The Chase Sapphire Lounge at Washington Dulles Airport was impressive this week.
I was working in Washington, DC last week and decided to fly home to Austin from Washington Dulles instead of my usual domestic airport. I also arrived at the airport early for a chance to visit several lounges I hadn’t been to in a while and see the Chase Sapphire lounge that I hadn’t checked out yet.
Entrance to Washington Dulles Airport
The Chase Sapphire Lounge at Washington Dulles Airport is small, but I was there in the morning – from about 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., it wasn’t crowded and there was plenty of space available. The lounge is well appointed, the food is good and the staff are friendly. The exterior of the lounge is branded Etihad (it’s a joint Etihad and Chase lounge but the signage outside doesn’t mention Chase) and I wonder if this limits awareness and therefore crowds.
Location, hours and access
Chase’s Washington Dulles Airport lounge opened in early March. This is the former Etihad Airways lounge, it still serves as the lounge for this flight and the signage outside the lounge is still Etihad. A Chase cardholder may not know it’s a Chase lounge unless they read about it online, on the Chase website, or search for it in the Priority mobile app Pass.
Located near gate A14, it is in an international concourse, although all concourses are connected on the airside of Dulles. It’s right above the A station, so easy to hope to get to other places in the airport. Don’t feel like you can’t use that lounge just because you’re leaving another terminal.
I was flying American Airlines, which is one of the taller B gates, but that just means the far side of the same structure.
- Opening hours from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Approximately 5,200 square feet (small)
- Made-to-order meals and buffets as well as a comprehensive beverage program
- Access is available 3 hours before departure (earlier in case of connection)
Chase Sapphire Reserve, JP Morgan Reserve and Ritz-Carlton cardholders can access the lounge via their Priority Pass card. Other Priority Pass cardholders can access a Chase Sapphire lounge in the United States once per calendar year for free and pay $75 for subsequent visits. Payment without Priority Pass is $100.
Two-story lounge is Washington Dulles’ most Chase Sapphire Lounge space
There is a small check-in area for this lounge. There is not much room, several people enter at the same time. This is probably for the best, as doing anything else would have taken up space in the living room seating areas.
Front desk staff were friendly, scanning Priority Pass cards and checking boarding passes. They’re happy to explain the show to you, but it really seems pretty self-explanatory.
There are several seating areas downstairs, including along a window and near the bar.
Downstairs there is a family room, and this is also where you will find bathrooms and showers as well as the “reflection room” (which was Etihad’s Muslim prayer room).
The dining room is downstairs and has a small buffet and several tables. However, you can order food from anywhere in the lounge: scan the QR code, order from your phone and the food (and cocktails from 11am) will be delivered in around 15 minutes.
Upstairs there is more seating and I quite liked that space. There are sofas and tables, which is not a very dense format (which surprised me given the small size of the living room) but there were even fewer people upstairs. There is also a coffee machine and water as well as self-service tap items.
Here is the view of the ground floor living room from the top of the upstairs terrace:
Physically, if I had one criticism, it would be that there aren’t enough points of sale. I’ve come to expect a point of sale at every location, and that’s not the case. However, they draw a lot of power through the furniture, which is a good thing, and given the living room wasn’t at full capacity there was no problem sitting still under power.
The lounge wifi access even identifies itself as the Etihad lounge and not the Chase lounge. The network was called “Etihad Airways Lounge”. However, it worked very well.
Chase Sapphire Lounge Washington Dulles Food Options
I arrived at the lounge a little after 8am so they were serving breakfast. The buffet included curry potatoes, brioche French toast, yogurt, overnight oats, and a cheese plate.
I actually went upstairs, found myself a couch with chairs, a coffee table, and a side table all to myself, and scanned the QR code for the menu:
I placed an order for salmon benedict and breakfast bao, and received confirmation of my table number where the food would be delivered and a message telling me to expect it “in 15 minutes or less” . I didn’t manage to time the delivery but it was definitely below the quote.
The smoked salmon Benedict was good except honestly the English muffin was pretty average. The bao was quite sweet, many will like it, but I just took a bite.
Now the lounge stops serving hot breakfast items at 10:30 a.m. and changes the buffet and hot lunch items to 11 a.m. I left that lounge to explore others, but came back thinking I might also take a look at the lunch dishes. .
My flight was scheduled to begin boarding at 11:15am from gate B73 – 59 gates away! – so I stayed for the buffet change to take a look at what they were serving, but didn’t have time to order off the menu.
Here is the lunch buffet:
And here is the lunch menu:
It was similar to their lounge in Boston in that it had the Sapphire Burger and a noodle dish, so I didn’t feel like I was missing anything (the dishes in Boston were good, I just want to say I wasn’t missing out on anything) trying something terribly unique).
What did this living room look like?
Chase’s JFK lounge in New York is also the former Etihad lounge. Etihad opened its Washington Dulles lounge in 2013, and I was a frequent visitor (flying Etihad first class) until I moved to Austin in the fall of 2014 (e.g. reviewed here and here). For comparison, here’s what it looked like. The fixtures and furnishings have been updated, but the overall structure has been retained. There are fewer power outlets than one might expect.
As the airline tried to stop the financial hemorrhaging, it sold lounge access starting in 2017. And at $50 per visit, the Etihad lounge at Washington Dulles — which offered both a buffet and a la carte dining – was actually worth considering.
The Dulles Lounge game is strong
With the Capital One lounge also open at Washington Dulles, the airport lounge scene is enhanced. You have this lounge right after PreCheck before you head to the airport gates, and between that and Chase, there are some really good options at the airport.