chiltz

Hi everyone, apologies if this is in the wrong area!

Flying LHR SFO Club World on to LAS with Virgin America First...we arrive on a sunday at 1655 so no point paying for the Clubhouse as it shuts at 1800, do we have any other lounge options as we have about 3 hours to kill?

Many thanks

cmd320

T2 at SFO serves American Airlines and Virgin America only. There is only one lounge in that particular terminal which is the Admirals Club. You can access on a day pass or buy a membership for 30 days or a year, feasibility kind of depends on how many you have traveling with you. You said we so I assume it's at least two people in which case the $99 30-day membership is a slightly better deal as you can bring in two guests free of charge as opposed to paying $50 per person for a day pass. If you have 3 people then its for sure the better way to go.

The Admirals Club has two shower rooms which are decently nice, very clean, and pleasant between flights. Not much in the way of complimentary food or beverage options however there is a for purchase food menu and some decent alcoholic drinks available for purchase. There's also a few complimentary beer, wine, and liquor options if you're feeling daring (VX will have much better drinks onboard anyway). Seating is decent enough and should be pretty easy to find at that time of day.

If you have an American Express card there's always the Centurion Lounge in T3 (inside security), however you will have to exit T3 and reclear security at T2 to get to your flight.

That's all the other options I can really think of.

chiltz

Thank very much cmd, extremely helpful, really appreciate the sound advice. Thank you.

This forum is a goldmine of information given by kind and experienced people. Here's to happy and frequent luxury travel to all x

aBroadAbroad

Welcome to FlyerTalk… I've modified your title to make it clearer what you need. Also, questions pertaining to specific airports are generally posted in the destination forums; in this case, you will see that your post has been moved to the dedicated San Francisco forum where it will hopefully receive better feedback.

Good luck, and safe travels!

Moderator, Information Desk

Eastbay1K

SFO T-2 is a lovely and not particularly large terminal, with very nice eat and drink options. Your money is well-spent lounging in one or more of those establishments. Much more well-spent than passes for the AA lounge. However, what wouldn't hurt to ask is showing your BA BP at the AA lounge to see if they'll let you in as an arriving BA J (Oneworld) pax. I don't know the OW rules, and they probably don't have to let you in, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

dhuey

Check out that relatively new option for Amex Plat cardholders: Virgin Atlantic lounge in International-A!

This is a really nice lounge, with excellent food and drink options.

econ

It's been at least since last September that AmEx Plats have had access. Noticed it was posted on the sign at the entrance while using the Intl A/T1 airside walkway.

Haven't been able to try it out yet though. Is there access on arrival?

dhuey

I'm not at all sure, but my guess is yes. The SFO Centurion Lounge eventually restricted access to departures, but in my experience lounges generally allow arrivals access. There's nothing to the contrary on the Amex website:

Visconti

RE: Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse

Oh! Fabulous news and I'm going to try it the very next chance I get. This is great for me since I suspect I probably fly F9 more than anyone in the SF Bay Area.

dhuey

New Priority Pass option at SFO: British Airways lounge in International-A. It’s only from 5:00 to 11:30 am, though. (It’d get way too crowded to add PP visitors to the already big crowds for BA’s two flights later in the day.) Note that International-A and Terminal 1-B (Harvey Milk) are connected airside, so this BA lounge works well prior to a morning flight on American, JetBlue or Southwest.

I hope someone here pops in for breakfast and reports back.

ETA: Reminder that the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse is also open from 2 to 10 pm for American Express Platinum cardholders.

docbert

There is a specific thread for SFO Priority Pass discussions - San Francisco (SFO) - Priority Pass lounges and options

The BA lounge has already been mentioned over there, but to summarize, this appears to be the same thing BA does at IAD - opening their lounge for Priority Pass customers during hours when it would otherwise be closed. The level of service provided (at least in IAD) is significantly lower than during the hours it's open for BA customers. Still good to have another option, but I wouldn't be setting expectations all that high based on my experience at IAD.

dhuey

Thanks, I didn't see that. I think it's generally best to streamline discussions into a single thread, but I would imagine a lot of visitors to this San Francisco forum don't check the Airport Lounge forum for updates on SFO lounges. There's some value in keeping the SFO lounge basics current in this forum, even if there's discussion of the lounges elsewhere. As it happens, I learned of the new SFO BA lounge access for Priority Pass in the AA forum.

Eastbay1K

Do these time restrictions apply just to entry hours, or is there a mass unlawful detainer (eviction) proceeding which occurs at 11:30?

dhuey

The BA site has the lounge opening at 1:30 pm, which aligns with the 4:35 pm departure (first of two). I would imagine at 11:15 am or so, someone with an English accent roams around the lounge, yelling....

Closing time, mates! You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here. Do finish up, please.

docbert

This is exactly what they do in IAD, so I'm sure it'll be the same at SFO.