What I Liked
- Lovely ambience and design
- Large lounge
- Cool kids play area with model airport
- Large drinks selection
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Runway views
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There are three British Airways Business lounges in Heathrow Terminal 5. This review is for the Business Class Lounge – South. It’s next to the First Class Lounge and the Concorde Room. It’s also a pain in the butt to get to!
The lounge is big and very nicely designed. As with most British Airways Lounges, I wasn’t happy with the food! I took some lovely photos for this review. You’ll know exactly what to expect for your visit.
On this occasion, I visited the South Lounge. There’s another British Airways Business Lounge at the North End of the Terminal. There’s also a British Airways Lounge in Satellite Terminal 5B. Elsewhere in Heathrow, there’s a 4th British Airways Business Lounge in Terminal 3.
In this review, all of the photos can be clicked and pop out into a slideshow.
In this review, I also explain how I booked British Airways Business Class. For a 56% discount. I used a combination of strategies to do this.
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The lounge location is painful. You pass through security on level 3. You walk to the very north of the terminal and take the elevator, down to level 2. At this point, you’ll pass BA's North lounge. You then walk the length of the terminal to the south end. You need to go up 2 levels to level 4. Then you’re at the BA’s South Lounge!
The whole walk is 10-15 minutes. On this occasion, I was travelling with my son and his buggy. Ultimately, Heathrow need you to walk by those expensive shops!
The South lounge is British Airways main business lounge in Terminal 5. It’s next to the Galleries First Lounge and the Concorde Room. The Concorde room is for people flying in 1st class. The galleries 1st is mainly for people with Oneworld status. There’s also an Elemis Spa. In theory, business class passengers get a complimentary treatment. In practise, they never have slots available. If you fly in First Class, you call up and pre-book a time.
I got access to the lounge as I was flying in Business Class with British Airways. From London to Denver. The cash price for two people would have been £5,900. I used a combination of strategies, to only pay £2,592. For two people. A 56% discount.
I did the following:
I have a British Airways AMEX Card in the UK. If you spend £10,000 in a year, then you receive a companion voucher. I used the companion voucher with the booking. If I didn’t have the companion voucher, I would have needed 360,000 Avios and £900 to book this flight.
I purchased 180,000 Avios from British Airways. From this webpage. I paid £1,692 for these Avios. When you factor in the £900 of fees, I paid £2,592 in total for the flight booking. For a return flight for two people. A discount of 56%. Got it?!
The lounge is BIG, as you would expect in BA's global hub. It has the following features.
The lounge has lots of seating. There’s restaurant style tables and chairs. There’s high tables with stools. There’s also lounge style armchairs.
This British Airways Heathrow Lounge has some nice runway views. Sadly, I was in the lounge at 5.30am. So there wasn't much light coming in.
The buffet is in the centre of the lounge. There’s self-service alcohol and tea/coffee stations throughout the lounge. As always, the coffee stations are Union branded. There’s also showers available to use.
There’s a kids play area. I thought it was really cool. There’s a model airplane and runway. I love funky and unique features like this. The kids area was empty, so I was able to get a nice photo.
I should mention that I enjoyed the ambience of the lounge. The lounge was half full, with dim lighting. There was also relaxing music playing. It captured my mood perfectly at 5.30am. I was tired, but excited for the trip ahead.
I liked the décor of the lounge. It was modern and the furniture was in good condition.
The BA South lounge is the flagship lounge in Heathrow Terminal 5. The flagship hotel is probably the Sofitel. Review here. It’s the only hotel in the Terminal 5 building. It’s a 5 minute walk from the arrivals hall. Under a covered walkway. The hotel has a 24 hour fitness centre and a spa.
This lounge pails in comparison to the Air France Business lounge in Paris. That lounge is absolutely massive. They have free flowing champagne, lovely food, spa treatments and wonderful runway views.
The food at BA lounges is normally disappointing. This visit was no exception! The options were desperately limited. You shouldn’t expect a proper meal. The following was on offer
I had some porridge and a bread roll. The food wasn’t bad, but it’s not a proper breakfast. The porridge was well made, but they didn't have any maple syrup. That's close to a crime in my view!
The bacon looked ok, but the sausages didn’t look good. British Airways don’t offer a full English Breakfast in their departure lounges. This makes no sense to me. British Airways should show off the local cuisine. Most Heathrow lounges have an English Breakfast.
British Airways have an Arrivals Lounge in Heathrow Terminal 5. It's located in the Arrivals Hall. After you've passed security and collected your baggage. Review here. The Arrivals Lounge does have a full English Breakfast. My article explains how to get entry to the lounge.
If you have a Priority Pass Card, then you can access the Plaza Premium Lounge in Terminal 5. Review here. The lounge has runway views, complimentary alcohol and a hot buffet.
Priority Pass is a membership program. That allows you to access of 1,300 airport lounges worldwide. This is great, if you’re not flying in business class. And don’t have lounge access.
You can purchase membership here. This is a special link. With discounts of up to 30%, on Priority Pass Membership.
You don’t get these discounts if you go direct to the Priority Pass website. Don’t buy direct from their website!
The Standard Plus membership costs £183/year. For that, you get 10 free visits. So the average cost per visit is £18.30. Great value for unlimited food, unlimited alcohol and your own private space.
Prestige membership costs £377 and provides unlimited lounge visits.
The drinks selection was very good. There was a full bar, with premium spirits, beer and wine. Everything was self-pour. There were drinks stations throughout the lounge. There were beautiful counters in the centre, that had the wine. Presentation is one area where BA really stands out.
There were tea and coffee machines in the lounge. As always, BA have Twinnings tea and Union coffee. In truth, I don’t like either. I’ve mentioned this a few times on this blog, so I won't labour the point!
I had an English Breakfast tea. My wife had a latte from the machine.
London is famous for its Afternoon Tea. The highest rated Afternoon Tea in London is Brigit’s Afternoon Tea Bus! Rated 4.8* from 1,343 reviews. You’ll travel around London on a tour bus and see the best sights. Including Big Ben, Trafalgar Square and Harrods. At the same time, you’ll be served amazing tea, coffees, sandwiches, cakes, scones, crumpets and more. Book here for £60.28.
Adult drinks more your style?! Do an historical London Pub Tour. My favourite can be booked for £49. Rated at 5* from 76 reviews. You’ll join 15 people in a guided tour around Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden and Soho. You also get 6 beers included in the price. Don’t drive home!
Are you a baller?! The best way to view the sights in London is in an iconic black taxi. You can book a private 4 hour tour from this webpage. Rated 5* from 1,191 reviews. Drive past Buckingham Palace, The Tower of London, The London Eye and more. As your driver shares amazing stories of London. Best of all, it’s great value. 6 people can fit in a black taxi. The cost is £379 for half a day.
This review is for the British Airways Lounge in Heathrow Terminal 5 – South. It’s their flagship business lounge. The lounge is pretty good. As always, I was underwhelmed by British Airways’ Lounge food. I’m used to it at this point! If you can look beyond that, there’s a lot to like. The lounge is large, well designed and has a lovely ambience. There’s also nice runway views.
British Airways have a business class lounge at the other end of the Heathrow Terminal 5. It’s called the North Lounge, review here. The North Lounge is smaller, and there’s no spa. However, it’s easier to get to than this lounge. The food and lounge décor are identical.
I flew British Airway Club Suites – review here. That’s the name of their long haul business class. I had an absolutely fabulous flight, from London to Los Angeles. The suite is a fantastic business class product. The food and drinks were also terrific.
I was equally impressed by British Airways Short Haul Business Class. I flew Club Europe from London to Amsterdam – review here. The flight was impressive. It was only an hour, but there was a full meal and drinks service in that time. I also got a great price for the flight – which helps.
I stayed at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills. This famous hotel hosts the Golden Globe Awards every year. It has a stunning rooftop pool, overlooking Beverly Hills. In the review, I explain how I stayed at the hotel for a 64% discount.
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