Hello from Iceland! Specifically, the Icelandair Saga Lounge in the center of Keflavik Airport.

One reason I wanted to fly in Business Class home (instead of inbound) was access to this lounge. It’s Icelandair’s single lounge – and the only lounge in Keflavik airport.

Sitting here now, it’s one of the most spacious and calm airport lounges I’ve ever been to.

You can’t buy day passes to this lounge. But I’ll share how you can get in!

My Icelandair Saga Lounge Review

• Link: Icelandair Saga Lounge in KEF

Icelandair expanded like crazy through North America. This summer, they started flights from Dallas – so I flew here nonstop in coach. And am flying back in Business (Saga) Class.

In fact, you can fly to Iceland from Dallas with:

• American
• Icelandair
• WOW (Iceland’s budget airline)

You can also fly to Iceland via Delta from Minneapolis or New York.

At the lounge, I see Icelandair departures to Boston, Dallas, Montreal, New York, and Seattle.

And that’s just a portion of where Icelandair flies.

Despite the boom in routes flown, they still have a lone lounge at home base in Keflavik. It’s a big, light-filled lounge with nice amenities.

You’ll find fast wifi, tons of outlets, full meals, and lots and lots of open seating.

The space

At nearly 15,000 square feet, the size is generous. It’s a wide open room, broken into sections with carpeting, chair positions, and other design/visual cues.

There are wood and earth tones, splashes of blue, and floor-to-ceiling windows that let in light and provide expansive views of the tarmac and planes outside.

You’ll find solo and social seating, tables for meals, recliners to lay back, and high tops to sit up and get some work done.

I love love love the availability of outlets. There’s a long row of seats with outlet access at the base of each. And throughout the space, there are outlets in the walls, or on the tabletops. It’s extremely easy to plug-in and recharge devices.

I’m at a circle table because I wanted soup and didn’t want to hold it in a lounger seat. From where I’m sitting, I can see the whole lounge – the fireplace is in front of me, the social areas are in the foreground, and the more private seats are beyond.

It’s a quiet, calming space. I have a couple more hours here and am definitely not mad about it.

Amenities

There’s a row of bathrooms (men’s, women’s, and a family room) and 2 shower rooms stocked with Blue Lagoon toiletries and towels.

There’s no check-in or reservation needed – you can simply walk in and start showering. That’s a nice perk if you’re coming off a long drive or flight. Nothing like squeezing in a quick shower to reset.

While there’s free wifi in the airport, you’ll also find fast, free wifi here.

And of course you can enjoy it in a recliner seat with a free drink in your hand next to a huge window or a blazing fireplace. 😉

There’s also a kids play area, but no kids in here now.

Food and drinks

The big draw is free booze and meals.

Eating and drinking in Iceland is expensive. A nice cocktail is easily $20+. And a beer can be $10. So having a fully stocked self-pour bar looks like heaven before or after giving your credit card a workout.

Food can also be pricey. I’m here mid-afternoon, and there’s a nice lunch spread with all sorts of savory dishes. It’s easy to make a full meal out of the options. They also have several dessert choices.

There are several coffee machines throughout the lounge – Icelanders love their coffee!

Shoutout to the Reyka vodka at the self-pour bar. 🤘

There are 2 huge fridges filled with all sorts of beverage options.

The buffet has meats, salad, pizza bites, samosas, and of course salmon. I got a huge handful of pine nuts – those are like $20 for a tiny bag in the US!

I loaded up on salad, a samosa, pizza bite, pine nuts, and salmon bites. I also helped myself to chicken soup and a Reyka vodka and sparkling soda with a couple of limes.

Nothing is made to order, but everything is certainly fresh. The attendants are constantly bringing out new dishes and keeping the areas clean.

Plus, in a country with expensive food and drinks, it’s hard to complain about free food. That said, I really liked my salad, samosa, soup, and salmon bites.

Having unlimited food in front of you is always a nice treat – especially if you find a couple things you really like.

Who can access this lounge?

• Link: Icelandair Saga Lounge access information

You can access this lounge if you:

• Are flying Icelandair Business (Saga) Class
• Are Alaska MVP Gold or MVP Gold 75K elite status
• Have an Admirals Club membership and fly AA
• Hold the Citi American Airlines Executive card and fly AA
• Are flying American First or Business Class
• Have AA Platinum, Platinum Pro, or Executive Platinum elite status and fly American
• Are flying United First or Business Class

I didn’t know Alaska elite members get access!

And if you have an Admirals Club membership (through American), you can enter when you fly American. Even if you got the membership from having the Citi AA Executive card.

The full chart is here. You can not buy a day pass to use this lounge. And you can not enter with a Priority Pass. That’s kinda nice, because it’s actually peaceful in here. Although I could see it being chaotic if they let in Priority Pass members (which is everyone).

Bottom line

This was my first visit. It’s peaceful in here. I’m looking forward to my flight home in Saga Class. But for now, I’m enjoying the food, drinks, and relaxation – everything a good lounge should provide.

Now, some lounges have full meals you can order with a server. Others just have hummus and celery sticks and maybe a soup. This lounge is in the middle. There’s a nice buffet with several hot options – enough to make a full meal before a flight.

There’s also a self-pour bar. I can’t overstate the value in a country like Iceland where booze is a luxury and taxed like crazy. (On that note, buy your booze at the duty free to take to your hotel room before you leave the airport!)

I love the variety of seating and spaces among the openness and views outside. Also, if you have MVP Gold or MVP Gold 75K elite status with Alaska, you can use this lounge even when flying coach – that’s a huge value add if you find a cheap flight to Iceland!

I want a lounge to have fast wifi, drinks, lots of outlets, and some quietude. I found all of those at the Icelandair Saga Lounge in Keflavik.

If you’ve been here, how does your experience compare? Are you planning a trip to Iceland soon?

* If you liked this post, consider signing up to receive free blog posts in an RSS reader and you’ll never miss an update!