Santiago is home to LATAM’s flagship lounge. It’s similar in design to their lounge in São Paulo. While it’s a world away from the main terminal, it was a fairly disappointing experience.
Access
If you’re heading through Santiago and flying internationally with LATAM in business, you’ll have access to the LATAM business lounge in Santiago. This is also the lounge used by AA, BA, Iberia, and Qantas.
On this occasion, we were on our way to Mendoza, which incidentally is the shortest flight you’d need to book to gain access. Unfortunately, LATAM has no lounge provisions for domestic passengers, which is a disappointment.
The Space
We were able to use the LATAM Preferential check-in area, which is a world away from the somewhat chaotic main terminal. It’s a little tricky to find, but it’s at the end of the international check-in area and is on the upper floor. Checking in here means dedicated passport control and security, as well as a direct entrance to the lounge. This means you don’t need to navigate through duty-free on your way. In the end, it took us no longer than 10 minutes from arriving in the check-in area to getting a seat in the lounge.
We were invited to turn right after showing our boarding cards at the entrance. Apparently this side is larger and over two floors. We didn’t check out the other side, so I’m not sure to what extent it’s different.
There are multiple seating areas located over two floors in the LATAM business class lounge Santiago. The downstairs area is smaller than upstairs and felt more crowded. The lounge has great panoramic views of the airport, and plenty of window seating.
If you’re into a bit of pre-flight plane spotting it’s not a bad place to spend an hour or two. Alongside this, there are plenty of other seating areas, including a TV area, plenty of dining tables and bar seats.
The design is particularly impressive, and mirrors LATAM’s lounge in Sao Paulo, although feels far more spacious. Whilst we didn’t try it on this occasion there was also a sleeping area for any passengers looking to rest between flights.
The wifi was slow, and whilst it was fine for basic browsing, anything more intense proved to be a struggle. If you were looking to work before boarding, it could potentially be an issue.
Food and Drinks
Throughout the lounge there are food and drink stations, offering a variety of different wines and alcoholic options. There is no champagne, however, there was a perfectly fine Chilean sparkling option, so it was no big deal.
If you’re hungry, there are a few decent ‘tapas’ style options. These ranged from sandwiches, cheeses and cold meats to hot options such as small plates of beef with chickpea puree and red wine jus (recommended) along with empanadas and polenta. Everything was of good quality, but if you were flying long-haul and looking to eat in the lounge to maximise sleep on board you’d likely be disappointed.
One of the biggest issues was how untidy the lounge was at times. Plates and glasses were very slow to be cleared away and in some cases sat around for a good couple of hours. Likewise, when food or drinks were running short it often took a long time for them to be replenished.
Conclusions
Overall LATAM offers a good place to relax before your flight. The Preferential zone makes travelling through Santiago airport far less stressful, as well as minimising wait times. LATAM have created a high-quality environment, which feels spacious, as well as offering multiple areas to relax. The wines showcase a good selection of Chilean options, whilst the food offerings are perfectly acceptable if you’re just looking to grab something small to eat before your flight.
Sadly the disorganisation rather takes away from this. It isn’t acceptable for plates and glasses to be left hanging around for two hours. On multiple occasions passengers entering the lounge were having to clear plates and glasses away from tables themselves, just so they could find somewhere to sit.
