Let's Just Go

A guide to T5 lounges and how to find the one with the most space!

There are 5 different Lounges at London Heathrow and access is only allowed for passengers either with status, or who are flying in Business or First Class with the airline.

Here’s a list of who is eligible to access which lounges at the terminal:

Full disclaimer here – I can’t review the Concorde Room as I have not taken a first class flight, I am not a Gold Guest List and also haven’t been guest-listed into the CCR, however from other reviews and videos, there is a suite of showers and bathrooms, a first class bar with champagne and premium quality spirits and drinks, first-class dining area with rapid service, and first-class menu changing throughout the day, and high quality food on offer, workstations and quiet rooms to do work in and a quieter, more reserved ambience. It is located on the first floor above Departures at the South end of the terminal.

First Class Lounge

I was guested into the First Class Lounge when flying on the same flight as a friend who had Gold status at the time of flying.

The First lounge is located at the South end of the terminal, on the first floor above Departures. It can be used by anyone flying First Class on a departng flight from London Heathrow, or any member of the British Airways Club who holds Gold status, flying on any flight with OneWorld airlines, from Terminal 5.

The Gold check-in at the south end of the Terminal takes you through it’s own Fast Track check-in area – which leads you through straight to the First Class lounge so you don’t need to mix with the throngs of usual Heathrow travellers!

There are a large number of bathrooms and showers available at the lounge, with a queuing system to enter at busy periods. There is a dining area but this has buffet-style dining only. Each table also has a QR code so you can order items to your table, such as champagne, drinks not on offer for pour-yourself at the bar, or freshly cooked food.

My visit was in the morning, so as well as the hearty buffet breakfast, you could order breakfast champagne, Eggs Benedict or Eggs Florentine to your table. Menus change throughout the day, so there is breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner – with various options appearing alongside salad dishes, sandwiches and snacks all day long.

There is usually ample seating room in a variety of styles of seating – tables and desks for work, dining tables near the buffet, sofas and relaxing chairs.

There are also drinks bars for serve-yourself soft drinks and alcoholic drinks, along with serve-yourself coffee machines, with options for all kinds of coffee and tea, along with biscuits and cake slices.

Departures are not called-out, to keep the lounge quiet – there are plenty of gate status screens all over the lounge so you can keep up to date and check when your flight is boarding.

Galleries Lounges

The BA Galleries Lounges are for Silver members of the British Airways Club, flying on a OneWorld flight from Terminal 5 in any cabin, and anyone flying on a Business Class ticket either to Europe “Club Europe” or longhaul to the rest of the world “Club World”.

There are three of these across the area:

• Terminal 5 North
• Terminal 5 South
• “B” Gates Lounge

All three lounges feature similar styles of seating to the First/Gold lounge – lots of individual sofa seats with power, some work pods, some meeting rooms, a Children’s Play area, dining table style seats near the buffet, more relaxed areas and more formal areas.

There are plans to upgrade all Heathrow lounges to have better seating and more charging and connectivity – the seating in this picture from 2024 has already been replaced with more recent and comfortable armchair style seats, all of which have universal plug socket charging, USB-A and USB-C Charging, and also wireless charging for those with wireless charging enabled devices.

Each of the three Galleries lounges is very similar in seating arrangements, facilities and layout. The North lounge tends to feel a lot more busy and chaotic as it is the smallest of the lounges at the main terminal and closer to Business / Fast Track check in.

Departures are not called out at any of these lounges, to maintain some peace and quiet – there are plenty of departure screens indicating gate status all over the lounges to keep up to date with.

Galleries South is quite a lot bigger and can hold more people – whereas B Gates lounge is set away from the main terminal, on the “B” satellite – it is much closer for anyone taking a flight that is departing from gates on the B or C satellite terminals, which tend to be longhaul flights.

If you want to see how busy the lounges are, BA publish this data through open data feeds, which drives displays at the airport. However, if you are not able to see these signs, you may wish to download the Loungebird app – which shows the lounge occupancy data in a few different ways.

This is interestingly showing that at the second this screenshot was taken, the B Gates lounge is quieter than the Concorde Room – so if you’re a fan of peace and quiet in your lounge, it may be best to go to the B Gates!

When I am looking to get to the lounge, I normally open Loungebird, see the North slightly busier than South, so tend to head for South and to an area furthest away from the sign-in desks – it tends to be quieter here. I will also look at B Gates and if I know I am flying from a B or C gate, I will just head there first and not even bother with South or North.

The Lounge is worth a stop-off if you are looking for an emergency meal, a quick snack or drink, replenishing your water bottle for free, a loo break, a quick shower, a bit of peace before your flight, or charging up devices for the duration of your flight.