Originally Posted by
fliesdelta
If the lounge is so crowded that they're turning people away unless you have a flight within the next three hours, then the lounge likely won't be more pleasant than the terminal.
Completely agree with this and therein lies the problem. As I've tried to say many times in this forum, the problem we face today is that in the past, few travelers actually had access to airport lounges. There was a higher bar to entry and thus lounges were able to maintain at least some semblance of exclusivity. Today due to the stunningly low bar to entry for lounges (e.g. very low effective annual credit card fees, Priority Pass for everyone, etc.) there is no exclusivity left and thus there are lines out the door, little availability of seating, etc. So yes, as I've also said in this forum many times, if the lounge is more chaotic than the gate area, that is a problem.
Unfortunately, with the present day credit card system, we've set up a situation where everybody is "special" and thus nobody is special.
Regards