I’ve got good news for all the Delta customers out there hoping for a good lounge experience at the San Diego International Airport (SAN). As you will see in this review, the Delta Sky Club at SAN is one of the best in the entire network.
It’s also one of the smallest. And noisiest. And it’s difficult to get into during peak times. However, if you can wrangle your schedule to get in there when it’s not so busy, it’s about as good as a domestic airline lounge can get. I’d even go as far as to to say that it’s the best of all the San Diego Airport lounges.
Where is the Sky Club at the San Diego Airport located?
The Sky Club at SAN is located in Terminal 2 West on the upper level (above the food court). The easiest way to get there is to go through the security checkpoint in Terminal 2 West. The escalators (and elevators) to the lounge are 30 seconds away to your right as you exit the security screening area.
At the top of the escalators turn right. The entrance to the Sky Club will be impossible to miss. If you turn left, you’ll find the United Club.
The layout of the Sky Club at the San Diego Airport
The Delta sky club at the San Diego airport just might be the smallest one in the entire network. It’s tiny! It consists of five main sections:
- The main seating area
- The food buffet
- The bar
- The terrace overlooking the food court (and windows out to the tarmac)
- The business center
As you’ll see in the pictures, it’s essentially one big room with a wall separating the main section from the terrace. The lack of proper walls between sections is why it feels borderline unbearable when it’s busy.
What is the seating like in this lounge?
Despite being a small lounge that can feel claustrophobic in places (even worse than what you would experience in the San Diego Aspire Lounge), Delta was kind enough to provide fairly comfortable seating options. The main section of the lounge features large – and somewhat plush – chairs arranged in a fairly tight grid pattern.
The bar area features a mix of high and low tables (there is no seating at the bar). None of these seating options are very comfortable IMHO, so my condolences to you if the only seating options available are in the bar area.
The terrace also features a mix of tables and chairs. The chairs are similar to what you will find inside in the main area, while the tables are high and compact along the main wall. There’s even some rocking chairs available as well.
Is the food any good?
The first time I visited the Delta Sky Club at the San Diego Airport was way back in 2014. Back then, food options were fairly limited. However, on my most recent visit, I was pleasantly surprised by the offerings.
I was in there before a morning Delta One 767-400 flight to JFK, and they were still serving breakfast. Seeing a full spread of hot breakfast items such as scrambled eggs, sausage, and hashbrowns was nice to see. And it looked good!
They have healthy options as well, consisting of fresh fruit, boiled eggs, yogurt, and various kinds of bread. It’s a lot more food than you’ll find than any other lounge at SAN, so I think it’s safe to declare that yes – the Delta Sky Cub is worth it.
Is it possible to get any work done in the business center?
Probably! Just like everything else in this lounge, the business center in this particular Sky Club is tight and compact. However, I’ve never seen many people in there at one time, so I would imagine that it would be a nice place to get some work done before a flight.
There are a row of desks with communications ports and printers along the back wall. And a communal bar. Because, well, spreadsheets are a lot more fun when you’re high AF. Am I right or am I right?
How to get into the Delta Sky Club at SAN
First and foremost, no – you will not get access to this Sky Club by simply having a ticket for Delta domestic first class. Most people assume that you do, so I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news. That being said, here are the most common ways you can get into the Sky Club at SAN:
- You’re holding a ticket for a Delta One business class seat. It doesn’t matter if it’s for a domestic or international flight. As long as your boarding pass says Delta One (and not first class), you’ll have access.
- You’re a Delta Sky Club member
- You’re a Sky Team Elite Plus member
- You’re a Delta Diamond Medallion member
- You have an American Express Platinum Card and you’re flying out on Delta Air Lines that day
- 100,000 welcome points (woo-hoo!)
- Earn 5x points on flights and prepaid hotels
- $200 hotel credit + $200 airline fee credit + $155 Walmart credit + $240 digital entertainment credit (and much more)
- Transfer points to a wide variety of global airline and hotel partners
But wait! There’s more…
- It is no longer possible to purchase a day pass to access a Sky Club. That option was discontinued in 2018.
- There are a handful of other credit cards which will grant you access. Since that list of cards is updated on a continuous basis, it behooves you to check the official Delta Sky Club access page for the latest information.
What time of the day is this lounge the least busy?
Mid mornings between 8:30 and 10:30am is usually pretty quiet. Afternoons from 1pm until 8pm are fairly quiet as well. Basically, any time right after a widebody flight to ATL or JFK departs is usually when it empties out.
What time of the day is it the most busy?
5am until 8:30am is extremely busy, as there is almost always Delta flights departing to every hub in the network in the early morning. There are usually extremely full flights departing to ATL and JFK closer to mid day, so 10:30am to 12:30pm can get really crowded as well.
Finally, things start to get busy again in the late evenings (around 8pm or so) before all the red eye flights to the east coast depart.
Is the Sky Club at the SAN worth the visit?
Whether or not you should go out of your way to spend some time at the Sky Club at SAN depends on your particular situation (and your tolerance for crowds and noise. Here are some things to consider:
It’s worth it if:
- You’re a Delta Medallion member or Sky Team Elite and you already have complementary access to every Sky Club in Delta‘s network. It doesn’t hurt to check it out, and you won’t feel guilty for not deciding stay once you’ve popped your head in to asses the situation.
- You’re feeling cheap and a bit hungry, and you want to get a quick bite to eat before your flight.
- It’s not busy. As long as it’s not busy in there, it’s a really nice experience.
It’s not worth it if:
- It’s busy. Forget about having a relaxing experience if you go in there an hour and a half before any Delta flight departing for Atlanta or New York.
- You’re looking for high-quality food. As long as you don’t mind spending a bit of money, you’ll find far better food in other parts of the terminal. San Diego Airport food isn’t that bad!
- You want to get up and stretch your legs every now and then. This is a tiny lounge, and there are few options for getting up and walking around.
