New York City, the Big Apple, is obviously a key premium market for AMEX given its dense concentration of business travelers. Interestingly, because of the airport’s layout and terminal size, AMEX chose in 2014 to place its only Centurion Lounge in New York at LaGuardia Airport (LGA).
Centurion Lounge is the best domestic lounge brand in the US, bar none, so today we came to LGA to check it out.
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Who can enter the Centurion Lounge?
Anyone holding an AMEX Platinum card (including all the various Platinum versions), AMEX Business Platinum (again, all versions), or an AMEX Centurion card can enter for free and bring up to two guests. I’ve heard you may also be able to apply for a card on site, but I didn’t try it. In addition, everyone must have a same-day boarding pass. Under the newer policy, you can only enter within 3 hours of departure; arriving passengers cannot enter. If you’re connecting, you can still enter, and the 3-hour limit does not apply. Children under 2 are free.
If you have another AMEX card, you may also be able to purchase a day pass for $50, and on that same day you can also visit other Centurion Lounges at airports. If you don’t have any AMEX card at all, then unfortunately you can’t get in even if you’re willing to pay.
How to find Centurion Lounge LGA
This Centurion Lounge is located outside security rather than in the post-security departure area, probably because of LGA’s odd design: one terminal is split into 4 separate sections that don’t connect to one another, which makes building a lounge difficult. The good news is that there are signs throughout the airport pointing to the lounge, so Centurion Lounge is fairly easy to find. Between Concourses B and C of the Central Terminal, there is an elevator that takes you up to the 3rd floor, and the Centurion Lounge entrance is right there.
Note that Centurion Lounge LGA closes at 6:30pm on Saturdays, earlier than its usual 8pm closing time.
First look at the lounge layout
The design outside the Centurion Lounge entrance is basically the same everywhere: a bunch of leaves plus an AMEX logo, nothing especially unique.
I took out my AMEX Platinum card and my boarding pass on my phone. The receptionist quickly swiped the card and confirmed I was eligible to enter. Even if you forget to bring the card, you can reportedly give your SSN to get in, which is very convenient.
The lounge as a whole is laid out in a U shape. The room near the entrance makes up the left side of the U, while a fairly long hallway connects the two larger rooms.
There is also a table here that can serve as a casual meeting space.
Similarly, the business area has computers and a printer available for free use.
From there, we walked out into the hallway. The corridor has plenty of AMEX’s signature oversized lounge chairs. They can easily fit two people, and for one person they feel very spacious. There are also a lot of TVs placed directly in front of the seating.
Following the hallway takes you to the dining area and bar on the right side.
The bar was also quite busy.
Food and drinks
Of course, once we got here, the next thing to check out was the food. What makes Centurion Lounge stand out versus other domestic lounges is that the food here can actually be a real meal. I arrived at a slightly awkward time that happened to span the transition from breakfast to lunch, so I got lucky and was able to see both the breakfast and lunch offerings.
The breakfast selection included cereal, plus cooked eggs.
The presentation was far better than what you usually see at a hotel breakfast.
There was also a nice variety of fruit. Not long after that, the spread switched over to lunch, including salad:
And of course there were main dishes as well. Today’s hot items were:
Here was my lunch plate:
Rice, fried chicken, and noodles—pretty solid! Most airport fast food probably doesn’t reach this level, and for a place that’s effectively free to access, I was very satisfied.
Service
There was a coffee machine as well as juices and other beverages. After I sat down, a server proactively came by to ask what drink I wanted, and refills were handled very attentively. Big thumbs-up here.
Final thoughts
Centurion Lounge LaGuardia is in the top tier of domestic airport lounges in the US. The food and service are both excellent. Even when compared with the highly competitive lounges in international terminals, it still comes out at above-average to strong. If you’re heading through LGA and have a premium AMEX card, don’t miss it.
Another author, Darren, has also visited this lounge. Here’s his review: