I was mortified by a 55-minute wait for the Denver Capital One lounge last summer, when I was number 73 on the wait list. The American Express Centurion Studio Fort Lauderdale said hold my beef and mid buffet.

Now, they offer reservations but those are only available to customers paying $45 apiece to enter, not to Amex Platinum cardmembers. And this lounge really isn’t worth $45 under most circumstances.

It’s a cobranded Escape lounge, located in terminal 3 after security on the walkway toward gates E1–E10. The lounge is about 5,400 square feet and convenient to American, JetBlue, and Spirit passengers.

You can only enter 3 hours prior to departure. Staff reported that the queue would take an hour and a half to clear. Assuming leaving 45 minutes prior to departure, showing up 3 hours in advance might allow for 45 minutes in the (very busy) lounge. To be sure, 45 minutes is plenty to be in this lounge. But it’s not worth showing up 3 hours prior to departure to have the opportunity


Credit: Escape Lounge FLL

This lounge is small and faces a lot of demand, but it’s well-designed with natural light and a staffed bar. The airlines it’s convenient to don’t have their own lounges here to take the pressure off. If you can get in, it’s better than the gate area even though the buffet is pretty limited and you may face restroom lines.

The good thing is they tell you where you are on the wait list! That way you can decide to join long before you even leave to head to the airport. And if it turns out the wait isn’t long, leave the list and rejoin later. Join when you hit the curb before going through TSA.

A digital wait list is better than physically standing in line, like you’re at a Delta Sky Club. And letting you know where you’re at on the list is super helpful to time when you join the list, in order to actually maximize chances of using the lounge once you’re airside in the terminal. Plus you can plan for other things to do while you wait.

Still, the idea that more than 150 people would queue for this shows you it’s precisely where exclusivity goes to die in a tasteful beige armchair. Calling it an Escape Lounge is ambitious when the main thing you’re escaping is the possibility of even finding a seat.

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