Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links below. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
While traveling to Punta Cana this weekend, we had around five hours before our connection from Miami International Airport (MIA). The Centurion® Lounge by American Express was the perfect place to hang out, work, eat, and relax before our flight. It was incredibly crowded (and over capacity by the time we left), but it worked well for this long layover. I had been to this location before, but did not get the chance to review it.
Access
Access to the Centurion® Lounge is given to customers carrying The Platinum Card® from American Express, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, The Centurion® Card, the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, or the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card. Cardholders are entitled to bring two guests (or immediate family with a Centurion® Card) as long as they spend over $75,000 a year on their card. If that threshold is not hit then only the cardholder can enter for free with a fee of $50 per guest ($30 for children ages 2-17) per visit.
The lounge is located up a floor and a glass elevator takes you directly there.
Anthony’s Take: I liked the lounge, overall. It’s crowded and some of the food is a bit odd, but it was comfortable and we luckily found a table for two with views of the tarmac. I don’t think expansion is possible, but the lounge could use some extra space given the number of people that pack into it.
Bar
When entering the lounge, you’ll find the bar on the far right side. Unlike most airline lounges, all alcohol here is complimentary. This includes premium spirits and wines. American Express even has cocktail menus that vary by location.
A wine bar is to the left near the smaller buffet.
A coffee machine, iced tea, and citrus-flavored water was near the Children’s Room.
Drip coffee and Chocolate Chip Cookies were also found here.
More citrus-flavored water and tea were offered near the wine bar.
Lemonade and more water was on the other side of the wine bar.
Food
There are two different buffets in this lounge. You won’t go hungry in a Centurion® Lounge (even though some of the dishes are a little odd). The menus are different in each location and the food is generally high quality. There are fresh ingredients to make a salad as well as several hot dishes, soups, snacks, fruit, and a few desserts. The buffet to the right was more substantial and both had different dishes. Amex has also been adding pop-up cooking stations to the lounges. An Italian one was featured during our visit.
Zatar Chicken
Steamed Broccolini with Garlic
Cream of Mushroom Soup
Cuban Beans & Rice
Salad ingredients
More salad ingredients
Even more salad ingredients
Chocolate Orange Pudding
Israeli Salad, Southern Style Turkey Salad, and Butternut Squash Baba Ganoush
Crudite and green juice (yuck)
Daal Mahkani, Carrot Ginger Coconut Soup, and Sugar Cookies
The live cooking station offered several dishes. Rigatoni a la Vodka and Shrimp Scampi were heated to order.
Caprese Toast
Arugula & Parmesan Salad
Coffee Cream Tart
Seating & Decor
There are all sorts of seating configurations for working, socializing, and lounging. While we visited there were hardly any open seats. Our table is pictured above. I liked that the seating was broken into several rooms.
This later became the live cooking station.
We were seated nearby.
Seating by the windows offered great views.
Two phone booths offered privacy for calls. Decor throughout feels like every other Amex lounge.
Amenities
The lounge offers the food and beverages above, lots of seating (but still not enough), a Children’s Room (pictured above), a business center, showers (these were occupied), and departure boards.
A computer and printer were available for guest use.
Departure boards
Overall Impression:
American Express has tried to make the lounges more restrictive to help with overcrowding. It’s helping a little, but demand is still sky high. We enjoyed our time at the Miami location and will be back. Lunch was tasty and the Wi-Fi worked well. I don’t need much more to keep me happy.
User Generated Content Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat encourages constructive discussions, comments, and questions. Responses are not provided by or commissioned by any bank advertisers. These responses have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the responsibility of the bank advertiser to respond to comments.
Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
1 comment
Kind of a tribute to your skills as a photographer that you got pictures of so many empty seats in a crowded lounge.
While I find some of the food selections a bit eclectic I’m not sure they’re strange. Perhaps it’s indicative of the multicultural nature of Miami. Certainly less staid than other locations.