Review of New JFK American Express Centurion Lounge and Speakeasy in New York City

 

When Traveling through JFK use your American Express Platinum Card to gain Access to the New Centurion Lounge in Terminal 4 for a good meal and refreshment before your flight.  While you’re there, checkout the Speakeasy bar (if you can find it)!

The American Express card comes with a hefty fee, but the luxury provided can be offset with using their offers. The luxury you gain can be oh so nice!

Is it worth taking the long walk from the end of concourse B to this location if you have time.  Allow 15-20 minutes walk time to get to the Centurion lounge if you have a layover at JFK.  However finding the lounge is not very easy still, although it is a little easier than the old location at JFK where you felt like you were entering a prohibited employee only area.  When coming from A or B concourse it is located above the duty free shopping area.  Look for the Caviar House seafood restaurant or Kiehl’s and take the elevator to the 4th level.  If you are departing NYC from JFK the Centurion lounge is conveniently located inside security.  

Premium food compared to typical lounge fare is complimentary and a great way to energize when traveling! However, NYC just opened again after the pandemic and much of JFK was closed. Unlike in Charlotte, food must still be served to you rather than self service. This led to long lines, and unfortunately, the food was tasty but dry. 

The same amenities that you are used to at other Centurion lounges are available, including the premium bar, wifi, lots of charging stations and gourmet food. You’ll find several niches with numbers scattered about the lounge which we realized represent landmarks around NYC.  Most have a single seat and some two. Seating is across two levels with more seating on the lower level (where the speakeasy bar is located - see below) compared to the upper level.

There is a new touch at this Centurion Lounge: The Equinox Body Lab. You will find this on the upper level near checkin. The lab has three rooms with the first being dedicated to yoga and stretching. Another has a vibrating chair with acoustic therapy. And the last  is dedicated muscle recovery with things like Hypervolts and foam rollers. Of course you won’t miss the signature Equinox scent.

Unlike at DFW there is not a spa at JFK's Centurion Lounge. If you can't fit in a manicure, Essie gel Couture provides the best top coat for your travels.  It dries super fast and truly stays on for at least 7 days.  You can remove it with REGULAR nail polish remover.  We prefer the Nail Polish Remover Pads to travel with.  Click the photo below to find out more about Essie Gel Couture. 

The bathrooms are typical of a Centurion Lounge and L'occitane products are still provided. What a great relaxation product for a hectic day of traveling. Showers are available. BUT one of the things that we did not like about this lounge was the poor tidiness of the bathrooms. Perhaps since our visit was just in the beginning of reopening after COVID-19, the usual meticulously kept bathrooms were dirty and not stocked.  For example neither the men’s or women’s bathrooms had paper towels and we using hot air hand dryers during a pandemic is certainly controversial.

Choices at the regular bar include mixed drinks with premium spirits including things such as Grey Goose vodka or Johnny Walker Black.  

But the speakeasy definitely shines in terms of privacy and drink quality.  More than one bartender would be nice since drinks took about 15 minutes to get. It is really nice to feel like you’re in an actual bar rather than an airport.  If you forgot, a peek around the blackout drapery reminded you of where you were! And of course since this is in NYC, manhattans were flowing! The lemon branded with 1850 was a nice garnish for our cocktail. 

The best part of the new lounge: there are seats and chargers galore!  How many of you have left a Centurion Lounge, especially the old JFK one, because no seats were to be found?

The new lounge has some competition in the nearby.  Aadvantage Flagship JFK lounge is competition here, but in our opinion, Centurion Lounges are still better. 

And of course high speed Internet so we could finish this post during our one hour layover! If you like our information about meaningful and healthy travel please like us on Facebook and/or SHARE our posts!!

What did we not like about this lounge? 

Perhaps since our visit was just in the beginning of reopening after COVID-19, the usual meticulously kept bathrooms were dirty and not stocked.  For example neither the men’s or women’s bathrooms had paper towels and we using hot air hand dryers during a pandemic is certainly controversial.  The food was dry and not typical of a Centurion lounge…tasty but very dry. Lastly, the lounge closes at 8pm?  That is long before many international flights, including ours depart.  We had to transfer to a Delta SkyClub.

Summary

JFK needed an overhaul of their Centurion Lounge.  The new location and size of the club are fantastic.  We love the new Equinox lab and Speakeasy, but there are  definitely some kinks to work out such as quality of food, hours and janitorial service. 

Tweet