- Introduction: Easter In December
- Review: Oneworld Lounge Mexico City Airport
- Review: American Admirals Club Mexico City Airport
- Review: Grand Lounge Elite Mexico City Airport
- Review: LATAM Business Class 787 Mexico City To Santiago
- Review: Santiago Airport Domestic Lounge
- Review: LATAM Business Class 787 Santiago To Easter Island
- Review: Explora Hotel Rapa Nui, Easter Island
- Review: Activities At Explora Easter Island
- Review: LATAM Business Class 787-9 Easter Island To Santiago
- Review: LATAM Business Class 787-8 Santiago To Mexico City
Upon landing in Santiago we cleared immigration within a few minutes, as there was no queue. From there we tried to make our way to the domestic terminal for our flight to Easter Island. I found the signage at Santiago Airport to be poor. I didn’t know exactly where our flight would be departing from, couldn’t find anything online or on a departures board about it, and there wasn’t clear signage towards a domestic terminal. After asking an airport worker we were pointed in the right direction.
Santiago Airport terminal
We then found ourselves in the check-in hall, and walked to the far end of it to get to the security checkpoint. The lines at security were long, though they moved quickly, so we were through within about 10 minutes.
Santiago Airport check-in hall
At this point it was a bit after 6AM, and I was surprised to find that most of the shops were still closed, even though the terminal was busy with passengers.
Santiago Airport domestic terminal
There was a Starbucks which we should have stopped at, though we decided to go to the lounge first. When we later returned to Starbucks the line was snaking around the terminal, so we figured it wasn’t worth the wait.
Santiago Airport domestic terminal Starbucks
There’s a single lounge in the domestic terminal, which oddly LATAM business class passengers don’t have access to. I guess that’s because the flight to Easter Island is the only domestic flight with business class, so there’s otherwise no need for LATAM to operate their own lounge.
Once through security, we took the escalator down a level (in the same direction as gates 23-36), and then made a 180 degree turn, as the lounge is located behind the escalators.
Santiago Airport domestic terminal
Santiago Airport domestic terminal
The Santiago Airport domestic lounge is called Pacific Club Salones VIP, and it’s open daily from 6AM until 10PM.
Pacific Club Santiago Airport exterior
At the reception desk I presented my Priority Pass card. The number of Priority Pass members has increased greatly the past couple of years, since now there are quite a few credit cards with lounge access. As a reminder, the following are some of the popular premium US credit cards that come with Priority Pass memberships (along with their respective guesting privileges):
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
The Platinum Card® from American Express
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
This lounge is pretty no frills, though it does have plenty of seating, including dining tables, communal tables, high-top seating, leather loungers, etc. I’ll let the pictures of the seating arrangements speak mostly for themselves.
Pacific Club Santiago Airport seating
Pacific Club Santiago Airport seating
Pacific Club Santiago Airport seating
Pacific Club Santiago Airport seating
Pacific Club Santiago Airport seating
Pacific Club Santiago Airport seating
The one odd thing about the furniture was that all the side tables had huge signs on them warning not to place your feet on the tables. Fair enough, though that seems like an extreme measure on the lounge’s part.
Pacific Club Santiago Airport warning
The lounge didn’t have much in the way of views, as the lounge just faced a building, with a view of the apron in the distance.
Pacific Club Santiago Airport view
There were a couple of self serve buffets. At the very left of the lounge was a tea selection, coffee, juice, soft drinks, and a toaster oven.
Pacific Club Santiago Airport buffet
Pacific Club Santiago Airport tea selection
Pacific Club Santiago Airport coffee & juice
Pacific Club Santiago Airport drinks
Then in the middle of the lounge was a buffet that didn’t have anything on it.
Pacific Club Santiago Airport buffet
Then the main buffet was off to the right side of the lounge.
Pacific Club Santiago Airport buffet
The selection was alright, and included cereal, salad, cold cuts, fruit, sandwiches, cheese, Oreos, etc.
Pacific Club Santiago Airport buffet
Pacific Club Santiago Airport buffet
Pacific Club Santiago Airport buffet
Pacific Club Santiago Airport buffet
Pacific Club Santiago Airport buffet
The bathrooms were in the back left of the lounge, and were in fairly good condition. The lounge doesn’t have showers, though.
Pacific Club Santiago Airport bathrooms
The lounge had decent Wi-Fi, so I spent a couple of hours working. Our flight to Easter Island was departing at 9:30AM, and boarding was scheduled for 8:55AM. We headed to our departure gate at around 8:30AM.
Santiago Airport domestic terminal
We were departing from gate 21, which was just a short walk from the lounge.
Departure gate to Easter Island
For what it’s worth, there’s a Dunkin Donuts in this corner of the airport, should you prefer them to Starbucks. Unfortunately there was also a long line here.
Santiago Airport domestic terminal Dunkin Donuts
They had the same boarding system here as prior to the international flight, and boarding was called at 8:45AM, 10 minutes ahead of schedule.
LATAM boarding gate Santiago Airport
It was quite a hike from the gate to the plane, due to where the jet bridge started.
LATAM 787-9 Santiago Airport
Santiago Airport Domestic Lounge bottom line
LATAM doesn’t have a lounge in Santiago’s domestic terminal, so your only option for lounge access is Pacific Club, and the best way to access that is using Priority Pass. The lounge is pretty no frills, though has functioning Wi-Fi and okay refreshments. Don’t spend more time here than you have to, though it was a decent enough place to work for a couple of hours between flights.
The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Business Platinum® Card from American Express (Rates & Fees), and The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees).
Sounds pretty awful. I guess one world people with status have no lounge even if they are flying domestic. Pathetic. Latin American carriers all have this attitude.
I had 1.45 and a 2hr connection time at this airport on your itinerary and I almost missed my flight both times. Fortunately you didn't have to retrieve a checked bag. I had to, and is was almost running both times. No time to visit this lounge. Tip for future travelers: try not to check a bag if you have less than a 2hr connection at this airport.
At least before renovation, the lounge had one shower. The shower itself was nice and clean. More of a problem was the towel, which was a paper towel ...
The lounge was completely renovated in October of this year. It’s the only option for domestic flights.
Nice review. Couple observations. First most domestic lounges don't have showers. Also apparently Donuts are a BIG thing in Chile so places like Dunkin Donuts are VERY popular it seems.
Hmmm, that domestic Pacific Club Salones lounge looks different than when I went there in early August. Looks more spacious then when I went and the entrance looks different. If I recall correctly, it used to be located down the elevators and behind it. I remember seeing red and orange seats with an ugly yellow painted wall too so I'm curious if they moved locations recently. My flight from MEX - SCL landed around 5AM,...
Hmmm, that domestic Pacific Club Salones lounge looks different than when I went there in early August. Looks more spacious then when I went and the entrance looks different. If I recall correctly, it used to be located down the elevators and behind it. I remember seeing red and orange seats with an ugly yellow painted wall too so I'm curious if they moved locations recently. My flight from MEX - SCL landed around 5AM, dealt with the horrible terminal connection there (and getting hounded by all the scam taxi drivers Santiago Airport is known for), then interacted with women who attempted to deceive and steal my money at the only sim card shop that was open that early in the morning. Yea, Santiago Airport is my least favorite airport I've ever been to and it's a shame because otherwise Chile is fantastic.
I got to the domestic lounge around 6:30; every seat except one around a corner was occupied with people (80% of the lounge had people sleeping with blankets, etc., understandable since it was so early) and I definitely saw people put their legs up on tables, etc. so I'm not surprised to see that signage. 100% no-frills lounge, but like Lucky said, almost everything in Santiago Airport is closed early in the morning (a couple of food options are open for breakfast) so this was the best option; this lounge definitely looks 10x better than what I experienced.
The lounge does have a single shower to the right of the restrooms. I purchased club access only for the purpose of using it, however after I walked in i turned around and walked out and decided I was better off waiting until I got to my destination. Don’t recommend it.
@Chad:
I LOL'd when I saw that, too. I love how actively aggressive that is. Or maybe aggressively passive aggressive?
I'll point out that in Spanish the signs on the tables say "Show your good manners by not putting your feet on the table."