- Introduction: Swiping Left On TAAG Angola
- Review: Star Alliance First Class Lounge LAX
- Review: Lufthansa First Class A340 Los Angeles To Munich
- Review: Lufthansa New First Class Lounge Munich Airport
- Review: TAAG Angola First Class 777 Lisbon To Luanda
- Review: TAAG Angola Lounge Luanda Airport
- Review: TAAG First Class 777 Luanda To Sao Paulo
- Review: American Admirals Club Sao Paulo Airport
- Review: LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo Airport
- Review: American Business Class 787-9 Sao Paulo To Los Angeles
In the last installment I reviewed the American Admirals Club Sao Paulo Airport, while in this post I wanted to look at the LATAM lounge, which is right next door. Both lounges are located airside in Terminal 3 at GRU, and both can be accessed by all oneworld first and business class passengers, as well as all oneworld Emerald and Sapphire members traveling on a oneworld flight the same day. You can easily hop between the two lounges if you’d like. The LATAM lounge is open daily from 5AM until 12AM.
LATAM has updated their image in the past few years, and the lounge’s exterior is quite striking, with the fairly small entrance at the far left of the exterior.
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo exterior
Inside the lounge I was greeted by a friendly representative, who gave me a small map of the lounge, which I don’t think I’ve ever received before. The lounge has several different zones.
I thought the design of this lounge was nice, and I liked that it was open air and looked out over the terminal, which gave it a much more spacious feel.
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo seating
While there are partitions throughout the lounge, the main stretch of it is along a hallway, and there’s lots of seating on both sides. The lounge is modern and minimalist, which I like.
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo seating
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo seating
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo seating
This lounge has a huge seating capacity, and even when it filled up in the evening it never felt crowded.
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo seating
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo seating
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo seating
In the front section of the lounge was the bar, as well as a significant amount of seating around it. While wine in the lounge is self serve, the liquor is only available from the bar.
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo bar area
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo bar
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo seating
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo seating
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo seating
The main dining area was towards the interior of the lounge, and had plenty of cafe-style seating.
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo dining area
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo dining area
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo dining area
The buffet was huge, and fairly high quality. I was impressed by the selection, especially for a lounge outside of Asia/Europe.
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo buffet
I’ll let the pictures of the food speak mostly for themselves.
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo buffet
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo buffet
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo buffet
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo buffet
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo buffet
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo buffet
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo buffet
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo buffet
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo buffet
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo fresh fruit
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo buffet
To drink there was a selection of wine, a coffee machine, soda, water, and juice.
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo dining area
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo wine
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo coffee machine
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo juice
The lounge also had a very cool wine display.
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo wine display
In terms of other features, the lounge had a couple of business centers, including one with PCs, and one with communal workstations.
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo business center
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo business center
Then there was an entertainment area, with video games.
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo entertainment room
There was also a relaxation zone, with some chairs and ottomans.
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo relaxation area
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo relaxation area
The lounge had shower rooms, and then all the bathrooms were individual rooms, which is a pretty cool feature.
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo bathroom
The Wi-Fi in the lounge was fast, and since I had so much time at the airport, I spent a couple of hours here.
LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo bottom line
The LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo is probably the nicest lounge I’ve been to in South America. The lounge has modern and (relatively) minimalist design, there are several seating options, and the food and drink selection was excellent. South America doesn’t seem to be known for the best airport lounges, but the LATAM Lounge Sao Paulo is one of the better ones.
If you’ve visited the LATAM Lounge GRU, what was your experience like?
Are there any beds in the lounge for long haul passengers who have long waits till the next flight?
Does anyone know if the lounge could be used as arrival lounge (arriving on an early transatlantic flight in Business Class)? Just to take a shower and have a small breakfast before heading to the office.
I was just there and thought it was one of the better lounges I have been to.
Terrific review, please tell me you had some pao de queijo! :)
Seeing cold cuts out in an uncooled and uncovered manner gives me the creeps.
What is that machine in the first pic?
Thanks for both lounge reports. The AC looks nice, but LATAM is better. Better design. Thanks Lucky.
Did you check out the Star Alliance lounge acrosss the way from LATAM/AA and allows access to Priority Pass members. There is also the less desirable Executive Lounge / Sala VIP up there as well. LAN and AA used to use that for their passengers prior to opening their respective lounges.
I agree with your assessment that the LATAM lounge is the best of the lot.
It's a pity that both one world lounges close at midnight and the Qatar flight to Doha is at 3 am.
I was here a couple of years ago, possibly soon after it opened, and was really impressed also.
I spent 11 hours there last Friday, waiting for my long connecting flight to get back home from holidays. As said by others, service is good, the guys in the reception were really attentive, but food looks better than it actually is, they could have more diverse options and some stuff could be of better quality (like pao de queijo or the fruits). What I really liked were the showers, that are big, nice and...
I spent 11 hours there last Friday, waiting for my long connecting flight to get back home from holidays. As said by others, service is good, the guys in the reception were really attentive, but food looks better than it actually is, they could have more diverse options and some stuff could be of better quality (like pao de queijo or the fruits). What I really liked were the showers, that are big, nice and with toiletries from Natura. They also have a closed rest space, with 4 to 5 day beds, that could be used for a nap, that’s kind of hidden.
Ezeiza has a smaller, similar lounge, but with better view of the tarmac, and nicer catering, for example the last time I was there (2 years ago) they offered Freddo ice cream instead of the regular Nestlé one that was in GRU last Friday. Also, the coffee machine was better and as it was a Nespresso commercial one had options to choose, and wine was definitely superior.
Lucky, I’m sorry to say but I just don’t rate this lounge. It is not a bad lounge, but it is definitely not as great as you make out. I’m basing that assessment on visiting it about 10 times over the last three years.
The best thing about the lounge is that it is spacious and there are a number of comfortable seating options. And yes it definitely better than a lot of other lounges...
Lucky, I’m sorry to say but I just don’t rate this lounge. It is not a bad lounge, but it is definitely not as great as you make out. I’m basing that assessment on visiting it about 10 times over the last three years.
The best thing about the lounge is that it is spacious and there are a number of comfortable seating options. And yes it definitely better than a lot of other lounges out there.
But this is the flagship lounge of the biggest carrier in South America in the biggest city in South America. There are many very wealthy Brazilians living there and LATAM fares are on the expensive side. So I expect a lot more.
My biggest criticism of this lounge is the very average catering and drinks. It might look ok in the pics, but it is essentially all snack food with minimal hot food (and the small choice in hot food is very poor quality). The catering in even small Emirates, Qantas, or Cathay lounges is lightening years ahead of this lounge.
In particular:
- The fruit (apples) are wrapped in plastic. Yuck!
- In the morning they serve pre-sliced fruit in little bowls with plastic lids (mango, papaya, grapes, etc). This looks and tastes like it is prepared in a laboratory and is the worst tasting fruit I’ve had in 18 months of travelling in South and Central America
- The bread they serve is shocking quality
- They serve just one beer (Heineken) which is not even a Brazilian beer. Serving one of the world’s most commercial beer brands and offering no alternatives is a big thumbs down. Compare this to a very basic lounge (I’m thinking Qantas Club in Launceston Tasmania which has a population of 90,000) and you would typically have at choice of at least three beers.
- The lack of a Brazilian beer is fairly typical of the cultural interiority that I’ve noticed among some Brazilians (particularly wealthier Brazilians). If you travelled to the UK, Germany, USA, Australia, New Zealand, etc, the locals would be proud to serve a local product. Not in Brazil, they are almost embarrassed by it. I have Oneworld Emerald with Qantas and I am constantly delighted by how Qantas celebrate Australian culture and support Australian companies through their product. Besides the pao de queijo and bottle of cachaca there is almost nothing identifiable Brazilian about this lounge which in my mind is a great shame.
- The lounge is somewhat sterile. I think LATAM could have been a bit more creative and adventurous and perhaps included a dedicated juice bar, or had a tapioca stand at breakfast, or had a dedicated cocktail bar, or even a Brazilian BBQ dining area. This would make the lounge so much more exciting and memorable. Personally this lounge offers nothing that would make me want to visit.
- Many of the comments say things like ‘it is good for a south American lounge’. Again an example of the cultural inferiority. If I was LATAM I would be more apparitional and be aiming for the best business class lounge in the world.
- I’m a little confused why LATAM and AA didn’t open a joint lounge and pool together resources (especially given the lounges are next to each other
- Interestingly the LATAM lounge in Santiago serves both Louis Roederer champagne and Hagen Daz ice cream which are both absent from this lounge. My guess is this is because LATAM is essentially still LAN (Chile) and TAM (Brazil) and the TAM offering is conspicuously inferior to the LAN offering
- I've used the showers and the unfortunately the water kept going from hot to cold to hot making the experience fairly unpleasant
Re above, sorry. I meant EZE. Lima has a terrible lounge.
It seems to be EXACTLY the same lounge as in Lima.
Have LAN and TAM finally agreed on doing ANYTHING together ?
LATAM GRU lounge is indeed very nice. but my favorite in the region is the LATAM lounge at SCL international terminal.
Similar in design but over 2-floors, and just feels a bit warmer and found food offering superior in SCL.
I love the LATAM lounge at GRU Airport! There's a lot of seating and the self service bar is amazing!
In terms of food, I prefer the Admirals Club.
In terminal 3 there's also others good lounges, as the Star Alliance Lounge (PP, LK and AMEX Platinum) and the Mastercard Black Lounge (All mastercard black and world elite are acceptable)
I’m gere doing the same.
Frist admirals club after latam.
In hot food and deserts , american win.
But the latam have a nice eat selection. I think it’s better for vegan( not my case)
Latam lounges have a funny think, Miami you have haggen das ice cream. Bogota you have a local ice cream( not to far from haggen das)
But the 2 home lounges don’t have, either Guarulhos( TAM)...
I’m gere doing the same.
Frist admirals club after latam.
In hot food and deserts , american win.
But the latam have a nice eat selection. I think it’s better for vegan( not my case)
Latam lounges have a funny think, Miami you have haggen das ice cream. Bogota you have a local ice cream( not to far from haggen das)
But the 2 home lounges don’t have, either Guarulhos( TAM) and Santiago (Lan)
And for the admirals club The shower is better hear tham Miami flagship lounge( of couser justo the shower)
LATAM has done similar work at SCL, but probably a bit better than GRU. Wonderful tarmac views, and two stories with multiple buffet and wine sections.
LATAM certainly has stepped up its game with lounges - that's for sure. These are a far cry from the old LATAM lounges at SCL and EZE.
I'd rate the LATAM lounge in Santiago a notch ahead of this one, but that might be in part due to the fact that I've been there in the evening and Sao Paolo only in mornings. I thought the food spread and wines were a bit better at SCL and liked the set-up a bit better (seating areas more nicely separated).
I share your thoughts on LATAM's flagship lounge. I like the South American wines and food options. Never saw the lounge crowded, even during the friday evening peak hours. Plenty of (clean!) Showers available, never had to wait to get one. One of my favourite business class lounges in the Americas.
Unfortunately the experience on TAM's 777-300 with the outdated 2-3-2 lie-flat seat layout is less appealing.
The service is better in LATAM lounge at EZE
Judging between the sets of photos in each review, it seems the Admirals Club had better selection of food? Except for the pan de queso of course!
@Mark G. : I would be shocked if they didn't have pao de queijo.
Was at this lounge about 4 years ago. One of the best lounges I've been to. Showers are amazing, food was great and relaxation room was fantastic.
OMG, they have pao de queijo!!!
I think it's worth noting that this lounge also has sleeping rooms that are fairly comfortable. I think is one of the nicest business class lounges in South America.
I don't think I've ever seen an XBox in a lounge before. Seems like a very solid option for a variety of reasons.
LOVE this lounge! The Star Alliance lounge at GRU is very nice, as well (also Terminal 3). The LATAM lounge at EZE is a bit smaller than at GRU, but still a terrific alternative to the very cramped American lounge at EZE. Very happy with what LATAM has done at these two airports.