LATAM São Paulo Lounge Review

The LATAM São Paulo lounge is located in Terminal 3 of São Paulo’s Guarulhos airport. It’s one of two flagship LATAM lounges, the other being located in Santiago. 

Access

The LATAM São Paulo lounge is easy to find. It only took us 3 or so minutes to locate it on the Mezzanine floor after clearing security.

You’ll have access if you’re flying in business or first with LATAM, Iberia or BA. LATAM also offers the option to pay for entry if you’re flying with them and wouldn’t otherwise be eligible.

The Space

In terms of design, the space is similar to LATAM’s lounge in Santiago. The lounge has a number of different zones. These included a dining and bar area, with various self-service options, a variety of different seating spaces, as well a tv and work area. We were in the lounge as we’d later be flying with Iberia to Madrid. During the afternoon it wasn’t particularly busy and didn’t feel crowded.

Wifi quality was good, and was fine enough for working, streaming videos, and general browsing. This is big plus, as unfortunately it isn’t always guaranteed when travelling through lounges, and is a regular point of annoyance. Computers were also available to use if you didn’t have access to a laptop.

On previous visits, mostly in the later evening, the lounge has been extremely busy, and does have the tendency to feel overcrowded occasionally. This said, the staff are proactive, and plates and glasses were regularly taken away, as well as food items replenished.

Food and Drink

The lounge has some self-service dining options, however, they’re not anything impressive. As with LATAM’s Santiago lounge, if you were planning to dine in the lounge before boarding you’d likely be disappointed with the offer.

Choices included small hot dishes, such as meatballs and tomato sauce, mini quiches and soup. Cold cuts of meat, sandwiches, as well as cheese were available as was Brazil’s staple pão de queijo. Whilst the quality of the food wasn’t bad, it’d be good to have a greater selection of options. For an international lounge primarily serving long-haul flights, it felt a little lacking.

Unfortunately, the drinks selection is poor. Whilst a number of wine options are available, they were not of particularly high quality, and far inferior to the offering in LATAM’s Santiago lounge.

Sparkling wine was available and advertised by the staff as champagne, sadly it wasn’t, and was of very poor quality. A selection of mid-range spirits was also available and worked on a self-serve concept, which I generally prefer.

Conclusions

LATAM’s lounge is an acceptable offering, but is far from stand-out. Whilst the interiors are impressive, the lounge is let down by mediocre dining options, as well as poor quality wine. To my surprise, the American Airlines Lounge next door turned out to be far superior in all categories. If you’re eligible I’d recommend heading there instead if you’re heading through Guarulhos.