To kick off my two times to Latin America trip, I visited the LATAM Lounge Miami. I had visited this lounge several times before, but hadn’t yet reviewed it, given how crowded it usually is. While my flight was only late at night, in this case I headed to the airport very early in the morning to take pictures of the lounge at opening, then headed back home, and returned later in the evening. Do I at least get some points for dedication? 😉
Let me cut to the chase — Miami’s lounge situation isn’t great, and that’s particularly true in Concourse H & J, where you have the LATAM Lounge, the Turkish Airlines Lounge, and the Delta Sky Club.
LATAM’s lounge space at the airport is a decent size, and has a better food and drink selection than you might expect. That being said, I wouldn’t arrive early to use the lounge.
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LATAM Lounge Miami location
The LATAM Lounge Miami is located in Concourse J, opposite of gate J4. Once you clear security, just go in the direction of Concourse J, and then you’ll see the entrance to the lounge a short walk later on the right.
The lounge is located a level above the concourse, so you can either reach it via escalators or elevators.
LATAM Lounge Miami hours
The LATAM Lounge Miami is currently open daily from 7AM until 12AM, though you can expect that those hours vary over time, based on flight schedules. This covers all LATAM departures from the terminal, so the lounge is open in the hours leading up to those flights.
LATAM Lounge Miami entry requirements
LATAM doesn’t belong to any of the major global airline alliances, so the lounge doesn’t follow the typical alliance-wide access policies that so many other lounges do.
The LATAM Lounge is open to LATAM business class passengers, LATAM Pass Black Signature and Black members, Delta SkyMiles Diamond, Platinum, and Gold members traveling on LATAM, and select other partner elites.
Now, the lounge is also used as a contract lounge by some other carriers, given the lack of lounge options in the terminal. For example, I’ve been sent here when flying everything from Air France to SWISS, so don’t be surprised if you receive an invitation when flying with another airline.
One other thing to note — if you are flying with LATAM and are an eligible premium customer, you can also use the Delta Sky Club instead, which I’d say is superior. However, it’s not open late at night, so isn’t useful for many LATAM departures.
Note that the LATAM Lounge Miami doesn’t participate in Priority Pass.
LATAM Lounge Miami seating & layout
The LATAM Lounge Miami is just over 10,000 square feet, so it’s a pretty good size for an outstation lounge. Once past the reception desk, you have to turn right and walk down a hallway to access the main part of the lounge.
Once in this area, you’ll first see an entertainment section to the left, where there are rows of seats facing a TV. There’s additional seating across from that as well, looking out into the terminal (and the international arrivals bridge).
There’s also a communal table off to the side, which is perhaps a good place to sit if you want to work on your laptop.
Just behind that you’ll find the lounge’s dining area, which consists of tables with two chairs each, plus some communal, high-top seating.
Behind the main dining area of the lounge is the seating designed for lounging and relaxing. There are clusters of seats arranged facing one another. There’s a bit of variety in terms of the design, but this lounge isn’t about to win any awards for decor.
I also quite like the little “cocoons” you can sit in, which offer the most private and comfortable seating in the lounge, in my opinion.
There are also some chairs with ottomans in the back corner, ideal for plane spotting.
The lounge then bends toward the back, where you’ll find more seating, including several more dining tables, some with benches.
The lounge has nice view of the Miami skyline. The area of the apron that the lounge faces doesn’t get much aircraft traffic, but you can at least see planes on final approach.
All-in-all, it’s a reasonably nice lounge, especially when it’s quiet. The issue is that in the evenings this lounge tends to be super crowded. So it’s not just that the lounge is busy, but you’re also at Miami Airport, a lawless place where basic courtesy doesn’t apply. It’s dismaying to see the number of people in the lounge watching videos on their smartphone without headphones, or having a phone call on speakerphone.
Personally I tend to just go sit in a quiet gate area if I have extra time and am not looking to eat or drink, since I find that to be more comfortable and quiet.
LATAM Lounge Miami food & drinks
An area where the LATAM Lounge Miami exceeds expectations is when it comes to food and drinks. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t the Air France La Premiere Lounge Paris, but I think it’s better than most people would expect.
For one, there’s a large selection of self-serve drinks. Of course there are soft drinks, water, etc. But there’s also a decent selection of liquor, a variety of wines (including from South America), beer, coffee, tea, and a machine that will make you freshly squeezed orange juice.
The food selection varied throughout the day. In the morning, there was a selection of fresh fruit, cold cuts, cheese, mini-sandwiches, croissants, muffins, oatmeal, cereal, and yogurt.
Additional hot options included scrambled eggs, pancakes, grilled tomatoes, sausage, and bacon.
There was also a fridge available throughout the day with Blue Bell Ice Cream, individually plated cheesecake, and bowls of fresh fruit.
The selection changed later on in the day for lunch and dinner. In addition to many of the same options (like cold cuts and fruit) remaining, there was additionally a salad bar, sandwiches, wraps, and soup.
Other hot options included gnocchi, chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans.
LATAM Lounge Miami bathrooms & showers
The LATAM Lounge Miami has two sets of bathrooms, each with two sinks, two urinals (at least in the men’s room), and two stalls.
The lounge also has a couple of shower suites. While I didn’t take a shower, they looked pretty decent to me.
Bottom line
The LATAM Lounge Miami is pretty good by Miami standards, which admittedly isn’t saying a whole lot. The lounge’s design is reasonably nice, while the food and drink selection is extensive.
In Concourse H & J at Miami Airport, personally the Delta Sky Club is my favorite, followed by the LATAM Lounge, followed by the Turkish Airlines Lounge (which is also the only one open to Priority Pass members).
What’s your take on the LATAM Lounge Miami?
Interestingly, Air France uses this lounge for business-class passengers.
The self-serve Chandon sparkling wine is for sure better than anything that's "free" at the Sky Club.
Hey Ben,
I have an unrelated question. There used to be an Avianca lounge next door to the LATAM lounge. Is that space still empty?
Pre-COVID, I used to fly out of MIA at least once a month and frequently stopped by the Avianca lounge using my Priority Pass. Nothing special, but decent lounge to spend an hour or so there before hopping on my flight.
@ Waynaro -- That's a great question, thanks for bringing that up! I was actually wondering that as well. I believe that part of that space may have been used for the LATAM lounge, but maybe not? Does anyone know for sure?