Lounge Review: Capital One Lounge at Denver International Airport (DEN)

As a travel writer based in the greater Denver area, I spend a good amount of time in Denver International Airport (DEN), which is currently the largest airport in the U.S. by area and one of the busiest in the country by passenger footfall. Luckily, as a perk of the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, I’m able to escape the crowds and relax before my flight at the Capital One Lounge.

The Denver Capital One Lounge was one of the first Capital One Lounges opened worldwide (after the Capital One Lounge at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport). And, with their first few locations, Capital One has tried to create a quality experience in their airport lounges that rivals that of Amex Centurion Lounges and Chase Sapphire Lounges.

Overall, I have been thoroughly impressed by the food and beverage offerings, amenities and overall atmosphere at the Denver Capital One Lounge. I even arrive at the airport several hours before my flight just to spend some time at this lounge.

Capital One Lounge at DEN Location and Hours

The Capital One Lounge at DEN is located in Concourse A near Gate 34. After you go through security, you’ll have to get on a train to Concourse A. Once you get off the train, you’ll have to take a series of staircases or escalators up to the main level. When you get off the escalator, take a left and walk until you are near Gate 34. There will be a Lavazza coffee location on your left and a double set of escalators leading to the mezzanine level. The Capital One Lounge is located at the top of these escalators.

The Denver Capital One Lounge is open from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily.

Capital One Lounge at DEN Access and Entry Requirements

To access the Capital One Lounge at Denver International Airport (DEN) for free, you’ll need to have one of the following four Capital One credit cards:

• Capital One Spark Miles for Business Card ($0 intro annual fee; then $95)
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card ($95 annual fee)
• Capital One Venture X Business Rewards Credit Card ($395 annual fee)
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card ($395 annual fee)

The Venture X and Venture X Business cards offer unlimited complimentary access to Capital One Lounges for the cardmember and up to two guests per visit. Any additional guests will cost $45 per person. You can add up to four authorized users to your Venture X card, and each of these authorized users can also get unlimited complimentary access for themselves and up to two guests at all Capital One Lounges.

Note: Starting January 1, 2026, Venture X and Venture X Business cardholders will be limited to two complimentary guest entries per year. Additional guests will incur a $45 fee per visit.

If you have either the Venture card or the Spark Miles for Business card, you‘ll be granted two free entry passes to Capital One Lounges per year. You can either use these passes for yourself or for a guest. So, for instance, if you and one guest were to enter a Capital One Lounge, that would use both of your passes for that year. You have the option to bring additional guests for a fee of $45 per person.

If you have one of the aforementioned Capital One credit cards, to gain access to the Denver International Airport Capital One Lounge (or any other Capital One Lounge), you simply need to show your physical card or open the Capital One mobile app.

If you don’t have a Capital One credit card, you can still access the Denver Capital One Lounge for a fee of $65 per entry. Please note that, whether you enter a Capital One Lounge with a credit card or by paying a fee, you can only stay in the lounge for up to three hours.

Capital One Lounge at DEN Layout and Amenities

When you get to the top of the escalator at the mezzanine level, you’ll find the reception area where you’ll be asked to either pay for your entry or present your Capital One credit card. This area has grab-and-go food and beverages such as sandwiches, wraps, chips, iced coffee and more if you want to have some snacks for your flight.

Once you’ve checked in, you can either go to the left to access comfortable seating and private work rooms, or you can go to the right where you’ll find a full bar, buffet, restrooms and more seating.

The workrooms to the left of the reception desk, which feature desks that are great if you need to get some work done, don’t require a reservation. However, there are also relaxation rooms on this side of the lounge that do require a reservation. These relaxation rooms contain comfortable sleeping pods (designed by a company called Metropods) that can simulate night time, gently vibrate and play relaxing music. The room also includes a sleep mask and a blanket.

To the right of the reception desk, you’ll find the bar and buffet. The bar is in the center of the room with seating on all sides. You can order a variety of complimentary beer, wine and craft cocktails. I’d also like to mention that the bartenders and other employees that work at the Denver Capital One Lounge have been very friendly and accommodating during my visits.

The buffet sits right next to the bar and features a table full of cold dishes and a heated buffet along the wall for hot dishes. There’s also a row of self-serve taps along the wall where you can pour yourself craft sodas or premade coffee drinks.

The bar and buffet room offers a great view of the runway from a large wall of windows that provides the room with natural light. There is even seating along the windows if you want to sit and watch the planes take off or soak up the sunshine.

If you turn the corner from the bar, you’ll find additional seating (with small drink and snack counters serving coffee, tea, pastries and more on either side) as well as a hallway that leads to the restrooms and shower suites. You will have to make a reservation to use one of the shower suites. However, if you wait until arriving at the lounge to request a shower suite, they may still be able to get you in before your flight.

The 10,800-square-foot lounge is shaped like a ring and feels spacious enough to accommodate the number of guests that they allow in at a single time. The bar and buffet area can be slightly crowded at times (since everyone is trying to get their free food and drinks). But you can always pick up your food and drink and move to another part of the lounge that’s less crowded.

Food and Beverages at Capital One Lounge at DEN

In creating their signature lounges, Capital One has made a point to draw local inspiration when designing their food and beverage offerings.

For food, the Capital One Lounge offers two separate menus: one for breakfast and an “all-day” menu that’s available from the time they stop serving breakfast until the time the lounge closes. The breakfast menu includes a variety of healthy options for all tastes, including a coconut-chia parfait, an avocado and mixed berry bowl, caramelized banana and pecan oats, mini Dutch pancakes, savory polenta, spiced tater tots, corned beef hash and a fried egg breakfast sandwich.

The all-day menu includes a variety of hot and cold dishes containing locally sourced ingredients, including a tomato confit crostini, buffalo deviled egg, cucumber salad, citrus soba noodle salad, lemon-garlic broccolini, Colorado ground bison sloppy joe, mac and cheese cocotte, a balsamic teriyaki bowl and more.

There’s also a selection of pastries and sweets available for breakfast, lunch and dinner, including pan au chocolat, butter croissant, blueberry muffin, banana bread, carrot cake, brownie, honey-pistachio baklava, chocolate chip lavender cookies and more.

At the bar, you can choose from their list of craft and draft cocktails, all of which were concocted as part of a partnership with Denver-based cocktail and spirits bar Yacht Club. Many of these cocktails also feature Colorado-sourced ingredients, such as Mile High Denver Gin, Spirit of Denver Proprietary Aperitif, Colorado Pickles, Breckenridge Chile Chile Vodka, Peach Street Colorado Straight Bourbon Whiskey and more. The cocktail list has a wide variety, so you should be able to find something you like no matter what your taste. There are several non-alcoholic cocktails available as well.

The Denver Capital One Lounge has an excellent variety of beer both on draft and in bottles and cans, many of which are from local Colorado breweries, including Mary Jane Ale from Upslope Brewing, White Rascal Belgian White Ale by Avery Brewing, Milk Stout Nitro by Left Hand Brewing Co. and more. Plus, through a partnership with Cerveceria Colorado, they also have a beer on tap that’s brewed specifically for the lounge known as the Sky High P.A. They also have non-alcoholic beer available.

There’s a large selection of complimentary wines available at the Denver Capital One Lounge, including white wines, red wines and rosés.

The bar is also equipped with an espresso machine, and all of the bartenders double as baristas and are trained to make craft coffee drinks. Milk alternatives are available.

As you can tell from the items described above, the quality of the food and beverages provided by the Denver Capital One is far superior to the refreshments available at most airport lounges.

Unique Features at Capital One Lounge at DEN

One of the things that makes the Capital One Lounge at Denver International Airport unique is the overall aesthetic of the lounge. In designing this lounge, they did a great job of illuminating the rooms with natural light, adding calming decor elements like plants and books and creating a layout that feels spacious and easy to navigate.

However, my favorite aesthetic touches in the Denver Capital One Lounge are the more than 50 fine art pieces hung on the walls, many of which were created by emerging local artists from the Denver area. In this lounge, you’ll find pieces from renowned knot artist Windy Chien, Denver-based mural artist Gary Gomez and fine artist Lindsay Anna Jones.

The attention to detail employed in curating art for the Denver Capital One Lounge makes the space feel refined and elevated. Plus, if you have nothing else to do during your layover in Denver, you could treat this lounge like a modern art museum and peruse all of the incredible art on display.

How Much Time Would You Spend at Capital One Lounge at DEN?

The Capital One Lounge at Denver International Airport is a top-of-the-line airport lounge with excellent food and beverage offerings and a comfortable and welcoming environment. For these reasons, I think it’s worth spending as much time at this lounge as possible (the limit is three hours, but I’ve stayed longer than that in this lounge due to flight delays).

Personally, I like to arrive at the Denver Capital One Lounge about three hours before my flight and start with a pastry and a cappuccino. After that, I’ll typically move on to a beer or a cocktail paired with some of the hot small dishes available, like a ground bison sloppy joe or a teriyaki chicken bowl. Finally, when it’s time to leave, I’ll usually grab a draft iced latte and a veggie hummus wrap to go, which I’ll keep in my bag in case I get hungry on my flight.

Since I work on my laptop (as a freelance writer), spending time at the Denver Capital One Lounge is just like having a comfortable office space with free food and drinks. So, I try to spend as much time in this lounge as I can.

Final Thoughts on the Capital One Lounge at DEN

The Capital One Lounges have been rolled out to compete with other premium lounges from credit card issuers like Chase Sapphire Lounges and Amex Centurion Lounges. Personally, I would say that the Denver Capital One Lounge is as nice as any lounge I’ve ever visited. I also really appreciate how so many elements of the lounge are locally sourced and inspired, from the food to the drinks to the art hung on the walls.

And, among the premium credit cards that give you unlimited complimentary lounge access, the Capital One Venture X’s annual fee of $395 is relatively inexpensive. By comparison, The Platinum Card® from American Express (which you need to enter Centurion Lounges) has an annual fee of $695 (rates & fees), and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (which offers unlimited complimentary access to the Chase Sapphire Lounges) has an annual fee of $795. So, the Venture X card offers a lot of bang for its buck in terms of lounge access and quality.

If you have a layover in Denver or you’re flying out of Denver International Airport, it’s worth checking out the Capital One Lounge, especially if you have an eligible Capital One credit card that will get you in for free. The high quality food, drinks and overall environment offered by this lounge are well worth your time and money.