Luxury Reviews

Luxury Reviews Says 5/10

• Are JFK’s Oneworld Lounges Truly Exclusive—or Just Overcrowded?

The Lounges

Terminal 8 at JFK is home to three Oneworld lounges, designed to accommodate the alliance’s transatlantic heavyweights. Between British Airways and American Airlines, there are over a dozen daily departures to London Heathrow alone—joined by Iberia, Qatar Airways, and Cathay Pacific, all operating wide-body aircraft with a high concentration of premium passengers. This is, after all, the world’s most valuable international route by revenue.

The Greenwich Lounge is where most Oneworld Sapphire members find themselves, while The Soho Lounge is reserved for those with Emerald status. At the top of the tree, The Chelsea Lounge plays host to International First Class passengers. Of the three, Greenwich is the most accessible—and, unsurprisingly, feels the busiest. In this review, we take a closer look at The Greenwich and The Soho: the lounges you’re most likely to experience if you’re treating yourself to Business Class—or at least paying for the privilege.

The Vibe And Who Are You Likely To See Here

Expect a mix of everything and everyone. These lounges serve a high volume of premium passengers, from seasoned business travellers to well-heeled leisure flyers with families in tow. The atmosphere reflects that blend—busy, functional, and rarely calm. The vibe in some areas is closer to a high-traffic airport cafe than a true haven. This is New York after all.

The First Impression 6/10

The Greenwich Lounge

The Greenwich Lounge reflects American Airlines’ familiar design formula: stark, office-like, and lacking in warmth or contemporary polish. There’s little sense of atmosphere or exclusivity—a soulless space that feels more functional than refined. It’s busy, noisy, and often chaotic, with limited seating and no clear zoning to break up the crowd.

Design-wise, there are a few more distant wings with improved finishes and a slightly softer aesthetic, but these were either closed off or largely empty during the visit. A sleek bar sits quietly in one corner, complete with food menus—but remained unmanned and lifeless, adding to the lounge’s disjointed feel. Food presentation across the board leans cafeteria-style: heavy, unappealing, and far from the elevated dining experience you might expect in such a high-traffic, premium terminal. This is more conference buffet style at a corporate hotel.

In short, the Greenwich Lounge does little to rise above the basics. It meets the minimum but rarely aspires beyond.

The Soho Lounge

The Soho Lounge sets a notably higher tone, with a design that leans more towards an exclusive members’ club than a typical airport space. There’s a clear step up in finish: contemporary, high-end furnishings, warm lighting. This has a greater sense of refinement. It feels premium and more in line with the expectations of Emerald-tier travellers.

However, even with the elevated design, the lounge still struggles with volume. It’s busy—sometimes uncomfortably so—and service doesn’t quite keep pace. Despite the luxurious surroundings, a lack of staff meant I had to clean food remnants from my own seat before settling in, a detail that broke the illusion of exclusivity.

The Chelsea Lounge (First Impression Only)

The Chelsea Lounge wasn’t reviewed in full on this occasion, but its entrance alone offered a different tone—quiet, calm, and far more exclusive than the other Oneworld spaces in Terminal 8. There was no crowd, no queue, just a discreet welcome and a sense of quiet polish. And so there should be. Given the price tag of flying First Class, this space is clearly intended to meet a higher benchmark. On first impression, it felt like the oasis the others aspired to be.

The Layout & Seating 7/10

The Greenwich Lounge

The Greenwich Lounge is a sprawling space with a variety of seating areas designed for dining, working, or simply passing time. At first, the scale impresses—but the layout quickly begins to feel disjointed. A quiet zone and children’s playroom are placed apart, but a small kids cinema is tucked so far out of view that it’s largely missed. Instead, younger guests fill the main lounge, adding to the constant movement and noise.

Some of the more distant wings hint at a more considered design—a handsome bar and dining area with menus placed on every table—but the entire section sat empty and unstaffed.

A nearby space marked as the “Tasting Room” offered no clear purpose. The result is a lounge that feels scattered and slightly unfinished. It covers the basics, but never quite settles into the kind of ease or clarity you expect from a premium space.

The Soho Lounge

The Soho Lounge is smaller and more open-plan than its neighbour, which makes it easier to navigate but limits the sense of privacy or retreat. Everything is visible from wherever you’re seated—showers, phone booths, dining areas—so there’s no need to go searching. The space is more polished, with furnishings that nod to a boutique hotel or private members’ club. But it’s still busy, and without separate zones or tucked-away corners, the experience can feel exposed. It’s a step up in design, but not in calm.

The Dining 5/10

In the main Greenwich and Soho lounges, the dining experience is a surprisingly low-budget affair given the prestige of Terminal 8’s renovation. While the Greenwich lounge offers an entirely self-service buffet, the Soho lounge attempts to elevate things slightly: a QR code is available on every table in the dining area, offering a selection of hot, à la carte food and decent cocktails.

However, the sheer presence of the main buffet drags the entire experience down. The food presentation was notably underwhelming, with main dishes at times looking congealed and unappetising—a far cry from what you’d expect in a flagship airport lounge. Adding to the disappointment, staff presence was limited; buffet areas were often left untidy and lacking the immediate attention to detail required in a true premium environment.

For those expecting elevated, true five-star lounge dining, this feels like an avoidable disappointment. You are left to question why such a monumental joint investment by British Airways and American Airlines resulted in catering that barely clears a basic business-class standard.

Greenwich Lounge

The Soho Lounge

Desserts were particularly perplexing. A plate of stale sponge cake sat beside a selection that appeared to include whipped cheesecake or custard. Signage was present, but didn’t provide clarity—the intention of what to do with these was absent entirely. The presentation left the offerings feeling more like remnants than refined options.

The Service 3/10

The score is blunt, but accurate. Staffing across the lounge is minimal, and the few present appear disengaged. Tables sit uncleared, and bar staff—when visible—offer little interaction. There are no gestures toward premium hospitality.

New York may not be synonymous with etiquette, but this space is positioned as elevated. The Soho lounge, in particular, should offer a more refined cocktail bar experience, The atmosphere reads more like a mid-range hotel sports bar than a flagship first-class lounge. The Chelsea Lounge offers this service but without the views of The Soho Lounge.

The Attention to Detail 5/10

Both the Greenwich and Chelsea Lounges make gestures toward bar design, but execution falls short. Staff appear disengaged, and wine selections are limited and forgettable. In a city like New York, these cocktail bar settings could be standout features—but instead, the more refined bar spaces in Greenwich sit closed and unused.

Glassware in the Chelsea Lounge is noticeably more elevated, and the furnishings suggest a premium experience. But the lack of table service and the same underwhelming buffet diminish the effect. A nod to British heritage appears in the form of Liquorice Allsorts but it’s a lone gesture—there’s no cohesive cultural identity across either lounge.

Greenwich offers quiet work pods, but they’re poorly signposted and tucked away. Soho includes a sound-insulated phone booth—a valuable addition in an era of open-plan communication. Still, the absence of acoustic boundaries elsewhere means guests are often exposed to personal video calls and domestic scenes better left private.

The bathrooms prioritise style over substance. Each sink setup involves three separate devices—tap, soap, and dryer—all with different activation methods. Figuring out how to wash your hands becomes an unintended puzzle. Most guests quietly gave up and reached for the paper towels, which proved to be the only straightforward option. It’s a design that leans heavily on aesthetics but overlooks practicality, resulting in a space that feels more like an obstacle course than a convenience.

The Verdict. Is It Worth It?

No. These lounges are barely acceptable—even if someone else is footing the bill. JFK–LHR is one of the world’s most lucrative business routes, and British Airways and American Airlines hold a firm grip on corporate contracts. That dominance breeds complacency. The lounge experience reflects it: overcrowded spaces, uninspired dining, and bars that feel more functional than indulgent.

Competing carriers on the same corridor—Virgin Atlantic and Delta Air Lines—offer more thoughtfully curated lounges at JFK. Their attention to quality, service choreography, and design ambition sets a higher bar. In contrast, the Oneworld lounges feel like a missed opportunity to match the prestige of the route they serve.

Visit This Lounge For something to do.

Don’t visit this lounge expecting a VIP experience, artisanal dining, or Manhattan-inspired cocktails. You won’t find any of them here.