A brand new Escape Lounge opened earlier this month at the San Juan International Airport. Located across from gate B2, this lounge is accessible to those with Amex Platinum cards flying any airline or Delta SkyMiles Reserve or Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business cardholders flying Delta the same day or entry can be purchased for $55 per person. I spent quite a bit of time in this lounge over the weekend on my way to St. Thomas and again while awaiting our flight back to White Plains. It’s a small lounge, but the food was delicious.
Amex Platinum card holders (both business and consumer) get access for the cardholder plus up to two guests. Since my wife and I both have Platinum cards, we were able to get our family of four into the lounge using two cards (one card only would have gotten three of us in).
The entry to the lounge is across from gate B2 in the B terminal. Terminals A and B, C, and D are connected airside at SJU, so even though we arrived and were departing from A terminal on JetBlue, it was an easy walk over to the lounge. Though the entry point is on gate level, the Escape lounge itself sits a floor below departures.
The lounge looks as new as it is, but it is worth knowing that it isn’t a very big space. It didn’t get overly crowded while we were there, but the tiny size of the buffet area made me worried that we weren’t going to find enough to eat when we first arrived. Breakfast offerings seemed weak.
If we had only been in the lounge for breakfast, that might have been true. The breakfast spread was surprisingly limited. Everything tasted fine, there just wasn’t much.
When mid-day arrived, things changed. Out came the arroz con pollo (rice and chicken) and the lechon asado (slow-cooked pork). Whoever the Escape lounge has cooking deserves a raise — that lechon was on the money. I joked to my wife (after we both grabbed our third plate of it) that the lechon asado was so good that it might justify the Platinum card’s annual fee.
The chicken with the rice was also delicious and would have been notable if it weren’t sitting next to that lechon. Options were not plentiful during the lunch/dinner hours, but tasty.
The coffee is an espresso machine and they had a variety of syrups available.
There was also a water fountain and orange juice in the buffet area, but other beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, must be ordered at the bar. There is of course no charge for those beverages, but unlike some lounges they do not have bottled or canned drinks available to grab from a cooler.
Power outlets were plentiful enough and there were a variety of seating options.
When we first walked into the lounge, I didn’t think there would be enough to keep us from getting hungry and that the small size might be a drawback. As it happened, the size of the lounge never really became a problem except perhaps at the peak afternoon time, but even then I didn’t see people unable to find seats. There was certainly space for the lounge to install more seating in the bar area, so hopefully they’ll make better use of that space in the future.
Overall, we were very happy to have had this lounge. It saved us a bundle on food in the airport and gave us a place to regroup and attempt to re-plan our JetBlue 25 for 25 journey. If you’re passing through SJU airport, I’d certainly recommend stopping here if you have access.
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
All your JB shenanigans have been great to follow since I am doing many of the same routes.
Thanks for the San Juan review… Going through that airport a few months from now so this is helpful to know since like a standard escape lounge but maybe with better food
I have enjoyed every Escape I’ve been in. Odd that this one has not got the Amex branding on-top.
It’s a bummer that one can’t get in with the Ritz or VX
While this lounge is not an airline-operating lounge, access fees might be offset via the Ritz Carlton’s $300 annual incidental credit. Certainly, it would be great if Escape accepted Priority Pass but it is Amex after all. And, yes, many would rather not use the Ritz credit in this way. But, for some, it would be the exact reason. Same for the CSR general travel credit.
It would be way too small to accommodate everyone if access were broadened. It was fine as-is, but if it were more accessible, you’d probably just be looking at a waiting list to get in.
So howmany of the 25 did you score??