Seattle Tacoma International Airport has several lounges available to flyers. Seatac has lounges associated with major airlines such as United, Delta, and Alaska plus pay for use lounges by The Club. There are several other lounges which have different access requirements. Depending on if you have Priority Pass or if you are flying Business Class will help you determine what lounge to visit. The best Seattle airport lounge will be dependent on the person and access available. Below is a quick recap of all the priority pass and airport lounges currently open in Seattle.
#1 American Express Centurion Lounge
The new Seattle American Express lounge is the newest and among the nicest in the network.
The new Seattle American Express Centurion Lounge is a huge improvement for American Express credit card holders. The new lounge is more than triple the space and has plenty of seating to meet the needs of the airport. At 14,000 square feet, a major upgrade from just 4,500 square feet, it has space for just over 400 guests.
The American Express Seattle lounge offers unique features, a new delicious food menu and a very unique one of a kind coffee bar, which meshes with the culture of Seattle perfectly. Thus far I have yet to have to wait to get into the lounge, and not having a waitlist is a huge win. I look forward to visiting this lounge more often, as Sea is my home airport.
The Seattle American Express lounge is also one of the few lounges with a shower.
Pros: Premium food and drinks. Great views. Friendly staff
Cons: No guests for most cardholders
#2 Delta Sky Club A/B concourse
The Seattle Delta Sky Club is the largest lounge in Seattle. The beautiful 21,000 square foot two story lounge opened in 2016 and has exceptional views of Mount Rainier and the airport’s taxiways. The lounge is open to select American Express card holders along with Sky Club members and long-haul Delta One flyers. This lounge is modern and large with an extensive food and drink offering. The only real downside to this lounge is Delta upcharges for premium alcohol. The lounge used to have a pay for use Spa as well, but this was closed on my list visit.
Pros: Beautiful modern interior, large food and beverage offers.
Cons: Must be flying Delta to utilize, Upcharges for Premium beverages.
#3 Alaska Airlines N Satellite
Alaska Airlines Flagship Lounge in the N Satellite opened in 2018 to much fanfare. The new lounge is a step above other Alaska lounges offering. It’s one of the nicer lounges in the airport (SEA) with Olympic Mountain views. This Oneworld lounge offers a small buffet and bar. Complimentary beverages are available. Alaska does boast a good selection of local craft beers, ciders, and seltzers.
The lounge is open to Alaska Lounge Members, AA Admiral Club members when flying AA or Alaska, and Oneworld Elites.
Pros: Great Views. Made to order coffee. Local draft craft beer.
Cons: Upcharge for food and alcohol.
#4 United Airlines United Club
The Seattle United Club in concourse A offers a basic lounge for those flying United. The lounge is newer and I believe it opened in 2016. I have only visited this lounge a couple of times. It can get busy before the bank of flights for United. The lounge is fairly small, but offers enough space to spread out plus a couple of private meeting rooms. The United club is modern, with a nice clean marble and steel look. Food and beverage options are limited to snacks and well drinks. There is an upcharge for many of the alcohol options. This lounge rates below the other lounges due to its small size and limited food and beverage offers.
Pros: The Only Star Alliance Gold lounge in the airport.
Cons: Small size, limited food and beverage options
#5 The Club
There are two clubs at SEA. The A concourse Club is the old Delta crown room. The lounge also hosts several airlines that do not have their own lounges in Seattle. Aer Lingus, Hainan Airways, Eva Air, Emirates and several other lounges use this lounge for their premium guests. There are two club locations and despite having different layouts they have similar food and beverage offerings.
The Club in the S satellite is the former NWA Worldclub. Both lounge are open to Priority Pass members. On many visits food offering is limited to cheese, soup, pasta and pre-packaged items. If you’re hungry I would not visit this club if you have access to another lounge at the airport but they do sell day passes for those who otherwise do not have access. Drinks are of a higher caliber though than United and Alaska Lounges.
Cons: Location, far from most of the Airport
Pros: Free food and drinks, Priority Pass access
#6 British Airways Galleries
The Seattle British Airways galleries is the worst lounge at SEA. The old lounge in the South Satellite desperately needs a makeover. It’s home to most premium long-haul Oneworld passengers including British Airways, JAL, Cathay Pacific, Qatar, and American Airlines. The lounge offers pre-package foods and a small bar. There’s just one large oval room for seating and two shower rooms. The food and beverage offers are abysmal for an international airline.
One a recent visit before flying Qatar Airways Qsuites to Doha, I left the lounge after just a half glass of wine.
Pros: Oneworld Lounge.
Cons: Old lounge, lacks decent food.
Bottom Line
Seattle to home to several airport lounges. My favorite lounge currently remains the American Express lounge. I believe even when the new lounge opens it will remain the best lounge at Seatac airport. The airline lounges are decent, but with limited food and drink options, or the additional upcharges they just cannot compete with American Express. Priority Pass has two okay lounge options. Yet, those with Priority Pass restaurants should really consider Bambuza.
What is your favorite lounge in Seattle? What I rank as the Best Airport Lounge may not be the same as you. I’d love to hear your opinion and why.
