It takes a lot to get me talking about airport lounges these days, but the Amex Centurion Lounge at LAX surprised me in two ways:
First, it’s in an odd location that you’re not likely to stumble upon accidentally. You need to be actively looking for it to find the main entrance.
Second, the eggs and sausage they serve are the best I’ve ever had (anywhere in the world). Sorry Grandma!
My full review of the American Express Centurion Lounge at LAX
Full disclaimer: the only reason why I visited the LAX Centurion Lounge on this particular day was because I was hungry. I wasn’t looking to be spoiled rotten. I was simply feeling cheap and I wanted a free plate of food.
I mean, considering how much I just had to shell out for the annual fee of my Amex Platinum Card, I figured that I was more than entitled to a free meal.
The location
Finding the LAX Amex Centurion Lounge is going to take some patience. The entrance is located on level 4 the Tom Bradley International Terminal (Terminal B). As a reminder, level 4 is the main level – the one where all the airline gates are.
You’ll see the main entrance on the left as soon as you pass through security and walk through the entryway into the Terminal B. It’s easy to miss. As a matter of fact, I never knew it was there until this visit!
Remember the scene in Pulp Fiction where Marsellus Wallace is walking across the street, stops dead in his tracks, and says “mother***cker…” upon realizing that Butch is sitting in the car at the stoplight? I had the exact same reaction when I realized that this was the entrance for the Amex lounge. I never knew it was here! Technically, it was just a doorway leading to the elevators which then take you to the main entrance on level 2. But stay with me…Good news: you won’t have to worry about having to choose between an up and down button on the elevator. You only have one choice (down), so it’ll be impossible to mess up.This is what you’ll see when the elevator door opens after the ride down to the second floor. I can only assume that if he had arms (and fingers), he would be pointing to the entrance on the right. Thanks bro!Well, that was certainly the most convoluted way of entering an airport lounge that I’ve ever experienced (except for maybe the IAH Centurion Lounge). At least it was kinda fun getting down here to the reception desk.
The layout
I was a little more than surprised to see that this lounge is smaller than the SFO Amex Centurion Lounge (by a pretty good margin actually). It consists of a handful of small rooms connected by long hallways. It’s confusing at first, but cozy.
I like how they hit you over the head with gobs of style and design as soon as you walk in. Spoiler alert: the rest of this lounge isn’t this fancy.By the way, that’s the bar (the focal point of this lounge) over yonder. It’s large, beautifully designed, and nothing short of impressive. I almost felt disappointed that I don’t drink.How fun would it be to mosey on up (John Wayne style) and ask the bartender for a shot of the strongest thing he’s got? I wouldn’t know, because I’m boring AF.This is the other (and obviously less popular) bar.Once you’ve got your drink, this is what you can expect to see as you try and find a place to sit. I told you it was gonna get less fancy!No lie, there were some parts of this lounge that were giving me flashbacks to my corporate job days. Yikes.It’s a beautiful lounge though. They did a pretty good job of breaking up the space into separate nooks connected by dividers and hallways.But let’s be real – I don’t think there’s anyone over the age of 25 who could stand in this spot and not think of status reports (that no one will read), quarterly numbers (that may or may not be fudged), and weekly staff meetings (that everyone loathes). Where am I again?Yup, showers are available. They’re coed too (and thus probably lots of fun).
Seating (and comfort)
It’s fairly obvious that the designers of this lounge have gone far out of their way to provide a variety of comfortable seating types. From communal tables to private enclaves, I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll find a comfortable place to sit in this place (assuming it’s not busy).
Pro: The seating layout isn’t very dense. Con: good luck finding a place to sit.You’ll probably have more luck sharing a table with someone else than you will trying to find something of your own.BTW, if I had any skills as a photographer, I wouldn’t have inadvertently cropped out the printers on that long table on the left. So yeah – printers do exist in this lounge.The body language of the 3 people in foreground tells you everything you need to know about the sacrifices you’ll have to make when it comes to seating. You gotta take whatever you can get!Unless you don’t mind sitting in the cafeteria style seats. That section was wide open.This secluded room seems interesting. Shoutout to the mom, who (judging by that tall glass of wine) has probably done more today than most humans have all week. And it’s not even 8:30am yet!Feeling the urge to hop on a call and touch base? These cube style seats along the wall are for you.Centurion Card members get their own secluded (reserved) area. I didn’t see a lot of activity in there, so I would venture to guess that there aren’t many who can afford the annual fee of that bad boy.Also nice to see was this sleeping / napping room. I wonder if what happens in here stays in here? I didn’t stick around long enough to find out…
The food
The first thing you’ll notice upon entering the LAX Centurion Lounge is the large self serve food buffet. They were serving breakfast during my visit, and I was really impressed with the wide variety of options. There was a lot of it, and all of it looked delicious!
The buffet (and a darn good one at that).Normally it’s the bacon that makes me weak in the knees, but that sausage was freaking spectacular.I don’t mean to toot my own horn or anything, but this pic of the pastries is pretty darn amazing considering that I had my eye on the bacon and sausage the entire time.Here’s another beautiful pic of the bacon and sausage (as seen from the yogurt section).I say again: The scrambled eggs and sausage in this lounge are otherworldly. I mean it!And for what it’s worth, since there was nowhere else to sit, this is where I had to enjoy my meal. At least I was able to stuff my face in peace.
Spread throughout the lounge are individual beverage and snack stations. These are especially convenient if all you need is a drink refill and you don’t feel like walking all the way back to the buffet.
This mini bar consisted of beverages and English muffins / bagels. The thought of how sticky that knife is (the one sticking out of the jam container) gives me the willies.Don’t worry – there are multiple coffee and tea dispensers located throughout the lounge. This is one of them.And here’s another. I didn’t test it out, but I can assure you that it smelled like proper coffee and tea should.
How to get in
The nice thing about the American Express Centurion Lounge is that the entry requirements are the same for each one. Consistency and familiarity goes a long way towards making a lounge experience great, and this was no exception.
As a reminder, you need one of the following American Express cards to get in (along with a same day boarding pass and government issued ID):
Centurion Members are also welcome free of charge. One-time access passes are not available, though I’d highly recommend keeping an eye on the latest official entry requirements (because things do change from time to time).
For comparisons sake, it’s the Star Alliance Business Class Lounge which feels most similar to the Centurion Lounge. The overall vibe (and the food) is pretty much the same.
Pros
The food is excellent. If you have access, it’s definitely worth stopping in for a free meal.
The smaller rooms help to make this lounge feel quiet and relaxed. It didn’t feel chaotic at all, even though it was near max capacity during my visit.
The bar is impressive by airport lounge standards.
Cons
It feels a little small. I personally didn’t mind, but claustrophobic types might not enjoy hanging out in here.
Most of the seating is communal. The private seats get taken fast!
Considering it’s location (in one of the busiest terminals at LAX) this lounge is likely to be full most hours of the day.
Centurion Lounges are truly unsung heroes in the lounge game and their food is always top notch. They love to talk about how they have partnerships with local chefs but even when not their food and drink are top notch. My absolute favorite is in Philadelphia (and worth walking across the dang airport) specifically because they have a partnership with Michael Solomonov, a local legend and phenomenal Israeli chef, and the food proves that every time. Still in SF and Vegas the food is plentiful, tasty and relatively healthy (was a good spot to start detoxing from a guy’s trip to Vegas lol). I do agree that the Centurion lounges routinely get packed so finding a single spot is difficult and privacy is basically non existent unless you randomly come during off hours.
Yeah, I’m definitely kicking myself for not discovering these lounges until recently. I mean, I knew they existed (lol), but I just didn’t know how competitive they are.
I always assumed they wouldn’t be any better than a generic Plaza Premium lounge (which is something I tend to avoid these days). But you’re right – the food in every one that I’ve been in so far has been excellent. I’m now a believer!
Loren
Centurion Lounges are truly unsung heroes in the lounge game and their food is always top notch. They love to talk about how they have partnerships with local chefs but even when not their food and drink are top notch. My absolute favorite is in Philadelphia (and worth walking across the dang airport) specifically because they have a partnership with Michael Solomonov, a local legend and phenomenal Israeli chef, and the food proves that every time. Still in SF and Vegas the food is plentiful, tasty and relatively healthy (was a good spot to start detoxing from a guy’s trip to Vegas lol). I do agree that the Centurion lounges routinely get packed so finding a single spot is difficult and privacy is basically non existent unless you randomly come during off hours.
Scott (SANspotter)
Yeah, I’m definitely kicking myself for not discovering these lounges until recently. I mean, I knew they existed (lol), but I just didn’t know how competitive they are.
I always assumed they wouldn’t be any better than a generic Plaza Premium lounge (which is something I tend to avoid these days). But you’re right – the food in every one that I’ve been in so far has been excellent. I’m now a believer!