Lounge Shower Review: The Club at SJC

first off, i want to say how impressed i am with this contract lounge. i got in as a Star Gold passenger on ANA despite not being in business and this not being a Star Alliance Gold lounge, but it’s also Priority Pass. it’s new and there’s hot food and a self-serve soda fountain with large cups (not those rinky-dink plastic cups that hold 1/4 of a can of soda). but i digress.

ease of access and location: the lounge is located right next to the ANA gate, A15, up one flight (ha! flight!) in an elevator. for shower access, ask the person at the front desk for a key. towels are sitting there, and i got walked back to the showers which are by the bathrooms located at the opposite end of the lounge. return the key when you’re done.

first impression: it’s HUGE.

as you walk down, you pass a sink with (empty) shelves, a closet, the shower itself, and then the toilet. you know how i like to complain about too little space in most showers. well, here, there’s no way you can make a fuss about that!

the closet, unfortunately, has no hangars, so it’s only good if you have a garment bag, i guess?

the goods: not only is the shower room itself pretty bare, but so are the amenities. just one big towel (the one you bring from reception, rolled up below). no bath mat, no face towel. no toothbrush, no comb, no hair dryer. i can’t really say much because there wasn’t much.

shower: the shower itself was definitely on the snazzier side. a regular shower head with a handheld option, the hot water was consistently so and the water pressure was good. i don’t know if it was the way i was standing, but it didn’t seem to be draining very quickly (the water wasn’t in a rush down the little hill to the drain) but it never got sloshy.

creamy body wash, creamy shampoo, and creamy conditioner (did i mention creamy?) were in a wall-mounted dispenser — simplehuman, so fancy! it definitely felt more luxurious than the regular gel-y stuff you get. i suppose that’s the silver lining to this whole “no amenities for you” downside.

cleanliness and state of facilities: this lounge is quite new, so everything was in great condition. the floor was a bit sticky in parts (like you could hear your shoes making a sticky sound), but i’m going to believe it’s clean (if only because i don’t want to think otherwise, especially since you don’t have a bath mat!). the rest of the lounge is in fine form; let’s just hope they can maintain it (and well, frankly their presence — i think ANA is helping them out a lot). all dispensers were topped off, but the trash can was not emptied though there were no used towels in the hamper, so i’m guessing they just didn’t empty it from yesterday? (kinda sketch since i have a feeling i was the first shower of the day.)

overall rating: 4 out of 5. maybe i’m feeling generous, maybe i’m excited about my upcoming trip (vacation!), maybe i was blown away by the size of the thing, but yes, you read that right. 4 stars at a contract lounge at a smallish airport. i would have given it five stars if they provided you with more towels (a bath mat would be nice — otherwise you may be out of luck if you thought you dried yourself off and put your towel on the ground only to discover your back is still wet…) and more amenities (hair dryer and lotion at a minimum). but i’m really glad to have discovered this lounge for the rare occasion when i fly out of this airport (which is actually closer to home than SFO).

p.s. isn’t that toilet seat cover dispenser upside-down? or is that how new-fangled ones work?