Chase Sapphire Lounge Phoenix: Small however Modern

The Chase Sapphire Lounge at Phoenix Sky Harbor Worldwide Airport (PHX) brings a recent design aesthetic to airport lounges with a retrofitted Airstream serving sandwiches and a bar with runway views.

However at simply 3,500 sq. toes, this lounge is comparatively small. There’s usually a waitlist to enter if you happen to’re there on busy days. Evaluate that to the 21,800-square-foot Sapphire Lounge LaGuardia that spans two tales and might match a most of 269 folks, or the Chase Sapphire Lounge San Diego, a ten,000-square-foot lounge with a remedy room for complimentary facials. The Phoenix outpost provides little in the way in which of additional facilities moreover foods and drinks. Nonetheless, it’s a glossy little lounge with a singular design that pulls inspiration from the Southwest panorama.

Most friends enter by holding the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, which provides complimentary entry to Chase Sapphire Lounges for the cardholder and as much as two friends. Chase invited NerdWallet for a tour on a weekday a couple of weeks after its grand opening, which was in November 2024. Right here’s what it’s like inside.

The place is the Chase Lounge at Phoenix Sky Harbor Worldwide Airport?

The Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Membership at PHX is situated in Terminal 4 South 1 (S1) Concourse. It’s attainable to stroll between all gates in Terminal 4, which serves main airways together with American Airways, Frontier Airways and Southwest Airways.

The airport consists of two terminals: Terminal 3 and Terminal 4. Although it’s comparatively simple to commute between Terminal 3 and Terminal 4 through the PHX Sky Prepare, you’ll must clear safety twice if you wish to entry the lounge however are flying out of Terminal 3, which is probably not value it to these passengers particularly these on a time crunch and who do not have TSA PreCheck.

How you can get into the Chase Sapphire Lounge PHX

Chase playing cards that present the cardholder with limitless Sapphire lounge visits embrace:

Chase Sapphire Reserve® and J.P. Morgan Reserve cardholders can convey two free friends per go to. Every extra visitor is $75. Ritz-Carlton cardholders can convey limitless friends.

However these aren’t the one methods to get in. Precedence Move members who didn’t enroll by one of many playing cards above additionally obtain one complimentary go to to a Chase Sapphire Lounge as soon as per calendar yr. Subsequent visits for Precedence Move members value $75 every.

The Phoenix lounge options the identical, luxurious design with blue and gold accents that you simply’ll discover throughout the Chase lounges at different airports, however with some native aptitude. That features a large artwork piece over the hearth in the primary lounging space by Navajo Nation artist Matthew Kirk.

The water vapor fire under makes use of steam and lights to create the looks of flames. A majority of these fireplaces are a signature characteristic throughout all of the Chase Sapphire lounges.

Then there’s one thing you probably received’t discover in different lounges: an Airstream RV arrange as a meals truck. An worker stands inside doling out small bites like sandwiches. Even the Airstream has distinctive touches, akin to hand-painted license plates by Arizona-based artist Timmy Ham.

The bar is backed by giant home windows that overlook the runway. The area is a bit of tight, which isn’t essentially a foul factor, because it offers the bar a bustling, high-energy vibe.

For extra space, you’ll probably head across the nook towards the Airstream. Not like most airport lounges, that are tucked away behind partitions or frosted glass, this part of the lounge flows into the terminal. No home windows (and no partitions) make it so vacationers wandering by Terminal 4 can truly see contained in the lounge.

This unconventional design has some professionals and cons. For one factor, it makes for a extra ethereal, open ambiance and is a refreshing change from walled-off lounges.

On the flip facet, this openness would possibly make the area really feel much less unique. The visibility into the lounge blurs the road between it and a high-end airport restaurant, which might detract from the personal, premium really feel some vacationers count on from airport lounges.

Although tiny, the lounge maximizes area, all the way in which all the way down to the pegs and energy shops beneath the bar.

The Phoenix Chase lounge has a espresso machine, faucets with nonalcoholic drinks like chilly brew, a buffet of small plates and a bar that serves alcoholic drinks.

The espresso comes from Press Espresso, which is an Arizona-based espresso roaster.

Meals comes from James Beard Award finalist Stephen Jones, who famously runs a Phoenix restaurant referred to as The Larder & The Delta. Whenever you order from the Airstream within the morning, you may choose from a breakfast taco and grain bowl. Exterior of breakfast hours, you may select a turkey and mushroom wrap and/or cauliflower doused in buffalo sauce.

Over in the primary eating room, you may choose as many small plates as you need. Objects embrace a curry quinoa salad and a corn chowder made with coconut milk.

Many menu gadgets take allergic reactions and dietary preferences into consideration. The menus are clearly labeled with letters like GF (gluten-free) or VG (vegan).

For instance, the Sapphire noodles are a spin on Asian-style noodles with peanut sauce. Since they’re rice noodles, they’re okay for gluten allergic reactions. And for the reason that dish makes use of SunButter sauce (comprised of sunflower seed butter) moderately than peanut butter, it accommodates people with nut allergic reactions.

The bar serves regionally impressed cocktails just like the Cardinal Cooler, which is a fruity cocktail with vodka. As discovered throughout all lounges, there’s additionally the signature Sapphire cocktail, which can be fairly fruity however throws in some distinctive components together with bee pollen and pearl mud.

Loos are particular person rooms moderately than stalls. Maybe unsurprising given this lounge’s small dimension, there are not any showers. Loos are well-stocked with toiletries together with dental floss and female merchandise.

Is the Chase Sapphire Lounge PHX value it?

Whereas the lounge is undeniably small, the inside design is spectacular. Each element, from the colour palette to the trendy furnishings, feels intentional and upscale. The area makes good use of its restricted sq. footage with cozy seating nooks and pure lighting.

Nonetheless, the dimensions would possibly really feel limiting throughout busy intervals, particularly when in comparison with its closest competitor, the sprawling Centurion Lounge at PHX. The Centurion Lounge, which is open to prospects with The Platinum Card® from American Specific, provides considerably extra space and a greater diversity of seating choices. That makes it a better option for bigger teams or these on the lookout for a assured seat throughout peak occasions. Nonetheless, the Centurion’s design feels outdated in comparison with the Sapphire Lounge’s refined and cohesive aesthetic.

However for vacationers accessing through Precedence Move who must be even handed with their lounge visits (Precedence Move members solely get one complimentary go to one lounge inside the Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Membership community per calendar yr), it is perhaps higher to skip the lounge and put it aside for one which’s extra spectacular.

The Chase Sapphire Lounge Phoenix is good for vacationers who worth aesthetics and a boutique really feel over expansive facilities, providing a glimpse of what Chase Sapphire Lounges might evolve into because the community continues to develop. Vacationers who’ve complimentary entry by a card just like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® ought to make a degree to cease by.

The data associated to the J.P. Morgan Reserve and The Ritz-Carlton™ Credit score Card has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been reviewed or offered by the issuer of this card.