Denver recently lounged American Express’ Centurion Lounge network and I passed through the airport in June and had the opportunity to check it out.
Check-in and First Impressions
The Centurion Lounge network is generally considered to be a step above many other domestic lounges, offering amenities such as locally inspired chef-created food, high end liquor, privacy and phone rooms, massages, children’s play areas, and more. The Denver outpost felt smaller to me than many of its sister lounges, but interestingly at 14,500 sq ft, it is actually the second largest Centurion in the network, after the new JFK T4 lounge, and approximately the same size as the Dallas outpost. Still, it didn’t feel like there was a significant amount of space, and I wonder if the balcony was somehow counted as part of the square footage. That said, it never felt packed or uncomfortable and there was plenty of space to accommodate the depressed visitor numbers when I stopped by in June 2021.
The lounge is located in Denver’s Terminal 3, which is home primarily to Southwest Airlines. Most Southwest hubs don’t have a lounge, so Platinum cardmembers flying Southwest out of Denver are in for a treat. That said, the terminal is somewhat inconvenient for passengers of legacy carriers. Flying Delta, I had to take a train from Terminal 2. The train is airside and not completely inconvenient, but it does take much longer to get there than to the Skyclub adjacent to the Delta gates.
Once I located the lounge, I moved up the escalator and was quickly checked in and ushered inside. Being a Tuesday morning with travel only beginning to recover, I found the lounge was mostly empty; however by the time I left several hours later it had filled up considerably. I can imagine that under more normal times, this lounge would have the same overcrowding problems that many Centurions have become infamous for.
The Centurion Lounge is on the gallery level of the airport and surrounds an open-air balcony which overlooks the terminal below. Of the four sides of the balcony, one is used only for the check-in desk and another houses the bar; the remaining two are where the seating areas and other amenities are located. This particular Centurion doesn’t offer over-the-top features such as massages, but it does have a shuffleboard table, which I must say I have never seen in an airport before.
Food and Beverage
There are two large buffet tables of food, with enormous trays stacked up on the ends of the buffet. The trays were made of heavy plastic and I felt as though I was in high school—or jail—rather than an upscale lounge. However, all the flatware was real and non-disposable, which was much appreciated.
When I visited, the breakfast spread was out. It was, to be honest, rather thin. There were some hard-boiled and scrambled eggs, a fruit and yogurt parfait, and a cinnamon roll. I tried a few bites and was rather disappointed; I would put this food on par with the typical continental breakfast at a Springhill Suites.
There’s plenty of beverage options at the Denver Centurion Lounge including both non-alcoholic and alcoholic options. An automatic coffee maker is on hand for a variety of specialty drinks, and Amex also had freshly squeezed juices available. That was definitely a highlight of this visit. A full suite of more adult-oriented beverages are available from two bars, including one that is focused exclusively on local beers. That latter bar wasn’t open in the morning when I visited, but it looked to have plenty of offerings in a nod to Colorado’s brewing culture.
Amenities
During my visit, I had a meeting to dial into and was searching for a phone room in which to take the call. Most Centurion Lounges have several or a half-dozen of these in a row, but after making several laps around the lounge in Denver, I found only one private phone room. Thankfully, it was available and worked perfect for my meeting. However, it was also adjacent to a number of tables all marked as reserved for Centurion cardmembers, and I felt slightly uneasy during my meeting that I perhaps wasn’t supposed to be using this room as a lowly Platinum cardmember.
While I didn’t find the space to be small given the limited guests, I did find it to be cramped, as epitomized by these Centurion tables. Most other Centurion Lounges place the Centurion-reserved tables in an entirely separate room, but here that reserved area consisted of a couple small tables in the corner. The single phone room was disappointing as well.
In addition to shuffleboard, the lounge offers several private family rooms, which are great places for small kids to stay occupied while waiting for their next flight. There were several high-top tables in this area as well; whereas standard-level seating proliferated in the rest of the lounge.
Showers existed, though they were out of order due to covid during my visit. Internet worked speedily throughout the lounge and never dropped my connection. Employees did an excellent job of removing trash and keeping the space clean.
And that…is about it. There were few other details worth noting.
Bottom line
The Amex Centurion Lounge Denver is fine. It does the basics right, offering a comfortable and quiet place to relax away from the main terminal. It feels smaller than other Centurion Lounges and could feel crowded when travel returns to normal, but that’s not a concern for now.
The biggest issue with this lounge is its grading curve. Amex has set a very high baseline for its Centurion Lounges. While this lounge would be fine when compared with domestic lounges such as Admiral’s Clubs or United Clubs, it doesn’t necessarily compare favorably to other locations in the Centurion network.
If you’re looking for a solid and comfortable place to pass the time during a DEN layover, the Centurion Lounge hits the mark. It is not, however, a destination lounge in and of itself.
