Travel

YOUR INSPIRATION TO EXPLORE THE WORLD

Top Airport Lounges

Natali Spasova, Staff Writer

We write about what we love at Galavante. All our editorial is carefully curated by the Galavante team. When you purchase through a link on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

5 minutes ago

There’s airport travel—and then there’s airport travel with a side of Dom Pérignon, foot rubs, and total seclusion from the masses. We’re not talking about your average Priority Pass lounge with sad sandwiches and mystery wine. No, these are the lounges where celebrities slip in undetected, where the bathroom smells better than most five-star hotel spas, and where a delayed flight means more time to enjoy the lobster. Sanctuaries for the ultra-comfortable traveler—with more truffle risotto than charger cables. From LA to Doha, this is the list of elite airport lounges that might just make you wish for a longer layover.

PS at LAX

Airport: Los Angeles International Airport
Location: Los Angeles, USA

Let’s start with the crown jewel of fly-and-flee luxury: PS at LAX. Calling this a “lounge” is like calling a Bentley a “vehicle.” It’s an entire terminal removed from the main airport, with its own TSA, customs, and boarding process. Founded in 2007, this was the first private terminal for commercial flying in the United States, so they really know what they’re doing. At the moment, they’re serving guests at Los Angeles International Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Miami, Dallas Fort Worth, and Paris are coming soon too—which gives you a great reason to travel PS-to-PS.

The PS Direct Package is the closest thing to flying private. A private chauffeur picks you up from your home and whisks you away to your own suite with a stocked minibar, daybed, and complimentary spa. Here, you can enjoy bites from a seasonal, chef-curated menu—think wild mushroom tartines, watermelon radish salads, and organic smoothies that probably cost $27 somewhere in West Hollywood. Oh, and when it’s time to board, you’re driven across the tarmac in a black BMW directly to your plane. This is not a drill. A-list sightings are so common here, they barely count as gossip.

The Windsor Suite by Heathrow

Airport: Heathrow Airport
Location: London, UK

You could be stuck in Terminal 5 with a Pret sandwich and 6,000 other people. Or, you could be sipping tea under a chandelier in the Windsor Suite. Heathrow knows very well how to cater to royalty and VIPs—they’ve been doing it since the ’60s, after all. And now, this lounge elevates the airport VIP experience to a completely new level, with personal shoppers and private art galleries in the mix. After a full three-year renovation and a £3,000,000,000 re-brand, Heathrow partnered up with Windsor, and in February 2025, officially launched a new era of private travel.

This ultra-exclusive experience is technically available to anyone—if you’re prepared to fork out around $4,000 for the privilege. What do you get? A private suite staffed by a butler, champagne on ice, gourmet meals from Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton, and someone to handle your immigration paperwork while you finish your third macaron. No security lines, no loudspeaker announcements, and certainly no crowds. Your luggage magically disappears and reappears wherever you’re going. You are calm, refreshed, and lightly perfumed.

Emirates First Class Lounge

Airport: Dubai International Airport
Location: Dubai, UAE

Of course, Dubai is home to one of the world’s most extra lounges. Dubai doesn’t do subtle, and neither does the Emirates First Class Lounge. It stretches across an entire floor of Terminal 3—it’s so vast it has its own duty-free, cigar lounge, and fine wine cellar. And, a direct boarding gate inside the lounge. That means you can walk from your wine tasting session straight onto your A380 without ever seeing another soul. It’s the biggest airport lounge in the world, and it operates 24/7. Just approach the contactless facial recognition doors, and they’ll open for you—if you’re eligible, of course.

Inside, you’ll find every indulgence imaginable. We mentioned the cigar lounge. There’s a Moët & Chandon champagne bar. A fine-dining restaurant, cooking dishes from every corner of the globe, with locally sourced ingredients and live cooking stations. The spa offers massages, facials, and pre-flight grooming (nails, trims, the works). Need a nap? There are daybeds in the quiet area. Naturally, there’s also a business center, where you can answer emails before heading to the wine section for one last glass of your favorite vintage from your Emirates flight.

Delta One Lounge

Airport: John F. Kennedy International Airport
Location: New York, USA

Delta said, “We see your caviar, Emirates, and we raise you a 39,000-square-foot behemoth of a lounge.” Delta has finally thrown down the gauntlet in the lounge wars with the brand-new Delta One Lounge in JFK’s Terminal 4—and it’s impressive. It’s focused on business travelers who have things to do and places to go, so it’s tailor-made for peace, quiet, and a good cup of coffee—all of which are difficult to find in an airport. It’s designed to scream “You’re in New York!” with Art Deco-inspired lounges, gold-leaf ceilings, chandeliers, and bathrooms that feel like they belong in a boutique hotel in Tribeca.

This lounge has its own full-service restaurant—an actual restaurant, not a buffet—with menus modeled after a Parisian brasserie, so you can look forward to your steak frites. An ambassador will greet you with a drink, so you don’t have to get up for a top-up, and there are nine reservable relaxation pods with full-body massage chairs and nap chairs. There’s also a spa treatment you can book—because why not?—offered by Grown Alchemist-certified therapists. Oh, and you can use one of the eight soundproof booths to take meetings and still leave feeling pampered. The whole thing feels less like “layover” and more like “let’s stay a while.”

Al Safwa First Class Lounge

Airport: Hamad International Airport
Location: Doha, Qatar

If Qatar’s Al Mourjan lounge is great (it is), then Al Safwa is the mothership. Available only to Qatar Airways First Class passengers, it’s part high-concept gallery, part five-star resort, and entirely surreal. They took “go big or go home” to new heights—the ceilings soar, the marble shines, and the lighting feels like a cross between a spa and a museum. You enter through a marble hall that feels more like the Louvre than an airport. Water features, curated art installations, and cavernous ceilings set the mood. And it’s not a coincidence—the entire design was inspired by Doha’s Museum of Islamic Art.

You can nap in a sleeping pod or book a private room—complete with bed, desk, rain shower, and slippers. Or just settle into the dining room, which could rival most fine-dining restaurants, and order from the à la carte menu: lobster bisque, saffron risotto, pistachio-stuffed lamb. There’s a quiet spa downstairs with hot stone massages and facials. For entertainment, go high-end shopping in the exclusive Duty-Free, catch a film in the media room, or hop in the thermal Jacuzzi before your flight.

The Pier First Class Lounge

Airport: Hong Kong International Airport
Location: Hong Kong, China

If you prefer your luxury a bit more minimalist, The Pier is your vibe. Cathay Pacific’s flagship First Class lounge at HKG is like stepping into a Muji ad shot by a Danish architect. Designed by Ilse Crawford, the lounge is all calming neutrals, natural wood, and cozy corners. It doesn’t feel like a place where you wait out a layover—it feels like somewhere you’d happily spend the day. The Pier was closed in 2020 (thanks again, COVID-19), but since July 2024, it’s officially reopened—and somehow, it’s even better now.

There’s so much to love here—from the stylish bar area to the proper à la carte restaurant. But if you’re not hungry enough for signature noodles and specialty dessert (hard to believe), The Pantry offers bite-sized delicacies. For cocktails, stop at The Bar. For quiet time, there are eight day suites with daybeds and reading lights. And yes, there’s a spa offering massages and shower suites with fluffy towels. The Pier doesn’t shout—but you’ll remember it long after you land.

Air France La Première Lounge

Airport: Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
Location: Paris, France

It’s Paris, so obviously this lounge is all about the look—and the foie gras. Air France’s La Première Lounge is elegant to the point of satire: creamy leather armchairs, designer lighting, and a Clarins spa offering facials, massages, and makeup touch-ups so you don’t look like you’ve been awake since Milan. The experience starts the moment you leave your hotel, with a Hertz DriveU chauffeur and a porter waiting at the airport to whisk away your bags. Check-in are private, discreet, and effortless.

Once inside, choose your mood. But be warned: the dining experience may ruin every other airport lounge forever. The menu is crafted by Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse (yes, really), and includes veal medallions, truffled mashed potatoes, and tiny perfect tarts. In the spa, you’ll find exclusive treatments designed just for La Première guests—which are worth a detour to Paris all on their own. If you want the ultimate privacy, book a private suite with personalized service for up to four people. And when it’s time to board, you’re driven to your aircraft in a Porsche Cayenne Hybrid. It doesn’t get closer to royalty than this.