Priority Pass names Portland's Escape Lounge the world's best lounge for 2026
Priority Pass announced its 2026 Excellence Awards on May 4, based on more than 700,000 member ratings and reviews. The Escape Lounge at Portland International took the global title. Here are all the winners and where to find them.
Priority Pass announced the winners of its 2026 Excellence Awards on May 4, and the Escape Lounge at Portland International (PDX) was named Global Lounge of the Year, according to Priority Pass's announcement. The winners are chosen from more than 700,000 member ratings and reviews. Priority Pass says the results show travelers increasingly value lounges that feel like an extension of their destination: local design, regional food and drink, and spaces built for comfort and calm.
The awards are now in their 18th year, according to Christopher Evans, chief executive of Collinson International, which owns and runs Priority Pass.
The global winner: Escape Lounge, Portland#
Priority Pass says the Portland lounge stood out for blending contemporary design with a strong local identity: locally inspired food and drink, regional materials and artwork, and a layout that allows both relaxation and focus. Tom Waldron, the lounge's chief experiences officer, called the win "an incredibly proud moment for our Portland team."
For planning, Lounge Frog's listing for the Escape Lounge puts it on Concourse D between gates D8 and D10, open daily from 04:30 to midnight. Our listing gives it room for about 150 people, two showers and a full bar. It admits Priority Pass, LoungeKey and Escape Lounges members, and our listing notes it also sells walk-up entry at roughly $30 to $45 a person, with pre-booking available. American Express Platinum and Delta SkyMiles Reserve cardholders enter free on applicable flights, per our listing, and children under three are free. Lounge Frog rates it 4.4 out of 5, and lists it as opening in 2025.
The lounge sits in a part of the airport that is new too. Our Portland page records Concourse D as renovated in August 2024, the same date as the airport's wider rebuild. PDX rates 4.6 overall with our users, which is unusually high for a U.S. airport.
Regional winners and highly commended#
- North America: Escape Lounge, Portland won. Escape Lounge, Kansas City was highly commended. Our Kansas City listing shows it taking Priority Pass, Escape Lounges and Centurion cardholders, with a full bar and no showers, and a 3.4 rating from a small number of check-ins.
- Asia Pacific: Lounge Fukuoka in Japan won. Kyra Lounge in Hong Kong was highly commended. Lounge Frog lists two Kyra lounges at Hong Kong, at Gate 23 and Gate 40; Priority Pass doesn't say which one it means.
- Europe: Vienna Lounge in Austria won. No.1 Lounge in Jersey was highly commended.
- Latin America and the Caribbean: Club Kingston in Jamaica won. Advantage VIP Lounge in Campinas, Brazil was highly commended.
- Middle East and Africa: Bidvest Premier Lounge in Johannesburg, South Africa won. We list several Bidvest Premier lounges at Johannesburg, including the international and domestic lounges, and the announcement doesn't say which one it means.
A note on our own data: several of these winners have only a handful of ratings on Lounge Frog so far. The Vienna Lounge, for example, has two, and the Campinas lounge 15. Member votes across the Priority Pass network are a far bigger sample, so treat our scores for the less-visited lounges as early.
One to Watch#
New this year, the One to Watch category recognizes lounges that have improved significantly over the past 12 months, as reflected in member ratings. The winners are the VIP Lounge "Angelo D'Arrigo" in Catania, Italy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, KoCoo Lounge for Asia Pacific, and the Advantage VIP Lounge in São Paulo for the Americas. The announcement doesn't name KoCoo's location or the São Paulo airport; we list Advantage VIP Lounges at both Guarulhos and Congonhas.
The second round: Pioneer and All Star awards#
Priority Pass followed up on September 29 with two more categories. Pioneer of the Year went to three lounges: BRT Lounge Porto Seguro in Brazil, Cozaya Lounge at King Fahd International in Saudi Arabia, and the A Coruña Sala VIP Lounge in Spain. Priority Pass singled out Porto Seguro's Calm Room, a quiet space for neurodivergent travelers.
All Star of the Year recognizes individual staff. The three winners were Tran Minh Quang of SH Premium Lounge Hanoi 2 at Noi Bai, Abdulaziz Fahad Alharbi of Cozaya Lounge, and Miao Shu Na of the Oriental Club Lounge at Taiwan Taoyuan.
Getting in#
The awards cover lounges in the Priority Pass network, which Priority Pass puts at more than 1,900 lounges and travel experiences across 865 airports in 143 countries. Priority Pass hasn't published hours, fees or guest rules alongside the awards. I'd check each lounge's page before you go, and see our Priority Pass page for the cards that include membership. Portland's lounge also sits in the Escape Lounges program, which admits some Amex cardholders at its U.S. locations.
The network is also picking up airline partners. Qatar Airways signed an agreement in September to let its corporate Beyond Business members spend rewards on Priority Pass lounges, which we covered separately.
Lounge Fukuoka, Club Kingston, No.1 Lounge Jersey, KoCoo Lounge, Cozaya Lounge, A Coruña and the Oriental Club Lounge aren't in Lounge Frog's directory yet.
Related reading#
Cite this article
Patrick Karsh. “Priority Pass names Portland's Escape Lounge the world's best lounge for 2026.” Lounge Frog. Published 2026-10-07. Updated 2026-10-14. https://www.loungefrog.com/news/priority-pass-excellence-awards-2026-portland-escape-lounge
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