The 10 worst airport lounges in the US: 2026

This list ranks the bottom ten across every US lounge the site rates, Hawaii and Puerto Rico included. That makes it different from our airport-by-airport piece, which takes the single weakest lounge at each of 23 major airports; here a small regional airport can land two rooms on the list and a big hub can land none.

How the list was built#

I started from the site's own ratings, lowest overall score first. Minute Suites, spas, nap rooms and Priority Pass restaurants were left out: Minute Suites alone would fill most of the bottom of the table, mostly between 1.1 and 1.5, but they are rooms sold by the hour, not lounges. Scores are out of 5 and explained in our methodology.

Counters with a club name on the door#

The two worst scores belong to rooms that were never meant to be full lounges. United Club Fly at Denver sits between gates B60 and B63 and is a grab-and-go counter: no bar, no restrooms inside, no guests and no one-time passes. Walk west to the United Club (B, east) near gate B44, which rates 4.5 on the same membership and Star Alliance Gold, and sells $59 passes.

Charlotte's Provisions by Admirals Club near gate A1 is American's version of the same idea, opened in 2025 with about 30 seats. It scores 1.5, and exclusivity is the only metric above 2. If you hold Priority Pass, stay on Concourse A and go to The Club CLT by gate A21, which rates 4.6 with a shower. Admirals Club members should head to the Admirals Club (B), also 4.6.

Hawaii: small rooms, no plan B#

The neighbor-island airports are where this list stops having easy answers, and the low scores are as much about size as anything else.

Hawaiian's Premier Club at Lihue, across from gate 5, is a small unstaffed room with about a dozen seats, packaged chips and pretzels, and no restroom. It is the only lounge we list at Lihue.

Kahului has two Hawaiian clubs, and both make the ten. The newer Premier Club (South), across from gate 15, scores 2.1. It has decent quiet (4) but 1 for food, drinks, restrooms and views, and it is open only from 09:30 to 15:30. The original Premier Club (North), upstairs across from gate 17, scores 2.2: views and wifi are good at 4, while food, drinks, crowding and restrooms all score 1.

Kona's Premier Club would rank fourth at 1.8 on exactly eight metrics, but it has no photo on the site yet, so it stays out of the list. It is the airport's only airline lounge.

Pay-in rooms#

VIP One Lounge at JFK Terminal 1 is landside, behind check-in counters E and F, and only for international departures. You don't have to leave the terminal to do better: the Primeclass Lounge airside near gates 8 and 9 rates 4.8 on Priority Pass and LoungeKey.

My take: San Juan's The Lounge at Terminal A scores 2.1, with 1 for crowding and restrooms; there are no restrooms inside, and service (4) is the bright spot. The better room, the Escape Lounge, is in Terminal B opposite gate B2, not in Terminal A. The Priority Pass alternative, The Lounge at Terminal C, rates only 2.5.

Weak airline lounges at strong hubs#

The rest are airline lounges at airports full of good rooms, which makes them the easiest to skip.

LaGuardia's Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge on the Terminal B lounge floor scores 2.1, with 1 for cleanliness, food, seating and service. Star Alliance Gold members have the United Club on the same Eastern Concourse at 4.2.

The LOT Business Lounge in O'Hare's Terminal 5 opened in December 2024 and has two showers and a full bar, but scores 2.1, with 1 for seating and power. Priority Pass holders have the Swissport Lounge by gate M13 in the same terminal at 3.9, though entry may be limited from 15:00 to 20:30. SkyTeam Elite Plus members have the Delta Sky Club (M) nearby at 4.8.

San Francisco's Air India Maharaja Lounge opened in 2026 and already scores 2.4, with 1 for views and workspace. The Cathay Pacific Lounge on the same level of International Terminal A rates 4.6, but it is for oneworld flyers. Star Alliance Gold members need to go to International Terminal G for the United Club (G) at 4.5.

Also low, but not on the list#

Miami's Lufthansa Business Lounge would have ranked at 2.5, but it closed on September 29. JFK's Aer Lingus Lounge in Terminal 7 scores 2.4 but has no photo, and Aer Lingus has announced a move to the new Terminal 6.

Elsewhere in the series#

The same rules applied to Canada, Europe and South America. For the opposite end of the table, see the 10 best airport lounges for September 2026. How the scores work is set out in our methodology.