The Club at BWI – A Compact but Adequate Lounge

Baltimore Washington International (BWI) Airport has served as my home airport for the last 7+ years; however, it has always had a lack of club and lounge options. This is still true in Concourses A through C which includes the major Southwest Airline gates at BWI. When a recent travel opportunity required flying Delta out of Concourse D from BWI, I took the opportunity to experience The Club at BWI lounge. Overall, it is a small lounge with not much to write home about. However, it is a secluded space with comfortable seating and plentiful plugs so it still beats hanging out in the concourse. What follows is an in-depth review of The Club at BWI.

Location and Access

The Club at BWI is located in BWI’s Concourse D. At BWI, Concourse D and E are connected to each other; however, those concourses are not connected to A through C. Therefore, you must be flying out of Concourse D or E to use The Club at BWI.

A set of automatic glass doors located just past Gate D10 and Dunkin’ donuts and coffee shop provide the entrance to The Club at BWI. Spirit Airlines uses all the gates surrounding the entrance to this lounge which is somewhat ironic given Spirit’s market position of being an ultra-low-cost carrier. Delta also uses this concourse, so Delta fliers will be able to go here as well. The Club is open daily from 4:15 AM to 10:30 PM.

The Club at BWI contracts with Priority Pass to provide entrance to members. Day passes can also be purchased for $33 each. At the risk of spoiling the rest of the review, entrance isn’t worth $33. Save your $33 and spend it at a sit-down restaurant in the airport for better food, drinks, and seating. However, if you have Priority Pass already and it doesn’t cost you anything extra, it could be worth experiencing the lounge. Check-in to the lounge was completed quickly even though there were 4 people in line when we arrived.

Lounge Size

First off, The Club at BWI is a small airport lounge. There is really only one room in the lounge that holds the food service, bar service, and semi-divided seating area. There are about 6 divided seating areas in the lounge that each seated between 4 and 6 people. Holding more than 30-40 people would have been difficult for this lounge. I arrived prior to a 7:00 AM flight so the lounge only had a handful of people. However, I would expect it to be more crowded during more popular times.

Amenities

Food

Given that I was in the lounge so early in the morning, breakfast was being served to guests. The options for food were somewhat lacking. These options included granola bars, apples, cereals, a pre-prepared egg and ham omelet, hard-boiled eggs, a fruit cup, bagels, or yogurt and granola parfait. The portions were pretty small and the quality of the food wasn’t the best. I tried both the fruit cup and yogurt parfait. Each was edible, but neither were particularly flavorful. Overall, the food offered will do in a pinch (although you will have to get a lot of servings if you are hungry). Don’t expect a full meal like some other lounges would provide.

Drinks/Bar Service

The Club at BWI offers a full bar service all day. Even when I was there in the morning at 7 AM, they were serving bloody marys, mimosas, or anything else that you wanted to order. While there was only one bartender, the small size of the lounge meant that there was seldom a wait to order drinks. The lounge has several self-serve coolers for non-alcoholic drink options including sodas, water, and fruit juices. These are nice in that you can grab one of them on the way out and take it on your flight. This is especially nice if you are flying Spirit and don’t want to pay for a drink on the plane. The club also has a nice coffee bar that provides travelers with the options of many coffee drinks as well as hot tea and hot chocolate.

Bottom Line

All in all, going to The Club at BWI beats sitting in the Spirit Airplane’s gate area. There are comfortable seating options, the bar and drinks are good, and there are good snacks while you wait for your flight. If you go into the lounge with that expectation, you will likely not be disappointed. As long as I continue to have a Priority Pass membership, I am likely to return. However, paying $33 for the privilege of entering this lounge is something I likely would not do.