Denver Amex Lounge review: Location location location (is slightly inconvenient)

The best thing about the American Express Centurion Lounge at the Denver Airport is that it’s a fantastic place to grab a decent meal and/or a stiff drink before your flight.

The worst thing is that it’s located in Concourse C. You’re gonna feel like a cowboy on a 3 day cattle drive getting to it if you’re flying United or Frontier (which operate out of Concourses A and B respectively).

Location

So yeah. The Denver Airport Amex Lounge is located in Concourse C (the farthest concourse from the security checkpoint). The good news is that you will not have to go through any additional security checkpoints to reach it. Just hop on the train headed to Concourse C.

Exterior of the American Express lounge Denver Airport concourse C — American Express Lounge dead ahead! I’m so close that I could feel my AMEX Platinum Card vibrating with excitement.

You’ll find this lounge near gate C47, which is somewhat centrally located in the Concourse. It’s one level above the departures level, so it will require taking the escalator or an elevator to reach.

Escalators leading up to the American Express Centurion lounge Denver airport Concourse C — It was at this moment that I could I feel it burning a hole in my pocket. *“Chill bro, I’ll let you out in a moment. We’re almost there!”*

Scott Leazenby riding the escalators up to the DEN Amex lounge concourse C — Thinking that maybe this doesn’t look *quite* as fancy as the SLC Amex Lounge.

Check in and reception desk Denver airport Amex lounge concourse C — The reception desk. *“Let me out! Let me out!”*

How to get in

You have an American Express card, right? Good. But are you sure that you have the right one? Here is the list of all of the Amex cards which will grant you complimentary access:

American Express Platinum Card
Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card
American Express Centurion Card

Guest access depends on which card you have. Things change from time to time, so I highly recommend checking the latest official entry requirements before you go.

Layout

This particular Amex Lounge is shaped like a rectangular doughnut. It’s not all that large of an airport lounge either. Walking the entire loop takes approximately five minutes.

Walkway leading into the Denver airport Amex lounge — Now that my Platinum Card has climaxed, I can show you what this place looks like in peace. This picture shows probably 70% of the entire lounge as it wraps around to the left. It’s cozy in here.

In terms of style and design, this one is very similar to the American Express Lounge at SFO. It’s not nearly as nice as that one, but all the little design elements are the same.

Cafeteria style seating in the Denver airport Amex lounge — Just what I like to see: lots of cafeteria style seating with acoustic paneling overhead to muffle out all of the *“OMG this is so good”* chit chat. A not-so-subtle hint that the food must be pretty good in this place.

Walking through the Denver Airport Amex lounge Concourse C — The cafeteria style seating that I just showed you is on the right. The bar is up ahead into the left.

Perhaps my main criticism of this lounge is the fact that it’s dark and somewhat claustrophobic feeling. The low ceilings and lack of natural light makes it feel cramped in places.

Fully staffed bar in the Denver airport Amex lounge — There’s acoustic paneling over the bar as well. I’d assume it’s there to prevent all of the lies and exaggerations being exchanged by complete strangers from oozing out into the rest of the lounge.

Smaller secondary bar in the back of the Denver airport Amex lounge — Those of you who prefer to have your lies and exaggerations heard by all might prefer this smaller bar (mini bar) instead. There’s no acoustic paneling over this one!

Small windows in the Denver airport Amex lounge — The window / natural light situation? Meh. This is a fairly dark lounge overall (perfect for moody characters who have lots of exaggerations and lies to tell).

Open seating with Live TV next to the windows in the Denver airport Amex lounge

Individual chairs and tables in the Denver airport Amex lounge

Smaller rooms with tables and chairs inside of the Denver airport Amex lounge — I like that there are lots of little nooks and crannies (and smaller rooms) to hide out in. Ain’t nobody gonna see you dig a wedgie out of your butt crack back here.

Reception desk and main entrance of the Denver airport Amex lounge — Looking through the interior windows (next to the main bar) towards the entrance and reception desk. Do **not** dig the wedgie out here. Everyone will see you do it.

Layout of the Denver airport Amex lounge — Looking across to the other side. For context, the reception desk is all the way to the right. The food bar is straight ahead right in the center. The main bar is all the way to the left (just out of frame). Blah blah blah. Let’s get to the food!

This lounge features strong Wi-Fi and an OK business center. It’s not a good place to sit and get any serious work done if I’m being honest. It’s too busy (and too noisy) for that.

Food and drinks

The selection of food was fairly decent during my visit. They were still serving breakfast when I arrived, and the self serve food buffet had a pretty good looking spread of everything you’d want for a hearty breakfast (scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuits, pastries, etc).

Self serve food bar and cafeteria inside of the Denver Amex lounge concourse C — The guy in the vest seems to be planning his breakfast strategy. *“I’ll start with the eggs first. Then potatoes. Nono. Potatoes first, then eggs.”*

Self serve food buffet Denver Amrerican Express Lounge — The corral. The feeding pen. The feedlot. Call it whatever you want, but I reckon this is a well stocked self serve breakfast buffet that you won’t want to miss.

Biscuits and gravy served for breakfast in the Denver American Express Lounge — Looks like I arrived just in time for breakfast. Biscuits ‘n gravy? Don’t mind if I do. Three please!

Breakfast featuring scrambled eggs, cheese, bread, and muffins in the Denver Amex lounge concourse C — Don’t worry. There are plenty of other fixin’s as well. Shame on you for skipping the biscuits and gravy though. How dare you.

Made to order omelette station in the Denver Amex lounge concourse C — Those of you who are especially picky will no doubt appreciate this made to order omelette station. Be polite though, because one of those chefs looked a bit frazzled. *“No omelette for you!”*

Soup and salad bar in the Denver Amex lounge concourse C

Salad bar buffet in the Denver Amex lounge concourse C

The drink situation looked decent. There are two fully staffed bars in this lounge (one large, one small). It’s worth noting that there is no self serve alcohol. If you wanna drink, you’re gonna have to get it from the bartender.

Drink station featuring soda on tap and espresso machines Denver Amex lounge concourse C — There are several drink stations scattered around the lounge. This was the biggest one featuring fizzy soda and what looks to be an espresso machine all the way at the end. Dude looks skeptical of what’s being dispensed into his coffee cup, doesn’t he?

Freshly squeezed orange juice in the Denver Amex lounge concourse C — This one has the OJ. Ok?

My breakfast in the Denver Amex lounge concourse C — ***snaps pic*** *“Shit, I forgot the gravy!”*

Eating breakfast with a nice view of the airport Denver Amex lounge concourse C — Breakfast with a view. Watching people run like hell to catch their flight is kind of entertaining actually.

Scott Leazenby eating breakfast in the Denver Amex lounge concourse C — *“There’s no way that family of five is gonna make it.”*

Pros and cons

Of all the American Express Lounges I’ve visited, this one seemed mid-tier to me. It wasn’t the best. Certainly not the worst. But the food was pretty good, and I guess that’s all that really matters. To me anyway.

Pros

I’ll say it again: the food was good. Hardly anything I’d consider gourmet, but it was all decent enough to fill me up before a long flight.
The selection of alcohol looked to be decent.
There’s a wide variety of seating options for all body types. Goldilocks would be happy in here.

Cons

Low ceilings. Very little natural light. It felt a little gloomy if I’m being honest.
It won’t be easy to find any peace and quiet. Most of the seating options are out in the open.
Being located in Concourse C isn’t ideal. I was flying out of Concourse A that morning, so it was a ~~MF’r~~ bit of a hassle to get to.