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My trip out to Cyprus a little over a week ago turned out to be a useful one from a blogging perspective – I finally managed to get some pictures of the British Airways Galleries Club Lounge at Heathrow T5 South, I got to confirm that I don’t particularly like traveling on British Airways A320 aircraft for any longer than I have to and I discovered a British Airways lounge I never knew existed – the one at Heathrow T5’s B-gates.
Before last week I’m not sure that I’ve ever flown out of the B-gate area at Heathrow Terminal 5 and that would probably go a long way to explaining why I was surprised to find a full-sized and fully functional British Airways lounge waiting for me when I got there.
The British Airways Galleries Lounge at the B-gates can be accessed via the elevators or escalators by the World Duty Free shop at T5’s B-gate area:
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge – Heathrow T5 B Gates
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge – Heathrow T5 B Gates
Apart from the fact that I was completely oblivious to the existence of this lounge, the thing that I found most unexpected was the size – it’s a full-sized lounge and has all the amenities you’d expect of any other British Airways Business Class lounge.
The lounge sits above the row of shops at the B-gates and overlooks the concourses on either side. There are two entrances to the lounge (right next to one another) but it doesn’t really make much difference which one you choose to go through.
The way I entered the lounge the first area I came upon was where breakfast was being served:
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge – Heathrow T5 B Gates
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge – Heathrow T5 B Gates
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge – Heathrow T5 B Gates
The food on offer was exactly the same as what was being offered at the other Galleries Club lounge I visited back in the main part of Terminal 5:
- British back bacon in a crusty roll
- Toasted white bread (jams, marmalade and butter available on the side)
- Brown, seeded, medium-cut bread
- Crusty roll filled with omelette and Emmental cheese
- Strawberry yoghurt
- Greek-style yoghurt
- Grapefruit segments
- Mixed fruit salad
I don’t recall seeing any cereals or oatmeal but I may well have overlooked those (I didn’t have too much time to spend in this lounge).
The was a good amount of seating around the food area but, during my visit, this were being taken up by a group of people who probably wouldn’t have taken to kindly to me snapping photos of them…so you’ll just have to trust that the seats are really there.
A little further into the lounge, past the food area, is the first (of two) tea/coffee/hot drink stations that you see in all BA Heathrow lounges….
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge – Heathrow T5 B Gates
….and, past there, the seating areas opened up….
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge – Heathrow T5 B Gates
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge – Heathrow T5 B Gates
British Airways galleries Club Lounge – Heathrow T5 B Gates
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge – Heathrow T5 B Gates
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge – Heathrow T5 B Gates
There was a surprising array of armchair and sofa options for a lounge which doesn’t serve that many gates and there was a pretty good feeling of space to the lounge as a whole.
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge – Heathrow T5 B Gates
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge – Heathrow T5 B Gates
Behind the section of armchairs in the photo above was a bar with wines and a choice of still or sparkling water……
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge – Heathrow T5 B Gates
……and, on the far side of the lounge was a business area with PCs, workstations, headphones and a printer/copier/fax:
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge – Heathrow T5 B Gates
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge – Heathrow T5 B Gates
Just as I thought I’d seen most of the lounge I realised that it extended a lot further than I’d expected and, considering there was absolutely no one in this part of the lounge, I’m guessing a few of the other visitors didn’t realise this section existed either.
There was another impressive bar area with wines and spirits…..
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge – Heathrow T5 B Gates
….another tea/coffee/hot beverage station….
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge – Heathrow T5 B Gates
…and a very bright and airy seating area…..
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge – Heathrow T5 B Gates
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge – Heathrow T5 B Gates
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge – Heathrow T5 B Gates
…which had a “kids zone” at the end:
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge – Heathrow T5 B Gates
The last thing I noticed about the lounge was the power outlets found between some of the seats…..
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge – Heathrow T5 B Gates
…which will work for devices from the UK, US, Europe and a number of Asian countries.
Bottom Line
Finding this lounge was a genuinely nice surprise and, at around 6:30am, it was almost empty except for a group of people by the food area and one or two people elsewhere in the lounge. I’d be interested to know if this lounge ever gets busy because, for my visit, it was an oasis of tranquility compared to the mayhem that you often find in the lounges back in the main terminal area.
Kudos to BA for providing this lounge at one of their satellite terminals – it’s a lounge I’ll remember for the next time I’m departing from T5’s B-gates and it’s one I would happily choose to use instead of the main Galleries Club Lounges in the main terminal area.
