Wednesday newsletters always feature a hotel or flight review.
Last November, I enjoyed a fabulous holiday in Namibia. You can read my trip reports here:
- Review: Concorde Room at London Heathrow Airport (today)
- Review: British Airways Boeing 777 First Class from London to Johannesburg
- Review: Air Link Embraer E190 Business Class from Johannesburg to Windhoek
- Review: &Beyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge
- Review: Zannier Hotels Omaanda
- Review: Zannier Hotels Sonop
- Review: Little Kulala by Wilderness Safaris
- Review: Damaraland Camp by Wilderness Safaris
- Review: Hoanib Skeleton Coast by Wilderness Safaris
- Review: Onguma The Fort (Etosha National Park)
Today: Review of the Concorde Room at London Heathrow Airport
The Concorde Room is British Airways’ most exclusive lounge category, and a step above the standard Business and First Class lounges it offers across the globe. The Concorde Room is only available at London’s Heathrow Airport and New York’s JFK Airport, and can only be accessed if you’re flying First Class on British Airways (one guest is welcome as well), or if you are a Gold Member of British Airways’ frequent flyer program Executive Club with 5,000 Tier Points.
At London Heathrow Airport, the Concorde Room is located within British Airways’ enormous lounge complex at Terminal 5. There are two entrances: the main entrance is located on the first floor above the concourse (in front of the First Class lounge, called ‘Galleries First’), but there’s also a discrete side entrance located immediately after the security check point. Below you can watch my video with a full tour of the Concorde Room (0:00 to 7:30).
The lounge itself is somewhat reminiscent of the lobby of a boutique hotel. It features the same contemporary decor that can also be found in the other British Airways lounges, with stylish high-backed chairs, beautiful chandeliers, and oak wooden flooring. The decor takes its inspiration from the very best of British design, craftsmanship and heritage, with elegant lighting from Porta Romana and contemporary tables from Boss Design.
While the lounge itself is not large and feels quite busy, there is plenty of seating for everyone. One side of the lounge features a couple of cozy sitting corners with gas fires (creating a “home away from home” ambience), while the opposite side of the lounge has a terrace which offers nice views across the airport’s concourse and apron. The center of the lounge is made up of a stylish bar and restaurant. The restaurant space is quite remarkable, featuring a collection of lovely, private booths, in addition to a couple of communal dining tables.
Full waiter service and à la carte dining are offered on a complimentary. The menu changes on a monthly basis and guests can dine in the restaurant or order food from the menu to wherever they’re sitting in the lounge. I visited the Concorde Room in the early afternoon, and I ordered the following dishes for lunch:
- Starter: John Ross smoked Salmon, served with capers, shallots, olives & sour cream, and dressed with lemon oil
- Main course: pas roasted sea bass, served with new potatoes, fine green beans, red chard & garden peas, with an almond, tomato & herb lemon dressing
- Dessert: fruit salad (melon, orange, grapes, pineapple, kiwi and mango)
The Concorde Room also houses the ’Forty Winks’ nap lounge, a lounge within a lounge featuring power nap sleep pods. Introduced in partnership with Restworks, the ‘Forty Winks’ lounge allows customers in need of some pre-flight rest the chance to power nap in a dedicated EnergyPod. The EnergyPod char has been designed exclusively for power napping with unique combination of gravity neutral positioning and privacy visor. The Heathrow First Class ‘Forty Winks’ lounge is complimentary and operates on a self-service basis so customers do not need to pre-book. There are seven pods available and customers can use the ‘Your Menu’ lounge app to check if a pod is available in real time.
Unfortunately, British Airways no longer offers spa service to guests of the Concorde Room. The various British Airways lounges at Terminal 5 used to share an Elemis Travel Spa, which was pretty awesome. While the complimentary treatments were quick (15 minutes), they were top shelf, plus it was something else to do to break up the trip. I loved it. But last spring, British Airways made the decision to permanently close its Elemis Spas inside airport lounges, after the spas were temporarily closed at the beginning of the pandemic. Showers are still available though.
PHOTOS OF THE CONCORDE ROOM AT LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT
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The lounge seems extremely large compared to the possible amount of clientele
I have flown business class before out of LHR to HK with B.A and I can only say that the Concorde décor seems to be very similar to normal business class lounge
Can I ask how long before my flight departs can I access the concorde lounge. Ideally I was thinking of getting to the airport 4 hours before to make the best use of the lounge. Is this possible do you know?
Oh the Concorde lounge and how I wish you were so much more. Don’t get me wrong I firmly believe BAs first product is one of the best values out there. The lounge, however, has much to be desired. They did a little refresh once they reopened but still have the frumpy loungers that seem to attract an older, louder crowd and upholstered pieces that seem to have stains that predate The Battle of Hastings. Service is there but barely. Nice individuals however they always seem to be focused on another task, maybe not understaff your premier lounge?
Tip of the day sit at the bar especially if Charlie is mixing, bright light in a drab lounge. Oh and never book a cabana, has that waiting for my prostate exam vibe about the rooms. Hope BA invests in the Concorde Room it really could be so much more. Wow so I really sound that entitled?
A nice experience and a cut above the standard business and first lounges in Heathrow. Main benefit is a more homey feeling with the boutique hotel type furnishings and a much less crowded and quieter atmosphere than the other lounges which is particularly welcome for a long layover.
Dining room experience was nice with individual service versus the typical buffet line of the other lounges. Much more of a restaurant feel.
Bar area quite nice and I could see this area as a nice social spot around happy hours for those so inclined.
The restrooms are in need of an upgrade as they are pretty standard affair albeit quite large, private, and individual sinks. Materials are not very premium as I would have expected nice stone (marble or granite). Also, paper towels versus nice hand towels was a disappointment.
First world problems, but with some small changes it could be a more premium experience.
When was access to American Flagship First passengers at Concorde lounge ended?
Update to my question above…. I was denied access to Concorde lounge by an poorly trained BA associate. After a great deal of hassle I was admitted with no apology for the lengthy delay. If you are a flagship first passenger you should gain admission as has been the case traditionally.
Added value of flying BA First Class or being a BA Executive Club member, has gone down dramatically. Read the following.
From British Airways Gold Guest List team, October 2023:
“…I am really sorry but the Elemis Spa closed during the Pandemic and currently there are no plans to replace this.
Unfortunately we no longer have the Cabanas either as they were also closed. They have been replaced by our Sleep pods which can be booked on the day via the Your Menu lounge app.
I am sorry for any disappointment and hope you enjoy your First Class experience with us….”