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Towards the beginning of October and despite the pandemic, American Express opened its new 15,000 sq ft lounge at New York JFK. Today and in continuing defiance of the world around us, American Express announced that its new Centurion Lounge at Denver International Airport will open next week.
In recent months American Express has been working hard to get its Centurion Lounges back up and running after every location was closed towards the beginning of the pandemic and, although a few locations are only operating a skeleton service, all US locations are now open. Now, we about to see the 14 US Centurion Lounge open in Denver
The Denver Amex Centurion Lounge is located past security on the mezzanine level of Concourse C near Gate C46 so, based on information provided by Denver Airport, this should make it most convenient for travelers flying with Alaska Airlines, Southwest, and Spirit but with all three of the airport’s terminals being connected, it should be accessible to most flyers.
The new Centurion Lounge is 14,000 sq ft in size making it, temporarily, the second biggest lounge in the network after the lounge at JFK. Once the expansion of the San Francisco Centurion Lounge is complete, Denver will drop to being the third-largest lounge.
A little surprisingly, the lounge’s opening hours are currently listed as 07:00 – 15:00 (so anyone traveling in the late afternoon or the evening will be out of luck) but it’s unclear if these will be the regular opening times or if these are just the opening times while the pandemic continues to rage.
Amex has said that the Denver Centurion Lounge will be home to a variety of locally inspired amenities, including American Express’ first-ever Craft Beer Bar, which will offer rotating selections of some of Colorado’s best local brews and, on the dining front, Chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson will be offering a locally sourced “Italian-inspired menu”.
Here’s what the current sample menu looks like:
The Denver Centurion Lounge will be the first Centurion Lounge to feature what Amex is calling “a live action cooking station”, where guests will be able to enjoy dishes prepared à la carte and where they will even be able to even customize the dishes to their personal preferences (Amex hasn’t said just how customizable the dishes will be). The menu on offer will rotate daily.
As a homage to the area’s 70+ breweries, the Craft Beer Bar in the Centurion Lounge will serve beers from local Colorado breweries with the options on offer rotating seasonally. On opening day the lounge will feature brews from Denver Beer Co, ODD13 Brewery, Breckenridge Brewery, and Left Hand Brewing Company.
For those not bowled over by craft beer, the lounge will also be offering a complimentary full bar with Colorado-inspired cocktails created by mixologist Jim Meehan as well as an extensive wine selection handpicked by “wine authority” Anthony Giglio.
For anyone looking for a distraction during their visit to the Denver Centurion Lounge, the game room may be a good place to check out. With options that include a pool table and a shuffleboard table, as well as custom, large-scale classics such as Connect Four and Checkers, this could be a fun place to pass some time. (In case anyone is worried that this may be unsanitary, American Express has confirmed that games will be cleaned and sanitized after each use – the pandemic doesn’t have to ruin all the fun!).
As is generally the case with Centurion Lounges, the design aspects and touches in the Denver Lounge are locally inspired and, according to Amex, are “reminiscent of the natural environment and scenery throughout the city of Denver“. The features on view in the lounge include geometric ceiling installations that are meant to mimic the local mountainous area, a mural of the Rocky Mountains, and a two-sided living wall visible from within the lounge and from the concourse below.
Amex Centurion Lounge safety initiatives
As with all Centurion Lounges, the new lounge in Denver will be keeping to Amex’s Centurion Lounge commitment which has been designed to keep guests safe and healthy during their stay. Everything you need to know about the newly introduces health and safety measures can be found in the infographic below (click to enlarge).
Who can access Amex Centurion Lounges?
Access to Amex Centurion Lounges is restricted to the holders of the following cards:
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- The Centurion Card® from American Express
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Holders of the Skymiles Reserve cards can only access the Centurion Lounges when flying with Delta.
As of 1 February 2023, holders of Amex’s Platinum Card and SkyMiles Reserve Cards are now charged $50 for each guest they bring into a Centurion Lounge (up to two guests) although Platinum Card holders can get this rule waived if they spend at least $75,000 per year on their card
There is no change to the Centurion Card’s guess access privileges.
For flyers originating at an airport with a Centurion Lounge, access is granted a maximum of 3 hours before their scheduled departure time. For flyers connecting at an airport with a Centurion Lounge, that limitation is waived.
Bottom line
The second-largest Centurion Lounge in the world will be welcoming guests from 1 February 2021 days when the doors of the Denver Centurion Lounge are thrown open. In the era of Covid-19 things won’t exactly feel “normal” but if you’re traveling through Denver and have access courtesy of one of the cards in your wallet, this looks like it could be a very nice place in which to spend some time.
If any readers are passing through Denver in the coming weeks and visit the new lounge, please report back and let us know what you think of the new facility.
Featured image courtesy of American Express
