Review: American Admirals Club Boston Airport (BOS)

I give high marks to the clam chowder they serve at the buffet later in the day.

The line about the lounge being open if an AA flight is operating isn't true. This lounge closed on me an hour before a moderately delayed AA flight last month.

Ben, it would be great if you could provide more lounge reviews at meal times other than breakfast. Breakfast menus aren't representative of the food offerings during the bulk of the day. Thanks in advance.

“The decor feels well maintained but sterile, the lounge does have showers and decent bathrooms, and the food and drink selection is better than nothing, but not much more than that.”

And yet it gets 4 out of 5? I agree that Boston’s AC is miles better than the ACs in PHL and CLT, but that is a low bar…

Also relevant to many readers…there’s a small kids area with a TV and some games. It seemed pretty soundrooof and was a relief to let my son talk above a whisper.

'While American recently started refreshing catering at Admirals Clubs, this lounge has the new catering yet.'

This lounge doesn't have the new catering yet or it has the new catering? I guess you meant 'doesn't have' from the description, but not sure.

The clam chowder they have is probably my favorite airline lounge soup in the US!

Given the state of some of the planes, sterile is a good thing!!

The mysterious and variable star ratings strike again!

For OMAAT, getting early lounge pictures right after it opens with no people > just about anything else related to timing.

With all of the restrictions governing admittance to Centurion lounges and Sky Clubs now, coupled with the fact that both tend to be ridiculously crowded, I've reached the point where I'd be willing to "trade down" to an Admirals Club if I know I can reliably get access without waiting, not have to deal with throngs of people, and have a peaceful, comfortable environment and some halfway decent drinks and snacks.

@NID - and I'm not comparing the BOS AC to CX's The Pier or something.... I'm comparing it other US lounges. Most ACs should be ranked a 2 (like the A-B club in PHL, or the clubs in CLT). BOS is 3 or. 3.5 at best.

The more available showers and other amenities at AA relative to DL and UA is a reflection of AA's lower penetration of business travelers.

Excellent point, Tim!

The view of this Admirals Club is great compare to some other clubs in the system. the food is reasonably ok for a club that is not in the hub. Clam chowder severed later in the day is very good for lounge soup.

I don't know why, but I have always loved this lounge. Food is good enough, clean, nice views, love the showers and not usually too crowded.

This makes absolutely no sense. You're saying that American clubs are more likely to have showers installed because they have a lower penetration of business travelers? So, then, the implication is that showers are an amenity geared more toward leisure passengers?

I know this is kinda moot but the food selection here compared to the delta sky lounges in terminal a is like night and day

One of the better domestic ACs and usually not packed to the gills like other clubs.

Good to see the next to useless toilet doors also deployed here.

I had the clam chowder this past Sunday at this AC, it was delicious, and I added bacon bits from the salad bar, which made it even better. I think this AC is one of the better ones in the system.

Michael, are you an idiot? Everyone knows that business travelers don’t shower. Pheromones and odor dominance is a make it or break it in negotiating tough deals. The people in charge of DLs upcoming wide body order haven’t showered in nearly a year as a method to further drive down price and squeeze Airbus and RR for additional concessions.

Hi Tim,

I finally am glad to have the opportunity to comment on one of your comments.

As a business traveler who flies multiple times per week, sometimes internationally, more often domestically, I choose AA for my domestic travel **because** many of the Admirals Clubs I frequent have showers. I often work late and take early flights. It’s nice to roll out of bed in the morning and then catch a connecting flight to an AA hub with Admirals Club showers and freshen up there. I have OneWorld Emerald thru AA as an EP and Star Alliance Gold through Singapore Airlines. SA Gold affords me access to United Clubs on domestic itineraries, and I fly SA airlines a lot (OW too but not as much) internationally. But domestic I choose AA and one of the primary reasons is because I can freshen up after a 5:30 am connecting flight at a hub airport with showers.

Sincerely,

Frequent Business Traveler

I maintain an Admirals Club membership, even though I have the Platinum card, explicitly for this reason.

I honestly have no idea why Ben does them? Maybe some SEO thing? I never pay attention to them.

Frequent Business Traveler - I have the AA credit card w/ Admirals Club in addition to the Amex Plat (and the UA Club card) for similar reason. Though I find myself so seldomly using, or being able to use, Centurion Lounges that I often don't even try anymore and this is probably the last year of the card for me (I get value out of other things like Walmart+, but that's not near enough).

If the lounge is kept up, clean, furniture in good condition, has helpful agents, and food other than just snack mix and cheese cubes, and above all isn't crowded, then I will take it. A good view helps. I'm fond of the Admirals Clubs in places like IAH, TPA, ORD Concourse G.

This lounge can get very crowded in the late afternoon. Really crowded.

You forgot to mention that a “Soup of the Day” option is always Clam Chowda with fresh clams , potato and a rich New England Chowda broth. The other benefit is that you can order a freak lobster roll for $10- cheaper than Legal Seafood in the concourse.

United’s new lounge in Denver is amazing but falls short with no showers just like ORD’s. Why they didn’t make it like EWR’s is probably a Scott’s idea.

American will always be one step ahead with that feature as you never know when you really need to get the grime of a flight off of you.

Now I'm looking forward to the clam chowder in October when I catch a transcon from BOS to LAX!

The fact that this lounge was recently renovated has its pros and cons—the pros are that it’s an above-average AC imo but the cons are it’ll likely be one of the last clubs (at least in cities where AA has a large presence) to get the new look.

I often use this lounge due to frequent Boston travel on Alaska Airlines and my premium Alaska Lounge membership. At times, my stay is long due to aircraft delays. This lounge is comfortable with nice views of the airport, a friendly staff, and reasonable lounge food.
It looks like you missed the afternoon guacamole. This is always a treat. And their menu various quite a bit and has included things like delicious pulled pork sliders.
Marshall