The American Express Lounge network continues to grow across the world. The Sao Paulo GRU lounge is one of two in South America and is fairly new being in Terminal 3 at GRU. The lounge is available to American Express Platinum cardholders along with several other airline passengers. These includes Alitalia, Qatar, Air France, and others. The Lounge is open form 0500-0300 and is a great place to grab a bite and a drink before a flight.
I went to visit the lounge before my American Airlines flight to Los Angeles. I was able to visit the American Airlines lounge, but wanted to check out the Amex lounge. Using my American Express Platinum Card, access was complimentary. Just like the Dallas lounge, or other Amex lounges, this one was bursting at the seems. There was no waitlist to enter, but finding a seat that was clean was difficult around 9:30pm.
The lounge features the typical American Express living wall at the entrance. After being credentialed, which required a 0.05 Reil (0.001) entry fee to validate my American Express card was active, I as welcomed to the lounge. The lounge opens up in to a large space subdivided into a couple of different seating areas.
There is some American artwork upon entry, great for streaking a pose. Especially if you’re excited to travel to “America” or maybe for the ultra patriot type.
Along with seats along the wall there are three private working/phone booths. Otherwise the lounge is just a large lounge with seats spread out. There’s a couple of “premium” looking booths and social tables.
Food and Drinks
Along one wall is all the lounges food. It wraps around the corner offering a mixture of both vegan options, non-vegan options, and desserts. After spending two weeks in Brazil I was excited to see vegan options! I was missing vegetables and was happy to find them here. In addition, as someone who is allergic to casein and whey, finding dairy free options is true bliss!
Past the vegan options is the regular non-vegan food.
There’s also soup available, and even a vegan soup option! Which again, I personally appreciated. There is also a coffee and dessert station. Near the bar is a dessert cart with what I think are better options. Little cakes and truffles.
Amex Bar
Next to the food, across all the tables is the bar. The bar offers beer, wine, and alcohol. Both the beer and wine is self-served. If you want a mixed drink, a bartender will mix you up your favorite drink. Being in Brazil, I went for the obvious, my last caipirinha of the trip.
American Express Lounge Showers
The American Express lounge has 8 shower stalls. This is great for those who need to refresh before a flight. Know that each of these shower rooms are very small.
Each room offers a sink, toilet, and shower. The shower rooms though are just around 4 feet wide and maybe 8 feet long. The do the job, but are not luxurious. Get a key from the lounge host at check-in.
First Class Lounge
The American Express lounge also offers a “First Class” section. When I was visiting this lounge was locked. The entrance is directly next to bar, behind the alabaster glass. It appears to have it own seating area and dining room. The specifics of the first class lounge are honestly unknown. I would assume it is utilized by airlines such as Air France and Emirates. Air France First Class and Emirates First Class lounge is a lounge within a lounge.
Behind the glass is the sitting area. The first class lounge is also connected to the main bar. I am unsure if they employee a second bar tender when the First Class lounge is open. I would hope so, as the bar tender was very busy as it was for the main lounge.
American Express Lounge Final Thoughts
The American Express Lounge is a good lounge, but definitely not as nice as some of the American Express Centurion lounges in the United States. There are no spa services here like in Miami and Dallas. Even some of the food options are better in North America. The options in GRU are mostly pre-cooked. I think the GRU American Express lounge is nicer than the Mexico City American Express lounge. It’s also on par with the Sydney American Express lounge, yet much larger.
If you do not access to say the Star Alliance lounge or the LATAM lounge I would choose this lounge. However, if you have other options, choose a different lounge. This one is just too crowded to really be enjoyable.
