We are big fans of the American Express Centurion Airport Lounes and always seek them out whenever we are at an airport that offers them. On our recent trip from Chicago to Charlotte North Carolina we were really disappointed that there was no Centurion Lounge at O’Hare Airport, infact there was no lounge option at all for Amex Platinum holders! So we were delighted when we flew out of Charlotte Douglas to find there WAS an Amex Centurion lounge.
This was a great relief as our journey was pretty stressful and we had arrived at the airport pretty early so it was really nice to have a place to unwind and reset ready for the flight back to New York. We naturally took this opportunity to have a really good look around the lounge to bring you our full review of the AMEX Centurion Lounge at Charlotte Doughless Airport. Here is what you can expect if you are an AMEX Platinum Card Holder and are passing through Charlotte North Carolina.
AMEX Centurion Lounge – Charlotte North Carolina
The Centurion Lounge Network is Amex’s own-brand premium lounge range. It offers a high-end luxury Lounge experience for all members of its Platinum Card Program. The lounges offer a relaxed and refined space away from the main Airport concourse offering complimentary food and drinks while you await your flight.
Why is there an AMEX Lounge at Charlotte Douglas Airport?
When we were planning this trip, we flew into and out of Charlotte simply for convenience. we were visiting the lesser frequented parts of the states and just really thought of Charlotte as a pretty small-town Airport. So we were really surprised when we found out there was a Centurion Lounge here!
Centurion Lounges are pretty prestigious and are usually reserved for pretty large and renowned airports, LAX, JFK, London Heathrow, etc…not little old Charlotte. Even Chicago O’Hare is not large enough to have a Centurion lounge as we found out on the way here!
After a little more research, we actually found out that Charlotte is the 9th busiest airport in the States (23rd in the world) and thoroughly deserves its Centurion Lounge (Although we are still not sure why O’hare (5thbusiest) still misses out? ). We admit that it is used extensively as a hub and not for people actually visiting the Carolinas, which is a shame as we had an amazing time in North Carolina!
Anyway Back to the Lounge
Finding the Lounge
We are not really sure why, but they really seem to love hiding the Centurion Lounges away. If we were more cynical we might begin to believe it was to keep numbers down simply by not letting people find them…
Of all the lounges we have visited, this was the hardest to find! We got the rough area fine but were completely unable to find the elevator up to the Mezzanine where it was located. The Elevator is at the far end of the Terminal between the concourse for Gates D/E, in the new Plaza Expansion. But the actual elevator to the lounge was almost invisible to us.
Access to the Lounge – Who can get in?
The Centurion Lounges are exclusively for American Express Platinum Card Holders and their Guests ONLY. Those with US Cards are charged for each guest they bring ($50 for adults $30 for Children) unless spending $75,000 per year on their card, while Card Holders from other countries have not had those new rules imposed on them yet and can still bring 2 additional guests free of charge.
For those in the US, it is important to remember that you only need to be a Card Holder, not a member, so in our case, Katie is the Member and I am an additional Card Holder so we both get free access. (Actually, our card is a UK card so we both get free access anyway, but if it were a US account adding people to the account gets you around the charge)
Delta SkyMiles Reserve and Delta SkyMiles Reserve area also granted access, with the same restriction on guests as the platinum cards, and must be traveling on a Same Day Delta flight.
Unless you are a cardholder of the above or a guest there is no way to access these lounges.
The full access policy can be found here
The Amex Lounge Layout and Seating
We really like the layout of the lounge. It is not a huge space, but it is open on both sides with large floor-to-ceiling windows, overlooking the runway and apron of the airport, with nice views of the Airport Museum and Charlotte in the distance.
The lounge is unmistakably Centurion, and the Amex branding runs throughout the lounge. It has a really classy and playful theming through. There is also a really nice artwork collection running throughout with works from local artist Amanda Moody.
The main lounge is surrounded with nice comfy seats looking out of the large windows which offer a great place to rest and relax. There are also more upright seats better for working or eating and some more private cozy snugs.
There are also several enclosed spaces, perfect for families and businesses. One of the best additions to any lounge we have seen was the Phone Room. People use lounges for all sorts of reasons and most of us are looking to relax. But Business travelers use them to and sometimes need to make Phone Calls. None of us really want to listen to these, but this is often the case as busy people need to get the calls in before boarding. Having a Phone Room specifically designed to conduct these calls is perfect, giving the caller privacy and the lounge guests peace and quiet…Kudos!
There was a ton of power points and USB charging sockets all over the lounge. Every seat had access to something and we were easily able to top up everything ready for the flight.
Overall it was a brilliantly thought-out space and one with a spot available for just about every kind of traveller.
How Busy Way The Lounge?
When we arrived, at around 11:20 am the lounge was really quiet and we were able to get a spot by the windows straight away. We stayed for around an hour and a half and the lounge did fill up quite a bit, but there was still lots of space to sit, even prime spots were available.
We do imagine at the morning peak hours then things might be pretty hectic. But on the whole, it does not seem to be suffering the same overcrowding some lounges are experiencing. But this can obviously change and AMEX lounges are always very susceptible to fluctuation in use and they can never really guess how many people will show up. It’s not like an Airline Lounge when they know how many planes they have operating out of any particular airport.
Food
The Food selection was really good. The Centurion Lounges claim to base the cuisine on local flavors and this has been a little tenuous at some lounges, at Charlotte it was spot on with excellent Southern Fare on offer. The Salads were fresh and tasty with an excellent Cowboy Caviar (Beans and Corn) some hearty roast Veg, Saffron Rice, and Voodoo Tofo. A little limited, but excellent. The Satr of the show was the Beef Brisket which was pretty good for an airport lounge. There was also a wholesome Cheese and Broccoli Chowder that may have a little more of an acquired taste but was pretty good with fresh bread rolls.
Overall for a Buffet style menu, it was pretty good. Everything was hot and fresh and well stocked. We were not scraping the barrels getting the last dregs of food which can be the case. Maybe this was good timing, but on the whole, we were impressed.
Drinks
We only got around 90 mins in the lounge so our drinks experience was a little limited. We were not able to get through as many choices on the menu as we normally would. But what we did try was excellent. There was a good selection of beers on tap and some local brews on offer along with some domestic and imported beers in bottles.
The wie offering was also really good. Champagne was on offer and there was a good selection of high-end reds and whites with some East Coast Offerings which was pretty unique!
The Cocktail menu looked excellent, but our time was limited. We had a great Old Fashioned and Kate tried one of the specialty cocktails, the Cheery Cola which was also excellent. The lounge offered a full bar and talented Bartenders able to rustle up anything that might tickle your fancy.
We find the drinks selection a real strong point of centurion lounges and Charlottes Bar was no exception.
Amenities
The Lounge amenities were a little thin on the ground. These were pretty much limited to Shower rooms, private spots, High-Speed Wifi, and a Print/Copy/Fax service.
While the amenities were limited, we think people can expect too much from lounges and what was on offer there is about all we really need or would use. When they have things like spas and bookable treatments etc…we rarely go near, to be honest.
Even here, where we were pressed for time, we didn’t even use the showers or anything other than the basic amenities. All we want is somewhere to sit down and plug in, good Wifi, and decent food and drinks. These were all present and correct. We popped our heads into the showers, and they looked very plush. Like the bathrooms, it was all stone and wood finishes, and each bookable shower suite was cleaned between uses.
Overall
The Centurion Lounge had pretty much everything we have come to expect from Amex’s top-end Lounge Range. The space was really bright with great views, and the food at a really hight level, at least for buffet-style food. Drinks were the same super-high quality across every Amex Centurion Lounge we have visited and we really wanted more time here to experience the full range.
The Layout really is clever with lots of little spaces to make the best possible use of what is actually quite small and boring rectangle space.
We really didn’t expect to find a Centurion Lounge at this airport but we were really happy we did and thoroughly enjoyed our time here on what was otherwise a pretty stressful day!
Have Your Say
Let us know your thoughts on the Centurion Lunge at Charlotte Douglas. Have you visited the lounge? How did you find the Amenities, the Space, the food, the Drink, and the Crowd levels? Let us know your thoughts in the comments and if you have any questions just fire away.