My layover at Heathrow was roughly five hours, as I was arriving in London around 3PM, and departing for Paris shortly after 8PM. Ford was on a different transatlantic flight, and landed in London about an hour after I did. My flight from San Jose arrived at Terminal 5C, meaning that on arrival I had to take the train to Terminal 5A, which is where the arrivals and transfer process takes place.
Heathrow Terminal 5 arrivals process
Once in Terminal 5A I went up the escalator, and then followed the signage for flight connections. There’s a fast track lane there, though all premium passengers are put in the same queue — there’s no special service for first class. Then when you get to the actual security checkpoint there’s no separate premium line, as anyone can use any lane.
Heathrow Terminal 5 flight connections
Just past security I turned right and headed towards “Millionaires’ Door.”
Heathrow Terminal 5 airside
This door is located at the very right of the security checkpoint, and is rather unassuming from the exterior. Why on earth is it called “Millionaires’ Door?” Because British Airways allegedly pays the airport one million GBP per year for the privilege of operating it. The reason is because this allows you to (mostly) bypass the duty free shops, and the airport gets a cut on sales. So the assumption is that operating this door reduces revenue, which is why BA has to pay for it.
The lady at the door wasn’t terribly friendly. I had my London to Paris boarding pass (I didn’t have the other one handy), and as I handed it to her I said “I’m arriving in first class from San Jose, this is my connecting boarding pass.” She responded “for the business class lounge you’ll have to go downstairs.” I responded that I was in first class. “Then you’ll need to show me that boarding pass.”
Aside from the fact that she didn’t listen to what I said, I find this to be a weird system. In just about any other lounge I’ve been to they can scan your boarding pass, and since both flights were on the same itinerary it should have easily shown that I was eligible for access. Anyway…
British Airways’ “Millionaires’ Door”
Just inside that door was The Concorde Room, British Airways’ first class lounge. This lounge is only open to British Airways first class passengers, as well as those with the British Airways Concorde Room Card (their super top tier elite status). Meanwhile oneworld first class passengers and oneworld Emerald members are directed to use the Galleries First Lounge, which is next door.
It has been nearly four years since I’ve reviewed The Concorde Room and it was also recently renovated, so it’s time for me to write an updated review.
British Airways Concorde Room entrance
The Concorde Room has both an indoor area and a terrace that looks out over the terminal.
The centerpiece of the indoor section is the bar, which has a large selection of wine and liquor on display.
British Airways Concorde Room bar
I’d say the lounge’s drink selection is one of the few things that sets this apart from a business class lounge. British Airways offers Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle in The Concorde Room, which is the same champagne they have onboard (they also have Henriot Rose). I find it strange that most airlines have significantly better champagne onboard than in lounges (given that you can appreciate a good wine much better on the ground), though that seems to be the common practice. Kudos to British Airways for serving the good stuff on the ground as well.
British Airways Concorde Room wine selection
British Airways Concorde Room champagne selection
British Airways Concorde Room wine selection
British Airways Concorde Room wine selection
Along the center of the lounge is some high-top seating.
British Airways Concorde Room seating
British Airways Concorde Room seating
Then there’s the restaurant area, which is nice and private, and has a couple of dozen tables.
British Airways Concorde Room dining
British Airways Concorde Room dining
Those are the highlights of the indoor seating area. Other than that, the indoor section consists mostly of a random selection of couches and chairs that largely seem mismatched. Some seating sections are nicer than others, though some of it reminds me of the design of the Sheraton JFK Airport.
British Airways Concorde Room seating
British Airways Concorde Room seating
British Airways Concorde Room seating
British Airways Concorde Room seating
British Airways Concorde Room London Heathrow seating
British Airways Concorde Room London Heathrow seating
British Airways Concorde Room London Heathrow seating
Then back near the lounge’s entrance is a business center with four PCs and a couple of printers.
British Airways Concorde Room business center
British Airways Concorde Room business center
The much nicer area of the lounge, and by far my favorite place to sit, is the terrace. This terrace looks out over Terminal 5, and has some views of planes in the distance as well.
British Airways Concorde Room terrace view
While I think British Airways did a pretty lackluster job with the renovation of the interior, I thought the terrace looked nice, at least in a quirky way.
British Airways Concorde Room terrace
British Airways Concorde Room terrace
British Airways Concorde Room terrace
There was a variety of seating options, ranging from couches to chairs to daybeds.
British Airways Concorde Room terrace seating
British Airways Concorde Room terrace seating
British Airways Concorde Room terrace seating
My favorite place to sit is the little areas they have set up to feel like living rooms or cabanas or something — they have curtains on both sides of them, and almost feel like they’re somewhere tropical.
British Airways Concorde Room terrace seating
My big issue with the terrace — and for that matter the lounge on the whole — is the lack of outlets. The terrace has virtually no outlets. Even inside the outlets aren’t plentiful, and aren’t well placed.
Aside from going to the lounge’s restaurant for an an actual meal, there are also servers roaming the lounge. I don’t find them to be proactive, in the sense that I wasn’t once asked if I wanted anything. Rather they seem to mostly be clearing plates and glasses. However, they’re easy enough to flag down, and when you ask for something they’ll gladly accommodate you. The cappuccino I had in the lounge was excellent.
British Airways Concorde Room cappuccino
Here’s the menu you can order off of from anywhere in the lounge (there’s a more extensive menu in the restaurant):
Later on in the evening, at around 7PM, Ford and I decided to have dinner in the restaurant. There are a couple of dozen booths in the lounge, and they all feel intimate and cozy. Again, there aren’t any practically placed outlets here, though.
British Airways Concorde Room dining
British Airways Concorde Room dinner — table setting
After sitting down we were presented with a menu and drink list. The dining area menu read as follows:
The drink list read as follows (you can order off this from anywhere in the lounge):
To start I ordered a glass of champagne.
British Airways Concorde Room dinner — champagne
As a starter I ordered a garden salad (which was listed on the menu as main course, though they were happy to make it for me as a starter). The salad was pretty basic, exactly what you’d expect.
British Airways Concorde Room dinner — garden salad
Ford ordered the soup of the day, which was a carrot and coriander soup. The presentation was cool, as they brought out the bowl with the solid ingredients in it, and then poured the liquid into the bowl in front of you. Unfortunately the taste didn’t match the presentation, as it was quite bland.
British Airways Concorde Room dinner — soup of the day
For the main course we both ordered the roasted spiced cod with cauliflower puree, and mango and chili salsa. While the presentation was nice, the dish was also bland.
British Airways Concorde Room dinner — roasted spiced cod
For dessert we decided to split a warm chocolate and hazelnut brioche bread and butter pudding, which was excellent, certainly the highlight of the meal. Truth be told, I rarely come across bread and butter pudding I don’t like, though. 😉
British Airways Concorde Room dinner — warm chocolate & hazelnut brioche bread & butter pudding
I’d describe service in the restaurant as being efficient but otherwise impersonal. The guy taking care of us was quick, but there was no charm or finesse to the service.
There are a couple of other features of the lounge I wanted to mention. First of all, The Concorde Room has three Cabanas, which are private rooms that you can reserve in advance. I outlined my experience booking one of these in a separate post. If you’re in first class there’s no charge to reserve them, and they’re available on a first come first served basis.
I had reserved a Cabana from 3PM until 7PM, so went to the Quintessentially Concierge desk, and they escorted me to Cabana #1. The Cabanas are inside the entrance to the lounge and to the right, where the bathrooms are.
BA Concorde Room hallway
BA Concorde Room Cabana exterior
BA Concorde Room Cabana signage
Don’t get too excited about these rooms. The Cabanas are simply private rooms that have a chair with an ottoman, a TV, another chair, and a private bathroom.
BA Concorde Room Cabana living area
The chair itself seemed like it was new since my last visit, as it wasn’t nearly as stained. There was a small blanket available.
BA Concorde Room Cabana living area
Then there’s a chair in the corner, as well as the menus and drink list for the lounge. If you want you can order room service, and they’ll bring anything to you.
BA Concorde Room Cabana living area
There are also a couple of big bottles of water in the room.
BA Concorde Room Cabana bottled water
The lounge has a private bathroom. Neither are especially luxurious. Note that there’s no door between the shower, toilet, and the rest of the room, so if you’re traveling with someone else, that’s worth being aware of.
BA Concorde Room Cabana bathroom
BA Concorde Room Cabana shower
Toiletries in the shower room were from Aromatherapy Associates.
BA Concorde Room Cabana toiletries
Personally I don’t love spending time in the Cabanas. I’d much rather sit on the terrace getting natural light after a longhaul flight. So why would I even bother reserving one? Simple, because it’s the only way you can be guaranteed a shower in this lounge. The Concorde Room doesn’t have showers, but rather the showers are shared with the other lounges, and there’s no priority for first class passengers. So as a first class passenger you’ll often be told you’ll have to wait hours for a shower.
By reserving a Cabana you can definitely get a shower on your own schedule.
The Concorde Room does have bathrooms that are separate from the rest of the lounge (pictured below), though they’re really not nice. Actually, I often find them to be quite dirty. So the other benefit of having a Cabana is that you get a bathroom that has at least been cleaned to some degree.
BA Concorde Room bathrooms
BA Concorde Room bathrooms
If you do decide to rest in the Cabana, expect to hear a loud flushing noise several times per minute. These rooms are right by the bathrooms, so you hear the loud suction noise made by the toilets every time someone flushes.
First class passengers are also entitled to a 15 minute spa treatment at the Elemis Spa, though you’ll want to reserve that in advance if you’re interested. In my case they didn’t have any availability, even when reserving several days out.
In the end my five hour layover passed pretty quickly — I showered in the Cabana, I sat on the terrace drinking excellent cappuccinos and working, and I had a meal with Ford.
British Airways Concorde Room bottom line
I had a nice layover in The Concorde Room, and my time flew by. I like sitting on the terrace, the Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle champagne and cappuccinos were excellent, and the ability to reserve a Cabana is a nice feature.
I don’t consider this to be one of the world’s 10 best first class lounges, though it maybe ranks in the 11-15 range. What don’t I love about this lounge? The non-existent showers if you don’t reserve a Cabana, the hideous bathrooms, the quality of the food (which I find to be just alright), the decor inside the lounge, the lack of power outlets, how difficult it is to get an appointment at the spa, and the other lack of priority services for first class passengers in the terminal, especially when you compare this to how the other three major European airlines with first class treat passengers at their hubs.
All things considered, I’d say this is the third best lounge at Heathrow, behind the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse and the Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge. I don’t always have the best mindset toward connecting in Heathrow, but they sure have some of the best airport lounges to choose from!
If you’ve visited the British Airways Concorde Room, what was your experience like?
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