Review: Amex Centurion Lounge (Dallas)

The American Express Centurion Lounges in Dallas, Las Vegas, New York (La Guardia), Miami and San Francisco are an oasis in an otherwise pretty drab lounge landscape in the US. They provide services, facilities, food and beverages that surpass anything offered by the US airlines so they’re a haven for passengers who have access (or who can afford to pay for access).

Access to the lounges is free for Amex Centurion and Amex Platinum Card holders and for up to three of the cardholder’s guests as well. Other Amex card holders can purchase day-passes for $50 per person (children accompanying a paying adult get in for free).

The Dallas Centurion lounge is located opposite gate 17 in terminal D of Dallas Fort Worth airport and is open between 5am and 10pm.

Access to the lounge is via an escalator up to a mezzanine level where you’re greeted by the entrance to the lounge:

The member services desk will ask for your Amex Card and your boarding pass so that they can check you into the lounge. Next you’re given a quick overview of the lounge, given the WIFi password and asked if you’d like to make use of the free spa facilities that the Dallas lounge offers.

Once inside the lounge there are various seating options:

Lounging….

Relaxing….

Dining….

Work bar…..

Work bar with a view out of the lounge (I forgot to snap a photo of the view!)….

Or a quiet work area…..

There is a type of seating to suit just about anybody but, at peak times, the lounge can get busy so you may have to wait to get your preferred seating option.

Everything in the lounge is free (or included in the entrance fee if you’ve had to pay to get in) and that includes the full service bar which is remarkably well stocked for an airport lounge – the bar staff will mix most cocktails on demand and they seem to have just about every major soft drink you can think of.

Water, Iced Tea, Tropical Aqua Fresca and filter coffee are all available for self-service…

And for those seeking a slightly more fancy coffee there are two coffee machines in the lounge together with a selection of herbal teas.

The food options are were the Amex Centurion Lounges distinguish themselves from their other domestic counterparts. Firstly the food is free and secondly it’s edible -two things that are a rarity in US domestic airport lounges.

On the day that I visited the options were as follows:

Salad Items:

• Roasted fingerling potatoes, salsa verde & feta
• Kale & Arugula salad with sundered cherries, pine nuts & goats cheese
• Individual salad ingredients (lettuce cucumber, tomato etc…)
• Assorted dressings.

Hot options

• Beef tacos
• Jalapeño cream grits
• Campfire beans
• Poblano rice
• Winter root vegetable fideo (noodles), olive oil, sage & grans padano (Veggie)

Desert options

• Almond buckle with blackberry compote & brown sugar creme fraiche
• Various fruits

Nibbles

• Tortilla chips/crisps
• Charred tomato salsa
• Charred tomatillo and poblano salsa

Ok, so the food options aren’t all exactly ‘healthy’ but theres a good selection from which to choose so most people should find something to their taste. The Centurion lounges all try to offer food representative of the local area so it’s no surprise to find a strong Tex-Mex influence at the Dallas lounge.

I didn’t have the time to try one of the 20 minute massages or to find out more about what the spa offers but, if they’re anything  like the rest of the lounge’s offerings, they’re probably very good.

The lounge has two large shower rooms which can be booked/requested at the desk at the entrance to the lounge (both were in use during the time I was there). If you plan on staying long enough to use these facilities I highly recommend getting your name on the list as soon as you arrive because demand is high.

Overall the Dallas Centurion lounge scores very well in my book and, if I’m being honest, is  probably the main reason why I hang on to my Platinum card (As an American Airlines flyer I visit DFW quite often). Travelling is becoming more and more of a chore nowadays with less and less comforts to keep you smiling along the way but the Centurion lounges are a nice reminder of what travel should be like – good service, smiling staff and facilities designed to make your experience comfortable. Now if only the airlines would follow suit…..