As part of the first impromptu trip, ’22 hours in Washington DC’, I recently wrote about, to Washington DC, we had the opportunity to enter the American Airlines Admirals Club at New York-JFK Terminal 8. We booked our outbound leg to DCA in American Airlines economy class using 4500 Alaska Atmos points and 18$ per person, so that is an excellent value! Since we were flying American Airlines, we could enter the Admirals Club lounge on account of the Citibank Strata Elite credit card, which provides four Admirals Club passes.

Briefly, this lounge is fine. Since this was my first time entering an Admirals Club (really my first time entering this ‘tier’ lounge in the US, since I hadn’t been to a Delta SkyClub or United Club yet, either), I wasn’t too sure what to expect, though I’d heard stories. The design is a bit tired, but fortunately American Airlines is working on renovating its Admirals Clubs (as you’ll see in my next review of the Admirals Club at DCA, at the E gates), but seating was comfortable and the views of the apron nice. The food was entirely forgettable, but if you’re hungry it’s not bad either. Overall I’d be happy to go again, but happier if I could get into the Greenwich lounge instead.

1. Access requirements
2. Location and hours
3. Seating at the Admirals Club
4. Food and drink options
5. Restrooms and showers
6. Summary

Access requirements

There are various ways to enter Admirals Club. These requirements should be the same across all Admirals Clubs, but in reality I do know that there are some exceptions, which I will highlight. To get into an Admirals Club, you have the following options:

• Admirals Club Members: you can buy a membership straight-up or receive one through various means, including by getting the Citibank AAdvantage Executive Mastercard.
• Travel in business or first class on transcontinental or international itineraries with American Airlines or OneWorld partners.
• With American AAdvantage elite status, Platinum Pro and up. However, this will only get you on international itineraries.
• OneWorld Sapphire or Emerald members, obtained through a loyalty program other than American AAdvantage, can get access on both domestic and international itineraries.
• By buying an Admirals Club Day Pass. However, capacity controls can restrict access to day pass holders, so this can be a bit tricky.
• Holders of the Citibank Strata Elite Mastercard will get 4 Admirals club passes, which, unlike buying a day pass, are not subject to capacity controls. This is how we entered this lounge: we redeemed two passes, one for my husband and one for myself.

Location and hours

The Admirals Club is open daily from 4:15am to 10:30pm.

To get to the lounge, after security you’d walk straight ahead toward the mid-field concourse, following the signs. The signage really is quite clear so as long as you walk straight ahead after security you shouldn’t miss it.

Keep following the signs and take the escalator down, then up again on the other end of the underground walkway. When you get back up, keep following the signs. There will be an Admirals Club sign to the left, but that’ll be just an exit.

Instead, keep going a little further, and you’ll come across another sign for the Admirals Club. This will lead to an elevator, which you can ride up into the lobby of the Admirals Club.

The staff at the desk were friendly, scanning first one Citi Strata Elite pass, followed by a boarding pass, and then a second pass Citi Strata Elite pass and a second boarding pass. We could then proceed into the lounge.

Seating at the Admirals Club

When you first enter the lounge, you can turn immediately right or continue straight ahead. The are to the immediate right is labeled a quiet area, and includes a number of comfortable lounge chairs.

Although you enter through something od a corridor with just seating on the right, you quickly enter into a larger space with a lot more seating. The space is well-lit, and it was nice that there were some windows on the far end with nice views.

At the far end were also some larger chairs and some cubicle-like seating, one of which had an iMac. Interestingly, it’s all the way at the other end of the space, then, that there is some more desk seating and a printer. If you’re going to setup a business center of sorts, wouldn’t it make sense to have the computer close to the printer?

Right by the printer area was also a short corridor with two sound-proofed rooms that would allow you to take a phone call privately. There were two of such phone rooms.

The rest of the lounge can now be accessed by walking back to the lobby and akin a right, down the main hallway that leads to a bar, a buffet and several spaces with seating. That seating starts at the lobby, pretty much, right in front of you but also to the left in something of a curved arrangement. The types of seating are consistent throughout the lounge, with a variety of different lounge chairs in grey, brown, black and an occasional red one.

What struck me was how similar this lounge looks to the Greenwich lounge, the business class lounge that Japan Airlines sent me when I flew to Tokyo before. In effect this is an American Flagship lounge, so the similarity in style is not entirely unexpected.

A little further in and to the right, is the bar. This is a good size with plenty of barside seating with high-top stools, as well as tables with comfortable chairs surrounding. The bartender was friendly, but seemed bored – he did tell me that it had been crazy busy in the lounge just half an hour before, so I suppose we got lucky and came after the evening rush. There was a good selection of drinks, including multitude liquors, several beers and wines.

Walking past the bar you’ll enter into the main seating area. This is a good size, with a good amount of seating. To the left is some high-top seating along the windows, and there is something of a bar: this was empty however, without food or servuce so it wasn’t clear to me if this used to be like a food bar that was discontinued, or it simply closed for the night.

The decor definitely is a bit tired, though, with all the grays and blacks looking a bit drab. The occasional red chair sticks out, but doesn’t make it look much better. Importantly, the seating is comfortable and I quite liked sitting here a while. Not to mention that the views were quite nice as well!

Moving to the end of this space you can turn left, and there is a continuation of the same seating there. Walk through that narrow part and turn left again, and there is more of the same seating there as well.

In this area is also a children’s play area, with a TV, some fun, brightly colored chairs, but nothing else of note.

Past the play area you cna follow the path back to food buffet and bar area. Looking back there’s some more setaing here, oriented towards a TV, so I suppose this is something of a media area?

Overall, I can see that this Club probably gets slammed during peak hours. Fortunately our flight was at 9:30pm, which is when the bulk of flights would have already left for the evening, so it was pretty quiet overall. The seating was therefor ample and and I thought the different chairs were also quite comfortable. The decor is a little drab, however – I’d think it’s time for a makeover.

Food and drink options

For food and drinks you’re resigned to two main spaces. The first I mentioned above, and is the bar along the main corridor from the lobby. The other is the buffet that’s along the same path. This buffet is not something to write home about and I’ll put it upfront: I think the quality is that of your average office canteen. That said, it was fine – it tasted fine and ultimately my belly was full. Just don’t expect restaurant quality food.

Starting all the way to the right, there first two hot options included a ‘creamy tomato shrimp and mushroom’ dish, and a dish of ‘roasted vegetables’. Both of these were fine and while the roasted vegetables really didn’t taste as such, they were still tasty.

The next two options were two different kinds of soup, including a ‘chicken tortilla soup’ and a ‘vegetables soup’. I didn’t try these but they seemed fine…

Then there was a selection of desserts, including cookies, brownies and some sort of cake. The brownies and cookies were quite tasty and were probably the best part of this buffet. I also liked the (small) selection of fresh vegetables, and the cold cuts paired well with the pieces of bread that were available.

In terms of drinks, besides the alcoholic options at the bar, there was a hot drink station that made any sort of coffee or dispensed hot water for tea. Various tea bags were placed around the corner.

Finally, two large containers with either iced water or unsweetened ice tea were available here as well. Glass cups or plastic to-go cups were provided, in case you wanted to bring something with you out of the lounge.

The food in the lounge really isn’t terribly impressive, but it suffices. The options are limited and the quality is okay. It still tasted fine and since I was quite hungry, I was happy to find something to eat (for free). I definitely wouldn’t come to this lounge for the food, though. I did really like the bar with its plentiful options though, and I enjoyed a cold Brooklyn Lager.

Restrooms and showers

This Admirals Club had dedicated restrooms and some shower suites. All of these can be accessed by going left at the buffet and then taking the first left again. You’l lfirst come across a door that leads to the showers, and when you turn the corner to the right, you’ll find the Men’s and Women’s restrooms.

Entering the door to the showers brings you a brightly lit hallway with several doors, and at the end of the corridor a staff member who takes care of the shower suites. I politely asked if I could see one of them, and was shown to the one at the very end of the hallway.

The shower suite was a lot more spacious than I thought, and was roughly split into two parts by a wall that formed one side of the shoer cubicle. To the right is the actual showr, while to the left are a toilet and the sink, with a large mirror. I spotted some soaps and tissues, but I didn’t see much else in terms of amenities. I suppose towels and such will be handed out once you actually ask to use the shower.

I gotta say, this is not the prettiest shower I have seen at a lounge, but I do kind of love that the shower is a proper cubicle. I don’t like this trend of the walk-in shower that’s not fully enclosed, since you’ll end of spilling water everywhere…

Going back outside and going into the men’s restroom, the design is essentially the same. Along one wall you’ll find the sinks and then the urinals, and along the other wall are the stalls.

The restrooms and showers both appeared to be in good condition and clean, and I believe that’s really the most important things in these facilities.

Summary

This is the first Admirals Club I’ve ever visited, and it’s clear to me now that the Greenwich lounge at JFK’s Terminal 8 is indeed like an American flagship lounge, given the very similar design language. I gotta say though, the Admirals Club does need a facelift. The interior appears a little drab, with all the whites, grays and blacks, and the occasional red chair looks a little odd. That said, the seating is comfortable and as a space to relax before your flight it’s perfectly fine and functional. It’s nice that hot and cold food options are available, though it’s nothing to write home about (though I liked the bar). It’s also nice that showers are available, which were clean and well-maintained.

So in short, this lounge is perfectly fine but nothing to get excited about. In my next review I’ll take a look at the Admirals Club at DCA’s E-gates, which is new since a year or two. Here, you will see that American has been investing in an entirely new design for their languages, which I think you will agree is more modern and pleasing, in pretty much every way. So, I do hope that the JFK Terminal 8 lounge will get the same treatment as American Airline expands that design to other locations.