American Categorical’ Latest Centurion Lounge At this Washington D.C. Airport Is Excellent for Each Foodies and Enterprise Vacationers — See Inside

Are airport lounges the subsequent culinary frontier? If you’re an American Categorical cardholder passing by way of Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport (DCA), the reply is a powerful sure. Right this moment, the bank card issuer opens its twenty ninth Centurion Lounge proper outdoors the nation’s capital, and it comes with some severe foodie perks.

Positioned off the airport’s South Safety Checkpoint, the brand new sunlit area boasts 12,000 sq. ft of upscale facilities, together with a bathe suite, convention rooms, workstations, native art work, floor-to-ceiling home windows, and entry to high-speed WiFi. 

Nonetheless, the spotlight is the meals and beverage program, led by not one however three award-winning cooks, spanning Latin, Israeli, and Hawaiian cuisines, a primary for any Centurion Lounge.

“Meals is a crucial a part of any journey expertise. It is also an important a part of our lounge expertise,” Audrey Hendley, president of American Categorical Journey, mentioned at a preview for the lounge.

The brand new area brings collectively a menu of curated dishes from Miami-based James Beard Award-winning chef Michelle Bernstein, James Beard-nominated chef Ravi Kapur of San Francisco, who showcases a mix of Hawaiian, Indian, and Chinese language flavors, and five-time James Beard award winner Michael Solomonov, famend for his Israeli-inspired delicacies at eating places like Zahav in Philadelphia and New York Metropolis’s Goldie, Ok’Far, and Laser Wolf. 

A rotating number of dishes by all three cooks will make sure that even frequent vacationers discover one thing new to strive every time they go to the lounge. Highlights embrace Chef Kapur’s deliciously juicy tamari-honey glazed tofu and pineapple, Chef Bernstein’s smoky Chimichurri grilled hen, and Chef Solomov’s tender Shabazi spiced salmon with pomegranate BBQ sauce.

“The expertise for [American Express] card members within the lounge ought to simply be that at a restaurant,” Solomonov informed Journey+Leisure. “In case you’re a DCA thrice this week, it is best to be capable to come to the lounge and never have fatigue and never say, ‘Effectively, , I had that final time’ … We’ve got Floridian-Caribbean meals by Michelle Bernstein, you have received my meals, and you have Ravi from San Francisco—all in DC. What different platform would you’ve got entry to these issues? It is like a global meals corridor.”

Meals is offered buffet-style and in addition consists of a wide range of appetizers, salads, and decadent desserts that may be paired with an assortment of drinks, together with cocktails curated by Centurion Lounge mixologist Jim Meehan. For this location, he has dreamed up a number of locally-inspired choices, corresponding to Haku Hanami, a martini with cherry blossom-infused vodka and brandied cherries,  and Ambrosia Spritz, a refreshing spritz that includes bitters and liqueurs from native producer Don Ciccio & Figli.

There’s a robust native taste to American Categorical’ lounges, not restricted to the meals and beverage choices. As visitors verify in to the lounge, they’re welcomed into a sublime gallery and front room area showcasing artwork by native artists, together with a daring canvas print of the Capitol by Maggie O’Neill, a putting black-and-white summary portray by ​​Emon Surakitkoson, and a pair of combined media tiles by Lori Katz. Probably the most spectacular art work—each in its sheer dimension and significance—hangs above the eating tables. It’s a sculpture comprised of greater than 260 custom-built lanterns impressed by the unique markers of Washington’s metropolis limits. Collectively, they type a form that references the topography of the Potomac River because it passes by way of the town.

Resulting from its proximity to Washington D.C.—the airport is situated in Arlington, Virginia, simply 4 miles from downtown—DCA is a most well-liked airport for a lot of enterprise vacationers to the capital, and American Categorical has ensured the lounge offers loads for these vacationers.

The spacious residential-style work space options a big convention room-style desk and extra intimate vignette. All have entry to electrical shops and loads of pure daylight. A separate part reserved for Centurion members encompasses a non-public drinks and snacks station and plush seating.

General, the lounge has 260 seats organized in varied configurations for socialization or privateness.

“This lounge is simply in need of 12,000 sq. ft, so we do not need it to appear like a hodgepodge of furnishings, however we additionally need to enable folks a non-public seat if they need privateness and one thing extra loungy and social if they need that,” Kate Hardman, director of world model design at American Categorical, informed T+L.

The lounge additionally encompasses a single unisex bathe suite with complimentary towels and toiletries.

Entry to DCA’s Centurion Lounge is reserved for American Categorical Platinum card members, Centurion members, and vacationers who’ve a Delta SkyMiles Reserve card. Cardholders can convey visitors for an extra $50 charge ($30 for youngsters between 2 and 17 years outdated).

Earlier this 12 months, American Categorical debuted its largest Centurion lounge in Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Worldwide Airport. Extra are within the works at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, slated for a 2025 opening, and at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport in 2026.