The number one thing I’d been looking forward to my entire trip to Denver was visiting the Amex Centurion Lounge. It opened in early 2021 and many have said it’s one of the best in the entire lounge network. I was also excited to try the action station pastas. I had high expectations, and it easily lived up to them.
Denver Amex Centurion Lounge Location & Hours
The Centurion Lounge is located upstairs near Gate 46 in Concourse C – Southwest is the main airline operating from there. That’s slightly annoying for passengers flying other airlines, because you have to take the train between the different concourses. It would make it difficult to visit the lounge if you have a relatively tight connection. I’m not sure this was the best choice for Amex. I can’t imagine that passengers flying Southwest are the most likely group to have lounge access.
The current hours are from 7am-8pm, and like with all Centurion lounges, you can supposedly only enter the lounge 3 hours before your departing flight. However, we managed to get on the waitlist 3h45min before our flight, and entered 3h30min before departure. So the rule isn’t necessarily enforced here.
Denver Amex Centurion Lounge Layout & Amenities
The reception area (and entire lounge) is located up a set of escalators, above Gate C47. It’s U-shaped, and after checking in you turn to the left to enter. Along the side is a narrow hallway containing plenty of tables and seating areas.
As you walk down the hallway towards the “back” of the lounge you’ll find a small snack & drink area, plus the main buffet. Near the buffet are proper tables if you want to sit down and enjoy a meal.
Continuing around the corner, you’ll find one of two bars and some additional seating areas. Interestingly, part of each seating section was blocked off – possibly for Centurion card holders.
The restrooms are located close to the lounge, and were kept clean and organized. I didn’t have the chance to take a look, but there are also two shower suites in the same spot.
On the other side of the lounge, you’ll find a variety of different seating options, as well as a second snack/drink station. I was happy to see that each chair had access to plenty of outlets to charge devices.
There’s a long, communal table that was intended to be a workspace, but actually was used by a group of people watching sports on the TV. Additionally, that area had a long countertop with a printer that was supposedly a business center.
There were multiple partially enclosed chairs and tables. Next to those was a phone room, of which there was only one. If I had to point out a flaw in the lounge, this would probably be it. You’re almost guaranteed to have more than one person wanting to use the phone room at any given moment.
You’ll also find the game room on this side of the lounge, with a mountain landscape painted on the walls. Before visiting the lounge I had seen pictures of the mountain wall and was determined to locate it – thankfully it was easy to find. The second bar is positioned over here as well.
Overall, the space is nicely laid out and there’s something for everyone. According to Amex, the lounge can seat about 300 people, so hopefully it never becomes too crowded.
Tarmac Views!
One of the best parts of the lounge, at least for me, are the large windows that allow for planespotting. In reality, it’s mostly just Southwest 737s, but from the south side of the lounge you can see across to Concourse B (where United operates from). It’s still a nice touch though.
Denver Amex Centurion Lounge Food
The food was definitely the highlight. I haven’t been to a majority of Amex lounges, but without doubt, the quality and options here are far superior to those of my home airport (SFO)’s Centurion lounge. This specific location has partnered with Chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson to create an Italian-inspired menu.
There’s an extensive buffet set up, which during my lunchtime visit included everything from salads to fresh fruit to egg bruschetta and chicken pasta (there’s an different spread for breakfast). Even just the buffet itself had so many more options than other Centurion lounges. I was impressed by how any allergens were clearly identified, something that all airport lounges could improve on.
Denver Amex Centurion Lounge Buffet 
Denver Amex Centurion Lounge Buffet 
Denver Amex Centurion Lounge Buffet 
Denver Amex Centurion Lounge Buffet 
Denver Amex Centurion Lounge Buffet 
Denver Amex Centurion Lounge Buffet 
Denver Amex Centurion Lounge Buffet 
Denver Amex Centurion Lounge Buffet 
Denver Amex Centurion Lounge Buffet 
Denver Amex Centurion Lounge Buffet 
Denver Amex Centurion Lounge Buffet
I tried a the egg salad bruschetta and wild rice blend, as well as some fresh fruit, and two desserts. The wild rice blend was so yummy that I went back for seconds, and the fresh fruit was really fresh. I’m not a huge dessert eater, but somehow I finished a whole slice of lemon pound cake and a brownie. I was so impressed with the food in this lounge. My only critique is that it would be good to have a vegetarian salad…I couldn’t eat the caesar salad because it had anchovy paste. I’m not sure why that was a necessary ingredient anyways.
In addition to the buffet, there’s a “Live Action Station” with freshly prepared pastas. The day I visited they were serving a delicious vegetarian gnocchi, which was so good that I would’ve been happy with it at a normal restaurant. The idea is that you’re able to customize it to your own liking, and I did see one person with a tasty-looking cheese gnocchi that must have been specifically requested.
There were also two little stations with water (flavoured and unflavoured), coffee, tea, and goldfish. Well at least one of them had goldfish. They were identical in every way except for the lack of snacks at one. Not that I wanted goldfish when there was so much other delicious food on offer, but it simply didn’t make sense.
Finally, there were two separate bars, which I obviously didn’t sample anything from. However they were consistently crowded throughout my 3.5 hour stay, so the drinks must have been decent.
Final Thoughts
I was super impressed by Denver’s Amex Centurion Lounge – the food was delicious, it was spacious and didn’t feel too overcrowded, and all the little details were perfect. In general, Centurion lounges are high quality, but this one seemed especially well-done. I hope to fly through Denver again soon so I can revisit this lounge!
