Review: Delta Sky Club Miami Airport (MIA)

To kick off my round the world Allegris journey, I flew Delta’s Boeing 737 first class from Miami to Minneapolis. Prior to the flight, I was able to check out the Delta Sky Club Miami Airport (MIA). The timing of my visit was great, since Delta just recently expanded and renovated this Sky Club, so I was looking forward to seeing what it had to offer.

I’m used to visiting the American Admirals Club in Miami, so by comparison, the Delta Sky Club was a breath of fresh air. It had reasonably nice design, and an extensive selection of food and drinks.

Delta Sky Club Miami location

The Delta Sky Club Miami is located in the connector between Concourses H & J, just a short distance from most Delta gates. When you clear security in Concourse H (which is the standard checkpoint for Delta passengers), just turn left.

Then immediately on the left you’ll see the entrance to the Delta Sky Club.

Fortunately crowding wasn’t an issue during my very early morning visit, but the lounge has a “Priority Entry” queue out front, for Delta 360 members, Delta One passengers, and those with qualifying Sky Club access who are Diamond Medallion or have a first class ticket.

The Delta Sky Club is then located a couple of levels above the main terminal, and can be reached via elevators or stairs.

Delta Sky Club Miami hours

The Delta Sky Club Miami is currently open daily from 4:45AM until 7:30PM, covering virtually all Delta departures from the airport (but not necessarily all SkyTeam departures). I visited right as the lounge opened.

Delta Sky Club Miami entry requirements

Delta Sky Club access rules are rather complicated, and change frequently. A standard domestic first class ticket doesn’t get you Sky Club access.

Since I’m a SkyTeam Elite Plus member (through Air France-KLM Flying Club) and was traveling same day on an international itinerary, I had access to the club, which is how I got in. Alternatively, I could have used The Platinum Card® from American Express (review), which offers comprehensive lounge access perks.

See my guide go Delta Sky Club access.

Delta Sky Club Miami seating & layout

The recently expanded Delta Sky Club Miami is over 12,000 square feet, and can accommodate around 300 guests. This represents a 50% expansion compared to the previous lounge. On top of that, the lounge has mostly new and fresh furniture. Don’t expect this lounge to be as cutting edge as some of Delta’s newer Sky Clubs, but it’s still pretty nice.

As you enter the lounge, you’ll first be in the room where the staircase and elevators let out. This area has a variety of seating arrangements facing one another, including high-top seating, couches, and individual chairs.

To the side, you’ll then see the self-serve buffet and bar (more on that in a bit).

There’s then a corridor with more seating leading to other main part of the lounge, which represents the expansion.

There’s then a whole additional large room, with pairs of seats by the windows, a long two-sided booth with tables in the center of the room, and more high-top seating.

There’s another equally large area with cafe-style seating, including dining tables each with two chairs, and some more benches along the wall.

I’d say the one disappointing part of the lounge is the lack of views. The windows in this part of the lounge look out at the interior of the terminal, rather than looking at the apron. That’s quite a contrast to many other lounges at the airport, which feature great apron views.

I found that the lounge had plenty of outlets at most seats, though there was also a cart with portable charging units you could use anywhere in the lounge.

All-in-all, I thought the lounge was great, and definitely a step up from the American Admirals Club Miami in terms of design. I imagine this lounge gets very busy during peak hours, but then again, so does the American Admirals Club in Miami nowadays.

Delta Sky Club Miami food & drinks

The area where Delta Sky Clubs really excel is when it comes to the food and drink selection, which is in a completely different league than you’ll find in American Admirals Club. The lounge has one main buffet area, with a variety of hot and cold food options.

At breakfast, cold options included all kinds of muffins, cookies, and pastries, yogurt, berries and other fruit, hardboiled eggs, roasted red pepper hummus, a spring breakfast salad, guacamole, pita, and more.

Hot options included oatmeal, grits, scrambled eggs, egg bites, turkey sausage, veggie sausage patties, and breakfast potatoes.

Then the self-serve drink area had a soda fountain, an espresso machine, Starbucks drip coffee, and a variety of syrup and milk options.

Alcoholic drinks are available from the bar.

Below you can find the Sky Club Miami drink list, including the complimentary options, as well as the drinks available for purchase. If you do want a premium drink, redeeming SkyMiles for 1.5 cents each toward a beverage is potentially a decent value.

In addition to the main buffet area and bar, there’s a second drink station in the expanded part of the lounge. It basically has the same drink selection as the main part of the lounge, but also has some packaged chips.

I thought the Delta Sky Club food selection was excellent, definitely the best you’ll find in any “standard” domestic lounge.

Delta Sky Club Miami bathrooms & showers

The Delta Sky Club Miami bathrooms are located near the entrance to the lounge. The bathroom capacity seemed awfully limited to me, given the size of the lounge — in the men’s room, there were two stalls and two urinals.

The lounge also has two shower suites, but I wasn’t able to check them out during my brief visit.

Bottom line

In terms of product quality (not including crowding), Delta Sky Clubs are the best “standard” domestic lounges that you’ll find at any US airline. The expanded Delta Sky Club Miami is great, with more modern furniture, and a lot more seating.

What’s most impressive about Delta Sky Clubs is the food and drink selection, as it’s much more extensive than what you’ll find in American Admirals Clubs, for example.

What do you make of the Delta Sky Club Miami?