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When it comes to premium airport lounges, American Express Centurion Lounges generally offer a top-tier experience with high-quality food, comfortable seating, and exclusive perks for Platinum and Centurion cardholders. Unfortunately, the LAX Centurion Lounge by American Express at Los Angeles International Airport is an outlier—in the worst way possible. After visiting numerous Centurion Lounges across the country, including the outstanding location in Las Vegas, I had high expectations for LAX. Instead, I walked away frustrated, disappointed, and convinced this was the worst premium lounge I had ever experienced.
LAX is already one of the most confusing airports in the country, and trying to locate the Centurion Lounge is no exception. The lounge is situated in Terminal 4, but if your flight departs from another terminal, be prepared for a headache. In our case, we were flying out of Terminal 6, which meant an unnecessarily complicated (and long) trek. The signage directing us to the lounge wasn’t even unclear – it was nonexistent. After wandering through multiple terminals and my wife stopping to ask multiple employees for directions, we finally found an entrance. This initial hassle set the tone for what would be a frustrating experience.
Upon entering the LAX Centurion Lounge, my first initial thoughts were that it was very crammed and felt like a tight space. It’s not that the lounge is small – it was actually quite sizable – it’s just that all the space is tucked away in areas that aren’t obvious and are somewhat concealed. Every Centurion Lounge gets busy at peak hours, but this one felt particularly chaotic. The layout is extremely tight, with seating areas crammed together, making it difficult to find a comfortable spot to relax. Unlike other Centurion Lounges that feel luxurious and spacious, this one felt more like an overcrowded waiting area.
Adding to the confusion, the lounge has several sections that are easy to miss. There are showers, a private workspace, and expanded seating areas, but unless you know exactly where to look, you might never realize they exist. The way these areas are laid out makes navigating the lounge unnecessarily difficult. I’ve visited many airport lounges that manage space efficiently, but this wasn’t one of them.
My favorite lounge (so far) is the Delta Sky Club Lounge in Seattle. Read our full review here.
One of the biggest perks of Centurion Lounges is the high-quality food, often crafted by well-known chefs. Unfortunately, the LAX location fell short in this department as well. The food selection was uninspiring and lacked the quality I’ve enjoyed at other Centurion Lounges. For comparison, the food at the Centurion Lounge in Las Vegas (Harry Reid International Airport) is significantly better, offering a more diverse selection and better flavors. Even the Delta Sky Club in Seattle, which isn’t even an Amex lounge, serves a much better spread than what was available at LAX; albeit we visited the Delta Sky Club Lounge in Seattle during Thanksgiving, so this is an outlier as well – this time in the best way possible.
If you’re expecting a gourmet meal before your flight, prepare to be disappointed. While it’s nice to have complimentary food in a lounge, the selection and quality here don’t feel like the premium experience American Express is known for.
As frustrating as it was to find the lounge, getting back to our departure gate was even worse. Since we were flying out of Terminal 6, we had to navigate back from Terminal 4, and this is where things really went off the rails. Somehow, in the maze that is LAX, we ended up completely outside the secure area of the airport. Instead of being in Terminal 6, we found ourselves in the baggage claim area—an absolute disaster for anyone trying to catch a flight.
This mistake meant we had to go through security all over again, losing precious time in the process. We nearly missed our flight because of how confusing the airport layout is and the lack of clear directions for lounge guests needing to return to different terminals. I can confidently say this is the worst experience I’ve had trying to navigate between an airport lounge and a departure gate. This is a bit off topic in terms of reviewing the actual lounge itself, but it feeds into the experience overall and would make me reconsider making the trek from a far terminal to the LAX Centurion Lounge in the future.
After visiting multiple Centurion Lounges, I can say with certainty that the LAX location is the worst of the bunch. Between the overcrowded and poorly designed space, subpar food, and the logistical nightmare of accessing and leaving the lounge, it was an incredibly disappointing experience.
If you have the Platinum Card by American Express (or Centurion card), the lounge is still a better option than sitting at a crowded gate, but just barely. If you can find a seat and don’t mind a lackluster meal, it’s a decent place to escape the chaos of LAX. However, if you have access to another premium lounge, you might be better off elsewhere.
Would I visit the LAX Centurion Lounge again? Only if I had absolutely no other option. the design space really needs to have been better thought out along with the functionality of it overall if American Express wants it to match the quality of other locations. Until then, I’d recommend keeping your expectations low—or simply skipping it altogether.
📷 All photos featured in this article were taken by Brandon Archambault
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