- Konrad Tillman
Review: LATAM Business Class Lounge Santiago Chile
Intro
Following a lovely flight from Sao Paulo to Santiago in the refurbished LATAM 787 Business Class, I had about 11 hours to kill until boarding the second segment up to Los Angeles. After visiting downtown Santiago, having some incredible food, and getting a tattoo, I returned to Santiago Airport to visit the famous LATAM Lounge in Santiago.
Well, after spending 5 hours in the lounge, I can confidently say this might be one of the best business-class lounges in the Western Hemisphere. With great wine, nap rooms, fantastic showers, good food, and more, this made for 5 hours that flew by!
Let's get into the review!
Location & Access
In order to find the LATAM Lounge in Santiago, make your way through security, hang a right after duty-free, and a large sign will be on the right about 100 meters down. It's by a cafe and is difficult to miss because of all of the signs.
Once you get up there, follow the corridor along until you find the main check-in area.
There are two separate lounges, according to what they told me, one for LATAM and Delta, and the other for partner airlines such as Qantas. The "nicer one", the one on the right, is the one I was given access to due to my LATAM ticket.
On the right when you first walk in, is a luggage area. Something I wish more lounges had.
Unlike the BA Galleries, there are locks that you can set with a password, big points here LATAM.
Seating
This lounge is quite large, to say the least. Upon entering there is ample seating on both sides of the walkway.
There is a conference table to the right with power outlets in the middle for each individual to have access,
On the left were different variations of chairs; LATAM puts a lot of thought into decorations in either their lounge in Sao Paulo or the plane or here.
Throne-like chairs were available throughout the lounge as well.
However, in the back of the lounge by the nap rooms, I found a cozy little spot that remained empty for most of my time. This consisted of 5 chairs, with ottomans to rest your feet, which was simply perfect!
Most of my time was spent here, eating or drinking while watching a couple of YouTube videos.
If you are dining and want to sit at a proper table, these are readily available throughout the dining room.
The lounge never got too crowded in my 6 hours here. Pictured below was the busiest throughout the time I spent, meaning there were still plenty of options to sit.
The Food
Much like the lounge in Sao Paulo, the food was buffet-style. Surprisingly, I would prefer this in South America rather than the US, where buffets are generally bad, apart from the Flagship in Miami.
To start with, there was a beautiful bar where the staff would hand-make your cocktails! The liquor selection was very descent as well.
However, if you are like me and don't get to visit Chile a lot, I stuck with the wine selection. The options consisted of two white wines, one champagne, and two red wines not pictured,
In regards to the food, there was a variety of cold options and hot options. These were replenished every 30 minutes or so by a member of staff.
I tried a couple of the options, and they were descent. However, there was unlimited serrano ham and crackers. Serrano ham is my go to wherever I am in the world.
However, the chicken was flavorful and moist.
For those into coffee, a coffee machine can make the coffee you desire (within reason). For me, I had a couple of cappuccinos after my nap, and they were delicious.
The standard fridge is available to anyone, consisting of beer, water, and fizzy drinks (soda).
Nap Rooms
The past week had been exhausting, with much too many flights. I had read online that there were nap rooms in the lounge. It turns out that if you head to the back of the lounge, you can head over and visit the nap rooms without even reserving an appointment!!
Once I arrived, there were 4/6 nap rooms available. Nice and stocked with water by your bedside table and a duvet ready to crawl into.
The beds were comfortable, although you could tell that the mattress was thin. It's nothing like the nap rooms in the Private Room in Singapore, but it definitely allowed me 2 hours of good sleep.
The good part is that these nap rooms don't seem to be too busy. Before I went to sleep, only 2 of the rooms were taken, and when I woke up, only one other room was taken! Even if the lounge is 24 hours, I won't bank on getting one immediately if your plan is to stay the night, though...
Shower Suites
Like most Business Class lounges of this caliber, showers are provided. In order to get a shower appointment, you have to head outside to where the check-in for the lounge is and request one. They turned around one for me quickly and I was escorted to my shower suite!
Towels were beautifully wrapped, slippers were provided, toiletries were provided, and the showers looked gorgeous. Better than some First Class lounges I have experienced!
The shower was of great quality, perhaps better than my one at home😂, and I have a nice shower...
Water pressure was excellent and the hot water remained constant.
That was it; the time had to come to disembark from the lounge and head over to the gate to board my 787-9 up to Los Angeles.
Service
Much like with the people of Chile, I found the service to be friendly from the second I arrived at the lounge. Here are a couple of aspects that stood out to me.
Being escorted to my shower suite instead of being directed
The bartender asked me if there was anything he could get me (not me asking)
The agents at check-in for the lounge offered to help connect me with the wifi
The overall smiles that the staff presented
It wasn't over-the-top service because it doesn't have to be. However, every single member of the staff was kind in every interaction.
Final Thoughts
The LATAM lounge in Santiago might be the best Business Class lounge in the Western Hemisphere, perhaps even the world. I am racking my brain to think of a better one, but I am having a difficult time. With a fantastic buffet, great alcohol options (I mean, we are in Chile), comfortable/private nap rooms, amazing showers, and overall great service, the five hours I spent here flew by (pun intended).
If you have an option that requires a long layover in Santiago with LATAM, worry not, as this lounge is the best way to spend some time. Or you could head downtown which I will talk about shortly!
