Review: Centurion Lounge New York LaGuardia

I visited the Centurion Lounge before a routine flight from New York LaGuardia back to Toronto.

After closing due to COVID-19, the Centurion Lounge reopened in 2021 with a brand new location. The new site is conveniently located in LaGuardia’s refreshed Terminal B. 

The lounge has also doubled in size, increasing from roughly 5,350 square feet to 10,000 square feet. The new space is noticeably larger and more modern, aligning with the terminal’s redesign as a whole.

Centurion Lounge New York LGA – Access

The Centurion Lounge in New York LaGuardia is now located in Terminal B, home to American Airlines, Air Canada, Southwest, and United. The new lounge is also airside, meaning it can be found after security, whereas the original lounge was pre-security.

To access the lounge, after proceeding up the escalators to Level 4, you’ll then walk toward Gates 40–59. The lounge entrance is located to the right, just before the pedestrian bridge to the East Concourse.

Those who hold the Platinum Card, Business Platinum Card, or Centurion Card from American Express, regardless of the country of issuance, can gain access to Centurion Lounges anywhere in the world. 

I accessed the lounge with my Canadian-issued Platinum Card, and I would’ve been entitled to bring in up to two guests if I had others travelling with me.

Keep in mind that cardholders can only access the Centurion Lounges up to three hours before departure of their first flight. However, only Centurion cardmembers can use Centurion Lounges as an “arrivals lounge” upon arrival at their final destination.

A large blue Centurion sign at the entrance with the Centurion logo makes the lounge easily identifiable.

Once you’ve checked in, as you proceed down the hallway, you’ll spot the classic watchdog, the company’s original 1890 logo. You can also find this image featured in other Centurion Lounges if you keep an eye out.

Centurion Lounge New York LGA – Seating

As you walk down the main hallway, you’ll encounter the first seating area, a studious nook divided by floor-to-ceiling panels. In the middle is an oval sofa with seating along the outside all the way around. 

Small pop-up tables are built into the couch to accommodate food and drinks. Furthermore, larger tables along the walls are decent for dining or working on a laptop.

Closer to the bar and buffet is an open-concept dining area, with ottoman chairs, tables, and a space to sit down and watch TV. 

The bar and buffet areas have a number of tables with seating for groups of two or four.

At the far end, you can find high-top dining tables overlooking the refurbished LaGuardia concourse.

Chairs and sofas line the floor-to-ceiling windows in the section linking the bar and dining areas, also viewing the terminal below.

Moving towards the back of the lounge, there’s a dedicated workspace with frosted-glass windows, which is where I stationed myself with my laptop. This space features the lounge’s two phone rooms, available on a first-come-first-served basis.

The work area features pop-up power outlets, similar to those in other Centurion Lounges.

The lounge is filled with New York-inspired artwork and references, such as arched shapes in the dining area referencing downtown architecture and local bridges. The updated interiors are sophisticated, with modern wood panelling and pops of blue throughout.

Additionally, a small room is reserved for Amex Centurion cardmembers and is isolated from the rest of the lounge for complete privacy.

The lounge wasn’t too busy when I visited, which was great news, as I’ve found that overcrowding issues often plague the major US Centurion Lounges.

Centurion Lounge New York LGA – Dining

The lounge features a menu curated by local Executive Chef Cédric Vongerichten and locally sourced alcoholic drinks. The menu is designed to showcase modern flavours of Indonesia.

Breakfast is served from 5am until 11:15am, while the all-day fare begins at 11am. 

Various hot and cold items are served as part of the buffet, which consists of a limited food selection but is varied enough to put together a meal. The buffet is currently served by a lounge representative, but will eventually be accessible by guests directly. 

I helped myself to some rice, noodles, mixed veggies, and chicken with a bowl of soup from the buffet. 

The lounge also has an open bar with signature cocktails developed by one of the nation’s top mixologists, Jim Meehan. I ran into a Prince of Travel reader in the lounge while enjoying one of the cocktails, and we chatted over food and drinks.

Centurion Lounge New York LGA – Other Facilities

The lounge features a multi-purpose room, which can be an ideal space for families travelling, with a collection of books suitable for younger children. However, the room is currently branded as a meeting room, as Amex intends to rebrand its family rooms moving forward. 

The lounge also has one shower room available to guests, although I didn’t make use of this on my visit. Other features include fast and free Wi-Fi, power outlets, and USB ports located at nearly every seat. There’s also a shared printer available if needed.

Conclusion

The Amex Centurion Lounge is a fantastic newly reopened lounge in New York LaGuardia and among the better US airport lounges out there. While that’s true for most Centurion Lounges, I’d say that this location is one of the best Centurion Lounges I’ve visited so far, mostly because it was relatively quiet and peaceful.

The lounge offers a solid food and drink selection, with comfortable and varied seating and 10,000 square feet of interior space to accommodate the future crowds. It’s a good reason to pick flying out of LaGuardia rather than Newark for your simple trans-border hops to Canada or any other onward journeys.