Capital One Lounge Dulles Review

I have wanted to visit the Capital One Lounge since I became a Venture X card carrier. I finally had the opportunity to visit one of their locations in Dulles. The Capital One Lounge is far superior to your standard airline lounge and dare I say United Polaris and American Flagship. Let’s discuss why!

Entry Requirements

The Capital One Lounge is complimentary for those who carry the Capital One Venture X credit card. The Venture X card is my favorite premium card I carry because for $375 dollars a year I receive

$300 dollars in travel credits year
10,000 anniversary points a year (worth $100)
Complimentary Capital One Lounge and Priority
Pass Membership

As you can see the cost of the card easily pays for itself and then some. More perks are included but those are big ones.

Location

Dulles is not the easiest airport to get around, but for those starting their day in Washington DC will easily find their way to the lounge right after security. Those transiting in Dulles will have to relocate to Terminal Z and make their way upstairs (DO NOT LEAVE THE SECURED AREA)

Facilities

The Capital One Lounge has a coffee house/café vibe which I love. Unlike the more sterile hospital approach most airline lounges have, Capital One was airy with lots of light and fun upbeat music. The staff were all friendly and proud of what they were offering unlike an airline lounge where the staff usually look at you like you are inconveniencing them. The bathrooms were all single stalls and quite clean. In the main room, almost every seat or table had charging ports which was convenient.

Drinks

The drink options exceeded most long-haul business lounges. The bartenders made cool cocktails and happily offered an extensive amount of mocktails for people like me. However, the true gem was the barista coffee which made better lattes than Starbucks. They also happily made drinks to go.

Mocktail!

Food

This is where there are differing opinions. Some people like the restaurant dining concept of United Polaris and the Chase lounge. Truthfully, I find these more gimmicky and I am not a huge eater. I loved the self-serve but single-plated options in Capital One. It balances ease, no wait and cleanliness as no buffet exists. The food was excellent and far exceeding Polaris with their unique options including Korean Fried Chicken sandwiches, meatballs with ricotta and flatbreads. Plenty of desserts and pastries in the coffee shop were readily available.

Even cooler, there were grab and go food and beverage items for those with short layovers or long flights.

One Miss

The only ding I had for this lounge was the lack of showers. After a long flight from let’s say Johannesburg in October (wink), a shower would be nice. However, there are other lounges that provide those.

Overall

The Capital One Lounge was truly a treat. I highly recommend picking up the Venture X card and enjoying your complimentary access to the lounge.