I got to try this lounge on the return from my trip to Portland to visit De Garde Brewing’s Anniversary event, and I must say that my one hour here was not long enough at this brilliant Delta Sky Club. This lounge was very new, it had only opened about three weeks before my visit in May 2023.
The beautiful Sky Club is located on the G concourse by Gates G18-20 at MSP and has been badly needed at this airport since the older lounges are nothing to write home about. The staff were exceptionally friendly, and they were very proud of their new facility. I ended up spending some time talking to one of the managers, who noticed me taking lots of pictures.
Overall, the Delta Sky Club in Minneapolis is a stunning facility. It reminds me of a cross between the new Chicago ORD lounge and the Austin Delta Sky Club.
Delta Sky Club MSP Location & Entry
Keep in mind that Minneapolis St. Paul is an absolute monster of an airport, with plenty of Delta Sky Clubs scattered around the place. This particular Sky Club is on the G wing, which is normally shown on the bottom left of the maps of the airport you see.
Getting here from security can take some time, and you should easily budget for a 15-minute stroll from security.
Since I was transiting, I came from another gate in the G wing. However, I ended up walking down many vacant hallways with long escalators to finally get to the key junction, where the G wing also connects with the C wing over a skybridge.
Here it is easy to find the lounge since it stands out, at the time of my visit there were Red White, and Blue balloons adorning the wood panel entry. I have to say for a massive extravagant lounge it has a very understated entrance.
Note this Lounge is right at the junction to the C Gates transverse connection in MSP (which also bring you to the A, B, and D Gates)..
Entry
Once you enter the lounge you are faced with a small lobby mezzanine with art on one wall, a LED light fixture, two elevators, and a stairway, where you need to go up one floor to the lounge check-in area.
Taking the fancy elevator with touch-screen buttons and animation while in use, you exit on the 3rd floor, at a lovely light-filled level at the edge of the terminal building. This check-in area is pretty small, with a couple of Kiosks and Delta staff. However, it is tastefully decorated with a dog and M art display.
After this, there is a concierge area with some help desks and some art on the wall.
I first toured the whole facility to take it in, before doubling back to review different parts of the facility. All I can say is wow, this place is extravagant and beautiful. Needless to say, my entry was processed quickly and took no time at all.
Delta Sky Club MSP G Layout and Space
This Delta Sky Club is divided into lots of different zones and spaces. The first overlooks the concourse through a large circular glass opening, with shiny red copper seats adjacent.
Then you have Two separate bar zones, one on the primarily interior side, and one split between interior and exterior.
The seating array is variable and hard to describe in words – it’s organized but curvy in some areas and linear in other areas.
One of my favorite features was the extravagant curved U-shaped bench area.
The Sky Club has two separate areas, an indoor area, and an outdoor area, bar, and terrace.
Delta Sky Club Indoor Area
This is the main seating area with finishes in gold, red, greens, and tans and a wide range of seating options, including:
- Tall seating
- Lounge seating
- Window seating
- Tables
- Bar seats
It also features one large curved bar with a golden back and ceiling finish and a curved bottle display. Minimal TVs, which is appreciated here. It also features the main coffee station.
Not to mention the side coffee station, which I guess is handy when the place gets busy.
The private phone booths can also be found here. At the rear of the indoor section is a stone-walled area with displayed art.
Outdoor Area, Terrace, Bar, and Observation Deck
I was immediately drawn to the outdoor area, which looked stunning, with its views over the west/southwest runway. The area is massive, with a couple of large oval-shaped gallery skylights and a huge lounge area in a central space.
On the one side, you have an active plant wall, and in the middle, there is a central TV watching and skylight area.
Unlike the sparsely populated indoor area, there are many TVs on the wall here; you can tell this gets packed on game days.
The deck has about 10 to 12 seats, while by the plant wall, there is another area available for larger groups.
In addition, there is a central zone with even more seating options.
Finally, there is a small outdoor area overlooking Gates G14/15 and the West runways. I must say I found this whole space to be an awesome, cool environment and a great space to hang out. The area also features plenty of USB and power outlets.
There is also a bar at this location, which is double-sided with an indoor and outdoor side, however, the bar seating at the outdoor section seemed to be a little on the lower side.
However, there are tall seats and cool red booths to use, which really make this outdoor space.
Oh, and before I forget, I saw an aircraft taking off while outside, which was the icing on the cake for this entire outdoor area.
Solato Fresh Gelato Machine
This was a unique feature for me in an airport lounge. The units and station are located by the outside bar.
Sadly, it was not up and running at the time of my visit, although it is something I’m very curious about trying next time.
Meeting Booths
The lounge features several meeting booths for individuals as well as small groups. First, there are several small telephone boots available for private meetings.
However, there are also some meeting booths with a central conference table, and seating for four people.
Delta Sky Club Restrooms & Showers
The restrooms are located in another area and have a clothing display and magazine rack with special lighting at the entry.
I found the restrooms to be spacious, and I quite liked the gold-gray color palette. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to try and find the shower area given my limited time. However, I have made a mental not that this is definitely something I’ll go back to capture on a future visit.
Delta Sky Club MSP G Food & Beverage
To be honest, I can’t really talk about the taste of the food, since my visit was incredibly short, and I didn’t have a chance to try the food here.
That being said, there were many of the usual Delta Sky Club food offerings on show, and the buffer seemed well laid out and stocked on a regular basis. There were lots of snacks laid out including chips and goldfish snacks.
The entire place was on a self-serve basis except for the drinks at the bar. Here you have several beers on tap including:
- Fair State Co-Op Pilsner
- Surly Brewing Company Furious IPA
- Michelob Ultra – out of Wisconsin
- Goose Island IPA – out of Chicago
If you are here, it always makes sense to pay for your drinks using Sky Miles. What struck me about the place and beers on offer is that Minneapolis has an impressive beer culture scene, so I’m also happy to see that extend to the Delta Sky Club.
Final Thoughts
This is truly a beautiful Delta Sky Club. Delta has been performing incredible makeovers of most Sky Clubs, and finally, Minneapolis gets one that is well deserved. This lounge is worth the trek from other parts of the airport.
Despite my short time in this lounge, it really made an impression on me. It has a great variety of seating and spaces, a good selection of food, and a wonderful dedicated bar. I loved the outdoor terrace and can’t wait to try the Gelato machine on my next visit.
Delta is really upping its game with its Lounge renovations, and I’m happy to see serious progress in updating key lounges in all their hub airports to the latest and greatest!
Pros
- Great place to spend some time between flights – where I’ll always go if I have some time to kill at MSP while connecting on a Delta flight.
- The outdoor area is great overall – I wish it were a little larger.
- Has beautiful, clean bathrooms
- Friendly staff.
- Great food and beer offerings, including local selections.
- Great amenities, including the Roof Deck and Terrace and the Gelato Machine
Cons
- About the only Con to the new MSP lounge is that it’s in a generally inconvenient area, with only a few Gates in the G section within a five-minute walk.
Verdict: 10/10
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