- Introduction: Mexico City, Really?
- Using The Cross Border Xpress
- Review: Tijuana VIP Lounge
- Review: Aeromexico Salon Premier Tijuana
- Review: Aeromexico 787 Business Class Tijuana to Mexico City
- Review: Las Alcobas Hotel Polanco Mexico City
- Hot Air Ballooning Over Teotihuacán
- Visiting Teotihuacan
- An Evening Of Lucha Libre
- Floating Around Xochimilco
- Day Trip To Coyoacán
- Exploring Mexico City’s Historic Center
- Dining At Dulce Patria
- Palacio De Bellas Artes & The Ballet Folklórico
- Mexico City: Andrew’s Thoughts
- Review: Minute Suites DFW
The Aeromexico Salon Premier Tijuana is quite possibly the worst lounge ever to be reviewed on One Mile at a Time. Now, there’s some tough competition for this title, but I’m feeling pretty confident.
The Priority Pass lounge in Catania, Sicily is pretty rough, but it was closed both times Ben tried to access it:
No lounge reviews this time!
There are an assortment of mediocre domestic lounges in Malaysia, but I guess I never wrote about that trip:
This isn’t even a lounge, just a closed gate at KUL with lounge furniture
And the disastrous lounge situation in Cairo is never going to make it on any of Ben’s lists of Best Business Class Lounges:
Cairo airport VIP lounge
There’s also nearly every lounge in China (particularly the No. 6 and No. 7 First Class VIP Lounges in Changsha):
Changsha Airport Priority Pass Lounge seating
However those lounges at least have the value of being entertaining, with A++ people-watching, or other foibles.
The Aeromexico Salon Premier Tijuana was the most uninteresting, dreary, and otherwise bland lounge I have ever been to.
Nothing happened. There is almost nothing interesting to say about it. You can stop reading now, I won’t be offended.
The Aeromexico Salon Premier Tijuana is located post-security, but adjacent to the check-in area. There’s a small sign directing passengers down a corridor to the lounge.
It’s like they don’t want to advertise the lounge at all…
The entrance was modest, though I did enjoy the clocks on the wall above the check-in desk:
Key Aeromexico destinatoins from TIJ
Apologies for the horrible picture quality, but the lighting was so bad in this lounge. The lack of windows and the burnt-out neon lights were hard to compensate for.
Hospital waiting room or business class lounge?
The lounge had two seating areas on either side of a TV wall. The furniture was worn, and well past its prime.
Late 1990’s corporate chic furnishings
There was also a small “business center” in the back of the lounge, with a few cubbies and workstations.
One of these chairs was missing a wheel, one wouldn’t stay elevated
I can almost guarantee these PCs run Windows XP, if not Windows 98
The buffet consisted of both filtered coffee and a super slow espresso machine:
Aeromexico lounge coffee setup
Along with an assortment of pastries:
Aeromexico lounge breakfast setup
And some fruit cups and packaged snacks:
Aeromexico lounge breakfast spread
There was also a fridge with a few types of beer, along with sodas, juices, and bottled water.
Aeromexico lounge beverages
Given the shoddy upkeep of the furniture, there could have been some entertainment if anyone had sat on the broken sofas. But that didn’t happen while we were there.
Why not just remove all the legs so the couch is level?
The Aeromexico Salon Premier Tijuana did have one redeeming feature though.
Hey, tequila!
Aeromexico lounge condiments
Seven types of tequila, and a plate of limes. Perfect for nine in the morning!
Bottom line
Tijuana has a decent enough airport for the size, with a fine assortment of retail, and good Wi-Fi. They also have a nice space with the VIP Lounge.
The Aeromexico lounge is ghastly in comparison, and I can’t think of any reason why you’d want to spend time here.
Is there a non-horrible Aeromexico lounge in Tijuana that I missed?
The Norwegian Air Lounge in Stockholm wasn't the best. Very small with nothing to report for food, but It dis have white wine on tap and a nice view of the tarmac! I love to travel and when I get stuff for free for doing it, all seems pretty good. I need to get me to TJ to try the tequila!
Definitely not the worst at all. Its not great or good by any means. The worst I have seen is the domestic Thai lounge in Phuket. Unreal how bad it was. it was actually laughable. The old Cairo business lounge (circa 2008) was horrible. I wouldn't call this the worst, maybe on the page, but I've seen a lot worse. Can't beat free tequila and beer at 9am! That is worth some points in my book, though I was too embarrassed to hit the bar that early in the morning lol!
United Club Seattle. It was clean, but I got free half-size domestic beer and could barely find a small banana to eat when I was starving. I finally escaped to the sandwich shop across from the entrance - much better.
I think I might beat this lounge when it comes to worst lounge ever. Try the Almaty Airport (ALA) in Kazakhstan lounge. I visited last month, size of a small airport shop, drinks were not free and were marked up 5x of even airport prices. Chairs smelled and were discolored. The only food on offer were pastries that were rock hard and moldy.
I must agree with many above that with the selection of cervesa negra, tequila and ron negra there isn't much wrong with this lounge ;-)
My vote for worst lounge was a not-too-recent stop in the *A lounge in GRU (Sao Paulo). We had the misfortune of an 8 hour layover between an AC flight (YYZ-GRU) and the 'connecting' SAA flight (GRU-JNB). The lounge was in a terminal building that was under construction so my...
I must agree with many above that with the selection of cervesa negra, tequila and ron negra there isn't much wrong with this lounge ;-)
My vote for worst lounge was a not-too-recent stop in the *A lounge in GRU (Sao Paulo). We had the misfortune of an 8 hour layover between an AC flight (YYZ-GRU) and the 'connecting' SAA flight (GRU-JNB). The lounge was in a terminal building that was under construction so my dismay might be out of date. But it was horrible at the time.
Just a month ago we spent a horrible three hours in the "Cathay" lounge in DPS Bali - revolting! Also the Cathay arrivals lounge in Hong Kong is completely not up to the standard that one would expect - actually deplorable. (On the other foot - the BA Arrivals lounge in Heathrow is one of the best).
The lounge in Marrakech is far worse than this one. I think there was 3 warm cans of the worst local beer (not that Morocco is famous for good beer of course) a few bottles of soft drinks and some terrible sandwiches. The one in Berlin Schonefeld wasn't much better either!
@Robert Hanson - Owen's right - kind of like how in the US, it's pretty normal to just call it "New York" rather than "New York City".
@Robert Hanson
The name of Mexico City in Spanish is "México." Nobody adds 'city' unless they're being prim.
Tijuana has 3 flights per week from Tijuana to Shanghai in 787.
The Salon Premier Tijuana is not so bad, in the afternoons and evenings offer sandwiches. In most airline Lounges of United States do not offer free alcohol.
Here is a review of the Salon Premier Tijuana
https://freddynonstop.wordpress.com/2014/09/16/salas-vip-aeropuerto-de-tijuana/
https://freddynonstop.wordpress.com/2015/10/23/salas-vip-salon-premier-cancun/
https://freddynonstop.wordpress.com/2015/12/30/resena-de-vuelo-a-lima-en-aeromexico/
The Salon Premier of Cancun has the new design of Salones Premier of AeroMexico
The Salon Premier Tijuana is not so bad, in the afternoons and evenings offer sandwiches. In most airline Lounges of United States do not offer free alcohol.
Here is a review of the Salon Premier Tijuana
https://freddynonstop.wordpress.com/2014/09/16/salas-vip-aeropuerto-de-tijuana/
https://freddynonstop.wordpress.com/2015/10/23/salas-vip-salon-premier-cancun/
https://freddynonstop.wordpress.com/2015/12/30/resena-de-vuelo-a-lima-en-aeromexico/
The Salon Premier of Cancun has the new design of Salones Premier of AeroMexico
Nothing beats the lounge (box) in Charleroi, Belgium. You need a PIN number to access the room of about 10 seats and kids snacks which you can only get before security. Sadly I didn't take pictures but it was definitely much worse than the Ryanair flight experience which followed!
Not sure what all those brands are, but the Centenario makes the lounge a quite delightful preparation for an AeroMexico flight, especially at 9 am. Even better if one can Fast Track thru the Priority Lounge first.
The question I have is with the clocks. Not only why, with only 3 clocks, one is for Shanghai of all places. How many people flying AeroMexico out of TJ are on their way to Shanghai? Of course...
Not sure what all those brands are, but the Centenario makes the lounge a quite delightful preparation for an AeroMexico flight, especially at 9 am. Even better if one can Fast Track thru the Priority Lounge first.
The question I have is with the clocks. Not only why, with only 3 clocks, one is for Shanghai of all places. How many people flying AeroMexico out of TJ are on their way to Shanghai? Of course the second one is for TJ, but the third one is for "Mexico" ? I guess they couldn't afford a big enough piece of wood to add City.
@ Robert Hanson -- Actually, probably the majority of the people using this lounge would be going to/from Shanghai. It's the only international destination for Aeromexico from Tijuana, as far as I know.
Ditto on HNL lounge. Even just based on the picture, Tijuana lounge is heads and shoulders above HNL.
Ever tried a servisair lounge in the UK. I bet they are worse.
@ Arno McLean -- Ooh, I have (in Edinburgh), but we didn't review it. It also had windows, cookies, and a University rugby team, so the entertainment level was at least high. ;)
Heh, am now even more excited to check out some of these Hawaiian lounges later this summer!
And totally agree that the lounge could have been worse. It was just so very dull, and dark, and boring -- all rather disappointing after the surprisingly good experience at the Priority Pass lounge.
I third the Hawaiian Air lounge suggestions - they are the equivalent of a teacher's lounge
Six tequilas, one rum (Ron Matusalem). Pretty solid booze selection overall. Do they make beer goggles for lounge furniture?
Better than any of the Amtrak Acela lounges!
I agree with what somebody else said about the Hawaiian Air lounges. While they are a nice idea, they really don't offer much besides air conditioning and some peel off cartons of concentrate juice. I was at the lounges in Kauai and Kona, and they were pretty bleak. THAT said, I was in Hawaii, on a lovely vacation, so things could have been worse.
This doesn't look any worse than domestic lounges in the States. That might be the best beer selection you're going to get outside of BRU.
Admittedly, this isnt one of the best lounges in the world but its also far from being the worst. I've been to plenty of worse lounges all over the world and that list includes a few Air France lounges in Europe.
The Diner's lounge in Aruba is horrendous as well!
Waaaaaay too tough Tiff... Any lounge that has not only Negro Modelo but also Bohemia Oscura has to rank right up there with all the foo-foo lounges in the world! ;)
Not a good place to hold a pre-flight AA meeting!
I could name quite a few lounges, which are definitely worse than this one. Out of the blue the lounge in Chongqing used by Thai and the AI domestic lounge in Chennai are ten time worse than this lounge in Tijuana.
Don't feel offended but while it might not be great it looks clean and at least with a decent selection of drinks.
Try the GOL/Delta Lounge at Terminal 2 in Sao Paulo/GRU Airport. It's bigger than the Tijuana Aeromexico lounge, but it's the only lounge with TVs showing messages "please pay your cable".
Maybe it's because I mostly travel to developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa, but this lounge looks pretty good to me! A quiet place away from the bustle of the terminal to sit and work, good wifi, great drink selection. What more could you want for an hour or two layover?
This is what experiencing luxury does to us, though, I suppose. You know how good it COULD be, which makes the current experience disappointing.
You need to check out the Hawaiian Airlines lounge in Honolulu. It's been a while since I've been there - but as I recall it was not air conditioned and the beverage choice was exclusively round plastic juice cups with aluminum peel away tops you probably last saw in Junior High (or on an Hawaiian Air interisland flight).
This one ranks worst for me.
If the Catania lounge is the same one that BA use there then this looks like luxury! The CTA lounge is just some office space with a couple of sofas, a fridge filled with non-branded soft drinks and a mediocre coffee machine. I'd have loved even one kind of tequila, heck even a coke would have done.
That beer selection alone would keep me happy.
I can think of 7 reasons to spend time there (8 if you count the pre-cut limes). Seriously, when is the last time you were in a lounge with multiple tequila choices? And Negro Modelo? The rest is just window dressing. :).