To kick off my journey to Bangkok, I visited the OneWorld Lounge in LAX. I had heard good things about this lounge and how it was much better than the Star Alliance lounge in LAX so I was pretty excited to go and check it out. I didn’t really have any expectations going in and I’m pleased to say that this lounge was pretty great. Let’s get into the review!
Lounge Info
- Location: Tom Bradley International Terminal, Level 5
- Hours: 6:30 AM to 11:00 PM
- Eligibility: OneWorld business class passengers, OneWorld Sapphire or Emerald passengers on a OneWorld flight. Full eligibility rules here.
Entrance
The OneWorld business class lounge was relatively easy to find after clearing security at Tom Bradley. You walk down the main hallway for a little while then take a right and go up the escalators. The lounge entrance will then be on your right behind a pair of automatic glass doors.
Layout and Atmosphere
One of the biggest selling points of the lounge is definitely the ambiance. The entire lounge has dim lighting and neutral colors that help it feel very modern and elegant. The furniture’s color scheme ranges from different shades of brown and dark gray to a creamy white.
Certain areas of the lounge are also illuminated by boxy lantern-style lights. This helped add another degree of elegance to the overall feel of the lounge. This style of lighting decoration combined with the color scheme reminded me of an Asian-style lounge similar to Cathay Pacific’s business class lounges.
In addition to this, the atmosphere is further amplified by the calm jazz music that is playing throughout the lounge. It made me feel like I was in a cafe more than a lounge. However, the music didn’t stop them from making boarding announcements. During my time in the lounge, I heard them announce that boarding for QF 12 from LAX to SYD would begin soon and that passengers on that flight should head over to their gate.
As for the layout of the lounge, it can be thought of as a giant rectangle split into two halves. You will enter the lounge approximately in the center of the rectangle and then you have the choice of proceeding left or right. To the right is where you’ll find the main seating area, dining area, bar, and fireplace.
The left side of the lounge contains additional seating and is basically a hollowed-out rectangle with a walkway that forms a perimeter around a central hanging ornament in the terminal. The walkway that wraps around the art structure is lined with large windows and armchairs.
I appreciated how many windows there were and how large each of the windows was. It made the space feel more open and less claustrophobic. Some lounges are so cramped and void of windows that it makes you feel like you’re trapped in a basement.
There were also some unique features the lounge offered like the giant fireplace near the entrance of the lounge. It unfortunately wasn’t on when I was there but it looked very grand. Several couches with coffee tables circle this central fireplace and it’s a neat architectural feature of the lounge.
I also enjoyed how the designers of the lounge placed lots of plants throughout the lounge. You can find some kind of plant on most of the counters that have lights as well as floor plants scattered around the various seating areas. Even the bar had some white petal plants that helped jazz up that space a little. All this helped add some much-needed color contrast and variety to the lounge.
Lastly, the lounge has numerous TVs in spread out all around displaying departure information so it’s super easy to stay on top of your flight.
Overall, I enjoyed the decor and atmosphere of the lounge. You can tell that a lot of time and thought went into designing such a modern and relaxing environment.
Seating
The great thing about this lounge is that it’s huge and there’s lots of seating. There’s nothing worse than coming to a lounge and finding it overcrowded and cramped. I’m glad to say that this lounge wasn’t like that. I visited around 8 pm, which is usually a very busy time because of all the Asia Pacific flights, and was still able to find a seat with no problem.
The main dining area and the fireplace were for sure the busiest parts of the lounge with the most guests. Surprisingly, the walkway with armchairs that wraps around the central art structure was full of people too. However, if you venture further away from these areas and go deeper into the lounge, you’ll find some quieter areas with more empty seating.
Besides how much seating there was, another upside of the lounge is how much seating variety there is. It was great being able to choose from all kinds of seating arrangements. If you wanted a table, there were dining tables, countertops, and larger shared tables that you could sit at. The majority of these tables were situated near the main dining area and around the entrance to the lounge.
If you wanted single-seater options, there were many different types of lounge chairs you could pick from. You had your more traditional armchairs but also more modern armless chairs throughout the lounge. The nice thing about these single-seater chairs is that almost all of them still came with a coffee table. This was super convenient when eating and also offered an easy place to rest your drinks or laptop.
There is also a large ornament in the main dining area that extends from the ceiling. This structure is enclosed by a circular table and is actually an elaborate charging station that has multiple power outlets.
I ended up sitting in one of the modern lounge chairs with no armrests near the bathroom. I wouldn’t recommend this area because it had people constantly coming and going from the bathroom and was noisier than I would have liked. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this seating area and almost every other seating space had charging ports conveniently within reaching distance. This is a huge plus in my book since I’m always using up too much of my battery.
All in all, the OneWorld lounge offers a diverse variety of seating options and it was great not having to struggle to find a place to sit and relax.
Dining
Probably my favorite thing about the entire lounge was the food selection. It was shockingly extensive and featured a hot food section, salads, desserts, snacks, and even a noodle bar! The food is conveniently arranged on a single long island with both sides of the island featuring different items.
The side facing the main seating area will have all of your main food items ranging from salads to hot dishes. When I went to get my food, the first sign I saw said spicy salmon poke and I was super excited since I love poke. However, this ended up being an incorrect sign and there was no poke 🙁
However, there were lots of other hot dishes like pasta, beef, zucchini, and rice held in chafer pans to keep them warm. Honestly, most of these didn’t look that appetizing so I didn’t try any of them. Despite that, it’s great to have so much variety and these dishes in the chafer pans are great when you’re looking for a hot meal.
Right next to the pans are a bunch of other foods like tortilla chips, crackers, and even some Asian dishes like fried rice, chicken, and dumplings.
I made the mistake of eating a proper dinner before coming to the lounge so I wasn’t that hungry and wanted to save my appetite for the actual flight. However, the Asian dishes looked pretty good so I decided to give them a try.
The dumplings and egg rolls were good but the chicken wasn’t that tasty. It sort of reminded me of Panda Express (not a knock against Panda Express, some of their stuff is pretty good!) and wasn’t something I would get seconds for.
I would say that the most interesting food item the lounge offered was the noodle bar. I was impressed with all of the toppings and condiments available for guests to pick from when putting together their noodle bowls. I unfortunately didn’t try it but I will say that it looked delicious.
Another big surprise was how many different kinds of snacks there were. You had healthy options like mixed fruits and celery sticks…
but also some less healthy (but tastier!) options like popcorn and ice cream sandwiches.
There were even assorted pastries there that all looked very tasty.
If all that wasn’t enough food, the back side of the bar also features more tidbits like gummies, cookies, and other snacks in cute little containers.
Drinks
One of the coolest things about the OneWorld lounge is that it features a full bar near the entrance of the lounge. When I was there, 2 bartenders were working the bar and several guests were sitting around the bar counter.
You can order any cocktail you like and there’s also a self-serve area with an ice bucket full of wines. I’m pretty sure the bartenders double as baristas too so you can order a coffee drink if you like.
The aesthetic of the bar is pretty cool with the hanging drink cabinet and lights to help illuminate the drinks. It felt pretty upscale and was a fun area to lounge about.
In addition to the bar, there are 2 other drink stations. One is located where the buffet is and the other is located on the other side of the lounge next to the work area. It features your standard soda machine, water dispenser, and coffee machine.
Amenities
There weren’t any unique amenities to this lounge other than your standard work area. This work area is located to the left of the lounge entrance in one corner of the walkway circling the hanging art structure. It features a large table with office chairs and privacy dividers.
There are also 2 counters with a row of charging ports and high stools for seats.
The biggest downside of this area is that it’s not secluded from the rest of the lounge. Some lounges have a more private work area that is further inside the lounge away from major traffic areas. But this unfortunately isn’t the case here. The work area is situated along the pathway to one set of drink machines so there is a decent amount of foot traffic around the work area.
The OneWorld lounge also offers free complimentary wifi that is easy to join. There are numerous signs throughout the lounge explaining how to connect. I found the wifi speed to be good since I was able to browse the internet and scroll through social media with no issues.
Showers
The OneWorld lounge does have showers which is always a great benefit. The showers are located deep in the corner of the lounge away from the main dining area. This is also the same area as the bathrooms but the shower rooms will be at the end of the hallway.
There will be a small desk where you can request place a shower request with an attendant. If there’s a wait, the attendant will ask you to write your phone number and flight number on a waitlist and give you a buzzer to inform you when your shower is ready.
When I went around 8:30, I had to wait about 20 minutes for my shower to be ready. However, later on at around 9:30, I heard the attendant tell other guests that the wait was up to 45 minutes. Just be warned that you might have to wait a bit before you can get a shower room.
The shower itself is honestly really nice. It’s large, clean, and has a modern aesthetic. I found the shower controls relatively easy to use and was able to get hot water quickly. The one interesting thing is that there is no door to the shower itself. As you can see, the glass pane only covers half of the entire shower so it’s sort of an open shower concept.
Each shower room comes with lots of towels, a hairdryer, and a little bench for you to sit on.
I liked how clean and spacious the shower room was and it was great being able to freshen up before the long flight!
The showers also came equipped with Li’Tya branded soaps and conditioners. I wasn’t familiar with this brand but it’s apparently an Australian company. This is pretty cool since the lounge is technically a Qantas lounge although it’s branded as a OneWorld lounge.
Bathroom
The bathroom in the lounge was pretty standard. There wasn’t anything special about it but I will say that they kept it pretty clean. The flooring is a pretty drab colored tile but at least the bathroom was a good size with ample amounts of sinks, stalls, and urinals.
Conclusion
I had a great time visiting the OneWorld lounge at LAX. It’s a terrific lounge that is large with plentiful seating, a modern ambiance, and terrific food options. If you have access, it’s a great way to hang out and relax before your flight!
What is your favorite business class lounge at LAX?
