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The last time I visited the Plaza Premium Lounge in Heathrow T2 the world was in the grip of COVID-19, and this was the only lounge still operating in the whole of the terminal.
Three years on from those dark days, I found myself flying out of Heathrow T2 on an Aer Lingus flight to Dublin, so this seemed like a good opportunity to see what the lounge is like when more than a handful of passengers are traveling and when pressure on the lounge is considerably higher.
Location
The lounge is located on Level 4 of Heathrow Terminal 2, one level below where passengers pass through security.
If you don’t know the terminal particularly well, the lounge can be a little tricky to find, so here’s how to get to it:
When you clear security use one of the sets of escalators that you’ll find on this level to go down to Level 4 (where you’ll find most of the terminal’s shops and eateries).
Once on Level 4, look for the airline service/transfer desks which you’ll find on the opposite side of this level to the airport apron.
To the right of these desks is a passageway and it’s this passageway that leads to the Plaza Premium Lounge.
Opening times and access
The lounge is open between 05:00 and 21:30 daily, and can be accessed by the following groups of people:
Priority Pass members – The Plaza Premium Lounge at Heathrow T2 is a member of the Priority Pass network, so anyone who purchases a Priority Pass membership or who holds a credit card that offer Priority Pass membership or a set number of Priority Pass lounge visits as a benefit (e.g. the Platinum Card® from American Express, the Platinum Card® from American Express, and Chase Sapphire Reserve®).
Paying Customers – Single visits starting from £45.00 for adults and from £30 for children aged 2 -11. Multi-visit passes are also available from Plaza Premium. Children under the age of 2 enter free of charge.
Dragonpass holders (select plans)
The waitlist
This is a very popular lounge and so can get very busy. On this visit there were two lines forming outside the entrance, one with people waiting to talk to the desk agents and one with people waiting for a space to open up in the lounge so that they could enter.
Fortunately, there’s no need to stand outside the lounge waiting to be called (if the lounge has reached capacity).
The desk agents will take your name and phone number, place you on the waitlist, and then provide you with a link so you can use your smartphone see where on the waitlist you are.
This allows you to explore the terminal (or do some shopping) while you wait for space to open up without losing your place in line.
When you get to the front of the line, you get a message telling you to head back to the lounge and a link to let the lounge know that you’re on your way.
On this occasion, it took 14 minutes from the time I was put on the waitlist to getting the message to head back to the lounge and the whole process seemed very efficient.
The lounge
The first area of the lounge that guests enter is a small seating area where the main bar is positioned.
Some alcoholic drinks are included in the price of entry, but quite a few ‘premium’ options come at an added price (starting at £4).
On one side, the lounge has a small dining area that is adjacent to the beverage station (self-service) and the food service area.
On this visit the dining area was almost full to capacity making it impossible to take a good picture.
Here’s what it looks like when it’s not feeding time at the zoo.
The rest of the lounge was busy as well, but if I mix and match new and old images, you should get a good idea of what the space offers.
One end of the lounge (the end near the washrooms) offers guests a choice of single-person booths …
… armchairs …
… and two high tables.
At the other end of the lounge (the end adjacent to the dining area), there are more armchairs …
… a few private booths which can be reserved for a fee …
… some work desks …
… and a seating area that appears to be reserved for larger groups:
Considering how busy the lounge was and considering there were people outside waiting in line to get in (on what appeared to be a one in, one out, policy), it was a bit galling to have to look at several ‘reserved’ areas that were completely unoccupied.
Anyway …
The lounge is well served for power outlets, although visitors should be aware that they’re mostly UK-style 3-pin sockets (there are a few USB-A sockets too), so guests from the US, Europe, and further afield will probably need to make sure they have an adapter with them if they’re likely to need to charge any larger devices.
It’s also worth noting that even if your devices come with UK-style 3-pin plugs, it may still be worth bringing an adapter along.
On my previous visit, I noticed that because the outlets are placed quite close to the surface of the high tables, it’s impossible to plug in a device that comes with a sizeable power brick (like a MacBook).
Fortunately, a multi-country adapter can solve this issue.
The wifi
The wifi in the lounge seemed fine. I didn’t try to stream any movies or TV shows but for the work I was doing on this site (which included uploading a large number of images), the upload speeds were fine.
The showers
The Plaza Premium lounge has a few shower cubicles that are now included in the cost of entry (they once cost £15 for, I think, 20 minutes). You can also enter the lounge on a ‘shower only’ visit for £25 (30 minutes).
This what one of shower cubicles looks like (available on a first come, first served basis).
There’s nothing amazing here, but the cubicles are clean and functional, and on a layover after a long-haul flight will probably very welcome.
Lounge dining
As I mentioned a little earlier, the lounge offers complimentary buffet dining, and on this visit, breakfast was being served.
Essentially, the complimentary buffet falls into four separate sections.
Standard hot breakfast items.
A salad bar with some yogurts and cheese.
A section with cereals and fruit.
And a section with pastries.
Hot beverage machines are also available …
… as are chilled soft drinks …
… and some orange juice, lemon infused water, and plain water.
To look at, the buffet wasn’t particularly enticing, and it turned out that looks were not deceiving on this occasion.
The hot options were dried out and just bad, and a salad bar really isn’t my thing at 8:30 in the morning, so I was left with the remnants of the fruit salad bowl (which wasn’t refilled during my stay) and a slightly hard pain au raisin to go with a very bad coffee from one of the machines.
I’d like to be able to say something nice about the food and drinks options, but I can’t think of any. The buffet on this visit was among the worst that I’ve been faced with in the past few years of travel.
Overall
In one word – disappointing.
The high point was the efficiency of the online queuing system and things were mostly downhill from there.
Yes, the showers looked fine and they’re a nice option to have, but the lounge was ridiculously busy, tables weren’t being cleared, the food was bad, the coffee was worse, and most importantly, there was nothing calm or relaxing about the place.
Had I known what I know now, I would have found a coffee shop, picked up an overpriced flat white and an extortionately priced muffin, and found some quiet part of the terminal to relax before my flight.
There’s a chance that at less busy times of day the lounge will feel more serene, and perhaps the food options improve at lunch time or in the evenings, but based on this visit, I won’t be hurrying back any time soon.
We were there a couple of weeks ago and were very pleased with the selections of Hot Food at Lunch time.Actually food was so good it kept on running out and had to be replenished. (Mostly Indian Food plus Pasta,etc). One Big Negative was the Diashwasher was not getting the Silverware & Dishes cleaned quickly enough. this further delayed the people in n out. they need more people in Utensils Dept.
Perhaps you can help me with a related question. I’m flying ORD-LHR-ZRH. I have four hours in Heathrow. I arrive Terminal 3 (American Airlines), but depart Terminal 5 (British Airways). As I transit 3 to 5, I know I have to redo security of some kind anyways, so my question is:
Can I stop in Terminal 3 to visit a couple lounges, or am I force fed by security to immediately continue my journey and move to Terminal 5? I don’t want to visit customs exiting Terminal 3; I guess my main question is can I move freely in Terminal 3 before I follow the purple signs to Terminal 5?
Thanks in advance!