The definitive guide to lounges in Houston, Texas (IAH/HOU)
 

As somebody who was supportive of the creation of this new forum, I submit my first top level thread. I'll be adding to this over the next couple weeks as I revisit some of the earlier lounges, namely the Priority Pass lounges.

Please read the wiki as it will answer many questions and also if you have unanswered questions, will point you to the various sub-forums of FT that will answer you.

Gracias.

krazykanuck
IAH preferred, HOU if I must

BA First Lounge IAH

(shamelessly re-posted from my Trip Report where this originally appeared in May 2016)

I'm not really sure why BA operates two premium lounges at IAH, 1 for F and OW Emeralds and 1 for F/J and lesser OW members when they have all of 2 flights a day to LHR. The lounge is rather small but well appointed. There is a hot soup, cold sandwiches, and a variety of other nibbles (look at me, I can speak British too!)

The highlight is the bar though. Free pour Woodford Reserve is the bourbon and both Tanquarey 10 and Bombay Sapphire are two gins on offer and they had a decent bottled beer selection including 2-3 local brews. I spent a pleasant couple of hours here before hiking all the way back to Terminal A for my flight to LAX. To modify a Ferris Bueller quote, if you have the means, I highly recommend visiting this lounge. It was a virtual sanctuary compared to the KLM Crown Lounge which I usually use and have been disappointed with the decline in food and beverage quality over the last year.

Food area of the lounge

https://c8.staticflickr.com/8/7100/2...9d8b3c41_c.jpg

Seating and bar area in the back

https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7319/2...5142daf1_c.jpg

Beer and some delicious chili

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7303/2...fc20d74d_c.jpg

Bar close up

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7338/2...745b1bfd_c.jpg

I visited the Executive Lounge last year when flying LH and I thought it was better than most domestic lounge offerings; if I had to hazard a guess, definitely better than the KLM lounge at IAH and would appear to be on par with the BA F lounge based on the pics above. Solid food and drink spread with ample seating. No natural light unfortunately.

I'm currently in the KLM lounge at IAH and it seems fairly decent. More people have been entering as time goes on, however, so I can see it getting crowded before their flight.

Any description on what the food and drink spread was like? I still haven't revisited in a long while since I can't make myself go to the KLM lounge when I have Centurion lounge access. :o

Alcohol selection looked decent from what I remember. I didn't eat anything, however, so I can't comment on food.

Update to KLM Lounge
 

I stopped my the KLM Lounge briefly around 8pm on Monday this week to discover a few changes since my last visit a couple years ago. The food selections are even more meager than I remember, and the alcohol is no longer self serve. The food was limited to pita, hummus, veggies, and chips and empty carbs. They have a place for a soup but there wasn't any available. The lounge wasn't too busy - not really a surprise since it's not a very busy hour at IAH in general and the lounge closes at 9.

I was chatting with the bartender and one of the managers and when I asked about the bartender change, they said the lounge had some TABC complaints lodged against it a few months back and the liquor inspector said they needed a bartender. Apparently people were overindulging in the lounge and showing up tanked at the plane, using the paper to go coffee cups to take booze out of the lounge, and also stealing unopened bottled beer and taking it with them stashed in their bags, so as a result there is now a bartender to carefully pour liquor and open beers.

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https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d1fe3a2784.png
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https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d0e9069278.png

Is this image from a previous visit?

No, however the bartender kindly stepped to the side to let me take the picture. The bartender literally stands in front of the alcohol, more like a gatekeeper, and if you grab for the bottle like I did - since I didn't know the policy change - he told me I can't serve myself. I guess they felt that leaving the bar the way it was, was easier (and clearly cheaper) than building an actual bar.

I edited the sticky: noting that you can now walk to terminal B from CDE, there is no United club in D, Polaris is now open, and added the information for the USO lounges at both HOU and IAH.

Ciao,
FH

As of this week two restaurants at IAH have joined Priority Pass:

• Cadillac Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar (Terminal A, near the AA gates) Menu here
• Landry's Seafood (Terminal C, near gate C42)

Both restaurants allow for the usual $28 credit per person with a limit of 1 guest.

Just as an FYI, the Landry's today would not let us use Priority Pass for a to go order. Waitress said it is full dine in only. Some of the Priority Pass restaurants list this in the fine print at the bottom, but did not see it specified for the Landry's so thought it was worth a shot.

Not totally surprising. I'm flying out of IAH next Friday and on Delta, so I have to be in Terminal A anyway, though Cadillac is on the AA side (south side) of A. I just don't really see the appeal of menu watching and tipping on their insane menu prices vs. having my breakfast at the Centurion Lounge gratis. Perhaps I'll have my full breakfast at the lounge and then just get some sipping tequila to utilize PP. There's nothing wrong with tequila at 10am, right?!

100% agreed! Food is the main reason I go to lounges, so the restaurant option is definitely appreciated, especially since many lounges serve snacks as opposed to a meal. But the Cent lounge at IAH has great food and great service, and it's hard to really see myself going anywhere else other than testing things out and curiosity.

I'm pretty sure in Texas any time is tequila time :)

Hey folks,

Im passing through and looking at the pp choices. Anyone have a suggestion on which would be best for a quick meal?