Review: British Airways Galleries First Lounge Heathrow T3

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This post in one of a series of blog posts relating to my 8 Flights, 7 Lounges & 3 Hotels In 5 Days trip that I took earlier this month. 

I arrived into Heathrow from Copenhagen on a British Airways Airbus A320 (in Economy Class) and, as I just reviewed a near identical flight (Review: British Airways Economy Class A320), I’m not going to review the flight I arrived in on and, instead, skip ahead to the lounge at Heathrow’s Terminal 3.

The first thing that I should point out is that, if you’re arriving into Heathrow and connecting to a flight in a different terminal. you should leave plenty of time. Heathrow is nowhere near as bad an airport as a lot of people make it out to be but it’s definitely not ideal for connections. Because you have to clear security at whatever terminal you connect to and because , in some cases, re-check in with your airline, I wouldn’t book a connection that gives me less than 2 hours at Heathrow.

There are a number of OneWorld lounges at Heathrow T3 (I reviewed the American Airlines Flagship Lounge here) but my preferred choice has always been the British Airways Galleries First Lounge.

The entry criteria for OneWorld lounges is on this webpage here but, specifically for this lounge, you need to be travelling in First Class on a OneWorld airline or have OneWorld Emerald Status (BA Gold, American Airlines Executive Platinum etc…) if you’re to get past the gate keepers on the desks outside.

As soon as you walk into the lounge you’re greeted by a Champagne bar right in front of you…

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

…offering Taittinger Rose and Taittinger Brut Reserve as standard.

Immediately to the left of the Champagne bar are the newspapers and periodicals/magazines:

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

Further past the magazines the lounge opens up into a large area that’s divided in two by a bar offering chilled mineral water and glasses.

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

On one side of the water bar is a seating area….

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

…..while, on the other side, is a large work area with multiple PC stations and printer/copier/fax facilities.

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

The far wall of this end of the lounge is one long bar with a a few wines, a large variety of spirits on the counter and soft drinks, mixers and beers in the chiller cabinets underneath:

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

I’m definitely not the person to ask about spirits but, from what I could tell, not only was there a decent selection but some of what was on offer was pretty high-end (JW Blue Label for example).

If you leave this part of the lounge and head back the way you came in (past the newspapers and Champagne bar), the lounge extends in the other direction as well.

Here’s where you’ll find a number of coffee machines, tea making facilities…..

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

…..and a few jars of cookies/biscuits:

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

Opposite the coffee machines is a glass-enclosed kids play area which I haven’t once seen used (and this is despite having seen kids running amuck in the lounge on more occasions than I care to remember).

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

Further past the coffee machines the lounge opens up again to provide more seating areas….

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

…another Champagne bar and self-serve bar well stocked with some decent wines and snacks.

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

On the other side of the room from the bar is the buffet which, as I was visiting in the morning, was set up for breakfast:

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

As well as the items in the main buffet area there was also a selection of cereals….

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

…some oatmeal/porridge (ignore the soup sign!)….

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

…pastries….

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

…and a good selection of soft drinks and juices (the juices are out of shot but included orange, apple and cranberry juice…and there may even have been some grapefruit juice):

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

If the buffet isn’t for you, the lounge also offers an a la carte menu:

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

Just like everything else in the lounge, the food on the menu is complimentary and the lounge staff will bring it to wherever you’re seated in the lounge or you can choose to have it brought to you in a small, but perfectly nice, dining area which overlooks the airport apron:

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

This can be a very relaxing part of the lounge to be in and it’s where I chose to spend quite a bit of my time on this layover. I also chose to try something off the a la carte menu.

In the past I’ve had the Eggs Benedict which weren’t bad at all.

Eggs Benedict – Galleries Fist Style

So this time I went for something quintessentially British and ordered the Grilled Scottish Kippers with Poached Eggs:

Galleries First – Grilled Scottish Kippers

The eggs were cooked perfectly and the kippers were very tasty so that was a definite success 🙂

The last thing you probably need to know about the lounge is that it has an Elemis Spa attached to it (which only reopened recently). If you’re traveling in British Airways First you can book appointments in advance otherwise put your name down for whatever treatment you’d like as soon as you arrive – it gets booked up pretty quickly.

I didn’t bother with a Spa treatment but I did check out the shower facilities:

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

British Airways Galleries First Heathrow T3

These are more than adequate for anyone on a long layover and, with 8 shower cubicles (I think that’s what I was told) there isn’t normally too long a wait…if there’s even a wait at all.

Bottom Line

I like the Galleries First Lounge at T3 and I think I like it more than its sister lounge over in T5. This lounge is usually less crowded than the one over at T5 and I find the staff to be friendlier and more approachable. Clearly this is just personal experience so YMMV.

Until we see what the Cathay Pacific lounge is like when it reopens in June this is definitely the best OneWorld lounge at Heathrow T3 and, if you have a ticket or status that gets you entry, should be the lounge you head for.

It’s not an ultra high-end lounge like the Qantas Lounge in LA or the Etihad Premium Lounge in Abu Dhabi and, if I’m being honest, it feels like a good business class lounge rather than a First Class lounge compared to those two…..but it’s still a nice place to pass the time and its offerings, at least at breakfast time, aren’t bad at all.