Airport Lounges Are Getting a Major Upgrade—and This New One Has Gaming Consoles and a Robot Bartender

With full service spas, sit-down dinners, and robotic bartenders, checking into an airport lounge has never been cooler.

Opened last month, the latest experience-based space to emerge as part of the growing trend is Portal Lounge, a 3,800-square-foot space devoted to gaming in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP). The lounge, which boasts space for more than 100 guests, features 17 dedicated gaming stations (think: Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PlayStation, and more) along with a robotic bartender for both cocktails and mocktails like the “Prince’s Lemonade,” a zero-proof drink inspired by Minnesota’s very own legendary musician, Prince.

“Traditional lounges were designed around exclusivity and waiting. We designed Portal Lounge around energy, discovery, and how people actually want to spend their time today,” Jordan Walbridge, the co-founder of Portal Lounge, said in a statement shared with Travel + Leisure. “Travel has become increasingly experience-driven, and we saw an opportunity to build something that feels culturally connected, visually memorable, and genuinely enjoyable from the moment you walk in.”

To access the lounge, travelers can either pay a walk-in rate of about $70, use a Priority Pass, or have a participating credit card, including from Chase, American Express, and Capital One.

In addition to MSP, the company operates gaming-themed lounges in nine different airports in the United States with plans to expand to 11 by the end of the year.

But Portal Lounge isn’t alone in turning time at the airport into an experience worth getting there early for. Passengers flying Air France can treat themselves to complimentary facials in select airport lounges like in Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport (CDG) and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) thanks to the carrier’s partnership with French skincare brand Clarins.

The spa treatment is also available for eligible cardholders at the Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club at New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA). There, travelers can sign up for facial treatments from Face Haus, a woman-owned facial bar, or relax with guided meditations.

Earlier this year, Capital One debuted its own way to escape the airport chaos at LGA with its second-ever Capital One Landing, a sit-down restaurant with made-to-order Spanish tapas from celebrated chef José Andrés. The more than 12,000-square-foot space features made-from-scratch specialties like red shrimp confit with olive oil, garlic, and chili, and even a tableside martini service.

And American Express takes dining to the next level with a hidden, prohibition-era “1850” Speakeasy Bar at JFK, which is tucked behind a copper-paneled wall inside the card company’s flagship Centurion Lounge in Terminal 4.