American Express Centurion Lounge London Heathrow Review
Recently, I had the chance to visit the Centurion Lounge at London Heathrow Terminal 3 before my flight to San Francisco.
Recently, I had the chance to visit the Centurion Lounge at London Heathrow Terminal 3 before my flight to San Francisco. To access the lounge located near gate 12, you'll need to scan your boarding pass and show your American Express Platinum or Centurion card.
Despite its small capacity of 72 people, the Centurion Lounge exudes elegance and sophistication with its blue and gold accents. There are several seating options, including sofas, armchairs, dining tables, and bar stools, all of which are equipped with power outlets and USB ports for your convenience.
I visited twice over the course of two weeks and on my first visit the lounge was felt cramped. There were no empty seats and the lounge has no natural light - making it a sweaty dungeon.
It was a different story on my second visit when it was mostly empty.
If you need to freshen up before your flight, you can request a key at the reception desk for the shower room, where you'll find towels and toiletries provided. I took advantage of this and while I had better showers it was certainly adequate and a great amenity.
And of course, no lounge experience is complete without food and drinks. The bar serves a variety of beverages, including cocktails, wine, beer, spirits, soft drinks, coffee, and tea. You can either order from the staff or use the self-service stations. Meanwhile, the buffet serves hot and cold dishes throughout the day, with options ranging from breakfast items to salads, sandwiches, soups, pasta, curry, fish and chips, desserts, and more.
This may just be me and my off taste but I found none of the food options appetizing enough to try. In fact I walked to a nearby coffee shop instead to have some breakfast (I was also jetlagged and had access to the excellent Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at the same time).
I mused about it with the staff and they confirmed that menu changes are upcomug to make the spread 'less British'.
Overall, the London Heathrow Centurion Lounge is a pleasant affair but feels much more 'downmarket' then its US brethren.
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