* Review Dallas DFW Centurion Club (OLD CLUB NOW CLOSED)
* The NEW Dallas DFW American Express Centurion Lounge 2018
* Review Miami MIA DFW Centurion Club
* Review San Francisco SFO Centurion Club
* Review Las Vegas LAS Centurion Club
* Review LaGuardia LGA Centurion Club
* Review Seattle SEA Centurion “Studio” Club
If you have never visited the above Centurion Clubs by American Express you are really missing out.
You can get entrance for you and up to two guests with either the:
The Platinum Card® from American Express <—LINK
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express <—LINK
If you find on your travels you will frequent airports with Centurion Clubs either of these cards can be a real value to you for access to the clubs. You will need a same day departing or arrival boarding pass and ID to enter.
American Express calls this lounge a destination, that is this lounge is SO good it is worth traveling here just to spend time in the lounge. Bold claim. Does it live up to that? As you saw in my recap of my free trip earning miles down to DFW, I was happy to take up that challenge as I needed a trip anyway to get my 2x LGA Delta bonus trip done.
The first thing when you land, unless you are already in the “D” concourse near gate 17 is to find the SkyLink tram to get to the D17 area. The airport has not updated their signage and I had to use an updated airport travel map to find even where the lounge was.
Once off the link follow the directions to the lounge that is in the middle of the open area just past security.
Then up the escalators to the entrance to the lounge that from the outside looks huge. The entrance is classic Centurion and much like the one I visited in Las Vegas
The front desk was well staffed and they were very welcoming and service was quick.
I was instructed there are lockers (you set your own pin) to store your belongings should you wish, and that food & drinks were free. I could sign up for a massage, facial or manicure. I could do more than one, but had to come back after each to be put back on the list for a second round.
As I mentioned the place looks HUGE from the outside but is really modest in size and is in the shape of a horse shoe. Having said that, it was busy but not packed during my visit on the first day. The manager, Michael was kind enough to offer a tour of the facility.
In addition to the spa there are two showers. I was told they are busy during the times international flights arrive from overnight flights, but at most other times getting in was not a challenge.
Seating was ample and even with a good amount of guests finding a seat was not hard. Another HUGE plus that ALL lounges can learn from what AMEX has done right here is power. There were power ports all over the place. No searching here or the risk of walking away from your phone since you had to put it on a ledge far from you. Nice!
Comparing the food choices to the Skyclub is a bit like comparing a business class to coach. Not saying the food was out of this world good but just so many more choices than any Skyclub.
Even compared to the improved test food choices Delta has had as of late, this was so much better.
My only issue would be choices and quality. This is a buffet and the chicken was a bit dry and if you like buffet food it was good. The salad choices were good as well. Small desert choices was a nice touch.
No reaching for your credit card for “enhanced” drinks here. Ask and you shall receive! The wine choices were miles better than the Skyclub free choices. After an overnight at the Westin DFW that I will review later in the week I went back for my second visit. I did not try the breakfast options as I had already dined at the hotel but it seemed to be well received.
I see the same issue with breakfast that I did with the lunch / dinner options, that is they would get boring fast if this lounge were your stop each and every week of travel. If you were in once a month, it would be just fine and a pleasant choice for food.
Mimosa and lounge chairs before a morning massage? Yes please! Enough time to do just this twice in a row? Yes, yes please!
The spa is not huge but does not need to be.
The entrance area has the manicure station.
There is a table for the facial treatments (not for massages).
The massage treatments are chair massages. They are staffed, like the Skyclubs test rounds, by XpressSpa folks (or BeRelax in DTW). Keeping in mind the cost of a 15 minute massage there can be a real value even paying for a visit to this lounge if you have enough time.
Overall I was very impressed. Not blown away by any means. Yes, far above any other domestic lounge and puts the Skyclub to shame. I mean, the staff in the food area comes around and brings you more drinks and all are so happy you are there. Did I mention power EVERYWHERE! The one thing I can pick on is the WiFi speed. It is bad. Really bad. I hope they fix it.
Anyone who has an AMEX card can get in for $50. If you have a LONG layover it could be well worth the visit. The better choice is to have the NON-Delta Platinum “Airline Travel Card” as you can get in at no extra charge with this card for you and your guests (2) or your children under 18.
I have been told the new one in SFO will NOT have a spa (too bad) but will have a luxury wine bar. The one in MIA will be very much like this one with a spa. I am looking forward to visiting them both when they open as well as a few return trips to this one on my last few mileage runs later this year!
What do you think. Are you going to go out of your way to visit the Centurion clubs? – René
.
Editorial Note: This content is not provided by American Express. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express.
➲ Barclaycard Arrival+™
World MasterCard®
Earn 2x miles
on All Purchases
. .
Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
My visit to the lounge was unbelievable!
Are they open 24/7? Except for the WiFi, looks like a good alternative to a hotel for a long layover. But as a destination in itself? No way…
@JEM – 5:30AM-11PM I believe. Spa is open MOST of that time as well closing at 8PM.
Excellent review. I recently visited the Centurion Lounge in LAS- loved the experience! Much closer to an international lounge experience than Sky Club. In fact, after recent Centurion Lounge and Lounge Club experiences, I feel a little nauseous when I walk into sky club w/ their crappy beer and stale nut mix.
As a Delta Diamond, I (now) have “free” lounge access. I usually paid in 3 year increments for the past 8-10 years prior to this year (w/ coupon and discount code). I can safely say with general airport enhancements (food/drink/wifi)combined with Lounge Club and Centurion Club access, I will NOT be re-upping my sky club membership unless they make substantial upgrades in food and drink. I let Delta know this at every opportunity, but clearly they could care less right now because they still have a terrible beer selection and vodka in plastic bottles!
@EL – Yes to all you said. In ATL I think I will be spending more time in “The Club” at ATL across from the F Skyclub. But then there is the SkyDeck to think about 😉
I agree with you that it isn’t mindblowing but it was good. The lounge felt a bit overcrowded both times I’ve been there and ditto on the food getting boring after a while. The desserts are not good at all, but the brownies by the front desk are amazing. The shower temperature control was broken when I used it so it was painful to shower, from hot to cold to hot to cold etc. The food quality at the one in Vegas was a LOT better with their short ribs, but in all fairness I’ve gotten spoiled living in SAT with the quality of the Mexican food, so I’d rather see something else when I travel. Agree with you that power outlets all over the place was great and yes, the service rocks.
Why yes, in fact, I do try to schedule my flights to hit the Centurion Lounge.
I purposely dumped Delta on by bi-monthly trips to Boise, Idaho after they started charging for Sky Club access for companions in SLC. Now it’s Southwest connecting through Vegas (why, 3 hours in Las Vegas will be no problem, thank you very much)for lunch and drinks at the lounge.
I have yet to check out the Centurion Lounge in DFW. However, I have seen the one in LAS and it’s not something I was completely impressed with. The one in LAS does not seem very big (unless I missed a completely different section), was packed to the point where there was not a single seat available and I was told by the check-in desk that I shouldn’t be surprised if Wi-fi does not work very well because there are just so many people here. There were more choices for snacks however, so that would be the positive but standing up and eating them because of no available seating was an issue. While the Centurion Lounge is a good alternative for those locations where there is not a SkyClub available, it still has a long ways to go before being considered the lounge of choice for me. Better than a majority of Skyclubs, but we also have to remember that they are only in a few locations and are able to offer this type of service right now…because they have no choice but to do so if they want to keep growing. When they reach 30 or 40+ locations, and have 5 or 10 times the number of visitors they do now…will this keep up? We shall see. Personally I think they are behind other international airline lounges, but still better than domestic US carriers.
@DP- If I have more than 1.5 hrs in ATL. I head straight to F. If I have 2-3 hrs, and the weather is nice, I head out to the sky deck for some fresh air for a few mins and then across to “The Club”.
On a related note; how is it plausible or reasonable to have more and better beer options on board a flight then you have in your proprietary lounge? Somebody @ Delta is really making a poor decision for Delta, the company, and/or listening to the contract vendor service that run the lounges now instead of listening to the customer.
In Rookie Wed. can you explain how the LGA- MQM bonus works? I’ve read T&C 3x+ and I still think they are leaving out a (potentially) highly instructive sentence. When do you start earning? What is “first flight”? First flight from LGA or someplace else, etc.?
@EL – Agree. As to LGA2x to targeted for a WED post but the 1st flight is ANY RT flight anywhere with DL after you register. Then the rest is any leg to/from LGA only for the 2x. Oh and 1st flight is flat 2000/2000 bonus RDM/MQM.
While I would never consider this lounge to be, in and of itself, a destination, I have very much enjoyed my visits there during layovers. The food is very good for a buffet, the staff is friendly and offers very good service, and the bar is nice. Ample, comfortable seating in a quiet environment with good wifi service. Can be hard to find the 1st time, near Gate D17. Puts airline lounges in the U.S. to shame.