I recently attended the Bild Expo at the Javits Center in New York.  I was actually looking forward to spending a couple of hours in LaGuardia on the way back home visiting both the Chase Sapphire Lounge and the Centurion Lounge.  Both are located next to one another n Terminal B, past security on Level 4, right next to the Brooklyn Diner.  My original flight had me leaving LaGuardia at about 6:30pm and arriving in Dayton about 9m.  That plan got squashed when some weather played havoc with air traffic patterns, causing numerous delays which turned to cancellations.  On the plus side I was notified of my flight cancellation well before I would have arrived to LaGuardia.  On the negative side, so many flights got cancelled, the closest I could get to LaGuardia with a hotel reservation so I could catch my obscenely early  flight (5:30am) was a Holiday Inn Express…in Queens.  <shudder>.  The flight boarded at 5am, so that would mean I had just 30 minutes (opens at 4:30am) to hang out in a lounge before my flight, so I chose the Chase Sapphire Lounge.  Here’s a shot of the entrance I starred at until the lounge finally opened.

This would be my first visit to a Chase Sapphire Lounge.  Here’s a list of their current airport locations:

• Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) – Terminal B/C Connector

• New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) – Terminal B

• New York JFK Airport (JFK) – Terminal 4 (refurbished Etihad Lounge)

• Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) – Terminal D/E Connector

• Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) – Terminal 4 South Concourse

• San Diego (SAN) – Terminal 2 West

• Washington Dulles (IAD) – Shared Etihad Lounge in Terminal A

• Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) – Terminal 1 West Hall

Planned future locations include Las Vegas (LAS), Los Angeles (LAX), Dallas (DFW), and even Seattle and Salt Lake City .  Here is the access eligibility guidelines:

• Chase Sapphire Reserve, J.P. Morgan Reserve, and Ritz-Carlton cardholders get unlimited visits (plus 2 guests for Reserve/JP Morgan; unlimited for Ritz) via their Priority Pass memberships.

• Other Priority Pass members receive one free Sapphire Lounge visit per calendar year, and can pay a fee for additional visits.  

I was REALLY interested in visiting the LaGuardia location – barely a year old when I visited having been completed in January of 2024.   It’s often called the gold standard of U.S. Chase lounges – the best in the portfolio to date.  Vising at such an early hour afforded me the ability to get some photos inside the lounge before many people arrived:

At 21,850 square feet, this Sapphire Lounge can fit a maximum of 269 people. The Centurion Lounge next door comes in at less than half the size by square footage.  The design is very moder with some retro chic features – it’s quite nice.

Even the bathrooms had a very clean, upscale look:

There’s also an upstairs seating area.  But aside from the additional and perhaps more private seating, additional bathrooms and coffee, there’s not much else upstairs.

The Reserve Suites

What they do have upstairs are three private suites located behind the reception desk, accessed via a private elevator for full privacy.  Suites 1 & 2 are larger and sit up to 8 guests, featuring sofas, chairs, a dining table, plus their own door while the smaller third suite is available for more intimate groups.  The large suites cost $3000.00 for three hours, and the smaller suite is $2000.00 for three hours.  I’ve no idea why someone would need to pay for these suites but apparently they do get used and other luxury lounges are planning similar premium offerings in the near future.  

Food

One of the hallmark features of this Chase Sapphire lounge is a food menu featuring more typical lounge options alongside special, made-to-order dishes from Joseph Leonard, a West Village bistro. 

I didn’t really have time for a made to order breakfast, but was a bit disappointed that while I was perusing the food options at the buffet, none of the nearby staff inquired if I’d be interested in ordering anything.  Again, short on time I had a  scrambled egg, sausage, and potato bowl as well as a serving of their famous Nutella Pancakes – highly recommended:

The other nice feature of this Chase sapphire lounge is that you can book a free spa treatment, such as jade rolls and oxygen blasts, on-site on a first-come-first-served basis. The private treatment rooms are staffed by estheticians and feature products from New York facial bar Face Haus.

Not Perfect

My experience overall was fantastic and I was really impressed (not being mobbed with too many people at 4:30am might have helped).  But there were a couple of “misses” for me at this lounge.  The first was there wasn’t that much seating which provided an AC outlet or USB plugin.  Not a problem for me as I came the airport fully charged.  But if I were flying through LaGuardia and needed to recharge my devices, I’d think twice about this lounge.

The other thing I found odd about the Chase Sapphire Lounge was the omission of any shower facilities.  Granted, I’ve never needed to take a shower between flights, but I have a buddy that I sometimes travel with who is positively obsessive about showers and often showers at the airport after a long flight.  Our original plan was to first stop at the Centurion lounge next door which does have shower facilities, then go over to the Chase Sapphire Lounge.  But that wasn’t necessary due to our cancelled flight and change of plans.  Still it’s weird that they have so much space, and all the wellness features, but no shower.

If I was with my wife or with a friend and wanted a nice place to sit, relax, and socialize, the Chase Sapphire Lounge would be a great space for that.  But more often than not, I need a place where I can recharge devices that’s conducive for getting work done.  You can do that here, but I only saw a few seats in the lounge with power outlets/USB ports to plug in to.  So as nice as this lunge is, and as much as I enjoyed the food, the practicality of what’s offered in the Centurion Lounge next door might well win out the next time I fly through LaGuardia.  Still, I was extremely pleased to have the opportunity to try out a Chase Sapphire Lounge (and the nicest one in their network at that).