I just found a superb airport lounge that had better food than American Express Centurion Lounges but was empty…totally empty.
Ontario International Airport, in Southern California’s Inland Empire, offers and Escape Lounge in Terminal 2. It’s not part of the Priority Pass network, but American Express Platinum cardholders receive free admittance (plus two guests).
I got the airport early, to allow plenty of time to check out the lounge, and found it totally empty. In fact, for two hours I was there no other passengers visited the lounge.
It is my understanding that the lounge does become a bit more crowded later in the day during the busier afternoon and evening schedule (Terminal 2 is a ghost town from about 10AM to 2PM). China Airlines also uses the lounge for business class passengers on the Taipei flight.
When I arrived, the breakfast spread was still available. It included a potato casserole, French toast, fresh fruit, oatmeal, hardboiled eggs, and yogurt.
At about 10:15AM, the transition to lunch was completed. Lunch was really, really tasty. Hot food included pot roast with mashed potatoes, pasta bolognese, and lemon chicken breast. Soup, salad, and other snacks were available along with a nice dessert selection.
Alcoholic beverages are available for purchase.
Best of all, though, are the fresh cookies and milk.
CONCLUSION
Honestly, I was so impressed by this lounge. No crowds, good food, and friendly service. I’ll offer a full review but wanted to point out immediately that this lounge is actually worth stopping in prior to your flight. Also, a second Escape Lounge will open in Terminal 4 (Southwest) next month.
There is one in Reno as well. Same setup – great lounge. I believe No mas coach did a review of it awhile back (the Reno location). Thanks for pointing out there is one in Ontario.
I’ve had a similar impression from the Escape Lounge at BDL the handful of times I’ve been able to visit. Pretty solid food, and not crowded (in my limited experience, anyway).
I had the same experience at the lounge at MSP. I was there in the morning as I was the only person in there. Really strange.
I don’t understand how you can compare the experience of eating spoonful-sized portions from a tiny iron cup to anything that a Centurion lounge offers, let alone claim that it’s better. I was at this lounge for breakfast; the warm items were dry, and the soda water was flat. Maybe I should have opted for the Froot Loops? It’s nice that it was empty, but that can have the downside that the bartender is often absent.
For many people, free alcohol is the best part of a lounge. The fact that you have to pay extra for it here is a big sore spot, whereas Centurion lounges have the best complementary liquor of any lounge I’ve visited, by far. (However, I am aware that you were comparing only food to Centurion.)
Correct on the alcohol. I quickly concede the Centurion Lounge offers a far better experience.
As for the small Staub dishes…I view that as portion control. I know the style is different, but I found the quality there. And I appreciated so much the lack of crowding.
This looks really great, but I sometimes have a concern about “push-through” of the food inventory (nobody wants the remaining potato salad late in the picnic). With so few guests, I’d be interested in your thoughts.
Good question. I was going to address that in full report. When I got there, there was only one of each breakfast item out. When I went to grab the French Toast, the cook insisted upon preparing a fresh one for me in the back because “this one has been sitting there for awhile.”