The 10 worst-rated airport lounges in the US, and where to go instead

The most useful thing a "worst lounges" list can do is tell you where to walk instead, so every entry below comes with the better room at the same airport, or an honest note when there isn't one. If you are looking for the single weakest lounge at each big hub, the earlier airport-by-airport piece does that for 23 major airports. This one is different: it ranks the bottom ten across every US lounge we rate, Puerto Rico included, which is why Lihue, Kahului, San Juan and Sacramento turn up here and not there.

How I picked them

I started from every US lounge on the site, lowest overall score first. To count, a lounge had to be open and scored on at least eight rated metrics; well over 15 cleared that bar, so I didn't need to lower it. Ties were broken by the number of 1s, then 2s, among the individual scores. Every pick needs a photo on its page, so two rooms that would otherwise rank sit in the text instead. Scores are our editorial ratings out of 5, explained in our methodology.

A few things were left out on purpose. Minute Suites would take eleven of the bottom thirteen places, mostly between 1.1 and 1.5, but they are nap rooms sold by the hour, not lounges. Houston's Air France Lounge (1.7) and Honolulu's IASS Hawaii Lounge (2.0) score lower than some of the ten, but on only seven and five metrics. Miami's Lufthansa Business Lounge would have been in the bottom ten at 2.5, but it closed on September 29.

Counters dressed as clubs

The two worst scores on this list belong to rooms that were never meant to be full lounges. United Club Fly at Denver, between gates B60 and B63, is a grab-and-go counter with no bar and no restrooms. It scores 1.4, with 1 on cleanliness, coffee, crowding, drinks, food, restrooms, views, wifi and workspace. It doesn't admit guests or one-time passes either. The fix is a short walk west on the same concourse: the United Club (B, east) near gate B44 rates 4.5, takes the same membership and Star Alliance Gold, and sells $59 passes. Denver's leaderboard has five rooms at 4.5 or better.

Charlotte's Provisions by Admirals Club near gate A1 is American's version of the same idea, opened in 2025 with about 30 seats. It scores 1.5, and the only metric above 2 is exclusivity. The answer is the Admirals Club (B) between gates B3 and B5: 4.6, two showers, open from 04:15, and the same Admirals Club or oneworld access.

Island rooms with no plan B

Hawaii's neighbor-island airports are where the list stops having easy answers. Hawaiian's Premier Club at Lihue, across from gate 5, is a small unstaffed room with about a dozen seats, packaged chips and pretzels, and no restroom. It scores 1.6, with 1 for crowding, drinks, food, restrooms, seating and service. It is the only lounge we list at Lihue, so there is nothing better to send you to. If you qualify, it is somewhere to sit with air conditioning, and that is about it.

Kahului has two Hawaiian clubs and neither is good. The original Premier Club (North), upstairs across from gate 17, scores 2.2. Its views (4) and wifi (4) are fine, but food, drinks, crowding and restrooms all score 1. Priority Pass gets you in when there's space. The newer South club by gate 15 scores lower at 2.1 and is open only 09:30 to 15:30, but it has no photo yet, so it sits here rather than in the ranking. In other words, there is no better option at OGG.

Kona's Premier Club would rank fourth at 1.8 on exactly eight metrics, but it also has no photo. It is the airport's only airline lounge.

Pay-in rooms and the wrong side of security

VIP One Lounge at JFK Terminal 1 is landside, behind check-in counters E and F, and only for international departures. It scores 1.9, with 1 for coffee, crowding, food and service. You don't have to leave the terminal to do better: the Primeclass Lounge airside near gates 8 and 9 rates 4.8 on the same Priority Pass and LoungeKey cards. For Priority Pass you have to book ahead, and entry runs only 09:00 to 21:00.

San Juan's The Lounge at Terminal A scores 2.1, with 1 for crowding and restrooms. There are no restrooms inside, and service (4) is the bright spot. The alternatives are thin. Priority Pass also covers The Lounge at Terminal C, but that rates only 2.5 and began a remodel in December 2025. The better room is the Escape Lounge opposite gate B2, rated 3.0 on eight metrics with food scored 4. Priority Pass doesn't get you in, though. It's free with Amex Platinum, otherwise a walk-up costs about $55. SJU's concourses connect airside, so it is reachable.

Sacramento's Escape Lounge in Terminal B rounds out the ten at 2.5. It ties with San Juan's Terminal C lounge and Minneapolis's Portal Lounge but has more 1s: exclusivity, restrooms and views. Anyone can pay to get in, and it scores 2 for crowding. Its Terminal A twin rates 2.8, but the terminals don't connect airside, so for a Terminal B departure this is the only lounge. There is no better option.

Foreign-carrier rooms at big hubs

The remaining three are airline lounges at airports with plenty of good rooms, which makes them easier to skip.

LaGuardia's Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge on the Terminal B lounge floor ranks fifth at 2.1, ahead of the other 2.1s on the tiebreak because it has four 1s: cleanliness, food, seating and service. Star Alliance Gold members have the United Club on the same Eastern Concourse at 4.2. LaGuardia's best rate 4.8.

The LOT Business Lounge in O'Hare Terminal 5 opened in December 2024 and has two showers, but scores 2.1, with 1 for seating and power. Star Alliance Gold members do better at the United Club (B18) at 4.7, but that is over in Terminal 1. Priority Pass holders have the Swissport Lounge at gate M13 at 3.9, though Priority Pass entry may be limited between 15:00 and 20:30.

San Francisco's Air India Maharaja Lounge opened in 2026 and scores 2.4, with 1 for views and workspace. Star Alliance Gold members can use the United Club (G) at 4.5, with showers, in International Terminal G. The rest of the field is on SFO's leaderboard.

One more that would have ranked: JFK's Aer Lingus Lounge in Terminal 7 scores 2.4 but has no photo. Aer Lingus has said it is moving to the new Terminal 6, so that lounge may not last long anyway.

Elsewhere in the series

The same rules applied to other regions: Canada, the UK and Ireland, and Europe.