Of all the lounges at Orlando International Airport, the only one I hadn’t visited was the American Airlines Admirals Club. We don’t fly on American Airlines enough to warrant paying for a membership or to get the Citi/AAdvantage Executive Mastercard, which includes lounge access. On the rare occasion that we fly on American from Orlando, we can either go to a lounge on the other side of the terminal or wait by the gate. That’s because the section of the airport that AA flies from is one of the least interesting in terms of restaurants, or anything else for that matter.
Day passes to the Admirals Club cost $79 or 7,900 AAdvantage miles, and while they’re good for all day, I’m not going to spend $160 for the two of us to visit a club. However, on a recent trip, I was flying solo and arrived at the airport early, so I decided to finally check out the Admirals Club at MCO.
Orlando American Admirals Club
The Orlando Admirals Club is located near gate 55. According to the club website, its hours are from 4 AM to 8 PM. What I didn’t realize was how small the space is. The footprint is smaller than the Club MCO and markedly smaller than the Delta SkyClub. I didn’t take many pictures of the club because it was packed during my visit.
If you want to get an idea of the layout, here’s a video of the interior spaces. The MCO club starts at the 1:15 mark.
The focal point of the club is a circular staircase which is in the center of the room. While visually interesting, it takes up way too much space. The Admirals Club tries to make use of the remaining areas by placing couches around the staircase. However, this narrows the walking path around the areas, making it difficult to get around with luggage (or, I suspect, a stroller or wheelchair). In addition, anyone with more than a small bag will want to use the elevator to reach the lower level instead of using the awkward circular staircase.
There are windows with views of the gates along the back of the lounge, which is the only decent workplace in the space, unless you want to sit at one of the tables downstairs, near the food.
Underwhelming
I honestly can’t believe American Airlines charges $79 for access to this lounge. During my visit, almost every seat was taken, leaving guests to walk around and knock their bags into other guests. I briefly walked around the ground floor, but since all the seats were occupied, I managed to find a space along the window seating. I grabbed a Coke Zero or three from the Freestyle machine at the corner of the lounge and managed to charge my devices and get some work done while I waited for my delayed flight. And yes, this is the entirety of the food and drink offerings on the top floor of the lounge.
I have to be honest, I’d rather spend time at either of the Club MCO lounges than visit this Admirals Club again. The only upside of paying for access to the Admirals Club was that my pass was good for the day. With that, I was able to stop in the Austin Admirals Club and grab a pulled pork sandwich while waiting for my connecting flight.
Final Thought
I’d been wanting to check out the Orlando Admirals Club for years. When I had the Citi / AAdvantage Executive Mastercard for a short period, we never flew with AA out of Orlando. Since you need to be flying with American to enter the club, even with a membership, I’d never seen the updated space. Now that I finally paid for lounge access, it’s definitely a one-and-done experience. The lounge was overly crowded during my visit, and while I found a seat as a solo traveler, it would be difficult for a family to find seats together. The food offerings were uninspiring, and if I’m going to pay for food or drinks, there are plenty of other places in the airport where I can do so.
No one claims the MCO Admirals Club is one of the best the airline has to offer. In fact, it feels like it’s a necessary space the airline feels they need to offer to those with lounge memberships who fly through Orlando. It provides the minimum amenities that travelers require but not much else. It’s definitely not a location I’d get to the airport early to visit.
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2 comments
I’ve been an elite flier on AA and loyal Admiral’s Club member for 30 years. It is disappointing that my home airport has this small club, and it does get crowded at times making it less appealing. I’ve not been closed out of it yet because of overcrowding but I think the time is fast approaching. I’ve noticed a sizeable increase in crowds since AA started offering club membership with their AAdvantage Executive Mastercard. If that starts happening, I’ll reconsider my loyalties. That said, I regularly transit through DFW and Charlotte. I’ll take the smaller MCO club anyday over the larger clubs, and I think the MCO club rivals the clubs at DCA.
That airside is possibly the most uninspired at MCO. Unfortunately, it’s also the one I seem to fly through almost exclusively now. Even the pedestrian Ruby Tuesday is now a no-name “gastropub.”