reviews of the lounge have complained of its poor food, dingy lighting, rude staff and lack of amenities
The self-service coffee machine at the Swissport Lounge
Other reviewers complained that they had been turned away with Priority Pass tickets when the lounge was too full
For those looking for a more luxurious experience at Chicago’s Terminal 5 there is the Delta Sky Club right across the hall and a new LOT Polish Airlines lounge.
Not all reviews of the Swissport Lounge were negative, however, with one Google review giving it the full five stars.
‘This place is great,’ they wrote earlier this month.
‘The drinks are free. There are cup of noodles and gummy bears.
‘It beats paying $7 a bag for the gummy bears at the kiosk. People need to quit hating.’
It comes after sweeping changes to many beloved airport lounge programs this year.
Delta cracked down on its lounge access, while American Express and Capital One introduced digital waitlists which allow cardholders to join the line for lounges remotely through an app.
