Inside Chase’s stunning new Sapphire Lounge in San Diego

Chase Sapphire Lounge San Diego location

The Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club at SAN is in Terminal 2 West between gates 46 and 47. The entrance is opposite Starbucks.

All gates in Terminal 2 are connected airside, so as long as you’re not flying on Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Southwest Airlines or Sun Country Airlines, you’ll be good to enter the lounge before departure without reclearing security. (The aforementioned airlines operate from SAN’s Terminal 1, which is only connected presecurity to Terminal 2.)

Once you locate the entrance, you’ll need to take an elevator or stairs up to the mezzanine level, where you’ll find the frosted blue doors that mark the official entrance to the lounge.

The space is open daily from 5 a.m. until 10 p.m.

Chase Sapphire Lounge San Diego access

The access policies for the Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club haven’t changed with this opening.

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Chase Sapphire Lounge San Diego layout

Immediately after entering the new space, you’ll see familiar color schemes and design elements that mimic the rest of the Sapphire Lounge network.

From the colorful artwork to the wood flooring to the slatted room dividers, this space is unmistakably a Sapphire Lounge.

That said, Chase certainly imbued a local flair into this space, with the lounge’s focal artwork on display for everyone to see just after entering.

This colorful surfboard-lined mural perfectly fits San Diego and establishes a sense of place for travelers passing through SAN.

After entering the lounge, you’ll walk straight past the reception desk into the dimly lit and moody main bar and dining areas. The wraparound bar is the largest one that Chase has built yet, and it’s sure to be a popular gathering and socializing area once the lounge opens.

There are a handful of bench-style dining tables lining the wall here.

The main dining area features freestanding four-top tables.

The room adjacent to the dining area — complete with an eye-catching lighting fixture — has even more tables for dining or relaxing.

As you pass the main dining area, you can move in two directions. If you go straight to the back of the lounge, you’ll find another large relaxation room outfitted with couches, recliners and a faux fireplace that acts as its centerpiece.

Opposite this relaxation area are three productivity pods that are built directly into the wall — a cool touch for those who are trying to crank out some last-minute work.

If you’re taking calls, you’ll want to make a beeline for the lounge’s sole phone booth, located just next to the productivity pods.

As you proceed farther into the lounge, you’ll find the space’s amenities — more on that below.

If you instead go from the dining room and turn left to go back toward the lounge entrance, you’ll find two more relaxation areas.

The first is accented by a palm tree that serves as a fitting local touch. This open space is mostly outfitted with couches and comfy chairs to promote relaxation.

Meanwhile, if you continue going straight to the back of the lounge, you’ll find the “Balboa breezeway,” named after San Diego’s Balboa Park. This room feels like a California-inspired home library, and this is where you’ll find me posting up the next time I’m in the lounge.

Interestingly, the Balboa breezeway can be partitioned off from the rest of the lounge by a sliding frosted glass door. Chase doesn’t intend to separate this space at the outset, but it could be used down the line if the issuer inks a contract with an international airline that wants to offer dedicated lounge space at SAN for its premium passengers.

Chase’s first digital wall, which displays stunning drone footage of the San Diego coastline, is in the hallway connecting the rest of the lounge to the Balboa breezeway.

All in all, this lounge is unmistakably Southern Californian.

Better yet, the space will also be popular with aviation enthusiasts because the floor-to-ceiling windows that line the perimeter of the lounge provide unparalleled views of the apron and tarmac area.

The space measures nearly 11,000 square feet and has space for nearly 200 flyers. Though that may not be enough to handle peak demand, the partitioned design should make the lounge feel less crowded than it actually is.

Chase Sapphire Lounge San Diego amenities

Chase Sapphire Lounge San Diego food and drinks

All of Chase’s lounges have above-average dining options, and this location is no exception.

The lounge offers a full breakfast buffet until 11 a.m., when it switches to all-day fare. From French crepes to hamburgers and parfait bowls to hummus and pita pockets, you’ll likely find something appetizing on the buffet.

If you’re after more substantive food, you can also order items from the web-based portal. Chase is teaming up with San Diego’s Oscar’s Mexican Seafood on a handful of specialty dishes, such as a chicken tostada and potato soup with shrimp, which are available in addition to staples such as the Sapphire Burger.

Also, the bar can whip up your favorite cocktail or pour one of the San Diego signatures, such as the bourbon- and gin-based Queen of Rum Row — all served for free.

For those looking to hydrate, there are two large beverage stations, one near the buffet and another near the entrance by the surfboards.

Both offer multiple types of water, coffee from California’s Groundwork Coffee, espresso machines and minifridges stocked with popular soft drinks, such as Spindrift and Leisure Hydration’s electrolyte drinks.

Bottom line

With seven operational lounges in just over two years and three more already confirmed in the pipeline, Chase is making a big play for travelers to carry its top-of-the-line credit cards.

The San Diego location will undoubtedly help attract even more cardmembers. The space itself is gorgeous, and it offers a slew of amenities and top-notch dining options that are sure to impress.

Plus, the Southern California-inspired design helps give the space some local flair that will distinguish it from the existing outposts.

As Chase continues to build more lounges, it raises the bar for what travelers can expect from a credit card-branded airport lounge. As the network grows, American Express and Capital One should take note because the Sapphire Lounges are, in some ways, even nicer than the Centurion Lounges and Capital One Lounges.

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