British Airways operates several lounges at its London Heathrow hub. Prior to my flight to Paris, I had a chance to visit the British Airways Galleries Lounge North located, as its name suggests, in the North Concourse of the airline’s home, Terminal 5.
Besides being accessible to British Airways’ (and other oneworld airlines’) business and first class passengers departing out of Terminal 5, it is also open to oneworld Sapphire and Emerald status holders.
Lounge Overview
Right after the reception, there were some TVs with news airing as well as with flight information. There was also a nicely looking magazine rack mainly stocked with newspapers.
Separately, there was a counter with coffee, drinks, and some snacks. And, there were several coffee tables with chairs around it.
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Further down, there was the main seating area – also serving as the dining area – which consisted of some communal tables as well as more coffee tables. There were also some counter-height chairs along the window and wavy sofas.
In other words, there were seating options for all kinds of travelers ranging from people on their own all the way to families. Unfortunately, though, throughout most of my visit, this area as well as many other parts of the lounge were completely packed.
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Going to the left, there was more seating in what looked like a bar area.
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Besides that, there was also a business center with more than a dozen computers, a kids’ room, as well as the shower reception.
The unfortunate thing about the business center was that there were more or less no working spaces for people with their own laptops. While I see this be the case at quite a few lounges, I would prefer if they had simple work desks instead of ones equipped with computers, or even better cubicle like workspaces.
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While I didn’t take a shower in the lounge, the toilet rooms featured Elemis amenities and were rather spacey. At the same time, they were very modestly equipped.
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Food and Drinks Selection
Most of the food in the lounge could be found in spread across a couple of counters in the main dining area. Separately, there was also a couple of “coffee houses” and a bar-like area.
Starting with the coffee houses, besides coffee, tea and some biscuits could be found there as well. And, the one near the lounge’s entrance also offered wine, water, and some potato chips.
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Wine could be found in the bar area as well. And, on top of that, there was a decent selection of more than a dozen kinds of liquor, as well as some craft beer.
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Soft drinks including sodas and juices could be found in the main dining area.
As for the food available in the dining area, there were some whole fruits and sandwiches. There were also two kinds of soup, as well as warm dishes such as pasta, curry, chili con carne, etc.
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Finally, there were also some cakes. Those were removed later in the day, though, and replaced with a salad bar.
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British Airways Galleries Lounge North London Heathrow Summary
While the lounge was certainly a nicer place to spend time at than the Aspire Lounge which is accessible with Priority Pass, it still wasn’t anything that I would arrive at an airport early for.
The food selection was decent, although nothing to write about, and the seating options – at least if all you wanted was to relax – were alright as well. However, the lounge was certainly not an ideal place for getting any work done.
Especially so because of the fact that it was too crowded during most of my visit.
