At the end of September I went on a business trip to San Diego. My company gives some leeway in the routing I can choose for business trips, so that allowed me to take the touristy route by flying to San Diego via Portland PDX, where I visited the Alaska Lounge Portland PDX on the way to San Diego. I was then luckily upgraded to First Class on my Alaska Airlines flight to San Francisco, where I’d be staying a night to visit some friends. This also allowed me to visit the new Alaska Lounge in Terminal 1 (it was located in Terminal 2 previously), which I review here.

Briefly, the Alaska Lounge at SFO’s Terminal 1 is a lovely space with good food and great drinks. It follows the same standards as the lounge at Portland PDX, even though I think the PDX lounge does have a nicer design than the SFO lounge. Still, the bar area was gorgeous, there was ample comfortable seating, there was a ton of natural light with great views, the staff was friendly, the food tasty, and the drinks good. Like at the Portland lounge, I did feel the food options could have been a bit more extensive. I’d be happy to return!

At a Glance

Category	Details
Location	Terminal 1, airside, in front of Gate B6 (one floor up by elevator)
Hours	Daily, 5am to midnight (per Alaska)
Who gets in	Lounge+ members, full Admirals Club members, Alaska/Hawaiian First on itineraries with a flight over 2,000 miles, eligible oneworld First/Business and Sapphire/Emerald travelers, Atmos Summit card day passes, or a $65 single-entry pass
Amenities	– Food and drink buffet – Barista coffee – Full bar for alcoholic drinks – Several seating types for lounging, dining and working, many of which have power outlets. – Call booths – Complimentary Wi-Fi – No showers
Crowds	Likely busiest in the early morning and early evening, when Alaska has the most departures.

Location and Hours

The Alaska Lounge at San Francisco SFO’s Terminal 1 is open daily from 5am to midnight, according to the Alaska website, which covers pretty much all of Alaska’s departures from the airport.

Since I had stayed the night in San Francisco, I arrived at SFO’s Terminal 1 landside and had to go through security. At Terminal 1, TSA PreCheck is on the upper floor, so I took the escalator, walked over, and used the Touchless ID lane (see here how to set that up). Security was very fast and dare I say that SFO is one of the few US airports where the TSA agents are legitimately nice? Note that the general security checkpoint would be on the same floor as the check-in desks.

Once through, you’ll find the escalator back to concourse level just in front, so take it down. You’ll end up in the same airside area as passengers coming from the general security checkpoint.

Follow the corridor towards the B gates, and you’ll also see a sign ‘Lounges and Clubs’ right below where it mentions the B-gates. When you get to the first T-split, turn right.

Walk a little ways through this corridor, passing Gates B1-5, and then the Alaska Lounge will be on your right, more or less in front of Gate B6. The entrance is relatively conspicuous because the walls are otherwise a stark white, so the darker colors of the Alaska Lounge’s entrance stand out.

Once inside you’ll find an L-shaped space. On the left you’ll find some plantings and a colorful art piece, as well as a large, lit Alaska Airlines sign. Turn right to enter the lobby, where you’ll find two pairs of elevators, and all the way in the back a set of stairs.

I took the elevator one floor up and entered the Alaska Lounge’s reception area. This space is not very big and when I entered a few people were in front of me. It was a bit tight to wait in line here, but the line moved fairly quickly. There’s a single desk with two agents seated to help guests check in. The friendly agent explained to me the overall layout of the lounge and specifically pointed out where I’d find buffet, bar and restrooms. I then turned left and entered the lounge proper.

Access Requirements

Alaska publishes an extensive list of guidelines to determine eligibility for access. I summarized the bottom line below for those who can receive access:

• Alaska Lounge+ Members: Members of Alaska’s Lounge+ membership get unlimited access to Alaska Lounges upon presentation of a same-day boarding pass of a qualifying carrier (Alaska, Hawaiian, a oneworld airline or one of Alaska’s global partners). They can also bring in family or up to 2 friends.
• American Admirals Club Members: American Admirals Club members (full only, not single memberships) can access Alaska Lounges upon presentation of their membership card and a same-day Alaska, Hawaiian or American boarding pass.
• Alaska/Hawaiian First Class Ticket (cash or award): Complimentary access on a First Class Ticket on Alaska or Hawaiian is only provided if at least one of the flights on the itinerary is over 2000 miles (e.g. a transcontinental flight). Upgrades are not eligible for access.
• American Airlines First Class Ticket: Complimentary access on a First Class Ticket on American Airlines is only provided on select transcontinental flights: JFK–SFO, SFO–JFK, JFK–LAX, and LAX–JFK.
• Other oneworld member First/Business Class Ticket (cash or award): If flying on a same-day ticket on a oneworld member airline in either First or Business class, you can get Alaska Lounge access if the First/Business class leg is at least on the international segment.
• oneworld Sapphire/Emerald members: As a Sapphire/Emerald member through either Alaska’s Atmos or American AAdvantage, you can enter Alaska Lounges if flying from the US to an international destination. If you received your status through another oneworld member airline, you don’t need an international itinerary. Note: You must have the oneworld program of your status on your itinerary before check-in to be eligible for access.
• Atmos Summit Card Day Passes: Valid for same-day access to any Alaska Lounge (but not the Hawaiian Plumeria Lounge) when traveling on Alaska, Hawaiian, or oneworld member airlines. This is how I entered the lounge.
• Paid Single-Entry Lounge Passes: Anybody else can buy a single-entry lounge pass for $65, but a discounted single-entry pass is available for certain people.

Seating and Design

Once through the reception area, you’ll find the lounge is one long space straddling the edge of the north side of Terminal 1. The reception area is towards one side of the lounge space, but not all the way: that means that when you get in, there’s a medium-sized seating area to your immediate right, whereas most of the lounge and its amenities will be to your left.

The space on your immediate right has a variety of seating options. In the middle is a banquette of sorts, with planting at its center. It’s a nice centerpiece for the room – I always like having some greenery in a space. Around the periphery of the room are a variety of different seating options. Along the walls are forward-facing booths with additional chairs and coffee tables, making them perfect for larger groups to sit together while still getting a bit of privacy from nearby guests.

Further in the back are true booths: single-seaters with comfy padding and taller walls, so here you can truly sit back and feel ‘alone’. There’s a little side table that is about large enough for a single plate and a glass. Finally, along the windows are the same sort of fixed recliners as at the Portland Alaska Lounge. I find these supremely comfortable and you can’t beat the view of the tarmac and international terminal beyond!

At the very end of this space are two privacy booths to make calls. There’s a high-top swiveling chair and a table with electrical outlets. It’s a practical space but a little bit tight, and with the door closed it can get a bit hot, too.

By the booths is also a drink station. There wasn’t much here though. Besides a single coffee dispenser and a water dispenser, there were some condiments and such. Given the otherwise nice setup, the general lack of the actual drinks was a bit odd. Alaska could perhaps add a coffee machine and a small fridge for some cold drinks.

Going back and exiting this space, the rest of the lounge will be in front of you. The first part of this, which is a long straight space, is the dining area of the lounge. It starts from the reception and runs all the way to where the lounge makes a bend to the right. Throughout this space you’ll find booths, counters and free-standing tables.

The first type of seating you’ll come across are two-person booths on the left and a counter on the right, best for lone travelers looking for a private way to eat. The counters give a wonderful view of the tarmac (if the blinds aren’t down as on this sunny afternoon).

Continue past this first space and you’ll come across a barista, dessert counter, and the full buffet behind it. While I’m not usually super excited by barista coffee since I’m not much of a coffee drinker, it’s a nice touch that Alaska offers this in their lounges. The barista counter has proper espresso machines and a range of syrups and stuff, so you can actually ask for a nicely customized cup of coffee.

As for the buffet, I’ll get to that later, in the Food and Drinks section.

Opposite the barista are free-standing dining tables set up for four people. Again, by the windows you get the best view of the international terminal, though at this time of day the sun was shining straight in and was rather blinding (hence the window blinds were lowered).

As you pass by the buffet, which will be on your left, you’ll now find booths on your right, along the windows. These booths will comfortably sit a party of four, but with some squeezing I think you can seat 6 people as well. Add a chair at the head for a 7th person.

Beyond the main buffet, and around the drink stations, is more dining seating. By the windows is a high-top counter with high-top seating, perfect for lone travelers or pairs who want to face the excellent views that the lounge affords. Then in the middle of this section are free-standing dining tables set up for two guests each. These middle tables didn’t have access to any power outlets.

At this point there’s a bit of a bend in the lounge, to the right. The counter by the windows continues, and on the left the two-person booths return. Keep walking through this section, and you’ll reach the nicely designed bar area, all the way in the back of the lounge. Behind the wall with the booths you’ll find the restrooms as well. More about that later. Outlets were available both along the counter and by the booths.

Finally we reach the far end of the lounge, where there is a large rectangular bar area with bar seating and loungers and booths around the walls. This is a warmer space very befitting a bar, and it feels cozy and warm thanks to the darker walls contrasting with the lighting that focuses on the wooden elements. The bar’s design itself is also very nice, with the wooden strips over the ceiling and the centerpiece, consisting of a display of all the liquor bottles.

On the window side of the bar are large recliners with wings around the headrest for added privacy. These chairs looked very comfortable – and indeed all were taken. They swivel and have little tables by them to put your drink.

Then on the other side, along all the walls, are the same kind of booth/couch as in the seating area to the right of the reception. While initially comfortable, my back did hurt a bit after about an hour of sitting here with my laptop. The green seats are a bit more comfortable, but ultimately I preferred those fixed recliners at the other end of the lounge.

The seating options in the bar area consist of two kinds of high-top seating, located either by the bar or along a narrow counter on the far end of the bar, as well as banquettes with small tables and green lounge chairs around small tables, perfect for just a drink (and not much else). Even at the bar it was easy to find electrical plugs to charge devices.

There’s also a narrow corridor that extends just a bit further away from the bar, which features a counter along the windows, but there was no seating of any kind. That corridor seemed a bit pointless, frankly.

By the time I got to the bar, the sun had just started to hide behind the hills of the peninsula, so looking outside wasn’t so blinding anymore. As you can see, it’s a great view of the international terminal, and as the night progressed, it was a spectacle of long haul aircraft coming in from Asia.

Overall, this Alaska Lounge is a wonderful space. I like how it straddles the edge of Terminal 1, so that you have large floor-to-ceiling windows truly from one end of the lounge to the other. Alaska makes good use of that by placing a lot of comfortable seating along the windows, mostly counters fit for solo travelers, but also recliners, booths and swiveling chairs. Otherwise, the design of the lounge is very nice as well. I do slightly prefer the design as featured in Alaska’s Portland Lounge, but San Francisco’s is very nice as well. Especially the bar area is a great space that feels high-end without going over the top.

Food and Drinks

The Alaska Lounge at San Francisco’s Terminal 1 has one buffet centrally located in the lounge. Here you will find a barista right beside a small dessert buffet, and a little further there are the main food buffet and a drink station.

At the barista you’ll find two espresso machines to be used by the staff. While I was at the lounge, there was a single staff member operating these, but I can imagine that this station would be busiest in the morning. Right beside the barista was a cooler with a variety of desserts, including various cookies, little cakes and brownies.

Walk a bit further and you’ll get to the main buffet. Here you’ll find a rotating selection of salads and mains. I arrived into the lounge around 6:15pm, so the buffet was set up for dinner.

At the edge were some whole oranges and apples, and then there was a selection of three salads, what looked like hummus, and a variety of vegetables for a DIY salad of sorts. I tried some of this and thought it was all quite tasty and fresh.

Beyond the salad bar were the various hot mains. That included a hot pasta salad dish, a chicken dish, and two sides of roasted carrots and purple rice. I thought the chicken was very nice, and I liked that the carrots were not too hard, but on the softer side. To be honest, I would have liked to see a bit more variety here. Perhaps an extra dish to choose from?

Along the wall you can find the bread station. All the way on the left is a display with some sliced breads and bagels, with a toaster beside it. Otherwise there are two waffle makers on the right, and in between these two setups are a selection of condiments, mostly jams.

Then a little beyond the food buffets is the main drink station. Here you’ll find most any drink you’d probably want to have, save for the alcohol (which will be at the bar). That includes a soda machine serving pretty much all different kinds of soda varieties, as well as two espresso machines. There are also some jars with crackers and cookies to go with the hot drinks, which I thought was a cute touch.

Finally, there’s the bar, which has a variety of offerings. The beers and wines rotate seasonally and feature local breweries, and so can be different from one Alaska Lounge to another, so best to ask the bartender what they have at the moment. Besides those, the bartenders are happy to make you a variety of cocktails or mocktails. There are menus available that broadly list the various options, and you’ll immediately recognize that some are complimentary, and some are ‘premium’ ($9) or ‘super premium’ ($15).

As you can see, Alaska has a large variety of liquors to choose from, and while I’m no expert, the variety of drinks and brands struck me as extensive and of good overall quality.

One drink that Alaska had at its lounges at the time of writing, but would likely rotate out by the end of 2026, is the Summit Sunrise: a cocktail specifically crafted for holders of the Atmos Summit card. I decided to try this, strong as it was, because it would likely be my last chance to try this drink as I wasn’t planning on returning to an Alaska Lounge in 2026 (since there are none on the east coast). I gotta say, it was delicious, so I’m glad I tried it!

Overall, the Alaska Lounge seems very strong on drinks, with a full bar serving up delicious cocktails and local beers and wines, as well as barista coffee. The food is good too, but I wish the selection was a bit more extensive. That said, I thought the food was tasty and it seemed fresh and high quality as well. So what the lounge lacks in quantity, at least it makes up for in quality.

Restrooms and Showers

There are no showers at the Alaska Lounge San Francisco SFO.

The Alaska Lounge at San Francisco Terminal 1 seemed to have but a single set of restrooms. These were behind a partition just beyond the buffet, where the lounge makes a bit of a bend, but before you get to the bar. You’ll find women’s and men’s restrooms. Going into the men’s restrooms, the first thing you’ll bump into is a baby changing station. I thought it was nice that there was a diffuser and some hand lotion over at the cabinet here.

The restrooms were nicely appointed. They were light and bright, thanks to lights installed in a ring around the mirror. Three of these mirrors were on the right, above the sinks. On the left there was one urinal and several toilet stalls. For the duration that I was at the lounge, the restrooms were generally kept clean and fresh.

For the hand soap, the Alaska Lounge uses Salt & Stone, a brand that I believe is from Los Angeles. Not sure if it can be called ‘local’ as such, given that Salt & Stone is otherwise available through major retailers such as Sephora, but it smelled nice.

Overall, these were nicely designed and functional restrooms. The only thing I’m not a fan of is the lack of urinals. This seems to be a bit of an Alaska Lounge thing, as the Portland lounge also had just one urinal.

Summary

The Alaska Lounge at San Francisco’s Terminal 1 is a lovely space with great drinks and good food. I entered on an Atmos Summit card day pass, but a single-entry pass will cost $65 full price. I much enjoyed the overall design, with floor-to-ceiling windows along the whole lounge, comfortable seating of various types, and a bar area that feels high-end without going over the top. For me, those fixed recliners (day beds?) at the windows and the banquettes at the bar were the favorites. The food is tasty and fresh, but the selection is limited, and there are no showers. Overall, Portland’s Alaska Lounge edges it on design, but I’d happily return here.