I was mortified by a 55-minute wait for the Denver Capital One lounge last summer, when I was number 73 on the wait list. The American Express Centurion Studio Fort Lauderdale said hold my beef and mid buffet.
Now, they offer reservations but those are only available to customers paying $45 apiece to enter, not to Amex Platinum cardmembers. And this lounge really isn’t worth $45 under most circumstances.
It’s a cobranded Escape lounge, located in terminal 3 after security on the walkway toward gates E1–E10. The lounge is about 5,400 square feet and convenient to American, JetBlue, and Spirit passengers.
You can only enter 3 hours prior to departure. Staff reported that the queue would take an hour and a half to clear. Assuming leaving 45 minutes prior to departure, showing up 3 hours in advance might allow for 45 minutes in the (very busy) lounge. To be sure, 45 minutes is plenty to be in this lounge. But it’s not worth showing up 3 hours prior to departure to have the opportunity
Credit: Escape Lounge FLL
This lounge is small and faces a lot of demand, but it’s well-designed with natural light and a staffed bar. The airlines it’s convenient to don’t have their own lounges here to take the pressure off. If you can get in, it’s better than the gate area even though the buffet is pretty limited and you may face restroom lines.
The good thing is they tell you where you are on the wait list! That way you can decide to join long before you even leave to head to the airport. And if it turns out the wait isn’t long, leave the list and rejoin later. Join when you hit the curb before going through TSA.
A digital wait list is better than physically standing in line, like you’re at a Delta Sky Club. And letting you know where you’re at on the list is super helpful to time when you join the list, in order to actually maximize chances of using the lounge once you’re airside in the terminal. Plus you can plan for other things to do while you wait.
Still, the idea that more than 150 people would queue for this shows you it’s precisely where exclusivity goes to die in a tasteful beige armchair. Calling it an Escape Lounge is ambitious when the main thing you’re escaping is the possibility of even finding a seat.
This was exactly what I witnessed last Saturday. I am still frustrated at it, but what will Amex do? Waste my time on a phone call to say they apologize? Nonsense. They gave the card away to many, and even after raising the annual fee, so many of us lice will wait around…..
The bigger issue is just how bad the FLL airport is and people’s desires to hide out in a cut-rate lounge vs a gate area…..
Oh my… our first world problems.
Was there last month, crowded but no wait. It’s a perfectly nice lounge and another reason why Amex Plat is the default card for many travelers – great to get access to these secondary lounges. Can be a bit of a line for the 3 single stall bathrooms. Food is perfectly good and comfortable seating.
I expect that to some degree this is a consequence of people fearing the worst about TSA wait times, arriving to FLL well earlier than they they ordinarily do, actually getting through security somewhat expeditiously, and then having an outsized post security duration, giving rise to a longer lounge visit.
As long as the wait at security is uncertain, lounge access will be more valuable.
I’ve been here a few times. It’s actually quite mid-range as lounges go — every time I’ve been it’s been stylish and clean, and the food is better than the United Club cold sandwich bites and chunks of old cheese!
Last time I checked, you can sign up for the waitlist within the AmEx app so you can do that pre-security and try to time things right to not be waiting around (since the lounge isn’t particularly near the gates, but in a post-security connector).
It’s not spectacular, but how much can $27/guest really buy given rental and labor costs? I’d be curious for a deep dive into lounge economics if you have the data.
FLL T3 needs an Admirals Club, but I guess AA is too cheap to invest in a proper lounge there. Amex’s mini-Centurion (Escapes) is decent (especially when they have the Cuban sandwiches), but, yeah, waiting hours for a chance to step inside is ‘no bueno.’ At least there’s a Zona Fresca in the terminal, which has some pretty tasty food. Wish there was airside connection between terminals, because T2 (DL, Air Canada) and T1 (UA, WN) have lounges (SkyClub, UnitedClub), but if you’re, say, flying Air Canada, you can’t easily access the Star Alliance lounge (UnitedClub).
@Parker — I recall you fly FLL a lot… think we’ll ever see an new T3?
@1990: There is a connector to be built between T2 and T3. Actually if you exit out from the AA gates at T3 and look left past the new-ish food court you see signage and a hallway off into a barricade that says terminal connector. There really isn’t much room for an Admirals Club as it is in T3 short of building a structure. The last space available went to be the Escape lounge (and it used to be the JetBlue crew base/lounge actually).
I’ve been in this lounge quite a few times…. mind you on week days and in the morning. They allow Amex Plats to bring in two guests for free. Lots of families in there. People lay across the sofas and take naps. Bags on seats. The staff just shrug.
I’ve also seen where they’ve refused people with reservations due to the waiting list so high as it would “just piss people off” as the front desk said.
90 minute wait at Amex Centurion lounge at MIA yesterday afternoon. And you can’t even join the wait list until 3 hours before your flight (as opposed to being able to join waitlist anytime but wait to enter until 3 hours before). Was definitely not worth the wait. Food was mediocre at best.
I haven’t been to an Amex lounge without a wait or with lunch or dinner food that was comparable to Chase or the best airline lounges. Breakfast at LGA last week was pretty good.