The American Express Centurion lounge in Denver is among the larger ones at a little over 14,000 square feet. Still, the gate C46 spot gets pretty crowded. The afternoon I was there recently it took 20 minutes from the time I added myself to the list to the time I was eligible to enter.
The line to get into the lounge once I’d ‘cleared the list’ took easily as long as the wait list did. The couple of agents were just moving slowly, and people had questions. Plus the Amex procedure is cumbersome, since they require producing (3) separate items
- the credit card used for access
- boarding pass
- and ID (surely they could trust a cardmember with a Platinum card, who made it past TSA with an ID already? This step just strikes me as gauche)
They check your card spend status and then so many guests require payment. That’s when folks start to figure out if maybe they have more than one Platinum card among the group? And they start searching their bags for it. It just takes time to enter a Centurion lounge, sometimes.
My ‘token’ ran out while waiting in line at the lounge, but agents didn’t shrug at that. I was welcomed in no problem eventually.
The lounge has a horseshoe layout with two long hallways, plenty of abundant natural light, varied seating pods, workstations, a family room, and a game room.
The highlight of the lounge – and some people love it, others hate it, my view was a bit more in the middle – is the food. They have actual beef, not something I’ve seen much of in Centurion lounges the past several years as the food budget appears to have been cut back.
There is also a live cook station where they make omelets and pasta. These aren’t expensive items! But anything prepared hot and fresh, even just finishing off pasta, is going to be better than buffet.
Folks like the craft beer bar, and the overall design and atmosphere.
And, of course, is any Centurion lounge really complete without an out of order espresso machine?
While wait times can frustrate, these appear to be less of an issue right at opening as well as midday and late evening.
Is it weird to say I miss the early days of ‘Member Since’ as the wifi password and that they shouldn’t have changed it off of ‘Member Of’?
Access is available up to 3 hours before your scheduled departure; valid for departing or connecting flights only. This is gained via American Express Platinum and Business Platinum cards, Centurion cards and Delta Reserve cards with a same day Delta boarding pass. Guests aren’t complimentary for Platinum customers unless they spend $75,000 on the card each year. Guests are $50 for adults and $30 for minors.
Whenever I see the spoof reels of “Altima Airlines” on social media, I immediately think of the Centurion Lounge crowds.
If the Amex Platinum card didn’t guarantee me entry into the DL Sky Club, I would have no reason to carry it. And if the Centurion lounges are the best that Amex can offer, then we have truly lost our way in what lounges are supposed to represent. Once upon a time, they were sanctuaries of calm and comfort amid the airport chaos. Today, they feature long lines and even waitlists just to enter, only to find overcrowded seating areas filled with dirty dishes, trash (both literally and figuratively), and diminished food and beverage quality. At some locations, slovenly-dressed guests have even resorted to sitting or sleeping near the entrance mimicking West Coast under-bridge transients, because there is nowhere else for them to go.
Meanwhile, Amex continues to raise fees, with rumors that the annual cost could approach $1,000 in the near future. They bring in award-winning chefs and mixologists to elevate the menus, but a better cocktail after a 20-minute queue does not change the fundamental problem of overcrowding. Luxury cannot mask congestion.
When a lounge is filled beyond capacity, the experience loses any sense of exclusivity and comfort. The Centurion lounges may be beautifully designed, but when you arrive to full-capacity chaos, there is no real refuge. Instead, they have just become another crowded and annoying airport space, only with better furniture.
What is needed is a return to the basics: more space that delivers genuine lounge value. Absent that, travelers are simply paying more for less, and the promise of a serene pre-flight experience disappears. A few cuts of beef will never make up for the decline.
Gonna be there soon, and will give a full report; you know us VFTW regulars, we like to wine and whine… with waits like those, gonna need to sign up for that digital waitlist while I’m still in Vail. Psh.
When have airport lounges become about food? There must be better places to eat than airport lounges. I view lounges as places for resting and privacy. I surely don’t want to wait in line to enter a very crowded lounge.
Good review. My biggest gripe is I can’t rely on the DEN trains not to strand me in C Concourse.
I don’t get the beef obsession. Chicken is healthier unless deep fried
Interesting, very nice review as usual — the LGA Chase one from yesterday definitely looks nicer. I’m more of a small personal plate person rather than communal pots for food, but to each their own. A Mac and Cheese bar is cool, yum.
@1990 – looking forward to your thoughts!
to be honest …:
I don’t even go anymore.
It’s become ridiculous, very unpleasant, way overcrowded etc.
However big anyone makes their lounges, it’s really annoying what goes on there.
Exception is int’l Polaris, of course.
Not their fault, but I was there last week during a complete travel standstill due to ominous weather and it was an hour and a half before I got my text, then another 20 minutes to make it through the queue.
The CLT lounge is often under capacity when on a wait-list, but at least they only have a group of 5 or 6 people who get the notification at a time, making actually getting into the lounge much easier.
Nope… There is very little reason for me to keep the card anymore. Dell is not a deal anymore, lounge access is a pita. Most of the business benefits are meaningless.
United Club and maybe Chase Sapphire.
Worst lounge I’ve ever been in. Went for breakfast. There were soggy juevos rancheros. Oatmeal without any toppings (no honey, nuts, berries, anything.) I couldn’t find enough decent food to offset the calories I burned walking there.
I solved my dilemma about going from t8-t4 at JFK to try the new Capone lounge on AA . Rather thannsclep, I got a pastrami sandwich from Katz’s the day before, and brought half to the airport. No need to sclep!
“…my view was a bit more in the middle…”
No surprise there, you’re a habitual fence-sitter.
And when he was done complaining, Gary Left.
@Beachfan — You made the right call.
We were in there 10 days ago and the food is really good there. Alot better than the C1 lounge Denver. Also like the dark draft beer at DIA Centurion and the bartenders are always friendly. Strange they card 50 year olds and others don’t whatever I guess. You really do have to join the wait list as you land
DEN based here… I don’t bother with this lounge anymore. As Gary mentioned, the queue to get in takes forever as they have to check 3 docs / cards to get in. TSA (can you believe it) is more efficient.
And the live-cook making Kraft mac-n-cheese, please don’t make me sneeze.
Gary Leff wrote, “And, of course, is any Centurion lounge really complete without an out-of-order espresso machine?” This is so true. It is frustrating to wait 30 to 60 minutes to gain access to the AMEX Centurion Lounge, only to discover that the push-button cappuccino machine is out of service. American Express advertises that card membership comes with privileges. So why not provide a $10 American Express gift card for use at the airport Starbucks as compensation for the inconvenience caused by their frequently out-of-order espresso machines?
This is why I got rid of my Amex plat. Not only do you wait for an hour at DEN, they charge you for a guest.
The newish Admirals Club in terminal C is a far better experience overall. I’ll only head to this space when flying Southwest which I hope is less frequently.
Denver frequent flyer here. Let me offer a comparison you didn’t ask for, between C1 and Amex lounges, as I go to both frequently:
C1:
– Typically a shorter detour as I fly United
– Better food, bite for bite, but menu rarely changes so it gets stale over time. Desserts are on-point and varied.
– Much better grab and go situation
– Reservable office rooms
– Very nice, “cocaine style” bathrooms (iykyk) that get backed up in the morning (no pun intended)
– Has a great spot to change a diaper and multiple high chairs. Food is more baby-friendly
– Have had to teach (different) bartenders how to make an Espresso Martini, and Boulevardier
Amex:
– Much better bar program, with more competent bartenders
– Has a kids playroom
– The food repeats but rotates. Easier to overstuff yourself
– Cold brew behind the bar is better than any caffeine option at C1
Both allow you to enter a digital waitlist from your phone. If there’s a waitlist, I typically add myself to one/both as I arrive at the airport, and go where I know I can walk in.
If there are no waitlists, I head to whichever I’m in the mood for – typically dependent on my desires to drink, take a quiet work call, or get grab-and-go for my flight.
The espresso machine at Centurion is the shake machine at McDonald’s.
The worst is the ability to only take one drink at a time from the bar.
While my wife spends her time chatting with a friend, i spend my time going back and forth from the bar.
Thank goodness for the giant vessel of M&M’s…
AMEX Centurian Lounge is a real class act, Gary. Filled with plebs.
https://viewfromthewing.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/20250629_155035.jpg
People that pay a $600 a year plus lounge credit card fee to stand in line, deal with overcrowding, and lines for the bathroom stall all for the chance at free 7/11 type food boggles my mind. At least an airline lounge can give you “some” travel assistance if needed.
@Steven – The bar rules in Centurion lounges may seem heavy-handed, but when the place is packed wall-to-wall with the unwashed masses, many of whom can’t even be bothered to dress decently, it becomes clear why the staff is compelled to keep such a tight grip on the hooch.
The cap one lounge waitlist website no longer lets you view the waitlist, which changed shortly after this publication’s recent review. Which serves as a reminder of the contribution to ruining nice things all the travel entertainment publishers / bank credit floggers make on a weekly basis.
@L737 — I finally made it. Was it worth it? Of course it was. Need proof? WiFi code is ‘AmexTravel1850’ at the moment. No meaningful wait, but still used the digital waitlist to access (like, got the QR code within 5 minutes.) Craft beer? Yes. Hazy IPA was excellent. Made-to-order and cheese station? Yes, again. Nice lemon tarts for dessert, too. Better than the United Club at B; worth the plane train ride to C. A bit crowded but didn’t have to fight too hard for seats. I don’t have access to CapOne yet, so maybe next time!
Oh, and @Mike Hunt is not kidding; Centurion at DEN asks for ID for everyone, one drink per person per time, like you can’t get one for your partner, either they gotta be there with you or go up for themselves. I guess, rules are rules, but heavy-handed indeed, here at least.
@1990 — Nice! Glad you didn’t have to wait (given the stories) and to hear a positive review. Next time I’m in DEN, I’ll see if I can connect to the WiFi from the floor below, heh. Cheese stations ftw — the concept has a premium feel to it.
Speaking of bar lounges, IDs, and DEN – not sure if he’s still there but for a while there was a bartender at the Cap 1 lounge whose shtick was to tell ask for ID for nonalcoholic drinks and then joke to his fellow bartenders not to serve them because they were underage (when they clearly weren’t). Pretty funny guy.