SFO – Terminal 1 – Admirals Club – Airline Lounge Review

Terminal 1, San Francisco International Airport

Introduction

This is my review of the American Airlines Admirals Club at San Francisco’s Terminal 1.

This was a trip I was taking from San Francisco to New York’s JFK, on the TransCon A321T. You can read my review on this rather good flight, here.

Opening Hours

The Lounge is open daily from 04:30 to 23:30.

Entry Conditions

Entry to this lounge is for travelers traveling on a OneWorld Carrier (in this case Terminal 1 is mainly for American Airlines) in First or Business Class. Alternatively, entry is available for OneWorld Sapphire or Emerald members.

As I always say, I’m more than sure that entry is somehow available to those with certain types of Credit Cards – but I can never work out which! There are also sometimes paid options!

How to Get There

Once checking in at Terminal 1, head over to Gate B13, and you’ll find the lounge opposite. It’s very easy to find!

Layout

This is one of American Airlines’ brand new Admirals Clubs, and it’s clear that the ‘new’ style is very similar to that of their Flagship Lounges. This is as opposed to the older and more dated ‘traditional’ style of Admirals Club. The lounge was launched, I believe in 2021 – and there were many features that made it truly stand out from others.  

There is plenty of casual seating, with low tables for relaxing.

There’s also a nice work area, with dividers (and a printer) – great for working in! There are also a couple of phone booths for taking calls in.

If you’re minded to eat, there is plenty of dining seating.

Or, if you need rest, there are some private(ish) areas for sleeping in.

There are some nice views from the lounge of the airport too!

Food and Drink

Food

Food in this particular Admirals Club was limited to the usual cheese cubes and carrots. There were a couple of hot food options – but nowhere near as expansive as the Admirals Club at PHL, which I recently reviewed. There was no nacho cart!

You can of course pay for food (and drinks), if you want to.

Drinks

Soft drinks are all self-service – though there is the bar if you want something stronger. As always, there is a limited amount of ‘included’ drinks – with more premium pay-for drinks.

As I always say, Admirals Clubs are not the same as Flagship Lounges, but you always know what to expect!  

Wifi

The Wifi was excellent and very quick!

Showers

As this was a TransCon flight, I decided to use the showers – there are a total of two in this lounge. My shower room was very large and the shower was very hot!

Staff

Most lounges are usually ‘scan your ticket and in you go’, and the staffing usually not memorable. However, there was one outstanding member of staff here, Eileen!

When entering the lounge, Eileen gave me a guided tour, showing me all the areas – and even introducing me to her colleagues who could help. Whenever I was walking around the lounge, Eileen was quick to see if there was anything she could help me with. Eileen also ended up on the plane assisting with boarding.

It’s unusual to have someone running such a tight ship – but Eileen was outstanding in doing so, and definitely worth a mention!

Conclusion

To an extent, this is a run-of-the-mill Admirals Club – and as I’ve said before, it’s a Volvo of a lounge (nothing too extravagant, but reliable and you know what you’re getting).

However, in this particular lounge Eileen and her team made it stand out from the many many other Admirals Clubs I’ve been to – so go Eileen for customer service!