Trip Report: Athens and a Mediterranean Cruise
Lounge Reviews: The Club CLT and Centurion Lounge Charlotte Airport
Flight Review: Lufthansa A340-600 Charlotte-Munich
Lodging Review: Academias Hotel, Autograph Collection, Athens
Our Time in Athens, Part I (Acropolis and Museum)
Our Time in Athens, Part II (Roman Agora, Hadrian’s Library, Ancient Agora)
Our Time in Athens, Part III (Kerameikos, Temple of Zeus, Panathenaic Stadium)
Our Time in Athens, Part IV (Restaurants and Observations)
Ship Review: Viking Neptune
Our Time in Ancient Olympia (Katakalon, Greece)
Our Time in Corfu, Greece
Our Time in Kotor, Montenegro
Our Time in Dubrovnik, Croatia
Our Time in Zadar, Croatia
Our Time in Venice, Italy
Flight Review: Iberia A330-300 Madrid-Chicago
I was able to check my bag at the Lufthansa counter beginning at 2:30 PM, four hours before my flight. Lufthansa no longer has its own lounge in Charlotte but a business class ticket comes with access to The Club CLT, a Priority Pass lounge. And since I still have an Amex Platinum card (for now), I also had access to the Centurion lounge. Since I had plenty of time before my flight I decided to check out both of them. The Club CLT is located in Concourse A in the connector just before gates A21 & A22. The Centurion Lounge is located near the Concourses D and E connector. Since my flight was leaving from the D concourse I decided to visit the The Club first.
The Club CLT
The signage in the airport for The Club is terrible and I walked past the entrance to the A connector twice before realizing that’s where I was supposed to turn. The Club is the lounge used by foreign airlines and it’s also a Priority Pass lounge. It’s fairly small and is subject to capacity controls. As I checked in around 3 PM midweek, the gentleman ahead of me in line was told that there was a 40-minute wait for Priority Pass customers. Since I had a business class ticket on Lufthansa, I was allowed inside. Later in my stay the lounge did empty out a bit and Priority Pass folks were allowed in.
The Club CLT Entrance
Immediately to the right upon entering is the full-service bar with a large TV behind it. It seemed to be a friendly place with folks enjoying ESPN. In front of the bar were a number of small tables with 2 or 3 chairs each.
Behind these tables was a half-wall with plants on top and on the other side of the wall was a high-top counter with a number of chairs and easy-to-access electrical outlets. Against the windows were a number of pods of four chairs. There was a small table between each set of two chairs with electrical outlets in between.
The Club CLT Window Seating
The club is somewhat L-shaped and on the other side of the bar is the small leg of the L. There are some desks appropriate to a business center setting as well as some individual booths, nice for privacy.
The Club CLT Private Booth
In the far corner of the L is a small family room that had a TV and some toys for young travelers.
To the left upon entering the Club is a hallway to the bathrooms. There were male and female toilets as well as a unisex one. At the end of the hall was another unisex toilet which also included a shower. All of the bathrooms were for a single person at a time.
The Club CLT Shower Room
Just past the hallway was the food station. On the day I visited there was a self-serve Caesar salad area and then you could be served anything from the daily menu. The staff served you food cafeteria-style from closed containers used to keep the food warm so I don’t have any photos of the hot food:
- Chicken Salad Sliders
- Chicken Drummettes with Cole Slaw
- Vegetable Pasta Soup
- Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
- Cornbread/Hush Puppies/Crudite
The Club CLT Caesar Salad Bar
For dessert there were small chunks of chocolate brownie as well as blueberry cobbler. There was also a station with self-serve coffee and tea. Soft drinks were available from the bar.
Since I’d already had lunch and would have dinner on the plane I only had one (OK, two) of the brownie bites but they were very good!
I had arrived at the airport on a separate ticket so had already eaten lunch while waiting for the Lufthansa counter to open and my next stop was the Amex Centurion Lounge so I only stayed a short time while waiting for my phone to charge. I felt that since I had somewhere else I could go, it would be better for me to get out so Priority Pass folks could get in.
There’s nothing hugely special about the lounge but it’s better than sitting in the terminal! Just be aware that if you’re planning access via Priority Pass that you may have to wait
Centurion Lounge, Charlotte Airport
I made the trek across the Charlotte Airport from Concourse A, where The Club at CLT is located, to Concourse D, where the Amex Centurion Lounge is. Once again there was virtually no signage along the way. Indeed, I walked almost to the end of Concourse D without seeing the sign for the lounge. I looked it up on my phone only to learn that it’s actually where Concourses D and E meet, so I’d unknowingly blown past the turn-off by taking the Concourse D moving walkway.
Even after turning to the D/E connector, I had to squint to see the lounge’s sign located up high, just past the entrance to The Plaza, one of the food courts.
There were five of us on the elevator which went up one floor to the lounge and the three reps at the check-in desk took care of us quickly and efficiently. The wi-fi password was displayed both at the front desk and on various placards throughout the lounge.
Turning left into the lounge you’re presented with a giant seating area which is broken up by a number of tables and chairs in various styles. Lots of low-tops with two or four chairs, quarter-booths with regular-height tables that were great for one or two people, a long table with office-style chairs and easy-to-access outlets. The left side of the room looked out on the planes in the odd-numbered E-concourse gates. The right-side windows were lightly frosted with the Amex logo and looked down on to the D concourse itself.
Centurion Lounge Seating
Further back and to the right was the buffet and beyond that, the bar. The bar was fairly large and had lots of seating in the area. The windows in this section overlook the planes in the even-numbered D-concourse gates. Just across from the bar was an area for self-serve coffee and tea.
Centurion Lounge Bar
Between the bar and the buffet was a beverage station for coffee, hot tea and iced tea. I had my last glass of sweet tea to last me until I got back home.
Centurion Lounge Beverage Station
The buffet was definitely a step up from The Club at CLT. Several kinds of salad, chicken, rice and vegetables along with rolls were on offer and your meal could be topped off with cookies and cheese.
Based on how crowded the lounge was, I am assuming that anyone regularly flying from CLT would have a platinum card just to use the lounge. Air Canada, Lufthansa, Viva Aerobus and Volaris are international airlines which I assume would otherwise have their passengers using The Club at CLT.
There were a few phone rooms, intended for folks to be able to chat on the phone in private. There was also a family room with a TV tuned to cartoons.
The bathrooms were large and clean, with multiple stalls. Shower rooms were also available by contacting one of the staff members.
In the end
The Centurion Lounge would definitely be my choice over The Club at CLT in this airport.
2B Traveling 
How long of a walk would you say it is between the two lounges, providing you knew where both of them were with no backtracking?
Hi, thanks for reading.
Not terribly long. Less than 10 minutes, I’d say.