Hawaii Six-O: The Club Lounge at SJC

***This is part 1 of my “Hawaii Six-O” trip report detailing a recent trip to Oahu, Hawaii to celebrate my parents’ 60th birthdays and retirements***

1. The Club Lounge at SJC
2. Alaska Airlines Economy San Jose to Honolulu + Review of Alaska Beyond
3. Trump International Hotel Waikiki Beach Walk
4. Eating Our Way Through Honolulu
5. Alaska Airlines First Class Honolulu to San Jose
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I changed my frequent flyer allegiance from United Airlines to Alaska Airlines last year, and had previously highlighted some of the things I’ve liked most about Alaska Airlines. In short, while the best benefit is still no change fees on both revenue and mileage tickets, a close second is the ability to fly out of smaller airports.

For me, that means having access to Alaska’s full route network via San Jose (SJC) airport instead of SFO. If you routinely fly in or out of the Bay Area and especially if you are visiting the South Bay, give SJC a try. It’s an infinitely more pleasant airport experience than SFO with fewer crowds and virtually no delays.

While the lounge options at SJC are more limited than SFO, I have always found The Club Lounge to be more than adequate. I have access via my Lounge Club membership which is of the “unlimited” variety, meaning that I can bring in as many guests as I’d like at no additional charge. This certainly proved useful for this trip for our group of 6.

While the lounge itself isn’t going to blow you away, I really like it for a couple reasons. First, it’s never crowded. I honestly can’t recall a time when I’ve seen more than 10 people in the entire lounge. It’s a clean and quiet place to relax, which is basically most of what I’m looking for in a domestic lounge.

And the second reason? The internet is extremely fast, which is the other half of what I’m looking for. So by those simple standards, it’s really the perfect lounge.

There’s a small selection of food and drinks, which are basically on-par with that you’d find at a United Club or Alaska Airlines Boardroom. Since we were in Economy, that meant the flight would be self-catered so I grabbed an extra handful of Oreo’s and granola bars for the 6-hour flight along with a slice of Pizza My Heart on my way to the gate.

Since SJC is so easy to navigate, you really can show up at the airport a few minutes prior to boarding, and reliably make it to the gate on time. But if you find yourself at the airport early or for an extended layover, The Club Lounge is a great place to relax.