Capital One’s Denver airport lounge could be great, but it’s too small. As a result, the place gets packed and waits to get in can be long. Once inside, the food is good, but too many seats don’t have power outlets. There is a trick to find some privacy amidst the chaos, though.
I visited the lounge a couple of times recently. The first time, during the early evening, there was a wait to get in that stretched more than 40 minutes. That’s typical of Dallas, as well.
The lounge is near gate A34. All of the concourses are connected by train, so from the middle of the B or C gates plan for about 15 minutes each way.
In the late afternoon, the lounge showed estimating a 55 minute wait. I added myself to the wait list. I was showing up at #72 (!).
And, in fact, it took a little over 40 minutes to be welcomed into the lounge.
When I arrived there was a long line. That’s not the line to get it – it’s the line of people showing up who aren’t on a wait list. They just come to the lounge, figuring they can get in. Now, they get to the front and a few questions quickly reveal that many of them aren’t eligible unless they pay. They’re trying to get in with Amex cards, with Chase Sapphire Reserve, or with Priority Pass. They can pay for entry on a single visit basis, if they wish! Those who have eligible cards (or are willing to pay) get added to the wait list and the are going to need to come back in about an hour.
If you see a line like this and it’s your turn, do not wait in it! It is not for you! Just walk right past the staff member at the front, or walk by mentioning to them that it’s your turn to enter the lounge. I headed up the escalator. There, there was a line of people whose turn it was also! So I had to wait in line – as time ticked by on my allowable 10 minutes to show up. They aren’t going to turn you away if you don’t make it to the front of the line in time, though.
The lounge has a bar and dining room, work rooms and a conference room, a shower suite and individual restrooms.
When the lounge is especially busy, look to the work rooms. These are reserved at the front desk – and as packed as the lounge seemed to be, these were empty. They aren’t at the windowline, but they give you space and furniture.
Overall though there was seating once you’re inside. Capital One does a good job managing queues so that the lounge itself remains nice even when there are lines. You can get access to the bar, too. My biggest complaint about the lounge is that not all seats had access to power.
The food and beverage offerings here are good. I enjoyed both an evening offering and a breakfast. I like the current menu better than Dallas, where food seems to have declined.
The afternoon and evening food offerings include:
- toy box caprese salad
- petite charcuterie
- arugula salad
- spicy tofu poke bowl
curried cauliflower - garbanzo bean dahl
- pasta bolognese
- pasta pomodoro
- chocolate brownie, macarons, croissant, caramel pecan cookie
My second visit was on a morning and there was no line around 8:30 a.m.
It must have been early for some people!
But there was plenty more seating open throughout the lounge.
Morning offerings included:
- overnight maple oats
- strawberry guava chia parfait
- strawberry banana smoothie bowl
- chorizo empanadas
- three cheese frittata
- tofu scramble
- elk sausage kolaches
Grab ‘n Go was good but also less than I used to see in Dallas (but there’s seemingly less grab ‘n go options there as well). ‘Grab’ a paper bag and fill up from the fridge and don’t forget chocolate on the way out – each lounge has its own variant of chocolate, here it’s “peaches and hops.”
Access is via Capital One Venture X card [guest and authorized user access change February 1, 2026]. You need a same day departing boarding pass, and can enter the lounge no earlier than 3 hours prior to your flight – even on connections.
For a great breakfast variety, check out the Chase Lounge at LGA. I have never waited to get in.
I wonder how the new Cap 1 lounge is at LGA?
Good calls and pictures, Gary! The Cap1 lounge waiting game has been a mixed bag for me. Sometimes an 80 minute wait turns out to be a 30 minute one, sometimes longer than you’d expect. Guess it’s the luck of the draw. DEN is the second largest in the system so maybe that was part of the calculus in changing lounge access come next week. Interesting food for thought is how each of the lines form differently at each lounge. DEN you congregate by the escalator, DFW by the elevator, IAD by security (at least there’s seating)…
Never used the private rooms myself, but I see the value.
As for the food at DEN, bring back the bison sliders! Also I have been the unfortunate victim of missing the chocolate on the way out on my last few visits as they have always run out.
Bummed to hear you think that the food quality in DFW has gone down. I’m sure you’ve been more recently than I have so I’ll have to assess for myself but I contend that the DFW cream puff is the best single food item across all 5 lounges. (Except possibly the LAS stuffed donut!) I also found the DFW menu options on the more unique side compared to the other lounges i.e. chicken Marsala and sausage jambalaya. Even their Mac and Cheese have had extra toppings the others lounges didn’t. Drinks wise, JFK or LAS take the cake for me.
As for Grab ‘n Go I’ve seen what you mean. I can’t explain why in specifics but it feels like you’re right. The first time I went to DEN they had churros which were fantastic but haven’t seen them since. The LAS to go fridge is particularly small or maybe I missed a second section to grab things (I guess he pastry section counts). But those aren’t complaints as the fact that there’s one at all is a huge perk and asset of the Cap 1 lounges. Has come in clutch many times on later flights where there’s nothing to eat afterwards.
Now I’m hungry.
Lounge access changes come next year* Doh!
Is the Capital One Lounge at the Denver airport’s toy box caprese salad similar to a McDonald’s Happy Meal? Does it come with a complimentary toy, or will kids be left to entertain themselves with the empty cardboard toy box after you’ve finished your salad?
Why do people wait?
I’ve never had to wait at Chelsea Lounge JFK, or Flagship LAX…
If lounges want to solve the overcrowding issue, just implement a policy of no pants, no shoes, no service. Tired of seeing dudes in shorts and flip flops rummaging through the cookie tray. You’re not 10 years-old anymore. More like 6. Put on some pants, Blake.
@ Gary — It is getting to the point where lounges are undesirable places. The credit card companies will soon face blowback over the huge AFs combined with packed lounges. It is insane that people now go to airports to over eat and over drink rather than simply catching their flight.
For O&D passengers, better restaurants near an airport (in Denver’s case, say, along the Tower Road corridor) would be a better alternative to fighting the crowds in the airport.
To all that haven’t experienced Cap1 lounges. Don’t believe any of Gary’s report. These lounges are worse than any crappy PP lounge you’ve ever been in.
You’ll be sorely disappointed if you wait in line. Don’t bother. Keep on walking, there’s a better option around the corner.
Sincerely,
Director of Lounge Overcrowding Management
@Dhammer53 “I wonder how the new Cap 1 lounge is at LGA?” we anxiously await its opening!
Sounds like a fools paradise to me. You pay a fee and get to wrestle lines and people for what? Not for me.
The lounge game is a fool’s errand. I’m cancelling all my high dollar cards (Amex Platinum, Capone Venture X and Citi American with lounge access). Relaxation does NOT involve wait lists and crowds. Instead, I just go to a concourse restaurant, find a table and have plenty of room. And I can buy a lot of food and beverage for what I’m saving on card members fees. Going forward I’ll just get cash back cards and quit the lounge rat race.
Overcrowding like this is exactly why I canceled my Venture X one month into having it. They advertise lounge access but don’t actually provide it in a timeframe I considered usable, especially on connections.
Connecting in DEN yesterday afternoon with 1.5 hours between flights. Joined the digital waitlist when we arrived but the estimate was 40 minutes and I needed to change terminals. Lounge was basically useless at that point so I settled for an expensive and tasteless to-go salad from one of the restaurants.
Gary says:
“You need a same day departing boarding pass, and can enter the lounge no earlier than 3 hours prior to your flight – even on connections.”
But on June 26 I printed out from Capitalone.com:
“Visitors with a same-day connecting flight may access Lounge or Landing locations beyond three hours , as long as they are able to present both their arrival and departing boarding passes.”
Which is correct????
I emphatically think the Capitol One lounge food at IAD and DEN is way better than DFW.
I actually perfect The Club at DFW over the Capitol some longe
Haven’t tried LAS yet
@DFW Steve: Al Capone’s family issues a credit card with lounge benefits? Oh, wait, you just strung Cap one together into one word!
Seriously, I wish all these lounges had healthy food options. It’s not that difficult to make scrambled egg whites, use turkey bacon, steamed chicken breast instead of cooked chicken thighs (Amex must be the company buying all the thighs), brown rice, and veggies not literally soaked in oil.
At least with AMEX, it might not be the most stylish food, but I can remove the whites from hard-boiled eggs, eat oatmeal , melon, chicken for one meal and some salad fixins. However, I don’t understand amex telling me I can’t bring in outside food. It’s not as if they are selling theirs!
Passing through DEN soon, and surprised by how apparently crowded it is, even with the expansions.
@L737 — Bison sliders do sound nice. churros?! Yum!
@Denver Refugee — Ugh, Tower Rd… have settled on that Ruby Tuesdays a few times years back. Not my fav.
@Gary – Amen! Wish me luck on the ice cream machine at DCA today…
@1990 — Delicious. Safe travels on your latest round of flights! Still catching up on all things vftw over the last couple days but hope everything is smooth sailing from here — here’s to the DEN trains running properly
@1990 – Ugh, indeed. To this day, I’m still disappointed – and more than a little surprised – there still aren’t better options in that area. Especially for breakfast.
On the other hand, Danico Brewing ain’t bad if you can pick a day with a decent food truck…
Great photos of the Great American Travelling Slobs (GATS)! Donning their finest wrinkled T-shirts that conceal their huge bellies paired with cargo shorts that sling the fat bottoms they sit on, and of course slippers and sandals for footwear, they ooze of class and intelligence…. No thanks, I’ll skip the lounges these days. The only thing good about airport lounges now is watching the GATS as they line up like pigs at a trough to eat free subpar food while guzzling down cheap wine and booze. I love watching the American general public, they never cease to amaze and entertain me. It makes me ask myself “How did we devolve into a nation of such moronic, classless imbeciles and Cretins?”
“Connecting in DEN yesterday afternoon with 1.5 hours between flights. Joined the digital waitlist when we arrived but the estimate was 40 minutes and I needed to change terminals.”
I have never been in any airport lounge but I read the discussions here. Some people rail against people taking out food but a situation like above is the reason that some may take out food because the lounge is at capacity and there is a long wait to get in with time being short after getting in. Simply not enough time for someone who has every right to eat food from the lounge. The person should be able to bag a reasonable amount of food and exit with that food to later eat it on the airplane. Maybe a to go table with packaged meals would work without even entering the lounge.
@L737 & @Denver Refugee — Thanks for the well-wishes, and recommendations!
@jns — Never been in any airport lounge? Next you’ll tell us you’ve only ever flown in Economy!
@AP — Says they never have to wait, then lists two of the most exclusive lounges in the whole country…
I have flown only coach internationally but picking the right airlines these days makes a lot of difference. I have paid extra for exit row seats on AirAsia which was a deal because I got the whole row for the upgrade price since no one was willing to pay extra. The flight attendants make sure that only those who pay the extra cost sit in those seats.
Domestic has been mostly coach but Alaska Airlines upgraded me for free to a seat upfront once and I got an upgrade offer for extra cash from United once which I took advantage of because I wanted to be comfortable to sleep on a red eye. Again, in coach, the right airline makes a lot of difference.
I am with @michael
Put on some pants Blake.
Or Mama’s going to take away your PS5.
Just looking at the people photos…I never realized that Walmart had a Capital One lounge in the Denver Airport
@One Trippe — And like Walmart, they only have one checkout lane open… and a line of 100 people waiting.
@jns — Good strategies. Had a similar situation (as you did on Air Asia) but on Scoot; paid extra for the first row, 3-3 configuration, window and aisle, P1 and P2, and no one purchased the ‘middle,’ so a ‘poor mans’ First class.
Ironically, as you may already know, most airlines in Europe operating narrow-body aircraft on regional flights sell ‘Business’ class as regular Economy seats (3-3), and they just block the middle seat. You get a meal, usually, so that’s the main benefit, other than early boarding and sitting in the first few rows. Nothing like US domestic First, where we usually get a recliner (wider seat) at least.
@loungeabuser egg whites aren’t healthier, the cholesterol fear is overblown. in fact, new research is showing that they’re less healthy, as most of the nutrients are in the yolk. egg whites are an industrial byproduct of baking which use the yolk
For those using a different card issuer to get in, are they AU or the Primary who just signed up thinking they have access? This goes into the need of the general public to actually read rather than listen. Not sorry, but you need to know what you’re getting into, I see too many people who don’t read and just assume like chickens without heads. This proves that you actually don’t have control of your life and just follow others. Not sorry.
At DIA, a great option is to take a seat and have a great meal at The Bindery at gate A34!! Skip the lines and enjoy quality food and experience!
@Paul Stanley truer words were never spoken!
ENFORCE A DRESS CODE.
And all of this overcrowding will instantly vanish.
@Johnmcsymthe — I know that you’re half-kidding, but even so, that’s just silly. I’ll pretend to take your suggestion seriously, and respond that dress codes are as arbitrary and punitive in this context as a random age restriction like (like, no 23-42 year-olds between 5AM-11AM!)
Members pay their fees, and should get access within a reasonable time. These credit card companies (and airlines) should either sell less access, increase the fees to limit demand, or increase capacity of the lounge to fit the demand. Otherwise, they are profiting while customers are not receiving what they paid for. It’s that simple. Or, keep distracting us with fake solutions.
How do you get on the wait list? Do you have to wait in line, or can you do it all in the app?
Seems like the article misses this crucial point, since it starts with “In the late afternoon, the lounge showed estimating a 55 minute wait. I added myself to the wait list. I was showing up at #72 (!).”
@Nate – you add yourself in the app whenever you wish (on your way to the airport, at the tsa checkpoint etc) or in person at the lounge
If Priority Pass had a lounge in DEN it would take pressure off this one, that airport is one of the biggest holes in the PP ecosystem. There used to be a couple good restaurants one could use PP at (Mercantile was a good one) but they took that benefit away. I have seen the Centurion lines at times bonkers also in there. I can see a new product on the horizon like a disney fastpass where you pay even more to skip the line…
Where’s Tim Dunn?
I don’t get it. Seriously. This is a genuine question. Do people flock to these places because they think it’s somehow uppercrust? So they think it makes them look like a higher class of person than those not in line and not able to get into a lounge?
Because it can’t be for the experience. An hour wait list for garbanzo casserole and sad tomato pasta? With few seats, no outlets, and general bedlam?
Maybe it’s the free drinks. I no longer drink much when I travel. (The older I get, the more tiring it gets, and alcohol makes it worse.) Still, even when I was younger I would never have waited an hour to save $10 on a glass of wine (at that time).
So I genuinely don’t know why so many people are in such a scramble to have a crappy experience and honestly think that they must see it as some kind of preening or later bragging opportunity. Maybe. I suppose that you can casually mention that you were in the lounge and impress others who think it’s still an exclusive experience for the monied.
Again, if you want to flex your wealth, walk past the lines, find a bar or restaurant, and order hot food that’s what *you* want and have a nice drink with that. Do that several times a year and still come out ahead of the $800 credit card
I’m with @dfwsteve. I cancelled my Amex Platinum in March when the AF came due and declined a medium-low retention offer without even trying to negotiate up. I originally got it almost wholly for SkyClub access, definitely did like some of the other travel benefits, but found myself in the end skipping the SC way way over half the time.
@David Read — Sir, this is a Wendy’s
@JMK — it’s not a wealth or show off thing; maybe in the past but lounges are quite accessible these days (which is a reason many people are complaining). I don’t have lounge access at most airports and I do enjoy a regular meal from a fast food chain as much as the next guy but if there is a lounge I’ve found quality of life well worth the cost of admission ($ and wait). But it sounds like we patron different lounges so everyone’s mileage will vary.
@L737 — Phew! I’ll have a Frosty and a 10 piece ‘Saucy Nuggs’ with BBQ. Bah! I guess some folks like, @David Read, have grown accustomed to a @Tim Dunn appearance at all occasions. It’s nice to wanted, I guess. Aww.