London’s Heathrow Airport is one of my least favorite airports in the world. It’s seemingly designed with the intention of maximizing exercise potential between connections. On top of that, switching between terminals can actually feel like transferring between airports at times. I also find their security staff make the TSA look downright friendly by comparison.
As far as the terminals themselves go, Terminal 5 is one of the nicer ones, and British Airways is the exclusive operator out of it. It’s a nice enough terminal physically, given that it has lots of natural light, great shopping, and even The Concorde Room.
That being said, it is consistently crowded. Very, very crowded.
Since British Airways is the only airline to operate out of Terminal 5, they’ve also been the only airline to have lounges there for years. Which is great if you’re a oneworld flyer like me, since there are some decent lounges you can hang out in.
It has also meant that non-oneworld flyers and non-premium passengers were left without lounge access, given that British Airways doesn’t sell lounge access.
Well, that has finally changed with the recent opening of the Aspire Airport Lounge at London Heathrow Terminal 5. The Aspire Lounge is the first lounge at Terminal 5 which can be accessed by Priority Pass members (memberships come with cards like the Citi Prestige® Card, The Platinum Card® from American Express, and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express). (Enrollment required) Furthermore, access can be purchased to the Aspire Lounge.
Assuming you’re not a Priority Pass member, access to the Aspire Lounge can be purchased for 35GBP (~$55USD), and access is valid for three hours.
The lounge is open daily from 5AM until 11PM, and is located adjacent to gate 18.
The lounge offers complimentary snacks and drinks, though also has premium food & drinks available for purchase.
For example, here’s the complimentary daytime food menu:
Afternoon Tea for One or Two
Help yourself to one of our two-tiered platters or create your own from:
Sandwiches
Pork Pies
Scotch Eggs
Victoria Sponge Cake
Carrot Cake
Chocolate CakeSandwiches
Tuna Mayonnaise & Cucumber
Cheese & Onion
Egg Mayonnaise
Prawn Mayonnaise
Ham, Cheese & PickleQuiche Lorraine
Hot Miniature Pies
Beef and Ale
Chicken and TarragonSoup of the Day
Pasta of the Day
Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese Bagel
British Cheese Board
Cornish Brie
Blue Stilton
Red Leicester
CheddarFresh Salads
Mediterranean Pasta
Moroccan Couscous
Leaf Salad
Coleslaw
Potato Salad
Sliced Cucumber
Cherry Tomatoes
Sliced Wiltshire HamSweet Treats
Scones, clotted cream and jam
Chocolate Cake
Carrot Cake
Victoria Sandwich Cake
Double Chocolate Muffin
Chocolate Muffin
Blueberry MuffinGluten Free Treats
Chocolate Caramel Shortbread
Flapjack
Chocolate BrownieHand Cooked Crisps
Sea Salted
Cider Vinegar & Sea Salt
Red Leicester & Onion
Meanwhile here’s the complimentary drink selection:
On top of that they have premium meals available for purchase:
Steak & Guinness Pie – £6.99
Cheese & Onion Pie – £6.99
Fish Finger Sandwich – £6.99
Maple and Barbecue Glazed
Salmon Fillet – £6.99
Welsh Lamb Shank – £9.99
Mushroom & Dolcelatte Risotto – £9.99
As well as premium beverages available for purchase:
Order at the bar:
Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut Champagne –£34.99ICONIC COCKTAILS
Mai Tai – £5.99
Cosmopolitan – £5.99
Elderflower Collins – £5.99
Espresso Martini – £5.99WINE FLIGHTS
Sensational Sauvignon Blanc – £10.00
The French Affair – £10.00
Brave New World – £10.00
The Jet Set – £10.00
The lounge also has complimentary “rest pods,” as well as paid shower (20GBP) and spa facilities.
Bottom line
While I suspect this lounge isn’t on par with The Concorde Room, it is great for Heathrow Terminal 5 travelers to have an alternative to the oneworld lounge options.
Much like the rest of the terminal, I suspect this lounge will get quite crowded, though it’s still a great option for Priority Pass members. I’ll check it out the next time I pass through Terminal 5, for the purposes of a review, if nothing else.
Do you plan on checking out the new Aspire Lounge Heathrow Terminal 5? Do you think there’s a market for paid airport lounges?
(Tip of the hat to Fly&Dine)
Aspire longe is bad
Extra costs for shower
No toilets
Very poor section of food
Overcrouded
I used priority pass in anoter lounge at heatrow ( not sure which terminal)
And they had proper showers at no costs, toilets, nice drink coctails, decend meals on order with no extra cost)
Temarkable difrence under the same priority pass logo
A quick update, just joined Lounge Key through HSBC premier world elite credit card there is an annual fee, but all airport lounges are free to visit after that.....Always used LC & PP in the past for T5 Heathrow. Unfortunately LK doesn't have a programme in T5......so I emailed them and had a prompt reply.... they are looking into securing a lounge contract with T5 .....so looking forward to the inclusion......I will then in due...
A quick update, just joined Lounge Key through HSBC premier world elite credit card there is an annual fee, but all airport lounges are free to visit after that.....Always used LC & PP in the past for T5 Heathrow. Unfortunately LK doesn't have a programme in T5......so I emailed them and had a prompt reply.... they are looking into securing a lounge contract with T5 .....so looking forward to the inclusion......I will then in due course cancel PP & LC membership.
We used the new Aspire Lounge at T5 last week on our flight from Heathrow to SF.We entered on PP and stayed for around 2 hours On our return Journey to LHR from NEWARK, New Jersey we used the airport lounge there also, entered with our LC membership. Both lounges were first class and no problem using PP & LC cards.
I've got a long layover in Heathrow on Thursday before a BA flight and a brand new Priority Pass - excited to check this lounge out!
I was in the Concord Room a few weeks ago, sweaty and exhausted after coming off a long-haul flight in paid F. All I wanted was a shower before connecting to another long-haul in paid F. But the wait for a shower was 90 minutes. I had to race to Terminal B via the train to take a shower in the business lounge there. Nearly
Missed my flight.
It's madness. The Concord Room...
I was in the Concord Room a few weeks ago, sweaty and exhausted after coming off a long-haul flight in paid F. All I wanted was a shower before connecting to another long-haul in paid F. But the wait for a shower was 90 minutes. I had to race to Terminal B via the train to take a shower in the business lounge there. Nearly
Missed my flight.
It's madness. The Concord Room has NO SHOWERS. It shares its facilities with the Biz lounge, so that hordes of economy class passengers with mid-tier status are ahead of you. Frankly, if this Priority Pass lounge has decent shower facilities then I'll be heading there, fine champagne be damned.
At the risk of sounding dorky, something no travel geek should miss are the pods at T5! Super cool FREE driverless cars take one from the terminal to the business car park (a or b). You tell your pod where you are heading via touch screen before jumping in and taking a spin. We took them for a joy ride to and from the car park. Really unique and fun for the traveler who wants...
At the risk of sounding dorky, something no travel geek should miss are the pods at T5! Super cool FREE driverless cars take one from the terminal to the business car park (a or b). You tell your pod where you are heading via touch screen before jumping in and taking a spin. We took them for a joy ride to and from the car park. Really unique and fun for the traveler who wants to try something different.
You can check them out via a Google search to learn more. A bright spot at LHR.
Hello! My husband and I are planning a trip to go London from Mexico. How can we obtain cheap tickets. Thanks!!
Interesting that the pricing menu states, "Prices starting from" and the button is labeled, "check prices & book". Seems like some kind of dynamic pricing scheme is going on here.
Stopped in here using Priority Pass a few days ago and there are a few small quirks worth noting. Firstly, there are no restrooms inside the lounge at all - only around the corner out front. The staff are pleasant though seem a bit odd about the offerings - because the spa within the lounge is operated by Bliss (separately?) they made it a bit awkward to request or order any services. Lastly, although the...
Stopped in here using Priority Pass a few days ago and there are a few small quirks worth noting. Firstly, there are no restrooms inside the lounge at all - only around the corner out front. The staff are pleasant though seem a bit odd about the offerings - because the spa within the lounge is operated by Bliss (separately?) they made it a bit awkward to request or order any services. Lastly, although the space is a bit awkward and really one long hallway, there are a ton of outlets and the view out is great for watching takeoffs while nibbling on something. Agree with other folks that it's not long before it's very crowded as it only had space for 75 people on a good day.
35 GBP for three hours is not worth it, especially given the [lack of] quality of the complimentary food (scotch egg, Brit sandwichs).
So I don't understand why all connecting passengers have to go through 5A instead of directly to their satellite terminal. If I land in 5B or 5C, and have a connecting flight in 5B or 5C, why can't I just go to that concourse get through security there and go on to my gate? Terribly inefficient, I must say.
"..Terminal 5 is one of the nicer ones, and British Airways is the exclusive operator out of it."
Oh, that's a bit outdated now. They were the exclusive operators out of T5 until Iberia joined them in March 2012.
@ Dan - don't forget that you actually need to call Amex and request Priority Pass to be mailed to you. You can't just show the Amex card and get in like you would with a Centurion lounges or Delta clubs.
Hi Ben,
Will be flying in BA Club Europe next month LHR-GVA, so I think have access to Galleries Club Lounge, also have Amex Plat so access to this new Aspire lounge, is the Aspire likely to be a better lounge (no time to club hop)?
And congrats on all your success, with enthusiasm, expertise, generosity and yes a little luck, you've created it!
Thanks
if you want to post an infomercial, at least post some of your own pictures to make it more persuasive
I hate Heathrow so much. Our recent connection from T5 to T3 took almost 2 hours (no exaggeration). Took 45 minutes just to get to T5 via the shuttle and then getting through security was a nightmare. We would have missed our connecting flight back to LAX had our plane not been delayed.
Come on, changing terminals at JFK is confusing as well :)
I think you're right though. This lounge will become very crowded.