American Express Centurion Lounge, Heathrow Terminal 3: Review

I arrived at the American Express Centurion Lounge in Heathrow Terminal 3 at 5:30am on a Saturday morning, right as the doors opened. I was proudly the third guest of the day. I was flying Finnair to Helsinki on what was was supposed to be a two-week trip to the Philippines, before the Middle East situation spoilt that. But that's another story. This one is about whether Amex's only Centurion Lounge at Heathrow justifies the hype, and whether it's worth your time.

The short answer: yes, broadly.

Here's our review of the American Express Centurion Lounge at Heathrow Terminal 3.

How to find it

The Centurion Lounge isn't grouped with the other Terminal 3 lounges near the gates. Instead of heading left towards the gates after security, you need to go right through the main shopping and dining area, following signs for the Flight Connection route towards Area A. You'll see bold blue Amex branding around the entrance. It's hard to miss once you know where to look, but you could easily miss it if you're expecting it to be alongside the BA Galleries and Cathay Pacific lounges.

Take the lift up to level 2 and you're there.

Who can get in

If you hold the American Express Platinum Card or the Business Platinum Card, you're in. It's also available to Centurion cardholders, though that's invite-only and not something us mere mortals need to worry about.

You will need your physical card to gain entry.

You can enter up to three hours before your scheduled departure time, and the lounge is open daily from 5:30am to 9pm, making it one of the earliest opening times of any lounge in Terminal 3. If you're on a connecting flight, the three-hour rule doesn't apply. Simply show proof of your onward journey.

The guest policy at the Heathrow Centurion Lounge is actually more generous than many people realise: you can bring up to two companions in for free. Children under 2 are also admitted at no charge with a lap infant boarding pass or proof of age. If you want to bring in more than two guests, there is a £37 ($50) fee for each guest over 18 and £22 ($30) fee for children aged 2-17.

A physical American Express Card must be used as the payment method for all paid guest access.

The space

The first thing you notice walking in is the interior design. This is a properly beautiful lounge.

It feels more like a members' club than an airport lounge.

The second thing you notice is the lack of windows. There is zero natural light in here. No runway views, no daylight, nothing. It's definitely this lounge's single biggest weakness. For an early morning visit like mine, it barely matters, it was dark outside anyway. But if you're in here at midday, you might find it feels a bit subterranean.

That said, its still a nice space without them. The lighting is warm, the materials are premium throughout, and the overall effect is more intimate than intimidating.

The lounge is laid out along a main corridor with several distinct zones. There's a proper workspace area near the entrance, including individual work nooks alongside meeting areas.

Power points are everywhere, including cleverly disguised ones behind the sofa cushions. Further in, there's the main relaxed seating area, but also featuring semi-private booth seating along the outside.

At the far end you'll find the toilets and two shower rooms. I didn't use the showers on this visit, but they're there if you need them.

Food and drink

As I visited at 5:30am, there was a great looking breakfast service on offer.

The hot buffet featured a full English: sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs, baked beans, and hash browns. Shakshuka and pancakes could also be found in the buffet.

I'm going to slightly contradict myself here, it looked and smelled like actual cooked food rather than the reheated hotel buffet fare you get in most lounges. I appreciate that this is likely because I visited first thing, your experience may vary.

The cold counter was equally strong. A build-your-own bagel station with cold meats, cream cheese, and condiments sat next to a selection of yoghurt pots — mango coconut chai, strawberry, apple and blueberry, and a granola pot. I went for the granola with Greek yoghurt, which was very good. Was it made the night before? Probably. Was it noticeably better than the equivalent offering in a BA Galleries lounge? Absolutely.

Away from the buffet area, there was a health and wellness counter with fresh juice shots (not for me), large dispensers of flavoured water, and a token fruit bowl. Please try and take that pineapple and see what the staff say.

One of the two coffee machines was being cleaned when I arrived. That's fair enough this early in the morning. The second machine was available and the coffee it produced was perfectly fine. There's also an Ahmad Tea selection, a range of herbal teas, and oat and soya milk was available alongside the standard options.

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The bar area is the centrepiece of the lounge, with backlit shelving lined with all the spirits that you may ever need. Even at 5:30am it was open, but I wasn't about to test whether they'd make me a Mai Tai before dawn.

If I was here later in the day, I'd have definitely sampled one of the cocktails below.

Cocktail menu

Cocktail menu

Wine list

Wine list

The verdict

Terminal 3 is arguably the best terminal in the UK for lounges, so the answer to "should I visit the Centurion Lounge?" depends entirely on what else you can access.

If you're flying business or first class, you may already have stronger options. The Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse (review here) is still the gold standard in Terminal 3 for business lounges. The Cathay Pacific First and Business Class lounges are excellent (review here). The Qantas lounge is well worth a visit. And if you're flying BA in a premium cabin or hold Gold status through the British Airways Club, the Galleries First lounge is a solid alternative (review here). If any of those are available to you, they're probably where you should be spending most of your time, though there's nothing stopping you from lounge-hopping if your schedule allows.

But if you're flying economy or premium economy, hold no airline status, and your only lounge access comes through your Amex Platinum card, the Centurion Lounge is arguably the best you'll find anywhere in the UK using your credit card alone. It comfortably outperforms the other lounges your Platinum card gives you using your Priority Pass.

The food is genuinely good, the design is comfortable, and the guest policy is generous. The lack of natural light is a real weakness, and the location away from the main gate areas means you'll want to leave yourself time a bit more time. But these are minor gripes.

If you hold an Amex Platinum and you're flying from Terminal 3, this is one of the strongest practical benefits the card offers. I'd visit again without hesitation.

Rating: 8/10

Sam

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