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The Reno airport has an ‘Escape Lounge’ and it’s way better than I expected, in fact considering modest expectations I might even say it blew me away.
You’ll find the Escape lounge Reno just past security, you turn left to head down towards the C concourse but it’s before any of the C gates. It’s fairly accessible no matter whom you’re flying.
The lounge is small, but it was nearly deserted when I was there in the morning for an 8 a.m. departure. It’s stylish. There’s a complimentary bar (and some premium options). And there’s a buffet that was far better than I expected.
There’s a variety of seating options and plenty of power outlets.
The Escape lounge Reno dining room and bar was mostly deserted at 7 a.m. but you could have had a drink, no rules against alcohol early in Reno.
The buffet at breakfast at the Escape lounge Reno featured both cold items and three hot items – a bruleed french toast and two egg dishes with meat.
I sat down for some breakfast by the window. Each of the dishes was tasty. There was a good view of airport operations. I plugged in to preserve power before my American Airlines regional jet flight to Los Angeles.
There’s no other ‘features’ to the Escape lounge Reno. You don’t really need showers in Reno, it’s not a gateway for international long haul flying. And it’s a small space. The biggest downside to the lounge is that restrooms, while nearby, aren’t offered inside. I like a lounge because they’ll generally maintain cleaner restrooms than the terminal as a whole.
The surprising thing about the Escape lounge Reno, perhaps, is that it’s not a Priority Pass lounge. If it was it might be the nicest Priority Pass lounge in the U.S. They charge customers more on a pay-in basis ($45, or $40 pre-paid online) than Priority Pass pays.
However admittance to Escape lounges in the U.S. is free (including up to 2 guests) for Platinum Card by American Express cardholders which was a great perk. There are other U.S. Escape lounges in Minneapolis, Oakland, and Hartford, Connecticut.
Love to see more of these lounges in the US. They are somewhere between a Centurion Lite and normal Centurion. At MSP, I first go into the Escape for the make your own taco bar and then go to the delta sky club for the soups and make your own salad bowl
The Escape lounge in Oakland is surprisingly nice too. It’s a nice perk of the Platinum card, although surprising that they haven’t also joined PP.
Like the others useless to those who don’t do overpriced Amex.
Eventually they will open to priority pass when they need more revenue
These are all run by the Manchester airport, oddly enough
RNO is my home base and I have been delighted with this addition to the airport. The staff here are very nice and friendly.
Only downside is that the lounge closes around 8:00 pm each night. Too early for the variety of late night departures. But that’s a small complaint.
And thank goodness it is not Priority Pass. On average over all of my visits the lounge has been 50 percent occupied. I think its too small to handle the potential crush from PP traffic.
I visit this lounge often, both on departure and arrival. It’s a great lounge.
I miss reno air. I was on the last Reno air flight out of Reno Airport before they were taken over by AA. It was a good hub for west coast flying.