Star Alliance Lounge

Gate 16 in REC’s T1 holds the 24/7 Star Alliance Lounge, more contract club than flagship showpiece.

This is airside in the International Terminal near Gate 16, past security and passport control. It serves Star Alliance international departures only, so don’t plan on using it on a domestic hop to São Paulo or Rio. Signage in T1 is decent, but if you hit gates 15–17 you’re basically there.

Hours run 24 hours a day, which matters on those late-night and 03:00–05:00 bank departures. You can sit inside on a 02:40 TAP, Copa, or Lufthansa codeshare instead of killing time in the public seats at T1. Just don’t expect big-city lounge frills; this is a small outstation room doing the basics.

Access is limited to international Star Alliance first and business passengers plus Star Alliance Gold members on a same-day Star flight. No Priority Pass, no walk-up paid entry advertised, and no buy-in option through the usual lounge apps as of 2024. If you’re Gold on United, TAP, Copa, or any other Star carrier, your card plus same-day boarding pass should get you in.

Food is the usual contract spread: think small hot items at peak times and basic cold snacks the rest of the day, not a full dinner. Expect self-serve drinks with soft drinks, coffee, and basic alcohol rather than a bartender. Pricing is rolled into your premium ticket or elite status, so nothing is à la carte, but it also means they keep the offer modest to manage costs.

The lounge has showers, which is the main hard-product win here. That matters if you land off an overnight international leg into REC and then connect onward in Brazil. Bring your own toiletries just in case; reports only confirm the showers exist, not that kits are consistently stocked.

There is no dedicated rest or sleep room, even though the lounge runs 24/7. Overnight, you’re in standard lounge chairs, not lie-flat loungers or daybeds. SleepingInAirports flags this as a recurring complaint, especially for people stuck between late-evening arrivals and early-morning departures, so don’t bank on real sleep.

One practical tip: if you care about a shower before a red-eye or early-morning run, head straight here from security in T1 and ask staff about shower availability before you sit down; queueing at 02:00 near Gate 16 is nobody’s idea of a good preflight.