Review: Delta One Lounge New York JFK (Amazing)
Intro
During my short hop to Ecuador, I was able to visit the Delta One Lounge in New York, JFK, on my way down to Quito. Before boarding the A330-900neo to Atlanta, I had 6 hours in the new Delta One Lounge to fully test out the experience.
I gotta be honest; I am blown away by how good this lounge is. However, one aspect concerns me; it might get overcrowded in the evenings, at least that is what certain staff members told me.
Overall, the space is gorgeous, the offerings are plentiful, the food is divine, and gosh, the service is out of this world. It's like the time when United installed the Polaris product; it's that good.
Let's get into it!
Location/Access
Once security is cleared, you simply head to the right and find the Delta One Lounge. When you go to check-in, the Delta agents will inform you of where the lounge is. There is a huge sign which you simply cannot miss.
If you are coming from a domestic connection, head to where the exit is, and there will be an entrance with elevators up to the lounge.
In terms of access, anyone flying on a same-day Delta One ticket (departing or arriving) is eligible to access this lounge.
If you are flying on select partners such as Virgin Atlantic, Latam, and Air France in Business Class, you will also be eligible for access.
Lastly, if you are a Delta 360 member flying on a first-class ticket, you will have access.
Seating
The Delta One Lounge is huge, with the space capable of holding over 500 people. Once entering the lounge, the picturesque bar shines brightly.
Opposite to the bar is a beautiful room with a faux fireplace. During my time there, I saw a couple of people making phone calls in this room.
There are about 7 different rooms to choose from where to sit. Below are a couple of pictures from some of the different rooms.
But my absolute favorite aspect of the lounge is the outdoor area. The outdoor area has beautiful views overlooking the tarmac, which is suitable for spending hours there doing some work.
We'll touch on service a little bit later, but being on the terrace, I met a wonderful Delta agent who was from El Salvador.
The Spa
Unfortunately, during my time there, the spa was closed. The spa is open from 12 pm onwards and consists of a small table for waiting, a few massage chairs, and some treatment rooms for complementary treatments.
These treatments are free of charge and on a first-come, first-served basis. I recommend going to get on the waitlist when arriving in the lounge.
The Market/Bakery
The Brasserie (the main restaurant), isn't open until 11 am. This leaves customers who are here before or can't get a reservation at the brasserie one other option.
The breakfast offerings at the Market consisted of eggs, french toast, bacon, apple chicken sausages, and a couple of other bits and bobs. The bakery is right next to the market and has sandwiches, bagels, croissants, and most food items bakeries would have.
The Brasserie
The main highlight of the Delta One Lounge is the Brasserie. This is an aspect where Delta has finally come up to par with the Chelsea Lounge in New York and the Polaris lounges.
To gain access, a server will be waiting at the front to let you in. It is on a first come, first served basis, and reservations are made through Resy.
It is truly a gorgeous-looking restaurant that makes you wonder how this is in an airport.
I was greeted by my server for the day, who would turn out to be wonderful. I was presented with a cocktail list, including some premium wines and the menu for the day.
I decided to order everything at once since I was boarding soon.
For a starter, I went with the Hamachi Crudo, which was truly sublime. Warm bread was brought over to me, along with some butter.
For the main course, I decided on the Wagyu steak frites medium rare. It was a 5-star restaurant quality steak cooked in a perfect medium rare. Another amazing course.
Since this was a special day (or so I thought), I opted to order a half bottle of Tattinger to celebrate country number 99. For 3,000 Skymiles, this was a bargain.
About 10 minutes after my steak was cleared, my final course came out. While the caramel tart sounded good, I had to go with the signature chocolate souffle. Truly a divine way to finish the meal😱.
Service was phenomenal here, as the manager of the restaurant came around to check in at each table multiple times during the meal.
Showers
Another highlight of the lounge is the quality of the showers. The showers are located in the very back of the lounge and has an agent working around the clock to assist you.
Upon arriving, the agent escorted me to one of the shower suites and informed me of some cool features.
Yes, you are seeing this correctly: bathrobes in a business-class lounge. Wow!
One of the most incredible aspects was a free streaming service for your clothes when you are in the shower. The agent informed me that if I wanted to leave my clothes, they would be steamed and returned in this slide-out drawer 10 minutes later. Wow.
There were plenty of amenities available as well, such as a shaving kit, deodorant, and facial cleanser.
The actual showers were fantastic, with great water pressure and easy control of temperature.
Overall, this is one of the nicest showers I have ever had in an airport. I am a sucker for bathrobes, so maybe that contributes.
Service
The service in the Delta One Lounge was nothing short of spectacular (unlike some other aspects of Delta, which I'll get into in another post).
The second I walked up to the lounge, I was greeted by two Guyanese agents! Cool! I met some other really interesting people who worked for Delta, such as the European manager of the Brasserie, a staff member from Haiti, and a lovely lady from El Salvador.
Everything about it felt polished to the letter.
If you happen to be roaming the lounge, there are drink carts on every corner where you can grab a mimosa or anything else that you desire. However, staff are also willing to bring drinks to your table.
This didn't feel like I was in an airport lounge. The service demonstrated during my extended time here was the best I have ever experienced.
Final Thoughts
The new Delta One lounge is one of the best lounges in the world and by far the best business-class lounge in the world. For starters, the service is what really shines, with everyone making "Delta One" known around the lounge. I just hope that what happened with Polaris doesn't happen with Delta.
The food offerings at the market and the bakery are very good. However, The Brasserie is a restaurant that could be put in downtown Manhattan and do well.
The amenities are extensive, from bathrobes in the showers to complete spa treatments and lots of different seating options.
Overall, simply fantastic and thank you for having me, it's just a shame that I wasn't able to fly Delta One.
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