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The Denver Capital One Lounge, located in Denver International Airport, is a great place to visit if you’re looking for complimentary food and drinks on-the-go.

It features a buffet of thoughtfully curated dishes with elevated ingredients (like ground bison sloppy joes). And unlike most lounges, it actually encourages you to take food to-go. Paper bags placed next to the cookies suggest it’s okay to bring some with you on your flight. At the front entrance, there’s a wall of prepackaged food like sandwiches. Employees hand out bags to fill with your to-go treats.

While Capital One lounge access is primarily touted as a complimentary perk for Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and Capital One Venture X Business cardholders, anyone can enter this airport lounge for a fee. And because it’s not actually that exclusive, the lounge can get pretty crowded, so it’s not always as relaxing as perhaps it should be. But if you can get past the crowds, it’s a worthwhile stop.

The lounge is located in Concourse A on the airport’s mezzanine level. It’s open daily from 5 a.m. until 9 p.m.

Spaces to relax and work

The lounge spans a single floor on the mezzanine level of the main airport terminal. Most visitors stay in the common areas, which have food, drinks and other amenities.

If you want a separate area, you can reserve a private work space or a small conference room. Though they’re free to reserve, expect to join a waitlist — as there are typically more people seeking private workspaces than rooms available. You can ask to join the waitlist at the front desk.

There are also individual phone booths, though they generally get snapped up quickly. Other spaces in the Capital One Lounge include a parents room (typically for nursing) and a relaxation room with a pod-like nap chair.

In other open seating areas, there’s bar seating, counter seating, seating at tables and lounge-like seating in plush couches.

Bathrooms are sleek, clean and decked out with wall art. Ambient music plays on the bathroom speaker. The two shower suites are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The problem? Heavy crowds coupled with not very many bathrooms means there’s usually a line.

Plan on visiting the general airport bathrooms before stopping into the Capital One Lounge. For what it’s worth, the Denver International Airport bathrooms are among the best airport bathrooms you’ll find. They’re even scented via an air freshener that smells like a winter forest.

Food and beverage options

The food and drinks offered in the Denver Capital One Lounge are among the best you’ll find in any airport lounge, comparable in quality to what’s served in top-tier competitors like the AmEx Centurion Lounges.

Portions are served on small plates. As is the case with all Capital One airport lounge locations, dishes are curated to the region. In Denver, the star entree is the Colorado ground bison sloppy joe served on a brioche bun.

The sides are just as intriguing, such as the mac and cheese with smoked gouda, cheddar cheese and bacon. There’s also a bacon-free option. Healthier sides include lemon-garlic broccolini, plus an assortment of salads.

Mornings feature a hot breakfast menu, with items such as mini Dutch pancakes with blueberry compote and polenta with white cheddar cheese, chorizo and chives.

There’s also no shortage of sweets, which include brownies, cookies (some with unexpected flavor combinations, like the chocolate chip lavender cookies) and honey-pistachio baklava. In the mornings, there’s an array of croissants, muffins and scones.

The Denver Capital One Lounge’s centerpiece is the staffed bar, which takes up most of the main dining area.

Beer comes from local breweries, including Cerveceria Colorado, Upslope Brewing Company and Odell Brewing Company. Capital One partnered with Denver-based bar Yacht Club to develop cocktail recipes, most of which use liquor from Colorado companies. There are also zero-proof options.

Almost all the alcohol is complimentary, save for a handful of top-shelf options. Capital One calls it the “Rare Bottle Club.” For an additional $10 to $20, you’ll get a 2-ounce pour of high-end spirits.

The coffee and tea options are unremarkable, with some standard tea bags and carafes of La Colombe drip coffee, served alongside a variety of milk options. You can also order espresso drinks like lattes or cappuccinos at the bar.

While the coffee bar falls a bit flat, the soda bar is an absolute delight. Unlike usual soda fountains of Coca-Cola or Pepsi products, Capital One serves soda flavors like pineapple cream, black cherry with tarragon and lemon berry acai.

Perhaps the most notable part of the Capital One airport lounges is the takeout section.

While other airport lounges slap up signs reminding guests that all food must be consumed in the lounge, Capital One actively encourages you to take food to-go.

The lounge’s entrance features a wall of prepackaged foods designed to travel. There are sandwiches and wraps, as well as assorted cups filled with things like fruit, pudding and hummus. There are also canned beverages and boxed water.

When I was there, employees eagerly handed out bags to fill with to-go food.

The Denver Capital One Lounge is often crowded. On both of my recent visits, it was difficult to find a seat. But no matter where you sit, you’ll usually have access to a power outlet.

During one of my visits to the lounge, there was a queue to get inside. But employees were offering travelers the option to simply take a grab-and-go bag, rather than wait to get inside the full lounge, which was a good alternative.

If you’re a Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card or Capital One Venture X Business cardholder, you can join the waitlist for the Denver Capital One Lounge (and other Capital One lounges) on the Capital One app. Navigate to the Rewards & Benefits tile, and tap the airplane icon.

From there, you can select a specific from the Capital One lounge locations and view the capacity. Then, you’ll receive a text notification when it’s your turn to enter. To minimize waiting time, you might want to join the waitlist before you arrive.

If you don’t have the Venture X and Venture X Business cards, you’ll still have to wait in the physical line.

How to get into the Capital One Lounge

If you hold a Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card or Capital One Venture X Business card, you get unlimited, complimentary access to Capital One lounges. You can also bring up to two guests per visit for free. Any guests beyond that incur an $45 per visit, per person charge.

Just know that the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card commands a $395 annual fee, which might not necessarily be worth it to you if you don’t live near an airport with a Capital One lounge.

There are a few other entry requirements that aim to prevent misuse of the lounge. . You must present a boarding pass with a confirmed seat assignment for a departing or connecting same-day flight. You also can’t enter if you’re arriving in Denver and aren’t heading to a connection elsewhere. And you can only enter up to three hours before your flight’s departure time.

But you don’t need to hold a Capital One credit card to gain access to this lounge. Anyone — Capital One customer or not — can pay $90 to enter. For a long layover where you can take advantage of the food and drinks, showers, and private work areas, $90 might be worth it

Other DEN lounges to consider

If you don’t hold a Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card or Capital One Venture X Business, then you may want to consider other Denver airport lounges.

As a United hub, Denver Airport hosts multiple United Club lounges, including a compelling grab-and-go lounge called United Club Fly. If you want a day pass to any of United’s clubs, United Club Lounge access is offered for $59, which is less than the cost for the general public to buy a Capital One Lounge day pass.

To view rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, see this page.

To view rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, see this page.

Is the Capital One Lounge at DEN worth it?

The Denver Capital One Lounge probably isn’t worth the full day pass cost for most travelers. But if you already have complimentary lounge access through your credit card, or if you’re paying for the day pass but planning to make good use of the amenities, it’s well worth visiting.

The food is among the highest quality you’ll find anywhere in the airport. And since Venture X or Venture X Business card members can likely avoid the line by joining the waitlist via the app, then one of the lounge’s biggest pain points — the line to get in — can be avoided.