The Centurion Lounge

Airport

Houston (IAH)

Terminal

Terminal D

Location

Airside

Not sure when the policies changed, but I’ve consistently qualified for additional guests every year (which gives you an idea of how much I spend with AMEX). Today I went to the lounge with my wife and daughter and they have nearly the entire lounge restricted for seating. We were shown a small couch that all 3 of us could share, which is ridiculous. I understand they are trying to make room for as many guests as possible, but it should be within reason.

Worst Centurion lounge in the country. Been here multiple times. Super tiny and packed. Always a line checking in/queue to get seated. Even when there’s no wait to get it it’s hard to find a spot inside. Pervious bartenders are bad and the current ones are good. Food bar is tiny. The whole layout of this lounge is horrible. Location is right after TSA via elevator. The gate level entrance is badly sign and hard to find for first timers. Slow elevators and they move trash in the same elevator. Avoid if possible.

The checkin personnel are nice. Showers are one reason I pay for Centurion and not United lounge membership. And oatmeal raisin cookies are a nice break from chocolate chips.

Not even worth having the perk if I can’t even access the lounge every time I attempt to visit. Over 30 minute wait to even get to the front counter

In general, Centurion lounges have higher standards than your regular US carrier lounges. Within the CENTURION network there are some differences. The Houston lounge is solid, there are some smaller issues. Staff is not that friendly, especially at the front desk when you leave, they are busy chatting instead of saying good bye. Toilets are clean but not spotless. Sometimes there are glasses missing at stations . I have also waited an extra few minutes in the morning as they did not open on time. The one suggestion I have is: offer meats that are not deep fried. I know, this food ch live reflects the local cuisine, but not a healthy one. The lounge also has one shower- which is also clean. They added a co-branded quiet area with CALM, which is nice, but there is no physical sound barrier ( solid wall) to actually mKe it quiet. The lounge is hidden and the approach is not pretty ( but much better than it was at the beginning). It sometimes gets crazy busy with long wait times (like most Amex lounges). I like spending my time here- it is a bit out of the way for all my flights. Given the choice, I would pick a SWISS lounge, United Polaris or Cathey business lounge over a Centurion.

The lounge is small but decent with good food and service. My issue is with the 3 hour policy. We came from terminal A which requires a lot of walking and a train ride. Plan for 20-25 minutes from A to D. Then we waited 20 minutes in the amex lounge line to get to the desk where they check your eligibility. We explained that even though we were 3:30 minutes from departure (not boarding) and we were 20-25 from our gate, so shouldn't that count? They didn't care and turned us away. We went back upstairs via the corridor to nowhere and the elevator back to duty free. Worthless. My wife has several amex cards for her business plus we each have an amex delta reserve card. Both reserve cards increased their fees in 2024 and we are paying a lot for this privilege. In total, we are making amex huge amounts of money and yet they can't admit us to their lounge because of some arbitrary rule? I'm so dissatisfied with Amex and their policies. I'm on the verge of canceling this stupid card and also the Delta 2024 changes make it difficult to justify it. Today's experience was so small for Amex and their lounges but so huge in my consumer perception of their awful service. Also this lounge is a dungeon with zero view and small, smelly bathrooms. Avoid.

Gate D6, elevator to M level. For breakfast, the skillet potato with lemon rosemary and harissa poached eggs with avocado crema were phenomenal. The picked strawberries and honey goat cheese toast also amazing. Love the top cheesy layer of the scrambled eggs with Grana Padano!!! Thanks Chef Justin Yu! Lastly, I love the excellent selection of premium teas here. And Joy, who tends the hot food area is super friendly and super nice!

I prefer American Express Centurion Lounges over airline clubs. Centurion Lounges have chef prepared meals and always unique and fresh. This lounge is located around D12 gate. Go towards the duty free shop and then you will see elevator to go down towards the lounge. Took a lot of pictures of the lounge, food and the facilities. Pretty good overall. I picked this one over United Club.

I like centurion lounges and I like how there are many workers there. From getting to the lounge there is a person to find you a seat. The food is okay and probably good by lounges standards. The only issue is that there is always a lineup to get into the lounge and the lounge is packed.