The First-Ever Delta One Lounge Opens This Week at JFK—See Inside

Delta

Delta’s first-ever premium airport lounge opens its doors this week at New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. It’s a major milestone for the Atlanta-based airline, which has struggled with overcrowding and long wait times at its Sky Clubs.

Now, the carrier is offering an airport lounge exclusively for passengers traveling in the Delta One cabin, the airline's long-haul business class product available on international and select domestic routes. (More on who can access the lounge later.)

We got a tour of the new Delta One lounge at JFK—the airline's largest and most exclusive lounge to date. Here's what it's like inside.

What is it like in the Delta One Lounge?

The premium experience begins curbside with a special Delta One check-in area, where passengers are greeted by a team of Elite Service agents with warm towels and light refreshments. Starting this fall, the check-in area will connect to a private TSA screening lane.

“It's no secret that the TSA security checkpoint, from an anxiety perspective, is the highest anxiety point,” Dwight James, Delta's senior vice president of customer engagement & loyalty tells Condé Nast Traveler. “What this [lounge] does is alleviate it, because curbside we're effectively taking away a lot of stress. And then when you're getting into the lounge we're preserving this welcoming, elevated experience.”

Once through security, the lounge is a short walk from the Terminal 4 security checkpoint, located between Concourses A and B. The chic, brightly-lit space is immediately welcoming: complete with a designated wellness area and spa, eight shower suites, a full-service brasserie restaurant, and a sunny outdoor terrace with a retractable glass ceiling.

Whether you're traveling for business or pleasure, there is a space in the lounge designed intentionally for your needs. Business travelers can request extra monitors and take meetings in sound-proof phone booths I’m assured are, in fact, sound proof. Or, freshen up after a red-eye in the spacious shower suites (guests can leave their clothing inside the suite's closet and a valet attendant will steam and and return them while you shower). And in the spa, weary travelers can be pampered with complimentary facial and massage treatments with Grown Alchemist products.

With buffet and sit-down dining options, you’re for covered breakfast, lunch, dinner, and any nibbling and imbibing in between (the Delta One JFK lounge is open from 4:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.). And unlike at Delta’s Sky Clubs, all lounge seating receives beverage cart service from wait staff. For quick bites, The Market and Bakery food counters serve sandwiches, pastries, flatbreads, parfaits, and more. The restaurant—a first for Delta—offers a three-course meal service from Restaurant Associates and Union Square Events (a concept by star restaurateur Danny Meyer). Think dishes like hamachi crudo, steak tartare, and lasagna bolognese.

My personal favorite area of the hotel-like airport lounge was the plant-filled outdoor terrace overlooking the air field; open 365 days a year, the glass overhead windows can retract during good weather. While the space is certainly Instagram-worthy, “it's not about what you see," James says. “It's about how you feel after you leave and the journey that we've tried to help facilitate for you—that's how we continue to grow loyalty. ”

It makes sense then that much of the space is dedicated to wellness, ensuring passengers feel a world away from the stress and chaos of New York-JFK's normally-busy Terminal 4. It may seem small, but one of the first things I noticed upon arrival was the calming lighting throughout the lounge. If you’re a fellow hater of overhead lights (ever present in the airport, hospital, and office—the most relaxing of spaces), then you’ll especially appreciate the Serenity Lounge, where special lamps can help adjust the body’s circadian rhythms to different time zones while traveling. The lounge's wellness zone also features nine reservable “relaxation pods” with full-body massage chairs and nap chairs, plus the the Rejuvenation Bar, which serves non-alcoholic beverages and fruit and herb-infused waters and juices.

Who is eligible to use the Delta One Lounge?

It’s important to note that the Delta One Lounge access requirements are distinct from the Delta Sky Club access policy.

In order to access the Delta One Lounge, you must be traveling with a same-day departing or arriving Delta One ticket, or be a Delta 360° member with a same-day ticket in Delta One or Delta First Class cabins. (Delta 360° is an invite-only membership status awarded to the airline’s most loyal fliers.) Travelers flying Air France La Premiere and long-haul business class; LATAM Premium Business Class; KLM Business Class; Korean Air First Class and Prestige Class; and Virgin Atlantic Upper Class can also access the Delta One Lounge.

The Delta One Lounge at New York-JFK opens to guests on June 26; Delta One Lounges at Los Angeles International Airport and Boston Logan International will open later this year.

Originally Appeared on Condé Nast Traveler