A friend invited me to Alaska’s Board Room in Seattle yesterday, so I figured I’d write up a quick review. I’m pretty sure I’ve been to just about every other lounge operated by a US carrier, so I wasn’t expecting it to be too different from the others; they’re all basically the same (at least when looking at the big picture, comparing them to lounges in virtually any other country).
And overall the Board Room was the same. Well, maybe it was a bit nicer. The first thing worth noting is that in addition to those with lounge memberships, Alaska lets their paid first class passengers into the lounge, which is certainly nice. The Board Room is located just past security, so is easy to find. The agents at the entrance were very friendly; no matrons here! They seemed like they legitimately wanted to help.
Board Room entrance
Since this is their “flagship” Board Room it’s rather large. At the entrance there’s a staircase leading to the second floor, along with a walkway to the seating area on the first floor. Both floors have a serving area, and the first floor has some computer desks while the second floor has more seating.
Staircase
Second floor seating area
The views of the apron are very nice, especially on a beautiful day like yesterday.
Views
You know how I’m obsessed with hot nuts on United? Yeah, well it seems like the Alaska folks like their soup. During lunch time the Board Room has soup, and in yesterday’s case it was some sort of cheddar broccoli soup. That’s in addition to veggies, cheese cubes, chips, snack mix, and animal crackers. There’s also a soft drink serving station (with real glasses) and a counter where the agents will pour you booze (no self serve).
Drink dispenser
Veggies and cheese
The “spread”
Not bad at all!
The problem is that it closes very early and is not available if you are flying in the evening. Stupid.
Boardroom now has freshly made pancakes and always has fresh fruit. Additionally, at least in Seattle keep an eye out for the book recycle bin where you can leave and pick up a new book to read...
Josh, lucky told you what kind of soup it was. Had he visited in the morning, he would have seen muffins, coffee cake, bagels (and a toaster) with cream cheese and several types of jelly (and peanut butter). And there are several kinds of yogurt to choose from. In addition, unlike the other major clubs, Alaska's Boardroom offers a dozen different gourmet Stash Teas as well as a substantial espresso/latte/cappuccino machine. And you've obviously not...
Josh, lucky told you what kind of soup it was. Had he visited in the morning, he would have seen muffins, coffee cake, bagels (and a toaster) with cream cheese and several types of jelly (and peanut butter). And there are several kinds of yogurt to choose from. In addition, unlike the other major clubs, Alaska's Boardroom offers a dozen different gourmet Stash Teas as well as a substantial espresso/latte/cappuccino machine. And you've obviously not see the Red Carpet Club In Seattle: it's a subterranean gulag. Last but hardly least, the Board Room offers FREE INTERNET, something the RCC has yet to discover.
It looks just like the RCC except it has soup. What kind of soup was it?
@ gba -- I did! And I had no clue what it was, although I did ask my friend (and even after he explained I still had no clue what the hell he was talking about. :D
Did you see the golden samovar on the second floor that used to be used when AS served the Russian far-east? I think that's definitely the highlight of the BR