When navigating the disorganized and chaotic world of Los Angeles International Aiport, there really is nothing betty than knowing that once you have fought your way through the traffic chaos into departures, navigated the Check-in queues, and slogged your way through the security at least you have a luxurious and relaxing lounge to wait out the time until your flight, rather than remaining with the hordes in the overpriced and underserved restaurants downstairs.
One such Lounge is the premium Amex Centurion Lounge. This is provided for Holders of various Amex Platinum Credit Cards. This little slice of seclusion gets you out of the main departure lounge and into your own quirky little space. Unlimited drinks, quality food options, Fast WIFI, Mood rooms, and even a Spa await those with the required plastic to gain entry. Fortunately, we have such a Credit Card, The AMEX Platinum Card, and headed over to the Louge to bring you our Centurian Lounge LAX Review
Centurion Lounge LAX
Details
- Lounge: Centurian Lounge LAX
- Location: Tom Bradley International Terminal – LAX
- Space: 1,400 sq ft
- Amenities: 2 Full Bars, Buffet Food, TV Room, Family Room, Work Spaces, Spa, business facilities, WIFI, Power, Shower, and Sleep Spaces.
- Opening Hours 7 am – 10 pm
The Centurion Lounge was brand new and made its debut to the world on March 9th, 2020, days before the Pandemic brought the world crashing to a halt, perfect timing. The whole network of lounges shut up shop as air travel essentially stopped overnight. The LAX Lounge was one of the last to re-open and left anyone traveling through LAX with very few options for Lounge Access.
When it finally re-opened it was on very limited hours, these gradually extended and the Lounge is now operating a full service from 7 in the morning til 10 o’clock at night.
If you have the right plastic in your wallet the Centurion lounge is right up there with the best in the world and one of the best places to while away the hours as you wait for your flight to depart. However, it is only easily accessible to those traveling through the Tom Bradly International Terminal B, more on this below.
Where is the Centurian Lounge LAX
The Lounge is situated in the Tom Bradly International Terminal of LAX. This is nice and handy for anyone flying internationally, but a bit of an inconvenience to those traveling from one of the other 8 terminals.
Tom Bradly International Terminal – While the lounge is pretty convenient for those using the International Terminal, it was pretty tricky to find. Maybe this was because we were flying internally and came in through the walkway (more on this below) but we just struggled to locate it initially.
As you exit security there is a door on your left, which is really easy to miss, and then you grab an elevator up to the lounge itself. The walkway from the Terminals brings you out to the other side of the lounge and on a different level and was really hard to locate.
Terminal 1 – No Access. There is no airside access from terminal 1 to the other terminals so if you are flying out of here the lounge is off-limits.
Terminals 2&3 – Bus Access. From terminals 2 and 3 the only access is via bus. We love the Centurion Lounge but we are not going to get a bus all the way out to TBIT just for the lounge.
If you are flying Delta the Platinum Card will get you access to the stunning Delta Sky Club in Terminal 3
Terminals 4-8 – For those using Terminals 4-8 it’s a mixed picture. Access is via a Walkway. which is simple and convenient but it’s a bit of a hike. For us 6, 7, and 8 are just too far, over a Km from terminal 8. We flew from T5 (Alaska) and it felt a much anger hike than we imagined. We came early just t check out the lounge, but if we were arriving at the airport 2 hours or less before our flight, we would not get long in the lounge to justify the hike. Terminal 4 is a 5-10 minute stroll and not too bad at all.
How to Get into the Centurian Lounge LAX
The Centurian Lounge is for Holders of the AMEX Platinum, AMEX Platinum Business Cards, and AMEX Platinum Corporate Cards. Card Members MUST be traveling the same day to receive access.
For US Members (as of Feb 1st, 2023), additional Guests are charged $50 (unless spending $75,000 per year on their card). In the UK we still get 2 additional guests free, but it’s unclear if this will change to match the US cards soon. Check your own country’s rules.
Additional Card Holders are entitled to access via their own cards so if you have previously traveled with your spouse for example and used to get complimentary access for the both of you, and now you have to pay $50, you can avoid this by adding them as an additional card holder.
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.
What is the Centurian Lounge LAX like inside?
For a premium lounge, the space is quite small. It also feels pretty claustrophobic. There is some nice tall windows and high ceilings around the main bar, but other than this it’s all low, false ceilings and narrow corridors.
Entrance
The entrance foyer is very swanky, with lots of wood and greenery and large AMEX logos, and Amex Blue Accents. This leads to a long central corridor that is pretty bland with the various sections of the lounge off the sides. To the right are the Main Bar and Dining area with separate little rooms off to the left.
Main Bar
You can almost miss the main bar, as you head down the central corridor. We only really found it after heading to the buffet area. The Main Bar area is the most impressive of the lounge. It has the highest ceilings and giant 20ft slanted windows letting in plenty of bright L.A. Sunlight.
Unfortunately, despite the impressive windows, there is no view to speak of, it looks out over the internal part of the Terminal building. The view is so bad they have even frosted the lower portion so you can’t see anything. but it’s still nice to have some natural light.
The bar itself is very impressive, a full-service bar with excellent bartenders, more on this in the drinks section. There is not much seating in this area, obviously, there is bar seating and another rail seating area behind.
Buffet and Dining
On either side of the Bar area are two dining areas. To the left of the bar is the main dining area and to the right a smaller one along with the Buffet. These areas are fairly sterile feeling, with lots of white and metal, but they feel nice and airy due to the natural light from the windows.
Mood Rooms
At the far end of the corridor are the two mood rooms. These have variable ambient lighting that follows the daylight patterns of different timezones, apparently helping you adapt to changing timezones and helping with Jet-Lag. We are not sure how much this would actually help, but the rooms were pretty cool. We sat in a Sunrise room, which was pretty apt considering the early time, but the artificial light certainly didn’t help wake us up. The other room was pitch black with sparkling stars and going anywhere near that would have resulted in near-instant blackouts! If you wanted to sleep, great but we were trying to wake up.
We did like the sunrise mood room though as it was a quiet and comfy space.
TV And Family Rooms
As we head back down the main corridor the TV/Family Room (along with the Spa And Business Suite) for off in separate rooms. We did not explore the Family room, as we did not have a family with us, but it was a nice quiet room out of the way of the main lounge.
We do wonder if the intention is to give families a space away from the main lounge, or give the main lunge a space away from families, it does not look too well kitted out, there were no games and such, it just looked a little like a room to lock the kids up in.
Spa
Again the Spa was not something we explored. We were actually pretty surprised to see a Spa. Most of these were closed during the pandemic and very few have opened back up. But this one seemed to be operating.
As we said we didn’t explore it much, we are not really Spa people, especially this kind which is more about treatments, facials, Massages etc.. these are included in the entry so if you fancy treatment it’s definitely worth a look.
Additional Bar
There is a second bar area, that during our visit was actually closed. We imagine this will open up at busier drinking times as full bar service is only from 10:30am-close. (with only limited cocktails available before this)
It is really hard to understand the need for this smaller more limited bar. The main bar is so well appointed we just don’t see the need, but then more bars are never a bad thing. It was a lovely space too, with a nice seating area, self-serve tea, coffee, and juices, and the signature AMEX lounge Decore of Shelves lined with books and suitcases.
So despite being wholly unnecessary it was a lovely space to look at.
Business Suite
The Business Suite was very impressive. We imagine many companies would love a meeting space like this. A large single-piece wooden table dominates, with copious amounts of power sockets and large work screens at either end. We are unsure if you can get a presentation up on those screens, but we assume so.
We have no idea who comes to an airport lounge for a fancy business meeting but it was still really cool. It was obviously too business-like for more as the whole room was completely empty the whole time we were there! If we had needed (been adequately motivated more like) to get some work done we would have happily set up at the big table though. But we stuck to sipping bubbles.
Restrooms and Showers
The Shower Rooms were out of service on our visit. We do not know if this is due to Covid, Staffing, or if there was an issue that day. We hope they get these open though as an airport shower can be absolute heaven on certain kinds of trips.
The restrooms were very present, spotlessly clean, and modern. Lots of polished tiles and natural stone.
Power and WIFI
The Wifi was certainly adequate, we didn’t really push it but on our phones was fast, efficient, and easy to connect, no giving away all your personal details and we noticed no drop-outs while browsing, a common fault with communal WIFI.
Power sockets were abundant. Every seat, table, or bar, had some kind out outlet. From mains sockets in the floor to really handy USB sockets on every table, there was more power than we knew what to do with.
Centurian Lounge Walkthrough Video
Centurian Lounge LAX Food
The food option was really impressive. It was Buffet style but much higher quality than most Buffet menus we see in airport lounges. The Buffet was more designed around dishes rather than just trays of stuff.
We had Advaco on Toast, French Toast with Bacon and Syrup, a Savory bread pudding, and Various other breakfast items. There was a great selection of Muffins and Croisonat, Fruit Salad, and little pots of Parfait. There was cereal, Poorage oats, and fresh fruit as well. Really we found there was pretty much anything you could want for breakfast available. But the key was it was all in small amounts and not huge troughs of food that had been left out for an unknowable amount of time.
We will be heading back soon to try out the Lunch menu.
Centurian Lounge LAX Drinks
The drinks were also top-notch. Unfortunately at breakfast, the bar operates a limited Cocktail menu, but as it was still pretty early this was no issue and we made do with some Bubbles and a few beers. We could have had a mimosa or bloody mary but we needed to drive once we got to our destination s were ok with just a few morning liveners!
The Wine Selection was also really top-shelf. There was an Italian Rose or Prosecco for Fizz, and a great selection of reds and whites, including a Rutherford Vineyard Merlot from Napa Valley and a Russian River Chardonnay from Hanna Estate. We love seeing local fare on local menus!
There were a couple of nice beers on offer an excellent IPA and a pilsner, plus plenty of bottles of beers of the usual variety. It was basically a fully stocked bar offering everything you could wish for.
There was a second bar, which was closed at the time, but we really didn’t see the need. We never waited for more than a customer to get served at the large better stocked main bar, so just not sure why the needed bar number two.
There were also a few odd rules in force at the bar. They operated a one-drink-per-person policy. This is fine by us, but felt odd it needed to be so voraciously enforced, we would only ever order one drink at a time and don’t really need to be told otherwise…we guess maybe other people act differently? We also go ID’d, Which again is fine, but the bartender was very strict about it, not letting me get Kate’s drink until I have provided ID for her as well.
It’s not something we often find in lounges, they seem to be a more adult space where people kind of takes you on trust, but here it felt they were very watchful of the rules. Not a big deal, but just flat a little odd. The Bartenders had good memories though so once they checked the IDs they were fine to provide additional service from then on.
Overall
Overall we really like the Ceturian Longe LAX. There were very few issues or downsides t the lounge. It was maybe a little small and parts a bit dark and dingy, but there were other sections that were bright and airy.
The bar service was excellent, despite the slightly draconian regulations, and the food was excellent. Probably the best food we have had from a Beffet Service Lounge. Yes, we would have preferred an Al-A-Carte menu, but the quality was nearly as good and avoids waiting around for your food.
Some of the areas, such as the Mood Rooms were a bit gimmicky, but the gimmicks did not detract from them being usable spaces. When you consider the awfulness of LAX as a whole, the Centurion Lounge really is a small slice of civility in the otherwise frankly chaotic LAX experience.
This will be our GO-TO lounge at LAX, at least when we are not fortunate enough to have a Business Class Booking!
Alternative lounges at LAX
Pickings are horrendously slim at LAX. And for those without access to certain Airline lounges, through Elite Status or Business Class Travel, there are very few options.
Star Alliance Lounge
The Star Allaince Lounge is a high-end premium lounge for Business Class and Elite Status members of the Star Allaince Airline Network. However, they also have the slightly unusual option of offering paid entry to their Business Class Lounge.
$75 is a pretty pointy price point but it would not take long to claw that back considering Airport prices for food and drink. The Bar offers high-end cocktails, champagne, and endless beers and wine. The food options are so-so but certainly edible. You also get a wonderful space with a rare option of an outdoor terrace.
Take a look at the FULL review here.
Delta Sky Club Terminal 3
If you are traveling Delta, and have an AMEX Platinum Card (or Delta Elite Status, or flying Delta One) then you can access the Delta Sky Club. This is a great option if you are not flying out of the International terminal. If you are flying Delta, you probably will be flying out of T3 and then this is your Lounge of Choice, absolutely no need to head over to the Centurion!
KAL Lounge
We still see this listed on many sites as the LAX Priority Pass option. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case, and there are simply NO Priority Pass Options when traveling through LAX. One of the busiest Airports in the World.
Airline Lounges
Most Airlines have a Lounge available for their Upper Class and Elite Status customers and they tend to house these in the most appropriate terminal. So if you have Elite Status or are fling Business, Upper or first class make sure you hunt out the appropriate lounge.
Have Your Say
Have you checked out the Centurian Lounge at LAX? What dod did you make of the Experience? Is the Lounge a must-visit or a never-again? How did you rate the food, the drinks, and the overall experience? Let us know in the comments and if you have any questions just fire away below. Let us know if there are any other lounges you want us to check out, we are always happy to hit up any lounge on our many travels.