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Considering it’s one of the busiest airports in the United States, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport has surprisingly few lounges. Over the years, lounges with Priority Pass access have come and gone at PHX. However, thanks to the addition of Priority Pass at the Escape Lounge in Terminal 3, travelers now have a new place to hang out, and it is an excellent one. The Escape Lounge PHX is a great lounge experience. Combined with how much I like Terminal 3 more than Terminal 4, I will be reconsidering which airline to fly to Phoenix in the future.
Who can access the Escape Lounge PHX?
As of this writing, there are various ways to access the Phoenix Escape Lounge.
Those with the following credit cards can enter the lounge for free:
- American Express Centurion, Platinum Card, Business Platinum Card, and Corporate Platinum Card Members: Receive complimentary entry for themselves and up to two guests. The Escape Lounge is a The Centurion Studio Partner.
- Delta SkyMiles Reserve and Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Card Members: Receive complimentary access if they are on a Delta-marketed flight for that day.
The Escape Lounge Phoenix is also part of these lounge programs:
If you don’t have one of the above credit cards or lounge access cards, don’t fret. You can either join Priority Pass if you travel often and plan to visit more lounges, or you can purchase a day pass at the counter for $55 (or $45 if you book ahead online).
Note: Access may be restricted due to capacity limitations, as I will outline below.
Escape Lounge PHX Review & Amenities
The Escape Lounge in Terminal 3 is easy to find. Upon reaching the top of the escalator after security, make a quick right, then another right, and you’ll spot the glass-walled lounge in front of you.
It’s conveniently located in the middle of the concourse between the F & G Gates. All of the gates are a short walk away due to the compact layout of the terminal.
Seating & Layout Review
When I arrived at the Escape Lounge around 10 a.m., it was mostly empty, although the lounge had been open since 4:30 a.m. I was pleasantly surprised, as this allowed me to take some photos without bothering anyone too much.
Thanks to the glass windows and the high atrium of the terminal, the Escape Lounge feels bright and spacious, even though it’s on the small size for an airport lounge.
My Priority Pass card was quickly scanned by the host, who welcomed me to the lounge.
On the right side of the lounge, there is a variety of seating, including some tables and more comfortable chairs.
There are power outlets, and I found the lounge’s Wi-Fi to be sufficiently fast. You can also see one of the departure screens from almost every place in the lounge.
The left side of the lounge includes a spacious bar with dozens of bar stools. A couple of TVs were showing sports. There are also more tables lined against the windows.
Food and coffee are available in the corner of the lounge, including a variety of hot and cold dishes that change depending on the time of day (more details below).
The lounge has restrooms inside, though there are no showers. This is not surprising since this is a small lounge in a terminal without arriving international flights.
Although the Escape Lounge was quiet when I arrived on a Thursday the week after Thanksgiving, it was completely full within an hour. The hosts were taking names for a waitlist and telling people there was about a 25-minute wait. This is the one drawback of the lounge being small and also of better-than-average quality.
Food & Drink Review
I’ve been to a wide variety of airport lounges around the world, so I can say that the food quality can vary greatly from place to place. However, the Phoenix Escape Lounge has some of the better food and drink I’ve seen at a general access lounge.
Escape Lounge PHX Food
In the center of the food area is an island with stations serving hot and cold dishes. The dishes change between breakfast and lunch/dinner, with all meals including vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options.
Here is a sampling of the Escape Lounge’s hot and breakfast offerings.
- Apple cinnamon muffin
- Summer fruit salad
- Scrambled eggs
- Sausage bake
- Seasoned Breakfast Potatoes
- BYO Parfait
- Grits with pepper jack cheese
- Oatmeal with brown sugar, granola, dehydrated banana
- Hard-boiled egg with pink salt & chive or everything seasoning
And here are some of the hot dishes that are served for lunch and dinner.
- Chef’s choice seasonal soup
- Hominy & corn salad
- Charcuterie board
- Tomato cucumber salad
- Sicilian sub
- Roasted broccoli w/ parmesan cheese
- Baked mac & cheese
- Garlic herb chicken & rice
What impressed me the most was that even though the lounge had been open for over five hours when I arrived, all of the breakfast food looked fresh.
I’ve been to plenty of airport lounges where the questionable food looked like it had been sitting out for a long time or some things just had scraps or were completely empty.
This was not one of them. The Escape Lounge does a good job of replenishing the food and keeping anything from looking sketchy.
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I enjoyed the food. Since I visited during breakfast hours, I can’t review the menu for later in the day yet, but I assume it has similar standards based on other reviews I’ve seen.
In addition to the hot dishes, snack mixes and other quick items such as bagels and cereal were also available.
Escape Lounge PHX Drinks
The only self-service drinks at the Escape Lounge in Phoenix are coffee (regular, decaf, and then also a fancy machine), tea (iced and hot), and water (which includes both regular and sparkling). This helps conserve the limited space in the lounge.
If you want a soda, juice, or an alcoholic drink, you can ask one of the bartenders or one of the servers who circulates around the lounge. Depending on how busy it is, it might be easier to just go to the bar.
However, the service is one of the standout features of the Escape Lounge. Everyone I encountered was friendly, from the hosts to the servers and bartenders. The tables appeared to be cleaned quickly.
My server, Ashley, did an excellent job, but all of the reviews I’ve read have glowing feedback for all the other staff.
Given how we’ve all encountered airport lounge staff with less than enthusiastic attitudes (and understandably so, given some of the entitled passengers they have to deal with), this was a welcome sight.
There are two levels of alcoholic drinks at the Escape Lounge: complimentary and premium.
The free drinks include major spirits brands like Absolut, Tanqueray, Bombay Sapphire, Beefeater, Bacardi, Malibu, Captain Morgan, Jim Beam, Crown Royal, Makers Mark, Espolon Blanco, Espolon Repo, Dewar’s White Label, and Johnny Walker Black, so it’s not like you’re stuck with the no-name plastic bottles from our more frugal days.
But if you want to splurge on fancier spirits, you can pay for brands such as Grey Goose, Belvedere, Aviation Gin, Grey Whale, Appleton Est Signature Rum, Bulleit Rye, Angels Envy, Patron Silver, Teramana Repo, Laphroaig Single Malt 10yr, Glenlivet 12yr, and Hennessey VS.
Here’s where the fun starts. While you can, of course, order a wide range of cocktails, I noticed on the Google reviews that many people had mentioned the lounge’s espresso martinis. Plus, I overheard Ashley discussing them with another lounge visitor.
Since it was 10 am, it was the perfect time for a morning coffee incorporated into a cocktail.
The Escape Lounge espresso martini is excellent. It’s well-crafted and velvety, a perfect drink for whatever your mood is, whatever the time of day.
Review Summary
The Escape Lounge PHX Terminal 3 is a small but mighty airport lounge thanks to its excellent service and quality food and drinks. It’s exactly what a lounge should be.
If you fly out of Sky Harbor frequently, I highly recommend getting access through Priority Pass if you don’t have it already.
I enjoyed my visit and will seek it out on future trips to Phoenix as long as I can get in. Perhaps I should have written a bad review to discourage people from visiting!
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