Lounge Review: Delta Sky Club - Los Angeles (LAX) Terminal 3

Needless to say, I'm a fan of Delta Sky Clubs, and their Los Angeles International (LAX) Terminal 3 location does NOT disappoint. On a recent trip, I was lucky to be able to visit the lounge twice, once after arrival (Friday, September 16th, 2022) and once on my way home (Sunday, September 18th, 2022). I spent a total of about 5 hours at the lounge with most of my time on the amazing Sky Deck.

Location & Access

This lounge is located in the newly opened (April 2022) Sky Way, this walkway connects terminals 2 and 3. I used my American Express Delta Reserve (credit card) to gain entrance to the lounge. Delta (DL/DAL) has automated the process, so I simply scanned my digital boarding pass (using the Delta Mobile App) at a kiosk, and presto was shown a message welcoming me to the lounge! This automated process worked since my Delta Amex Reserve card had already been added to my Delta profile. There was no line or wait and entrance time took less than 1 minute.

Upon entering the lounge you take an escalator up one level and will walk past the information desk where they can help you with travel and general questions. After walking into the lounge area I did my normal routine (I will write about this in the future) of walking around and scouting the entire lounge. This is a massive lounge covering 30,000 square feet so getting the layout of this lounge took some time.

Food and Beverages

The food options are plentiful, including sandwiches, cheeses, dips, soups, tacos, salad, fruit, other snacks, and various desserts. They have coffee machines that can make amazing espresso drinks as well as the Coca-Cola "freestyle" machine for making various sodas. Another cool amenity I am seeing more and more in lounges is a filtered water station that will serve still, sparking or flavored waters. The lounge has two food buffet stations, one in the front and the other located in the back. The selection on the two buffets was mostly identical with the exception that the back buffet had a made-to-order Taco Bar. My only (minor) complaint about the Taco Bar was they did not offer beans. There are two full-service bars, one centrally located inside and one located outside at the Sky Deck. These bars serve cocktails, local craft beers, wine, and all other items you would find at any premium full-service bar.

One nice bonus that I have never seen in a lounge was a mobile tasting table where they rolled around the lounge giving tastings of food and wine. During my visit a saw this twice and each time it had different options. As if these food options were not enough, there was another hidden treat located in the back of the lounge, A CANDY BAR with options for anyone who likes candy.

Lounge Amenities

This lounge provides almost every lounge amenity that you can think of and a couple I have never seen before. When you first walk into the lounge you will notice an abundance of seating options. There are areas for working, relaxing, dining, drinking coffee, and watching airplanes. There is seating at both bars, along the large windows, or even tables where you can have room to spread out and work. One notable area is a set of single-person pods located on the wall where you can pop in and have a quiet area for focusing or taking phone calls. These pods remind me of the Escape Pods that are starting to appear in airports and are great for keeping the noise down in the lounge. I did notice the lounge was very quiet even though it was fairly crowded. Another awesome addition was the plethora of charging ports and power plugs around the lounge, this is great to make sure you can charge your devices before your flight. There are 8 shower rooms that are spacious and have a toilet and dressing area. There is also a nursing room and oversized family restroom in addition to the nice standard restrooms for customers to use.

Sky Deck and Runway Views

The Sky Deck which is open year-round is one of my favorite features at this lounge. The patio has limited seating but there is additional seating at the (outdoor) bar area. I did notice a promising sign that read "Per local authorities, the seating capacity is currently limited. We look forward to more seats by early 2023". When I was there the weather was 75F degrees and clear skies. I was able to get a table near the glass window and later a table at the outdoor sofa. On clear days you can catch a glimpse of the Hollywood sign in the distance. From the Sky Deck, you can see planes landing, departing, and taxiing for the north runways 24L/24R (6L/6R). One amazing Sky Deck feature is the retractable roof and heaters to make it comfortable in all weather conditions. The inside also has several areas with floor-to-ceiling windows where you can see outside.

Overall Rating: 4.6
Pros: great variety of food and beverage choices, comfortable seating and work areas, Sky Deck with amazing views of the mountains and airplanes.
Cons: lounge and Sky Deck can become crowded, no exercise area, no sleeping area

Food: 4.5
Beverages: 4.5
Amenities: 4.5
Seating: 5
Service: 4.5
Views: 5
Wow-Factor: 4.5

Closing Thoughts

This is one of the nicest lounges I have been to, I would for sure put it in my top 10. There are two Sky Club®️ lounges at LAX Airport. Both are located close to each other but the T3 lounge is much nicer and more crowded than the Sky Club T2 lounge. During my visit, I was in the lounge around lunch time so I only got to sample their lunch menu. I will plan on visiting the lounge during breakfast or dinner in the future. This for sure is currently the nicest lounge in terminals 1, 2, and 3 at LAX.