The Delta One Lounge is widely touted as the best business class lounge in the US. Did it live up to that reputation? Read on to find out.

To be quite honest, this won’t be a comprehensive review of every facet of the lounge as we only had about 90 minutes total from the time we arrived at JFK until our flight to London boarded. I did not get to check out the spa & wellness facilities or the showers. What I will be able to discuss is what most people on a short layover care about: food, drinks, seating and how busy the lounge is at prime evening hours.

Our flight from Atlanta to JFK arrived about 20 minutes late due to some weather just north of Atlanta delaying departures. We then had to walk quite a long way from Gate B39 to the Delta One Lounge which is on the main concourse just to the left of the entrance to the Capital One Lounge, which we’ve enjoyed on a previous JFK visit. There’s a separate Delta One check-in area, security line and entrance to the lounge on the upper departures level if you are originating from JFK.

Access to the lounge is quite strictly controlled. You can’t enter based on any sort of SkyTeam status except Delta 360, which is an invitation-only status for the absolute highest spenders on Delta, and even then they have to be on at least a domestic first class ticket. The only way for folks like you and me to access the lounge is flying on same day departing or arriving Delta One flight or on a flight operated by Air France, KLM, Korean Air, LATAM, and Virgin Atlantic in first or business class. We were flying Virgin Atlantic in Upper Class which made us eligible. Note that Air France and Korean fly out of different terminals so you may not have time to switch terminals or go through security multiple times.

OK, once we were in, there was an elevator ride up to the 4th level where the lounge was located. Just the entrance area and elevator lobby were already a cut above the finishes in a typical Delta Sky Club.

Upon exiting the elevator, it wasn’t immediately clear where the sit-down restaurant was located so I asked an employee who pointed us in that direction. I thought it was interesting that in another review from last year, it was stated that “as you enter the lounge, you’re asked if it’s your first time, and they offer to give you a tour, explain the amenities, etc. The lounge staff even offer to hold onto your luggage while you’re in the lounge, so you don’t have to carry it around.” This did not happen for us. While the staff was friendly, it did not seem like they went out of their way for guests any more than staff at a SkyClub.

The dining area had a short wait for a table, but it is conveniently located right next to the bar.

We sat for a few minutes and ordered from the bar menu:

I ordered an Old-Fashioned and my wife ordered a Winter Cosmo. By the time the drinks arrived, I had received a text that our table was ready. We just took the drinks with us into the dining room.

We were seated at a table for two. It’s a lovely space, but unlike the Capital One Landing in Washington, there’s no practical space to put your carry-on bags, which I suppose doesn’t matter if they offer to store them according to the other review.

We took a look at the menu:

We were very hungry as we had not eaten much all day and didn’t even get so much as a snack on the ATL-JFK flight. My wife ordered the soup, the beet salad and the wedge salad. I ordered the tostada and the steak frites. We were talked into ordering the black cod to try as well by our server. If you have a zillion SkyMiles, you might as well order the caviar here.

All of the food was delicious and the plates are fairly small so don’t feel bad ordering multiple starters or main courses here. Our server was friendly and informal. We chatted a bit with the people next to us as the tables are very close together. It seems like most of the people visiting are in a pretty good mood as they are headed off somewhere interesting in a lay flat seat 🙂

For dessert, even though we were pretty full, we tried the Basque cheesecake.

After we finished our meal, we had about 1/2 hour until we needed to leave to board our flight. We found some seats in the lounge area. I decided to explore a bit of the lounge and get some more pictures.

There is a quick-serve dining area called the Market for those who don’t want or have time for a formal dining experience. It’s not really a buffet, but someone serves you from the counter.

There were a lot of options and the food still looked fresh and tasty. There’s a self-serve soft drink and coffee station and dining tables nearby.

There’s also lots of seating areas around the lounge and despite the many European flights leaving between 6pm and midnight from the terminal, it never seemed very crowded. It was definitely busy, but they seemed to be managing the flow of guests well. There were also private booths for taking phone calls and a conference-type table for groups to sit and work.

While we didn’t get a chance to check out the spa facilities or the massage chairs, we really enjoyed the lounge. My wife isn’t usually too impressed with lounges, but she thought the food was a noticeable cut above even the United Polaris or AA Flagship Lounges.

Overall, I was very impressed with the Delta One Lounge JFK. While we didn’t get the personalized attention that was highlighted in other reviews, the food and drinks were top notch, the service was excellent and the overall experience was a huge cut above any domestic airline lounge. It lives up to the hype as the best business class lounge in the US.

If you have a chance to visit the Delta One Lounge at JFK or their other locations (LAX, SEA, BOS so far, with several more to come), you should try and allow some time for a visit. You’re almost always going to get better food on the ground when it is made to order compared to reheated in the sky. We will be at LAX later this month coming off a Delta One flight from Auckland. We have a bit of a tight connection, but I’m hopeful we will have time to stop by the Delta One Lounge there.

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