Review – British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 (South)

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On most of my trips through Heathrow’s Terminal 5 I find myself in the British Airways First Class lounge courtesy of my American Airlines Executive Platinum status but I’ve been meaning to review the British Airways Galleries Club Lounge (Business Class lounge) for quite some time. I’ve actually looked in the Galleries Club Lounge a couple of times in the past year (specifically so that I could review it) but it’s always been just busy enough to make photo taking tough….so I’ve always ended up back in the First Class lounge. This time, however, things were a bit different.

On this trip I had a reasonably early departure from Heathrow which meant that I had the chance to beat the crowds and see what the Galleries Club Lounge was like when the throngs were elsewhere.

The lounge is at the south end of Heathrow Terminal 5 so, once you’ve cleared security, you need to head down to the lower level of the terminal (where the majority of the shops are) and head towards Gate 18. Just short of Gate 18 are the escalators which take you up to the British Airways First Class lounge and, if you go up a further level, to the British Airways Galleries Club Lounge.

Once you enter the lounge you’ll notice that it spreads out from left to right with a lot of the usual British Airways Lounge features.

The far right hand side of the lounge overlooks the security lines at the south end of the terminal….

…and houses a viewing room with a large flat screen TV…..

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

….a number of seating areas with varying styles of furniture….

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

…and one of many tea/coffee stations(I think I counted four):

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

Closer to the centre of the lounge is another seating area….

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

…adjacent to which is a raised bar with PC screens….

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

…another raised bar with multiple power ports and headphones….

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

….and a small “business area” with a couple more screen and a printer/copier/fax:

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

Across the aisle from the business area are the newspapers and magazines….

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

…and past these is where the food and drink area starts.

If you’ve visited any of the other British Airways lounges in Heathrow the food and drink area will be pretty familiar to you. The wine cabinets are very similar to the lounges over in Terminal 3….

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

…and the food items are laid out in a buffet style. This being around 6am the food on offer was breakfast.

• 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

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

• Pain aux raisins
• Croissant
• Pain au chocolat

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

• Strawberry yoghurt
• Greek-style yoghurt
• Grapefruit segments
• Mixed fruit salad

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

There were cereals and oatmeal/porridge laid out on the side….

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

And last, but not least, there was a selection of fruit juices on offer:

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

Past the food area the lounge goes back to being a lounge again with a set of raised up tables and a British Airways help desk….

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

…mores seating areas….

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

…a long, chilled bar with sparkling and still water….

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

….a bar loaded up with the more potent alcoholic offerings….

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

….more seating areas….

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

 

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

….another business area with PC screens, headphones and a printer/copier/fax…..

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

…and, yes….you guessed it….more seating areas!

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

Even the kids have their own little seating area:

British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Heathrow T5 South

In short this is a lounge with a lot of seating…and it needs it because it gets a lot of traffic throughout the day.

As I sat in the lounge eating my third bacon roll I got to comparing this Galleries Club Lounge to the First Class lounge one level below….and the conclusion I came to was that the differences were all in the catering.

The seating provided in the Galleries Club lounge is no less comfortable than the seating in the First Class lounge and I’m struggling to think of any amenities in the First Class lounge that the Galleries Club lounge doesn’t share (if you can think of any then let me know in the comments below).

The big differences are:

• The First Class lounge offers champagne
• The First Class lounge offers a full food buffet (at this time of day it would have been a full breakfast buffet)
• The First Class lounge has some higher-end spirits

That’s about it.

Bottom Line

I actually quite liked this lounge…but that may have been partly because I was one of the very few people in the lounge for the first 20 minutes of my visit.

It’s spacious, the seating is varied and more than adequate, the food (what there is of it) is acceptable and there are more than enough drink stations and coffee/tea making facilitates. It’s comfortable.

If you’re not hungry and you’re not a drinker than you probably won’t notice too much difference between this lounge and its big brother downstairs…and I’m tempted to try this lounge out the next time I’m struggling to find a seat in the First Class lounge.