The Salon by PS LAX review

Location

The Salon by PS is located at Los Angeles International airport, but it is far away from the chaotic mess of the other terminals. In fact, it’s located on the other side of the airstrip in a very private terminal.

When you arrive by car, there is a quick reservation check at a gated security entrance and then you’re brought into a parking lot shared by guests of the Salon and the Private Suites. Guests can be dropped off or keep their car parked here.

We arrived at LAX from San Jose and took a 5 minute Uber from one side of LAX to the other in order to get to The Salon. Unfortunately, it wasn’t reachable on foot. Alternatively, the team at PS offered to pick us up at the plane for a whooping $1100USD. The Uber cost $20 😉

Pricing and access

PS offers 3 services – Private Suites, The Salon, and PS Direct. 

Private Suites – completely private rooms with bathrooms and access to shower suites. The Private Suites cost $4,350 for up to four people.

The Salon – shared lounge with bathrooms and access to shower suites. The Salon is more palatable at $695 per person but still very expensive.

PS Direct – an arrival service where guests can be picked up from the plane and driven to their final destination in Los Angeles. PS Direct costs a little over $2,000

*You can purchase an annual membership to PS, which gives members a reduced rate for these experiences.

We were excited to try the Salon Experience as a benefit of the American Express Centurion card, which gives us a complimentary visit to the Salon each year.

The Salon

Let me start by saying that the Salon is beautifully designed and decorated. It feels like a very elevated living room or high-end bar/lounge. Even though the lounge was designed to more social, PS works hard to capacity control the space so each guest has enough space to relax comfortably before or after a flight. During our stay, there was only ever one other guest using the lounge.

The Salon is split into 2 sections, each with it’s own bar. One side is more dark and moody, while the other is more contemporary. The furniture was comfortable and they had an impressive collection of coffee table books, which I loved. 

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There is also an outside garden with a fire pit, which would have been a nice place to hangout if I had a day flight. I always appreciate when lounges have outdoor space, especially these days, where I feel more comfortable going maskless.

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When it was time to board, our team member came to find us and escorted us through a private TSA security process. We were the only people there so it took 2 minutes. I loved how easy it was! 

And then for the piste de le resistance, we were driven to the plane in a beautiful BMW 7-series. Being driven directly on the tarmac is such an extraordinary experience, I loved it. We arrived to the plane a few minutes early, but once boarding started we were able to board directly from the tarmac. Talk about luxury! 

Food and beverage

Currently the Salon doesn’t have it’s own kitchen, although we heard they are working on building one. The food is catered by Hwood Group in LA, so we had to pre-order items ahead of time. We basically ordered the entire menu and the food was delicious! We also ordered caviar, which we had seen on their instagram but wasn’t on the menu we were sent. 

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The champagne and alcohol on offer was low to mid-tier, which I found surprising given the cost they charge. We ordered the Perrier Jouet champagne, but it turns out they didn’t have that so we had Veuve Clicquot instead. It’s around $70 a bottle.

Service

I liked that the person who greeted us on arrival was our main point of contact throughout our experience at the Salon. It made for a seamless experience, and they were very friendly. Since we were flying internationally, they collected our passports and checked us in for our flight as well. No need to deal with United counter agents here!

The bartenders who also handled food requests, were very friendly as well. Every person we interacted with was very intent on making sure we had everything we needed but not in an overbearing way.

The only oddity was that at the end of our time in the lounge, we were brought a bill. Everything was complimentary, but it felt like a forced way to ask for a tip. At $695 a person, I would think that should be built into the price. I didn’t like this approach to gratuity.

Amenities

The amenities felt endless! And you are encouraged to take whatever you need. The bathrooms were stocked with items like extra masks, hand sanitizer, tampons, eye drops, etc. 

On request, they will set up a shower suite with Aesop amenity kits, razors and shaving cream, mouth wash, etc. Really anything you’d need they had it. And anything you didn’t use, you could take with you. 

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Since we were taking a red-eye flight, we asked for eyemasks and they brought us some very luxurious ones. A quick Amazon search shows they were $15 each. Nice! Before we left for boarding, one of the team members asked if he could bring me some snacks for the plane. Of course, I said yes and the basket he brought over was humongous! I had to ask for a to-go bag, so I could take it all with me. 

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When I told the team member I loved the Diptyque products in the bathrooms, she said we could take them! She brought us two brand new Diptyque candles that retail for about $60 each. How cool is that?!

Considerations

This is arguably the best lounge experience in the US. It comes a high price point, but if LAX is your home airport, I could see it being worth it. 

The amenities seemed endless and there isn’t a way to know everything that’s available to you as a guest. It was a pleasant surprise to find out we could take the candles, but it made me wonder what else they have on offer? It was a similar experience ordering the caviar, which was off-menu. Perhaps an amenities menu would help here.

I hope they bring in some top-tier alcohol, which I’m surprised their guests haven’t called them out for this already.

It’s worth noting, kids and pets aren’t allowed in the lounge, so if you’re traveling as a family, the private suites might make more sense.