What I Liked

• Natural light and runway views
  
• Hot English Breakfast
  
• Complimentary alcohol
  
• Prosecco is available without charge
  
• The lounge takes Priority Pass
  

What Could Be Improved

• Lounge was busy
  

The Entry Requirements

I got into the No1 Lounge with my Priority Pass card.

I have a tie up with Priority Pass, to get 30% off membership. If you’re familiar with this offer, then no need to read on!

The cheapest membership costs £48. Standard Plus will set you back £183. For that, you get 10 free lounges visits. So each visit is £18.30. For food, alcohol and your own space.

For me, lounge access is a massive money saver. Sussex House Kitchen have a restaurant at Gatwick North. They charge £16.25 for their full English Breakfast. They charge £3 for a cup of tea. So nearly £25, when you include service charge. Below is a photo of the English Breakfast at Sussex House – doesn’t look too special.

 

For me, a lounge visit is better value than eating food in the terminal. And what if I want a couple of drinks to start my holiday? There’s an open bar in the Priority Pass lounge. Whereas, Sussex House Kitchen charges £13 for a gin and tonic. A good meal and a few drinks could easily cost £80 in the terminal.

I should also mention that it’s possible to spend less money when eating in the Terminal. You could eat at Starbucks. They charge £4.95 for a medium latte and £6.55 for a (small) bacon roll. So £11.50 all in for an (average?!) breakfast.

I would much rather go to an airport lounge for a little bit more money, as it’s a much better experience.

Priority Pass isn’t perfect. Lounges get busy, and they might turn you away if the lounge is full. On this occasion, I paid £6 to Priority Pass to Pre-book a timeslot. This guaranteed my entry to the lounge. This was a good move, as the lounge was pretty busy.

The No1 Lounge Location

The No1 Lounge is in Gatwick’s North Terminal. The home of EasyJet. All the lounges are next to each other. Rather helpfully.

Once you go through security. Turn left and follow the signs to the lounge. It’s a 5 minute walk.

There are four Priority Pass Lounges in Gatwick’s North Terminal. With a Priority Pass, you can also access the My Lounge (review here), Plaza Premium (review here) and the Clubrooms.

The Clubrooms only accept people over the age of 12 years. And my wife said it was inhumane to leave my kids outside... For that reason, I haven’t yet visited the Clubrooms.

We had an early morning flight. So we stayed at an Airport Hotel. For the North Terminal, I only ever stay at one hotel. The Hampton by Hilton. It’s a 40 second walk to the Terminal via a covered walkway! Check my YouTube video below.

I’m not going to do a blog review of this hotel. My 50 second YouTube video has everything you need to know!

The Best Activities in London

I appreciate that most readers of this article probably live in London. So you won’t be interested in tourist activities.

Me personally, I live in London and never fail to be amazed at how much there is to do.

The Sky Garden is awesome! It’s London’s highest public garden. It’s free to enter and the views are amazing. Pre-book your entry here.

London Theatre district is amazing, but it has a reputation for being expensive. This isn’t fair, as you can get some amazing deals. But make sure you plan ahead. Book your tickets here, starting at £15.

The No1 Lounge

The No1 Lounge is basically one room with windows on two sides. The design is smart, with modern and well appointed pieces of furniture.

The lounge is open from 4am to 8pm. Which is common for lounges at Gatwick. The lounge is 930 square metres. So pretty big.

The runway views are nice. Lots of natural light was coming in at 6am in June. As you would hope! The runway views aren’t completely panoramic however, as there’s a roof blocking them. Also, EasyJet aircraft aren’t the nicest to look at!

Some of my other lounge reviews have better runway views.

My review of the My Lounge Heathrow Terminal 3 has a great shot of a BA jet outside. It’s a pity the lounge was a hot mess! My review of the Gulf Air Lounge Heathrow Terminal 4 has a STUNNING SHOT of the Gulf Air jet outside.

There were different types of seats. Restaurant style tables and chairs. Cushioned sofas. And low style lounge tables and seats.

Alcohol was available at the manned bar in the centre of the lounge. This was also the design highlight of the lounge. The bar looked lovely, which is why I use the bar photo at the top of the article.

There was a buffet counter in one corner. All the food was offered here.

The No1 lounge was pretty busy when I visited. Most of the seats were taken.

The Food

I enjoyed the food at this Priority Pass London Gatwick lounge.

I was there at 6am, during the breakfast service. There was a full English Breakfast.

• Hash browns
  
• Mushrooms
  
• Bacon
  
• Scrambled eggs
  
• Baked beans
  
• Bread rolls
  
• Hot tomatoes from a tin
  
• Make your own pancakes (Popcake machine)
  
• Pastries. Croissants and Pan Au Chocolat
  
• Tinned fruit
  
• Yogurt
  
• Cereals
  

This is the 3rd time I’ve been to a No1 Lounge. I also visited the No1 Lounge at Luton Airport (review here) and at Heathrow Terminal 3 (review here). The food was very similar each time. Maybe No1 bulk buy from Costco!

I thought the spread was really good. Apart from the hot tinned tomatoes. Who eats that for breakfast?!

I had hash browns, baked beans, mushrooms and a soft roll. It was all decent. The food has been made fresh, and hadn’t been left out for too long. Which can be an issue with breakfast buffets.

Bottom line. You’ll get a proper breakfast!

It's easy to forget just how much money I save at an airport lounge. Popcake pancake machines produce nice pancakes. The No1 lounge also has all the accompaniments (chocolate sauce, syrup etc.). Sussex House Kitchen charge £11.75 for pancakes.

I suspect that the quality of the pancakes is very similar. After all, pancakes are just batter cooked on pan.

Sussex House Kitchen also charge £7.50 for a bacon sandwich. The No1 Lounge has unlimited bacon sandwiches (as well as all the other benefits).

The Drinks

The Adult Drinks

Alcohol was complimentary in this Priority Pass London Gatwick lounge. It wasn’t self pour. You had to get a drink from the staffed bar.

They had Amstel Beer and Inch’s cider on tap. Thy had bottled beers, including Chapel Down, Curious Brew, Estrella and Meantime Pale Ale.

They also had wines and house spirits. Prosecco is complimentary, which is unusual at Priority Pass Lounges. Normally, Prosecco is a chargeable. House spirits include Absolut Vodka and Bombay Sapphire gin. The bartenders can make cocktails on request.

Chargeable extras include champagne.

There was a bit of a queue. Even though it was 6am. This is common for Gatwick. Which caters for leisure passengers. Having a couple of drinks to toast their holiday. Why not?!

The Soft Drinks

There was a tea selection from Twinings. 90% of airport lounges I’ve been to have Twinings tea!

Coffee came from a machine. My wife had one, but I forgot to ask her how it was. I was too busy doing this review and looking after my kids!

I had an English breakfast tea and a green tea. Both were good.

Soda was available from a machine. Coke, Fanta and Sparkling Water. There was also infused water.

My Take on No1 Lounge Gatwick

I’ve never previously had a bad experience at a No1 Lounge. And the No1 Gatwick Airport North was no different!

It has everything that I want and need at a Priority Pass Lounge. Hot food, runway views and my own space. I really enjoyed this Priority Pass London Gatwick lounge.

One cool feature of Priority Pass is that you can access Virgin Atlantic Clubhouses in the USA. Virgin Clubhouses are some of the best airport lounges in the world. My review of the Virgin Clubhouse JFK is here. It had champagne, cocktails, high quality restaurant food and runway views.