As previously mentioned I traveled to Los Angeles last week for a work trip and stayed downtown at the
Millennium Biltmore Hotel and was less than impressed. So when I had the morning to kill before heading back to Washington, D.C. I didn't really feel like staying around so I left early and headed to LAX.
I must have missed the notoriously bad Los Angeles traffic because after about a 20 minute taxi ride I arrived to the United check-in area and was headed to security. After a just as long 20 minute wait in the security line I was through to Terminal 6 to wait for my flight. Even after burning time in the security line I still had over 3 hours before my flights so I decided to burn one of my two United Club Lounge Passes that comes with the United MileagePlus Explorer card.
I found the United Club Lounge in Terminal 6 right across from Gate 62 and right next to my departure gate so it was perfect!
I was buzzed in and handed off my pass to the desk attendant and she politely welcomed me to the United Club and asked how long it was until my flight. I told her just about three hours and she replied, "Oh good, you know some people come in with their passes and only have about 30 minutes before their flight. It's such a waste to stay for that short amount of time so I always tell them to hold onto it."
I thought this was a very nice gesture. The last time I used one of my lounge certificates the desk agent was very sour in her demeanor. She was clearly not pleased I had a lounge pass instead of a membership and when I asked her about my flight and to see if there were any aisle seats closer to the front of the plane available she just replied the flight was full without even knowing where I was going....so it was easy to say that this was a much better experience.
The only complaint I have about the lounge in Terminal 6 at LAX is that it is a bit small. The lounge is very long, but it is not very wide so the seating areas are quite small.
When you walk into the lounge there is a business center to your left and just behind the check-in desk there is a set of six or seven work stations with lights and power connections if you want to do some work. From there you turn left and head down the aisle and pass a few sitting areas on your right side with some pretty neat views of the United gates. It was great to watch a few of the big jets come and go as I was waiting. At the end of the lounge is the bar area with a few more chairs and about four or five bar tables to sit down at.
In the middle of the lounge is a little pantry which has the typical United Club offerings of crackers, salty mix, trail mix, a few pastries, soft drinks, water, assorted fruit and my favorite....the Tillimook cheese. After living in the Pacific Northwest for a few years with my parents and falling in love with Tillimook cheese I always have to grab it when I see it...and United Clubs are about the only place to find it outside of the Pacific Northwest. The only bad part is they are in the hardest to open plastic packages ever! I always spend ten minutes looking like an idiot trying to get them open. But it's always a welcome snack to take with you or eat in the club.
Next to the pantry area is a small TV area which is where I settled in for the three or so hours I had left before my flight. It was the day after the election and I had missed being in Washington for the election so I was feeling deprived of my full surround-sound political environment and the background noise of CNN was exactly what I needed to get me back on track. I booted up the work computer and knocked a few things off my to-do list and the three hours flew by and it was time to get on the flight home.
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| View from the TV Area |
There is nothing extra special about this lounge, but it has everything that I like about United Lounges: A quiet place to get some work done, good wifi, good drinks, outlets and Tilimook cheese so I was a happy camper and it was a great use of my lounge pass.
