One of the benefits of the American Express Platinum card is being able to use their airport lounges. These are only available for Platinum and Centurion card holders. UK Platinum Card members can bring in two guests as well. Although you can buy additional day passes.
There are lounges all over the world, including the US, Hong Kong and South America. Centurion Lounges celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2023 after the first one opened in 2013 at Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport. The one at Heathrow’s T3 is a particularly good one and has a great selection of food. You can read that review here.
While flying out of Los Angeles a couple of months ago, I decided to check out the relatively new lounge there, which opened in March 2020, so it obviously lay dormant for quite a while. It only reopened in June 2022, so it is still relatively fresh.
Where is the lounge?
The lounge is situated in the Tom Bradley International Terminal. If you head towards Terminal 4 on the fourth floor, then you will see signs for it. It is directly underneath the Qantas lounge. You can also walk there from T4 in about 5 minutes airside. Once in the elevator lobby, you need to take the lift down to level 2.
The lounge is one of American Express’ largest, spanning nearly 14,000 square feet at the 4th business airport in the world.
It is open from 06:00–22:00, seven days a week.
Facilities
My first impressions were good, with a friendly receptionist asking for my card, boarding pass and passport.
Once inside, the layout is a little confusing as the lounge is so large. The food and bar area is to one side, and then there are a number of other seating areas and facilities to explore. I liked the wooden panels in the first room, which is influenced by the Hollywood Hills.
There’s also a family-friendly room, high-speed Wi-Fi, premium toilets and showers, power outlets and American Express Member Services Professionals to assist with on-site Card and travel-related services.
Relaxing Area and Spa Services
If you want to relax, the lounge features Sunrise and Moonrise tranquillity rooms, offering brightly and dimly lit quiet spaces to combat jetlag and time zones. The Moonrise room has a starry night-inspired ceiling to help you get ready for sleep. Meanwhile, the Sunrise room helps you to wake up with a simulated sunrise.
American Express has also partnered with Exhale to offer spa services. I was there in the evening, and the spa was already shut. It’s open from 11.00-19.30. They have a range of free treatments, including Light Therapy designed to hydrate skin, Reiki treatments to restore the body’s equilibrium, and Ear Reflexology to relax. Hand and nail therapies, as well as chair massages, are also available. If you fancy a treatment, make sure you go to the spa as soon as you arrive to see if you can secure an appointment.
Work areas
There were a number of areas you could work in, including a communal table and some private booths.
There was also a workbench with plenty of outlets and a printer next to it.
The lounge was very busy when I was there being peak departure time, but there were still quite a few places to sit left.
Food and drink
The food is all in one buffet area with a dining table area adjacent. The menu is designed by Nancy Silverton, author of ten cookbooks and a James Beard Outstanding Chef award winner.
Here is a sample menu:
On the day I was there, there was grilled tandoori chicken, chickpea and potato curry, tomato and basil soup, turmeric rice, salads, chips and dips, plus roasted broccolini. For dessert, there were cookies and cupcakes.
Next to the buffet is the bar area, which I think is the nicest part of the lounge with its high ceilings and light. The new lounge offers premium wine selections by Wine Director Anthony Giglio, as well as speciality cocktails by Centurion Lounge mixologist Jim Meehan. Meehan’s menu of cocktails features locally sourced ingredients such as California brandy, Miracle Mile Bitters and Dirty Sue cocktail cherries. Some of the speciality cocktails include the Maliblue Lagoon and the Private Plane, a twist on New York bartender Sam Ross’ classic Paper Plane cocktail.
There is also coffee from Los Angeles-based City Bean Roasters, whose coffee is sustainably sourced directly from local farmers, which you can help yourself to alongside water, iced tea and fruit.
There is a second smaller bar area in the other section of the lounge. This also has a bartender to mix drinks for you.
Conclusion
Although this is a large, fairly busy lounge, it is worth a visit if you don’t have access to an airline lounge. Even at a peak period, there were still plenty of places to sit. Being able to find a proper relaxation area or have a free spa treatment may make it worth a visit even if you do have airline lounge access. The food here was tasty, but it is not as good as the Heathrow Lounge, which has a wider range of food available.
You can find more about this lounge and the other American Express Centurion lounges here.
