My First Minute Suites Airport “Lounge” Experience

I realize I’m way late to this party, but I just used an airport Minute Suites private room for the first time. I can’t decide whether I just found the whole thing pointless, whether I’d do it again, or both…

The basics of Minute Suites airport retreats

For those not familiar, Minute Suites offers private “retreats” at around a dozen airports in the United States. Minute Suites locations are all airside within airport terminals, and the idea is that you can get a private room with a daybed, a chair and desk, and a TV, for anywhere from an hour to an overnight.

Where is Minute Suites located?

Minute Suites currently has locations at the following airports:

• Atlanta (ATL)
• Baltimore (BWI)
• Charlotte (CLT)
• Dallas (DFW)
• Detroit (DTW)
• Nashville (BNA)
• New York (JFK)
• Newark (EWR)
• Philadelphia (PHL)
• Salt Lake City (SLC)

How much does Minute Suites charge?

Minute Suites has the same pricing at all of its locations, as follows:

• One hour costs $48, and then each additional 15 minutes costs $12
• An extended eight hour overnight stay costs $175
• For locations with showers, a shower costs $30 if purchased separately, or it costs $20 in conjunction with a room rental

That’s some steep pricing, especially when you see what’s included.

How do you access Minute Suites with Priority Pass?

All Minute Suites locations also belong to Priority Pass, which is definitely the better value way to visit one of these locations. You can expect the following terms to be associated with a Priority Pass visit:

• Only Priority Pass memberships that include experiences, like Priority Pass restaurants, qualify for this; so if you have your membership issued through select credit cards, you wouldn’t get access to these experiences
• Priority Pass members can get a one hour stay in a Minute Suites location, and then can have up to three guests accompany them
• Beyond the first hour, each subsequent hour will be charged at a discounted rate of $34

My Minute Suites Priority Pass experience

I just used the Minute Suites location at Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH) with Priority Pass, and figured I’d report back with my experience. On the plus side, there was no waitlist when I arrived, but that might also have to do with the fact that it was late at night and the terminal was empty.

The person checking me in was super friendly and swiped my Priority Pass card.

She then asked if I wanted to extend my time beyond an hour, or if I wanted to purchase any drinks or snacks. I’ve gotta say, the markup on these products isn’t actually that bad, at least by airport standards.

I was then escorted to my “room,” and I was given the time by which I’d have to leave. It’s kind of strange to me how little effort Minute Suites puts into design. While brands like Yotel try to add cool mood lighting and have a modern vibe, Minute Suites feels a bit more like being at a doctor’s office. That wasn’t just the case in the hallway, but also in the room itself.

It’s my understanding that Minute Suites is really consistent across locations with its room design. The room consisted of what was somewhere between a loveseat and a couch.

There was a lower level of the couch you could pull out. I’m not sure if that’s intended to act as a leg rest of sorts, or if it’s more intended so that two people could sleep next to one another.

Separately from the couch, the room had a desk with an office chair, as well as a wall-mounted TV.

Through the TV you could access Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, Apple TV, Disney+, etc., but you have to log-in with your own details.

Each room also had a thermostat, as well as a sound masking device, to drown out any noise outside the room.

I wasn’t initially offered any sort of bedding, though after getting to the room I asked if they had pillows and blankets. I was offered them, though I didn’t get the sense that they were recently cleaned, as she just kind of pulled them out of a closet, and they smelled kind of musty.

The whole room just felt pretty beat up, with scratches all over the wall, and you could even see exactly where on the couch people had been sitting. Note that there are no private bathrooms at Minute Suites. Some locations have shared bathrooms, while others don’t even have that, and make you use the bathrooms in the terminal (as is the case in Houston).

What’s kind of amazing to me is that this Houston location is still pretty new, and only opened in late 2022. This is the decor they chose for this space in 2022??

I’m not sure what to make of Minute Suites?

Usually I have opinions on “lounge” experiences, but I walked away from my Minute Suites experience not being sure what to think. So let me share a few thoughts.

First of all, outside of Priority Pass, I don’t really get the Minute Suites value proposition. I couldn’t imagine spending $48 per hour to sit in this room. I also couldn’t imagine spending $175 to stay here overnight rather than in a hotel room, outside of very unusual circumstances, like if every hotel were sold out, or I really had a four hour overnight stay in a terminal.

With Priority Pass, I suppose this is better than sitting in the terminal, but that’s about all I can say. Years ago, I would’ve said that I’d rather go sit in a Priority Pass lounge, though nowadays many Priority Pass lounges even have waitlists, so it is really nice to have a private space. I think having some personal space is the ultimate luxury in an airport, and Minute Suites does offer that.

That being said, I’m not sure what exactly to do in the Minute Suites room for an hour? To me that’s definitely not long enough for a nap. I suppose I could sit on the couch and watch a TV show. So I ended up just sitting at the desk working on my laptop for an hour.

I could see more value to this if I were traveling with a small child, because it could be valuable to have somewhere they could take a nap. But that’s just one very specific circumstance.

I’m not sure what to think of the whole experience, though I’m curious to hear from OMAAT readers. Do you use Minute Suites, and if so, how do you use them (please don’t make me regret asking that)?

Bottom line

Minute Suites offers private rooms for resting at roughly a dozen airports in the United States. It’s an interesting concept, as each room has a couch, a desk, and a TV, and it’s intended to be an escape from the terminal. The company charges $48 per hour, or otherwise, you can get an hour with your Priority Pass allowance, assuming you have an eligible card.

I finally got around to visiting one of these locations, and I’m not sure what to make of it…

What’s your take on Minute Suites?