Lounge Review: Centurion Lounge Buenos Aires Ezeiza Aiport

January 2, 2023March 4, 2025by milesforplaces1 Comment

Over the last few months, I’ve been fortunate to transit through airports with an AMEX Centurion Lounge. Ezeiza Airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina, happened to be another one of those airports. Centurion Lounge access is complimentary for those holding an American Express Platinum card during our visit. At the time of our visit, cardholders were also allowed to bring in one guest (and children under 16), so my wife was able to benefit. As of 2023, AMEX Platinum cardholders must spend $75k annually on the card for complimentary guest access.

This lounge is in Terminal C, past immigration/customs and security. Take the elevator or stairs to the second floor right past gate 15, and you will find the lounge entrance.

Upon entering the lounge, the front desk staff will ask for your AMEX Platinum card and boarding pass. Once they have scanned both, you’re good to go.

FoodBA — The food options were sweet croissants, wheat and white bread, cheese, pastrami sandwiches, and banana nut muffins with powdered sugar. It was not quite the selection I’ve seen at other Centurion Lounges, but certainly better than many non-Centurion Lounges I’ve visited. Fresh orange juice and apple juice were also available.

DrinksBA — The beverage cooler was fully stocked with *soft drinks and adult beverages.*

This lounge had plenty of seating and did not suffer from being overcrowded when I was there. Perhaps traveling on a Sunday, which also happened to be New Year’s Eve, had a lot to do with that.

DiningAreaBA — *The dining area of the lounge*

One thing I noticed and appreciated about this lounge was the attentiveness of the staff. They would check on tables every 2-3 minutes to make sure any dishes, soda bottles, and cans were removed.

LoungeBA — Plenty of empty seats in the common area. Big time plus

The lounge was equipped with Apple iMacs. It might be the first lounge I’ve seen featuring Apple, and as a long-time Apple guy, I appreciated this.

They also had a room for the kids. Centurion Lounge is doing a great job making its lounges kid-friendly. I didn’t want to take pics while the kids were there (that would be creepy), so I waited until it emptied out. During my two hours there, it was undoubtedly being utilized for most of that time.

*Great job by AMEX for remembering the population that may become future AMEX Platinum cardholders.*

SpeedTestBA — *Wi-Fi connectivity could have been better.*

Overall, I’d give this lounge a 4.5/5. It could use a slightly enhanced food selection and faster connectivity, but it scored well on everything else: Plenty of seats, spacious Apple iMacs, and a playroom for children. The staff was very friendly and worked hard to keep the lounge clutter-free. If you’re an AMEX Platinum card holder flying out of Buenos Aires (EZE), visit this lounge.

Airport Lounges, Reviews, USA

Review: The Updated Centurion Lounge Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)

March 5, 2019June 30, 2024by milesforplacesLeave a Comment

The Centurion Lounge at DFW moved to a larger 12,000 square feet space in September of 2018, expanding its footprint by an additional 3,000 feet. Their old lounge was excellent, but it certainly felt crowded at times, so the additional space should help alleviate that. Rather than going up the escalator to enter the lounge as it was previously, you will find the entrance to the lounge on the ground floor. This will lead to an elevator, which you take to the second floor to enter the lounge. To enter the lounge, you must hold the AMEX Platinum Card, AMEX Business Platinum Card, or the AMEX Centurion Card. Other AMEX cards won’t get you in.

Food (Breakfast)

My wife, son, and I were here during breakfast hours, and I remember how great the spread was the last time I was here in 2017. The items may have changed, but the breakfast was still awesome.

Breads — The sweet corn muffins were excellent. My wife loved the oatmeal with granola.

fruits — Centurion Lounge always delivers with their fresh fruit offerings.

salsachips — Salsa and tortilla chips for breakfast? Why not?

EggFritata — Goat cheese egg frittata. This was the best part of having breakfast here. Delicious and you’re probably going to get up for a second serving.

In addition to the items pictured above, there was also pancakes and fresh juice. Since there were multiple people behind me, I refrained from taking a picture at that particular time.

espressomachine2 — The espresso machine can make a variety of beverages. I got their latte, and it was delicious.

Seating Area

As you would expect, with the lounge having expanded by more than 3,000 square feet, seating was plentiful, and I did not feel like the lounge was overcrowded. Certain sections of the lounge were more trafficked than others, but in general, there were plenty of seats for everyone.

corridor2 — They had different types of lighting to suit everyone’s needs.

Business

conferenceroom — For those who need a conference room, Centurion DFW has one.

Kids Room

This is one of my favorite aspects of this lounge. They had a dedicated children’s playroom and it was perfect for my 5-month-old son as he was able to enjoy his first ever visit to an airport lounge.

Miscellaneous

The restrooms were clean, and there was also a dedicated shower area that you could utilize upon request at the front desk.

This lounge also has a spa where they give you a complimentary massage. I forgot to measure the Wi-Fi speed, but I can assure you it was fast. I have not visited a Centurion Lounge where connectivity was slow. The old Centurion Lounge was among my favorites, and AMEX has delivered and improved the experience at their newly renovated Centurion Lounge at DFW. Just remember that AMEX no longer allows passengers who have landed at their final destination city to use a Centurion Lounge in that particular city. Before the rule change, if Dallas was your final destination, you could still visit by showing your boarding pass. I think this is a fair rule change to alleviate crowding concerns. If your departure time is more than 3 hours away, AMEX also won’t allow you in. I believe this is also a change for the better. As far as this lounge, it scores a perfect 5/5 and continues to be my favorite Centurion Lounge I have visited thus far. There are a few others under construction, and I’m looking forward to visiting the one in JFK once it opens later this year. That lounge will be the largest Centurion Lounge at 15,000 square feet.

Airport Lounges, Reviews, USA

Review: United Club Chicago O’Hare International Airport B5

August 8, 2018July 3, 2024by milesforplacesLeave a Comment

On a very recent flight from Chicago to Albany, I had the opportunity to visit the United Club in Terminal 1 near gate B5. Special thanks to my mom for giving me her United Club pass and allowing me access. And speaking of United Club Lounges at ORD, I’ve crossed three of them off the list and have one more to go after completing my stay at this one. This lounge is located at Concourse B, so you don’t have to go through the underground tunnel at Terminal 1. The same rules apply to this lounge if you saw my last review of the United Club Lounge near B18.

Entrance

This lounge is located near gates B5 and B6. Once you have cleared security, take a left. The agents at the front desk will scan your one-day pass and boarding pass or just your boarding pass if you’re flying international business class or first class on a United Airlines or Star Alliance partner flight. If you have a United Club credit card, you have complimentary access as part of your card benefits.

*The escalator will take you to the main seating area*

Food

I wasn’t expecting much in the food department because that’s not what United does well at their Club Lounges. They don’t really offer the hot meals you would find at Centurion Lounge and certainly not the variety you would find at their upscale Polaris Lounge. This lounge had a variety of cheeses, veggies, three-bean salads, and a Mediterranean-style salad. The cheese was okay at best, and the three-bean salad was average. They also had delicious hot broccoli-cheddar soup. But honestly, it’s really hard to mess up broccoli-cheddar soup. Food should be canceled at their Club Lounges if they have done that.

FoodCheeseVeggies — Variety of cheeses but no crackers. Come on, United.

The brownies were fresh and tasted pretty good.

If you wanted snacks, they had a decent variety of salty and sweet.

Soup — Broccoli-cheddar soup. This was good.

This touch-screen Coca-Cola machine was one of my favorite things about this lounge.

Their espresso machine served a variety of caffeinated or decaf beverages, from lattes to cappuccinos.

Seating

When you go up the escalators, this is the main seating area you will come across.

As far as United Club Lounges at ORD go, this may be the largest. There is no shortage of seats and they have a variety of seating options.

Almost every seat at the lounge has access to a plug outlet

This was my favorite seating area. Not too bright and facing towards the TV (not pictured) in the bar area.

It is important to note that I visited the lounge at about 7:30 p.m. on a Sunday, and it was about 40% full. The lounge may be near capacity on a weekday during peak business hours.

Miscellaneous

The bathrooms were super clean and United does put to keep it that way.

The Wi-Fi speed was awesome. This might be the most appealing aspect of the lounge, particularly for business travelers. Video conferencing would be seamless, and if you wanted to stream Netflix or music, you’d have a really easy time doing it. This lounge is certainly better than the United Club near B18 and very much on par with the United Club in Terminal 2. Just like that lounge, this one has the potential to be very good. It’s spacious and has excellent internet connectivity, clean bathrooms, coffee, and decent snacks. The only thing holding it back is the lack of hot meals and sandwiches. It’s not worth the $59 you’d have to pay for the one-day pass, but if you have the pass that comes complimentary with the Chase United Explorer credit card, you’d rather be here than in the waiting area near the gate. I’d rate this lounge a 4/5.

Airport Lounges, Europe, Reviews, Uncategorized

Review: Lufthansa Business Class Lounge Frankfurt International Airport

July 10, 2018June 30, 2024by milesforplaces1 Comment

As part of our award redemption using United miles for a business class ticket to Lisbon, my wife and I had access to the Lufthansa Business Class Lounge during our 6-hour layover in Frankfurt, Germany. At Frankfurt Airport, Lufthansa has seven business-class lounges and four Senator Lounges (first-class lounges). I chose The business class lounge after passport control near A26 since this was closest to our departure gate.

Upon entering the lounge, the receptionist scanned our boarding pass at the entrance and directed us to the lounge. Since Lufthansa has seven business-class lounges, I didn’t expect there to be much of a crowd at this one. About three-quarters filled when we arrived and became less crowded as the hours went by.

Most of the crowd was fixated on the TV’s and the World Cup match that was being played. The lounge itself isn’t huge by any stretch but has enough seating and excellent amenities.

There were a few different seating areas, and much like Polaris Lounge in Chicago, this one had seating areas with different ambiances. As much as I wanted to take pictures of every single area of the lounge, I tried not to take pictures of an area if there were people who might be looking right at the camera. I wish it was a bit easier to be discrete and thorough at the same time.

The business center was being utilized by only a few people and had relatively new PC’s.

The other half of the business center was completely empty, but having chairs without back support probably convinced everyone to stay away. The wifi connectivity at this lounge was excellent, among the fastest I had experienced at any lounge. Kudos to Lufthansa for really looking out for business travelers.

Like the Polaris Lounge, this lounge also had bedrooms available upon request. My wife wanted to take a nap, so they gladly unlocked a room for her and provided her with a blanket.

I wasn’t tired enough to reserve a room for myself, but she said the beds were very comfortable, and she slept for two solid hours. This lounge also had access to showers upon request. Next up was to check out the food offerings. Usually, this is among the first things I do at a lounge. Since I had breakfast on the plane only an hour prior, I wasn’t all that hungry, and I did not want to eat for the sake of eating. So I waited a few hours until hunger struck.

The bread was bread. Not terrible, but not great.

The potato salad was decent. Their regular salad was subpar and very dry.

The noodles with cheese were surprisingly good. It might not look good from the picture above, but trust me, it was good. Taking pictures of the food near the buffet area is also where I ran into a little bit of trouble. There was a far greater selection than what I could take a picture of. However, one of the employees responsible for replenishing the buffet told me in half English and half German that I was not allowed to take pictures of the food or buffet area. I had no idea why this was the case, but rather than challenge that assertion, I just took her word for it and stopped taking pictures of that area.

The caramel pudding was heavenly. This was so good I had to have it twice.

There’s nothing like having ginger ale where you can actually taste the ginger. The lounge had plenty of drinks, a solid espresso machine, and a well-stocked bar. Again, I did not want to challenge the lady and take a picture, but take my word for it. As for the bathrooms, Lufthansa did a great job maintaining the men’s room.

The L’Occitane soap and lotion that they provided was a very nice touch. Small details like that do not go unnoticed.

Final Thoughts

. This was a fantastic lounge that checked just about every box. Solid food options, high speed Wi-Fi connectivity, enough seating, and added amenities such as bedrooms and showers. Rather than construct two or three large lounges and risk capacity issues, I appreciate how Lufthansa built 7 smaller business-class lounges to spread out the crowd. This issue will come into play for my next review, the KLM Business Class Lounge at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam. As for the Lufthansa Business Class Lounge, I would rate it a 4.6/5.

Airport Lounges, Reviews, Uncategorized

Lounge Reviews: Centurion Lounges at Miami International Airport and Buenos Aires Ezeiza International Airport

January 2, 2018January 2, 2018by milesforplacesLeave a Comment

Over the last 10 days, I was fortunate to transit through two airports that feature a Centurion Lounge. You can read about the Centurion Lounge at Miami International Airport right here and the Centurion Lounge at Buenos Aires Ezeiza International Airport right here.

Airport Lounges, Reviews, Uncategorized, USA

Lounge Review: Centurion Lounge Miami International Airport

January 1, 2018June 30, 2024by milesforplaces2 Comments

Prior to my flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina, I had some free time at Miami International Airport. I had heard many great things about the Centurion Lounge at MIA, so as an AMEX Platinum cardholder, I figured I might as well give it a visit.

This lounge can be found on the fourth floor of the north terminal near gate D12. If you have been to the Centurion Lounge in Dallas, this one offers some of the same services and amenities. It’s roomy, and there is plenty of space available. First thing I did (like I do at every lounge), I surveyed the food offerings. Since many people were in front and behind me, I didn’t want to act like a first timer and take pics (I’m really sorry). But the offerings were lamb, Indian-style chickpeas or chole, salad, brown rice, and apple crumble for the dessert. I sampled everything but the lamb and found everything to be delicious. Again, I wish I took pictures and perhaps next time I won’t care whether people are around me. The espresso machine had various offerings such as latte, cappuccino, espresso, etc.

If you are more of a tea person, they also have you covered.

As I mentioned above, there is plenty of seating available. Many of them give you access to USB and plug outlets. The cushioned seats are very comfortable if you must stay there for a few hours.

If you want to sit near a window and airplane watch, there is there is plenty of room for that.

Shower availability is convenient for those who have arrived from a far away destination and want to freshen up before a connection.

You can even get a manicure and pedicure done in the lounge.

I love the family room aspect of the lounge. Keeps the kids busy while the adults can adult. I wish more lounges would do this.

This was my one major issue with this lounge. The internet speed is unacceptable for a brand that touts itself as business-friendly. Those are some dial-up caliber speeds that I encountered, and in my two hours at the lounge, the speed only got worse.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I’d rate this lounge a 4/5. It has just about all the comfort, food offerings, and amenities needed in a lounge. It’s also one of the few designed with kids in mind. If the slow Wi-Fi connectivity is addressed, this lounge would be a perfect 5.