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Escape Lounges don’t appear to be particularly well known in the United States but with 17 lounges spread across 15 airports, they have a good enough presence that travelers should take note.
In Phoenix, Escape has two lounges (one in Terminal 3 and one in Terminal 4) and this review focuses on the location in Terminal 4, a terminal used by the likes of American Airlines, British Airways and Southwest.
Escape Lounge location & opening times
The Escape Lounge at Phoenix Terminal 4 is located on level 3 of concourse B between gates B21 and B23 and is open between 05:00 and 22:00 daily.
Passengers planning on visiting this lounge should be aware that Terminal 4 is large, and so walk-times from the lounge to some of the dates can be significant. As an example, I timed the walk from the Escape lounge to Gate A20 at 20 minutes and I’m not a slow walker and I used all the available moving walkways.
Escape Lounge T4 access rules
Escape Lounges are open to all travellers, regardless of airline or ticket class so anyone can pre book or turn up to the lounge on the day of travel and pay at the door to enter.
At the time of writing, the fees to pre-book are as follows:
- Adults – $40
- Children (ages 2+) – $24.99
- Children under 2 years – free access
Some travelers, however, can enjoy complimentary access to the Escape Lounge at Phoenix Terminal 4.
Access via credit card:
- Holders of the Platinum Card® from American Express or the Business Platinum Card® from American Express (+ 2 guests) get complimentary access on the day of travel regardless of the airline they’re flying with or the cabin they’re flying in (terms apply).
- Holders of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card and the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card get complimentary access on the day of travel provided they are traveling on a Delta-marketed flight that day. Guest costs $38.01 each.
Access via airline cabin or elite status:
- British Airways customers flying in a premium cabin get complimentary access to the lounge (no guests).
- OneWorld Emerald and Sapphire elites flying on the day of entry with British Airways get complimentary access to the lounge (+ guest also flying with British Airways).
OneWorld elites not flying with British Airways do not get complimentary access to the Escape Lounge at Phoenix T4.
Also, Apparently select Air France flyers receive complimentary access to this lounge but I couldn’t find any specifics online.
Access via lounge programs:
- Dragon Pass members can enjoy complimentary access to the Escape Lounge (+ 1 guest
Note: In contrast to the Escape Lounge in Terminal 3, the Escape Lounge in Terminal 4 does not accept Priority Pass memberships.
Warning:
The Escape Lounge at T4 is operated by American Express and there is an American Express Centurion Lounge adjacent to the Escape lounge (they share an entrance).
If you use your American Express card to access the Escape Lounge, you cannot then use it to access the Centurion Lounge.
The space
You enter the Escape Lounge at gate level through sliding doors …
… and immediately you need to decide if you’re getting in line for Escape Lounge Access or Centurion Lounge access.
Once checked-in by the desk agents, you head up one floor (by stairs or elevator) to where the lounge area is.
Upon entering the lounge, this is the view you’re faced with.
Essentially, the lounge (which isn’t very big) is set out like an upside down letter “L” with the entrance at the start of the long side of the L and the lounge then taking a left turn when you reach the bottom of the long side (I hope that makes sense!).
The first part of the lounge that you encounter is where most of the relaxed seating is to be found with sofas and various types of chair on offer.
One aspect of this lounge that I immediately appreciated was that the staff had put out signs reserving some of the seats for groups of 2 or more people.
Given that this isn’t a very large lounge, this helps to make sure that a solo traveler can’t monopolize a space that’s designed to seat considerably more people.
At the end of the first section of the lounge (before you take a left turn to face the remaining area of the lounge) is a staffed bar with stools (so guests can sit up at the bar) and a few tables and chairs looking out over the airport apron.
The final area of the lounge (along the shorter part of the upside down ‘L’) is where you’ll find the food buffet, a few dining tables and chairs and, past the table and chairs, the lounge’s two toilets which are not gender segregated (but which are accessible for guests with mobility issues)
Note: There are no showers in this lounge.
As you can see, this isn’t a large space and while it was relatively quiet when I first walked in (at around 14:00), it was considerably busier just an hour later.
It’s worth mentioning that at first glance, it may appear as if the lounge isn’t well equipped with power outlets, but if you take a good look around, you’ll find AC outlets on stands and at floor level …
…and more outlets alongside USB-A ports on some of the tables.
As far as the seating area and the seats go, there’s not much to complain about and not much to get excited about either. This looks like an average pay-to-enter lounge with comfortable seats which quickly become hard to find during busier times.
I should also add that one particularly positive aspect of the lounge is that a significant portion of the sitting area and bar area is flanked by large windows looking out over the airport, and this gives the lounge plenty of natural light during daylight hours and gives the feel of a bit more space then there really is.
Food & drinks
The lounge offers a food buffet which includes several hot options, some cold options, a few salad items and some snacks.
On this visit, these were the hot options on offer:
- BBQ chicken thighs
- Pulled pork
- Mac & cheese
- Mixed grilled vegetables
The cold options and the salad items included …
- Tuna salad
- Coronation chicken
- Ham (two varieties)
- Cheese slices (two varieties)
- Cheese cubes (three varieties)
- Mixed peppers
- Mixed vegetables
- Green leaf salad
- Chopped tomato & cucumber salad
- Bread rolls
- A selection of sauces
To one side of the buffet is where you’ll find the hots drinks machine, a selection of cold beverages, and a few dessert items.
The snacks selection is located alongside the bar and on this visit, the selection included, mini pretzels, Hershey chocolate, a selection of candy, and some fortune cookies.
Most alcoholic beverages served at the bar are complimentary, but there’s a selection of premium drink set to one side for which a charge is made.
Overall, there’s quite a bit on offer here and while the food isn’t going to win any awards, the hot items on offer in the Escape Lounge are the same as the hot items served in the adjacent Centurion Lounge so it’s not of a poor standard.
Compared to a true premium lounge, the food and drink offering in this lounge will look weak, but what you get here is only small drop down from what’s on offer in the Amex lounge (where there’s a larger selection of beverages and where all beverages are complimentary), and compared to somewhere like an American Airlines Admirals Club (of which there are three in this terminal), what the Escape Lounge offers is banquet fit for a king.
Overall
As third party lounges go, the Escape Lounge at Phoenix T4 is pretty good … although small and lacking any shower facilities.
There’s no getting away from the fact that this lounge fills up quickly at certain times of the day (e.g. in the few hours before the British Airways flight to Heathrow is due to depart) and at those times it will feel congested and seats will be hard to find.
At other times, however, the friendly staff, the reasonable food, and the large windows make this a nice place to pass some time or to get some work done ahead of a flight.
I wouldn’t make any special effort to the get to the airport early just to enjoy a bit more time in the Escape Lounge, but I would definitely choose it over any of the American Airlines Admirals Clubs in Terminal 4.
All reviews in this series:
Review: American Airlines 777-300ER Business Class (transatlantic)
Review: American Airlines Flagship Lounge at Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)
Review: American Airlines A321 domestic First Class (DFW-PSP)
Review: Marriott Desert Springs Villas I (a Marriott Vacation Club property)
Review: American Eagle CRJ-700ER First Class (PSP-PHX)
Review: Escape Lounge Phoenix (PHX) Terminal 4
Review: American Airlines 777-200ER Business Class (transatlantic)
Review: Iberia short-haul Business Class A320neo (LHR-MAD)
Review: Iberia Premium Lounge Velazquez Madrid Terminal 4S
Review: Iberia short-haul Economy Class A320neo (MAD-LHR)
Appreciate the review. Is it just me post COVID era that will no longer touch buffet food? I used to without thinking much about it, but now it feels too unhygienic.