American Express has really knocked it out of the park with their Centurion Lounge network.  What started out as an innocent little haven at DFW has grown to nine lounges across the world (for current list of all the Centurion Lounges you can visit the American Express landing page for the lounge network here).  They represent a unique value proposition for holders of the Amex Platinum and Centurion cards and were an immediate hit when they began popping up a few years ago.

They were a bit too popular, though, and, as should’ve been expected if we’re completely honest, overcrowding became an issue.  The DFW club, even though it had loads of seating and 12000 square feet of space, was particularly susceptible to overcrowding during the trans-Atlantic departure windows in the afternoons and the middle eastern flights in the mornings.

Mercifully American Express decided to just build a new lounge for DFW, which opened recently.  I had the chance to visit the lounge yesterday and thought I’d give you a quick look.

(I seriously didn’t have very much time to visit the lounge so I apologize if the pictures aren’t up to my usual standard)

Lounge Location

The new Centurion Lounge is located in terminal D at DFW, not far from the old one.  It’s on the mezzanine level of the airport basically right above the D15 security checkpoint.  Go through security, turn left, and you’ll see a big blue wall with an illuminated entryway beckoning you to enter.

There’s a quick elevator ride up to the lounge, where you’re greeted by familiar wooden finishes as well as the living wall that’s common for all Centurion Lounges (with an updated mural-esque installation just behind the reception desk.

Inside the Lounge

When you walk in you’ll immediately have to make a choice, left or right.  To the left will be the dining area and bar, to the right is quite a bit of seating as well as a coffee station.  Let’s turn to the right first.  The showers are located in this direction too (you need to speak with the reception desk to arrange for a shower).

I thought that the inclusion of some larger chaise lounge seats in this seating area was a nice touch, although with increasingly strict restrictions on when someone can enter the Lounge I’m not sure if anyone would ever have time to use them.

If you turn left when you enter the Lounge you’ll walk down a long and narrow hallway with myriad seating options (I could see this becoming a congestion point with people having luggage strewn about).

The seating areas are nice and there are a wide variety, which should suit solo travelers as well as families.

Eventually you’ll arrive at the dining/bar area, which is much larger than the original club.

(The bar was closed because, well, it was 5:40am)

There were again a wide variety of seating options available with power outlets alongside the windows so people could eat and charge their devices.

Past the dining area there’s yet another seating area, complete with a conference table next to the business center.  Everywhere you look the interior design is on-brand, interesting, and visually distinctive.  As much as I love the amenities of the space the design is one of my favorite parts of visiting a Centurion Lounge.

There are a few more seating options dotted around past the dining area as well.

What about the bathrooms, showers, and spa?

I didn’t get pics of any of them unfortunately.  I’ve never been comfortable taking pictures inside a restroom because, well, it’s a restroom, and the showers were occupied while I was there.  The spa didn’t open until later so I missed out but will try to get back in soon to get some pictures of at least the spa for you.

My thoughts on the lounge

This is a wonderful improvement on the already-sterling original DFW Centurion Lounge.  I think they made good use of the space they had but overcrowding will still be a problem during busier hours (purely a function of the induced demand from the lounges being so wonderful honestly), particularly around the entryway and hallway between the entrance and dining area.  That said, though, it’s still a wonderful lounge and is certainly one of the best lounges available in the entire USA.  It’s by far the best lounge at DFW (and will probably remain so even after American opens their Flagship Lounge in terminal D, although Flagship First Dining is pretty wonderful).

All in all American Express did a wonderful job and should be very proud of the new Centurion Lounge, I’m glad it’s back!

I want to visit, how do I gain access?

Instead of trying to type it out and be all creative and whatnot, I’ll just send you to the Access Policy from American Express, that way if it gets updated you’ll always have an up-to-date link instead of me needing to go back and change it every time something changes.

The Centurion Lounge Access Policy

What do you think of the new Centurion Lounge at DFW?  Which is your favorite Centurion Lounge?  Tell me in the comments below!