The name Copa Club gave me a vibe that it is modelled after United Club. Being the hub airport, I figured that Copa Club should be of a certain standard. My gut feeling tells me that I won’t be great since it is a Priority Pass lounge and turned out that my gut feeling was right.
Copa Club feels and looks like United Club (probably worse). First, it was a little tough looking for the lounge (it was hiding inconspicuously among the duty-free shops). There was w queue of people waiting to go in and once inside, you could barely get a place to seat.
Food and beverage selection were probably the worst of my entire trip (inferior even to that of United Club in IAH). Not a single hot food item. It has a rather large bar, but I was not interested to find out what was offered.
After a while, we decided to leave and try out one of the other Priority Pass lounge. We found The Lounge Panama by Global Lounge Network along the way to our gate and the lounge gave a better vibe upon entering. There was no crowd waiting to be processed. The lounge is not large and is divided into 2 levels. The first level has a very small seating area with snacks and drinks available. The second level is much larger with more food and beverage items (including alcohol). Unlike Copa Club, hot food is available!
Level 1 of lounge
Level 2 of lounge
Unlike Copa Club, it was not as crowded – but gradually the lounge started to fill up. Although not as large, it felt more comfortable than Copa Club. You have a very good view of the runway – hence not only you can plane spot, you can watch the planes take off and land too!
It has a pretty good Wi-Fi speed to, with a 26 Mbps downstream and 53 Mbps upstream speed.
Shower room on the other hand was lousy. There was no shampoo nor shower gel provided, just a bar of soap. No other amenities were given too. Cleanliness wasn’t great too, but at least I can get a shower before flying into New York.
Hopefully with the new terminal, Copa Club can be shifted into a bigger place. Till then, this lounge is best avoided. The Panama Lounge would be a more conducive place to relax before your flight.
That Time Of The Year! 