After my father and I arrived in Houston, we spent a few minutes in the KLM Crown Lounge during our layover, which gives me a chance to update my review.
KLM Crown Lounge Houston Review
In short, this lounge is virtually unchanged from its pre-pandemic state. The only difference is the rotation of food. Instead of merely soups and sandwiches, this visit there was a fajita station with grilled chicken, beans, rice, cheese, and pico de gallo.
There were also three salads: grain, green, and fruit.
Hummus, pita bread, cheese, and tomato soup as well:
At 6:30 pm the lounge was extremely crowded. When the lounge approaches capacity, access via Priority Pass will be limited. Instead, you will be sent to the nearby Air France lounge.
I still appreciate this option as part of the Priority Pass network, but be prepared for crowds.
My original review, published on April 15, 2020, is below.
During my recent trip through Houston Bush Intercontinental, I only spent a few minutes in the nearby Air France lounge and spent the majority of my time in the KLM Crown Lounge, a lounge that serves both SkyTeam elite and business class passengers as well as Priority Pass members.
KLM Crown Lounge Houston Location + Hours
The lounge is located near Gate D8 and open daily 6:00AM – 9:00PM daily (though currently closed due to the pandemic). Your Priority Pass card entitles you three hours of access.
For reasons I cannot explain, I love the exterior of this lounge.
KLM Crown Lounge Houston Seating
After entering, you’ll see a main seating area that includes brightly-colored furniture, though it has recently been refreshed and there are now some neutral colored chairs as well. Walk past the food area and you’ll find more seating in the hallway which leads back to a larger sitting area in the rear of the lounge. Even the bright reds and blues don’t make up for the lack of natural light in the lounge, especially in the rear seating area.
Power ports are not difficult to find and wi-fi worked better than in the Air France Lounge, though the airport network is just as strong/fast as the lounge network.
KLM Crown Lounge Houston Restrooms
Restrooms, but not showers are available. The restrooms are past their prime, but clean enough and I like the European toilets.
KLM Crown Lounge IAH Food + Drink
Ok, a confession. I love Miss Vickie’s potato chips and as far back as I can can remember, this lounge has always had Miss Vickie’s chips. That’s a quick 250 calories I won’t burn off flying in airplanes, but I just love these, especially the jalapeño flavor.
Oh, there’s other food as well. Soups, sandwiches, salads, hummus with pita bread, cheese, cold cuts, fruit, and a generous section of cookies.
I really liked the chicken Florentine soup.
Alcohol is self-serve and there’s a decent selection of beer, wine, and spirits. There’s also bad coffee which I do not recommend.
CONCLUSION
Most people don’t like this lounge, but I find it comfortable enough…and the Miss Vickies…
It’s really not a bad place to wait out your flight and while some airports have really nice gate areas that are comparable to lounges, Houston is not one of them.
So is it preferable to the Air France lounge?
Yes.
@Aaron, I would say the KLM lounge is preferable to the Air France lounge IMO. The food and drink in the KLM lounge I think was better. I spent only a few minutes in the Air France lounge to grab a quick beverage the last time I went through IAH compared to the time I spent in the KLM lounge. Mind you, I went to the KLM lounge, Air France lounge, United Club, had dinner at the Cadillac Mexican restaurant. I did some good walking within the IAH airport and use of my Priority Pass benefits :).
Scott, I did the same thing! I love Cadillac Mexican Restaurant!
It’s not my favorite Mexican restaurant, but pretty good for airport food. I always get good value out of my PP membership at IAH.
on the topic of mexican restaurants (or tex mex really) at IAH, my favorite is El Premio in C South. It’s pretty good and my favorite at IAH. It’s not PP like Cadillac is so you’d be out of pocket, but worth trying
Miss Vickie’s Sea Salt & Vinegar are the best. I always try to get those when I’m at Subway.
KLM is so cheap on wine. JP Chenet sparkling wine? That’s like $5-7 a bottle. About the same quality as $3-$5 Andre.
Personally I prefer the AF lounge down the hall. Your review of this is fair, and it really makes me question what I don’t like about the KLM lounge. I just don’t like it. ‘Nuff said
That looks better than the KLM lounge food in Amsterdam, which hasn’t changed in years. It would be amazing if they offered chicken fajitas at their hub instead of the gross “chicken teriyaki” they’ve been serving for years (which in reality is a large pot of peas and green beans with a few microscopic chunks of chicken mixed in).
hey that’s what I said!
Looks like this one has better hot food than AMS lounge 52 (as of late), and that’s sad
Good definition of depressing? KLM IAH lounge early on a Monday morning….
Juneteenth is a call to renew our commitment to anti-whiteness. So far you have posted on this important holiday. Be better.
I really like Matthew’s posts. I agree with this from
2019.
This lounge is a dump as is all of IAH TD and I live in Houston. Everything will get better with new lounges and terminals in the future but for now, keep your expectations on check for a low tier experience.
Is there any reason for AF and KL to operate separate lounges (and both depressing) at IAH other than to monetize off
Priority Pass and capacity? Seems like a giant waste of money for what is mostly a Star Alliance dominated airport.
Agreed. Total waste of money considering the KL Lounge is a jail and the AF Lounge is a prison!