An Honest Guide to the Airport Lounges at Denver International Airport

13.06.2024 - 17:33 / afar.com

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There’s a battle underway at Denver International Airport (DEN) for which airline or credit card company can offer the best lounge space. In the last year, Capital One opened its third lounge in the United States, American Airlines unveiled a new Admirals Club, and United rolled out a grab-and-go concept and two lounges (and is currently building another 35,000-square-foot one to open in 2025).

Why Denver? Well, it is the third busiest airport in the United States and sixth busiest in the world. In 2023, the airport saw nearly 78 million passengers—a number that is expected to grow to 100 million as soon as 2027. And the 29-year-old airport currently serves more than 200 nonstop destinations worldwide. That’s all to say, chances are you’ll have a layover there in the not-so-distant future. And given that, airlines and credit card companies are betting big on Denver, creating swanky new lounges in hopes of wooing more airline and credit card loyalists.

As a travel journalist who flies multiple times a month and a current Colorado resident, I’ve spent a staggering amount of time in Denver International Airport and its many lounges—I often joke that the airport is my second home. Presently, there are nine lounges and two Priority Pass lounge alternatives (including one, Mercantile, that’s helmed by a James Beard Award–winning chef) at DEN. Read on for the best of the best—including how to access them.

DEN has three terminals (called Concourse A, Concourse B, and Concourse C), all of which are easily connected by an underground transit system. Currently, Concourse A is where mainly American, Delta, and Frontier operate (though there are also a handful of common use gates, which airlines like Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Copa Airlines, and Lufthansa use as needed). Concourse B is solely the domain of United. (The airline has the lion’s share of flights in and out of the airport—in 2023, it brought 36 million passengers into or through Denver.) And Concourse C is where Alaska, Southwest, and Spirit hold court.

Here’s where the various lounges are in DEN:

Capital One Lounge bar at Denver serves cocktails from Yacht Club, a