With lounge offerings a bit weak at LAX among SkyTeam carriers, the Delta Sky Club stands above almost the rest, including against basic lounges from AA or UA.

I’ve been to this particular lounge a number of times, including the day after it opened back in April 2022 when the lounge was filled with social media influencers (no, I’m not popular enough to be one of those and not sure I would want to be one). I thought it was about time I share my thoughts on this lounge.

If you want to see the adjacent Delta One Lounge at LAX, check out my review here.

This post has been republished with updated information regarding lounge access and recent offerings at the lounge.

Access

You can access Delta Sky Clubs through a variety of methods:

• A membership can be purchased if you are a Delta elite member.
• Flights marketed as Delta One or in international first/business class.
• Delta Gold elites and higher can access if in international premium economy. Non-Delta SkyTeam Elite Plus members can access when in international economy.
• Having the right credit cards, such as the Delta Reserve or American Express Platinum. Note that the Reserve now gives 15 day passes to access Delta Sky Clubs while the Amex Platinum gives 10 passes until you spend $75,000 in a year to unlock unlimited access. You must be flying a Delta-operated or Delta-marketed flight (a Delta-marketed WestJet flight works too).

I accessed the lounge by having the Delta Reserve ($650 annual fee). One small but nice thing with having the Delta Reserve is that club access is then linked to my boarding pass. With my Delta SkyMiles number on my ticket and the card added to my Delta profile, I just need to scan my boarding pass and the machines recognize me as having access to the club—no need to actually carry the card around.

Here is a refer-a-friend link to the Delta Reserve Card, but please don’t feel obligated to use.

Guest passes from the Delta Reserve cards

One thing to note is if you are using your guest passes from your Delta Reserve cards to bring in others. With the recent changes to how access works, one thing that has mostly gone unnoticed is that guest passes also work for a 24-hour period. On a recent visit to this location, the helpful agent let us know that we are more than welcome to use the Delta Sky Club at our arrival airport. She specifically noted that guests are also covered by this and to let the agent know that we already redeemed the passes earlier so that new ones aren’t used.

Food and Beverages

Delta Sky Clubs are best compared to American Admirals Clubs and United Clubs, as they are all membership-based lounges and not based on the cabin flown. On average, I find Delta Sky Clubs to have better food options than the others and this location isn’t an exception. In fact, the LAX location between Terminals 2 and 3 is superior to many other Delta Sky Clubs.

Front buffet

Near the front of the lounge is a large buffet, featuring both hot and cold options. There are generally four hot items, sandwiches, a salad station, and cookies. Since this location is at the front of the lounge, I find it’s always crowded. Despite the high volume of people, staff does a good job keeping things stocked.

Rear buffet

Personally, I prefer to go to the buffet station in the back of the lounge. The station in the back has most of the same options, but also adds in freshly crafted foods. On this trip, they had a taco station. You’d think there would be a long line for this station, but it’s actually not as popular in general back here. It almost feels like most people just don’t care to venture that deep into the lounge, instead choosing the crowd the entrance.

This lounge also has a beautiful bar that wraps around both inside and outside. There are bartenders here with a decent list of complimentary options. There are premium options that you could use your Delta SkyMiles on, including a decent price for a bottle Dom Perignon if that’s what floats your boat. They uncork the bottle when you order it, so don’t think you could just walk out with it but I’m not sure what happens if you bring your own cork. Either way, I find Delta does a good job with modest pricing for specialty drinks as it seems they understand the baseline price is free for the cheaper stuff.

They do also offer the other standard drinks like coffee, tea, soda.

On occasion you’ll also find someone moving a cart around to offer additional service. I’ve seen the cart offer desserts, champagne, and appetizers. On this trip, it was hot chocolate. Yum!

Or you might find the hot chocolate station in the back if no one is pushing it around.

Seating

This lounge is huge and there are many seating options inside this lounge. There are many table tops intended for dining by the buffet stations. As you might expect, spots by the window are more popular.

There are padded seats in front of large TV screens if you really need to be stimulated to the max. Of course, there is no audio, and it’s just a nook in the main walkway, so don’t expect it to feel like you’re at the movie theaters.

There also is some seating intended for when traveling solo. I find these seats are fairly popular. There also are some modern phone booths available for when you need to take a call. I’ve always just let my work phone go to voicemail when here but to each their own.

There are plenty of couches on the main floor, but I’ve yet to come here with the rest of the family and thus haven’t had a need to take up a full couch.

There is a beautiful outdoor deck here where you can catch a breath of fresh air. The problem is the seating out here is pretty limited and it’s hard to find a spot to sit here unless you like standing at the bar.

Amenities

There are shower stalls here at the LAX location. The process for making a reservation for a shower is simple. There are a number of self-service stations where you can put yourself on the list. There was no wait needed for me, so it’s a quick walk over to the shower stalls where a clean room awaited. The style and decor were much nicer than the average airline lounge shower stall.

Hidden away in one of the dining areas is a small game area. I’ll need to stop by with the kids sometime and play some games if there is time.

At the very far back of the lounge is a small display that sometimes is fairly empty but on this trip, there was a candy display. While I would love to show the kids the board games, I fear they would go too crazy if they saw this display.

Artwork

I normally don’t call this out as a special section, but I wanted to at least acknowledge that I feel the LAX lounge is nicely decorated. Perhaps it’s appealing to me because I’m a local but I think the choices here are well-thought-out and adds to the overall beauty of the lounge.

The Delta Sky Club LAX is a beautiful space and well worth a visit if you’re in the area. Just note that access is only granted starting three hours before your flight, unless connecting.

Have you been to the LAX Delta lounge?

Suggested reading:

• WOW: Delta One Lounge LAX is Incredible
• Review: Domestic Delta A350 First Class LAX-ATL
• How to Take Advantage of SkyTeam Lounge Access Updates
• Why I Always Check a Bag with Delta
• Making Memories on the Plane with Delta Trading Cards