Review: American Express Centurion Lounge MIA

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I have heard a lot about American Express’ Centurion Lounges from various blogs and a couple colleagues. Currently there are six Centurion Lounges – Miami, Dallas, San Francisco, Seattle, Las Vegas, and La Guardia. A new lounge is scheduled to open in Houston later this year. Most clubs are open from about 5am until 11 pm, which gives pretty good coverage for most locations. Access to the Centurion Lounge is complimentary for American Express Platinum or Centurion (Black) card holders and two guests. You can purchase a day pass for $50 if you have any other current American Express card. I recently got my AMEX Platinum Card, so I was excited to try out the Centurion Lounge in Miami on my way from Tampa up to Raleigh.

The Centurion Lounge Concourse Level Entrance

The Centurion Lounge in Miami is located at gate D12, which puts it in the terminal that is primarily operated by American Airlines (Perfect for me since I mainly fly American). The lounge offers many of the same amenities as a normal airline lounge, but they also offer free spa services, showers, and from my first experience healthier options for food.

Packed house

My first impression as I came up the elevator was wow this is very nice. The agent at the member’s service desk signed me in and let me know where the bar, food, and rest rooms are. I walked around the corner and was shocked by how crowded the lounge was. When I went to the lounge it was peak travel hours 8 PM Sunday night, so I’d imagine that most of the time you would be able to find a seat, but when I arrived people were sitting on the floor eating their food. Eventually a table opened up by the bar, so I was able to watch some of the Panthers game.

There was a small buffet where they offered soup, a salad bar, and local cuisine. The menu when I was there was Tortilla soup, sweet potatoes, zucchini, couscous, and chicken. The staff in the lounge was constantly refreshing the buffet with fresh serving dishes, but somehow everything was still lukewarm. I really enjoyed the couscous, so much that I went back for seconds. The bar also offers signature drinks along with most top shelf brands.

Tortilla Soup while sitting on the floor

Chicken with couscous. The couscous was my favorite part

Second serving of couscous with sweet potatoes and zucchini

When it was time for me to head to my gate the lounge had cleared out quite a bit making it easier to find a place to sit and eat, get some work done, or just relax. I didn’t have time to check out their spa services, but since I fly through Miami quite often I’ll be sure to check them out and report back once I do.

The Centurion Lounge definitely has a lot of potential. The food was good, they had a good selection of beer and wine. The Wi Fi was fast. Really my only complaint from my first visit was the lack of seating available during one of the busiest travel times of the week. Overall I think AMEX has a very solid product and it is great that it is one of the benefits of being a Platinum card holder. I am looking forward to checking out the other Centurion Lounges, so I have something to compare Miami to. Mallory and I are traveling through Dallas at the beginning of March. Hopefully we will have a chance to check out that club!

What have your experiences been with AMEX Centurion Lounge? Let me know in the comments!