American Airlines has made a lot of improvements to their Admiral’s Club lounges over the last year. They are offering a wider variety of snacks, and my personal favorite is the guacamole available every afternoon. Then again, two kinds of free soup or the free fancy coffee machine are also nice. Of all the improvements they have made, however, one is particularly important to me. In 2017, AA re-opened the long-dormant IAH Admiral’s Club in Terminal A. They did a great job of remodeling, and this is a fantastic addition for those of us flying American out of Houston’s George Bush airport.
The lounge is conveniently located near the AA gates in IAH. We encountered two friendly agents when we entered really, really, reeeaaalllly early in the morning of December 26. Turning left past the check in desk quickly brought us to the bar area.
The bar was not open, presumably because of the early morning hour of our arrival. However, bathrooms were located to the left of the bar. The bathrooms were spotless. We then proceeded to walk to the other end of the lounge. Immediately behind the check-in desk (and connected to the bar) is the snack area. This offered a great continental breakfast. There was also a coffee machine. They offered several kinds of syrup to complete almost any coffee-based beverage. There was also a Freestyle drinks machine with Coca-Cola products, and fruit juice was at the other end of the bar.
We each grabbed a plate and then found a place to sit. This is probably the most impressive thing American did with their remodel. The chairs are comfortable, and there are power plugs everywhere. Most of the seats were designed to give a feeling of privacy for single travelers, although there were certainly spots for couples or groups to sit. Almost every seat had its own power ports. The seating area isn’t huge, but it is extremely well-designed.
The IAH Admiral’s Club isn’t particularly large. There is one conference room available, and there is also a small business center. However, the club is incredibly well-designed. I hope this is the direction in which American will go as they remodel the rest of their clubs. IAH is a fortress hub for United, and having this Admiral’s Club makes American a much more reasonable option for business travel from Houston.
