To finish off my review trip, I flew British Airways’ A380 first class from London to Chicago. Prior to my flight, I had the chance to check out the British Airways Concorde Room, which is British Airways’ most exclusive lounge.
Continue reading: Review: British Airways Concorde Room London Heathrow (LHR)
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
My wife and I have been in the Concorde Room many times. I have to agree with you that it's not of the same caliber as other well-known first class carriers. That being said, my wife had experienced it when the Concorde was still flying. It was top-notch back then. When Alex Cruz became CEO, everything changed. To set readers' expectations, I'd say that it's a step up from BA's "regular" first class lounge and I'd put it above the Qantas first class lounge at LAX.
For me, the best First Class lounges is ... the one I have access to when I travel to my destination. Most of the top rated first class lounges are in the middle east or Asia.
For transatlantic travel there are a few first class options. Air France, LH and Swiss may be better, but those first class tickets are harder to obtain, at least on miles with a fixed travel schedule.
The Concorde room should be better than the BA Galleries lounges, is it better than the Virgin Clubhouse though ? When I visited the Concorde room several years ago, the food (lunch in my case) was much better compared to Ben's experience.
PS - The Concorde Room at JFK T7 was quite elegant. While smaller, it was a top-notch experience. Sadly, the joint BA/AA Chelsea Lounge that replaced it is a pale shadow of it.
Agreed. My wife and I have had breakfast, lunch, and dinner there multiple times. It's never a disappointment. Chevre D'Or it is not. Emirates First it is not. But, it is certainly better than the Qantas first class lounge at LAX.
Bearing in mind that this is a lounge in the UK, you probably shouldn't be surprised that a California style breakfast wasn't to your taste. I've always (ie 2 out of 2 times) had the kippers which are really very good, so no complaints here.
Your review echo’s my view also, the lounge staff are hearing rumours of a major refurbishment programme spanning the entire space currently housing the Galleries Business/First and the CCR, I hope this comes together as you say they need to up their game.
I think we need more Top 10’s and some Emirates reviews. Did you ever get round to reviewing Rwandair in business? Or are we sticking with Singapore Airline for now?
Hard to believe but food quality has actually even improved slightly since Covid… But is definitely not up to where it was back in 2019. And it varies wildly from day to day. Specifically presentation. They must have some chefs who care about it and others just don't.
I had the same dishes (salmon as my go-to starter and duck confit as my go-to main) several times recently and it tasted and looked different every time. From a beautiful, intricate presentation to just 'bashed on the plate'. Taste/seasoning was also different every time and usually in-line with the presentation quality…
It's a shame BA can't manage to have any consistency here (or on board for that matter…)
The food in the Air France La Premiere Lounge is without doubt the best. The quality as well as presentation, are outstanding.
Then you must also consider AF is very exclusive considering there are just 4 seats and with perhaps no
more than 25-30 at peak time.
It’s a pity as the UK has a wealth of great chefs /cooks. The avocado toast looked awful and out of place on a huge plate. I can prepare a better one.
Two remarks from my side:
1. First wing security will be closed in Q1/2024 (I don’t know the exact dates) for the installation on latest generation scanners.
2. Arguably the biggest downside of Concorde Room is the lack of power plugs. Apparently the interior designers thought that CR patrons no longer need to work …
Time for BA to bring in consultants and rethink the staffing and management.
The Concorde is parked in museums.
The Ritz Room?
Regular to CCR. The avocado toast is definitely disappointing and honestly I get a self serve fry up from the F lounge next door for breakfast but do like dinner.
You also missed that they’ve refurbished the taps in the bathrooms - they’re now black! No expense spared by BA.
Bluntly, yes. In any restaurant on earth, if you order food that is out of season or not local, don't be surprised if it's mediocre.
Avocados don't grow in Britain. Tomatoes are out of season in Europe at this time of year. Is it any surprise that the food was tasteless? It was only on the menu as a sop to Americans who have to eat American wherever they are.
The Concorde Room proving the old saying: "BA First Class is one of the best Business Classes on the market." The food is meh, but my wife enjoys the champagne and tea service. I will say this, the Concorde Room beats the hell out of the BA First lounge.
I’m not a regular in First class but I must say that the overall experience with BA is underwhelming in comparison with other carriers.
Whenever I have been there, the Concorde lounge was very busy. The journey between lounge and aircraft was totally lacking in a premium experience.
Oh wow that’s a really funny way of saying it. Never heard that one before, very very creative!
Understand the airfare for AF F round trip to JFK or LAX is two to three times the airfare for BA. Typically $12k to $14k.
For that matter, the same goes for BA's airfare relative to Emirates and Singapore and . . .
While everyone is comparing BA's experience relative to other first class carriers, also compare BA's airfares to those other first class carriers as well. BA r/t F to JFK is $6k. AF is $12k to $14k. For dollar difference, I'll deal with it.
Yes. Only 4 seats in an intimate space which are almost always occupied as customers are prepared to pay for top quality.
BA offers a denser cabin with 8-14 seats depending on the aircraft.
Similarly emirates has a massive entire floor dedicated to a first class lounge which isn’t personalised and more Las Vegas.
Small typo: "just look for the signage for the Galleries North Lounges" - it should be Galleries South.
Otherwise... spot on!
Ben does not eat pork so his choices were limited. Moreover, the early AM lounges reviews are common on OMAAT.
Can’t remember if I’ve ever had a good breakfast in an airport lounge. Lunch or supper is usually better. Maybe Ben should visit later in the day - tougher to get photos of an empty lounge, but at least he’ll get the chance to eat well.
As ever, it's till has "Sheraton Club Lounge" written all over it.
""These bathrooms feel like something you’d find in a hospital,"" and are referred to by many UK flyers as "NHS toilets" for that reason.
@cbchicago, plenty of non-pork options on that menu that are both British and appropriate for the season...kippers, smoked salmon, porridge, various egg dishes. All would have been excellent.
As a Brit, I have never eaten a decent tomato here in winter, and I have rarely eaten a decent avocado at any time of the year. That California toast was never going to be worth eating.
Eat seasonal, eat local. If you don't, don't complain.
I once ran into Henry Kissinger in the Concorde Room so I have a fond memory and we had access to one of the Cabanas so it was enjoyable to have that much private space with a bed and shower. But the lack of any effort in First Class, insane fuel surcharges and a total disdain for English food makes London never on the itinerary. Brexit will be the final blow to the British economy.
You are clearly relying on old jokes about English cooking. If you care to be disabused of your opinion, look up London restauranteur Jeremy King and the Caprice Group. My wife has known the management team for 40 years.
We visited the Concorde Lounge in June as the last leg of a month’s vacation before returning home. My wife and I enjoyed the Lounge and its service on a busy afternoon. The Champagne is truly ‘first class’.
My first suggestion was to skip the Club’s lunch as we were flying FC to PHL. Fortunately, my wife suggested a light lunch. Then We sat on the tarmac for four hours as a storm passed through Heathrow.
Added point …our original flight to PHL was cancelled so we had to fly to EWR. BA was of little assistance the week before our flight in rebooking alternatives.
Agree with this. As soon as I saw the menu, I knew what Ben would order, and that it would be mediocre.
It's a bit like going to a steakhouse and ordering the fish dish.
The Concorde Room is just like any other BA lounge -- worn-out/mismatched/dated furniture, poor design, closed sections/facilities, substandard food, overcrowded, and lots of marketing hype. Not much different from the hard and soft product on the plane. I would take the Cathay, Qantas, or Virgin lounges at Heathrow anyday over the Concorde Room. But given the horrors of Heathrow, I'd much rather skip Heathrow altogether unless I'm visiting London.
Haha good joke, you act as if you order an English breakfast in Concord Room it's gonna be any better.
Nice joke.
One correction about guest entry.
Gold Guest list members flying in first class can bring in 2 guests.
Well Lufrhansa first is in ball park of BA fares. The FCT and Onboard F experience on LH is moles better!
RichM, quite. That wretched tomato will have been hydroponically grown in a heated Spanish greenhouse with barely 9 hours of feeble winter sun per day. It will have been picked rock-hard and under-ripe, refrigerated (which destroys flavour) and packed into a lorry for a 48 hour journey to London. So-called ripening would happen in a London warehouse. The fruit was probably a week old by the time Ben ate it. Its existence is a miracle of modern agriculture, transport and technology, but it was never going to taste like a soil-grown, fruit planted outdoors under the blazing summer sun - which is exactly what is needed for the centrepiece of a dish.
For anyone unfamiliar with British food, other things to avoid on that menu are yoghurt (almost always Greek-style rather than strained in the UK), breakfast cereals (mass-produced Frankenfood for those who value convenience and familiarity over quality), croissants and pain-au-chocolat (we have almost no bakeries in the UK that make these the French way).
Based on my experience of the Concorde Room, the fish, eggs and full English will have been very good.
Why on earth did you order a California-style avocado toast? I wouldn't order that in any restaurant in London. The move was to order the full English breakfast, which has always been a glorious thing even when British cuisine wasn't as good as it currently is.
What happened to the horse with the lamp coming out of its head?
Do the shower drains still make 100 decibel noises?
The people demand answers!
Is it? Usually the LH first has been in the ballpark of the AF options. That's been the case when originating in the UK anyway. When looking at 4-5k roundtrip for BA, 13-20k for the other european competitors it's usually clear that they are two very different products.
The horses are still there, but they are in the BA First lounge, not the Concorde lounge.
Have never seen Laurent Perrier served in this lounge. It is listed in the blurb in first class on the plane, but even there have always been told it was finished. I have seen Laurent Perrier bottles being taken by the crew, and stuffed into their bags however. Would agree that all the food is rubbish in the lounge whatever your choice. It's similar to the buffet breakfast in a mid level hotel chain in England. The carpets are stained, the chargers don't work, and the english still have not mastered how a flushing toilet should work.
The only benefit is going through security quickly, and not having all the queues for scanning etc.
The Concorde Room at JFK T7 is still in use, complete with its furniture. It's now the Aer Lingus business class lounge. All you need to do to experience it is to fly Aer Lingus business class to Dublin or have status with Aer Lingus.
I have had access to the Concorde Room for many years as a GGLfL member. The food is generally poor with the odd exception. This is because the kitchen is managed by third party caterers who are screwed down on the food budget. For example the eggs are powdered, the orange juice is not freshly squeezed and the bread is not freshly baked. None of these things happen in the Cathay, Qatar or even Qantas flagship lounges. Even in their premium lounge BA focus on minimising the food cost.
I have had access to the Concorde Room for many years as a GGLfL member. The food is generally poor with the odd exception. This is because the kitchen is managed by third party caterers who are screwed down on the food budget. For example the eggs are powdered, the orange juice is not freshly squeezed and the bread is not freshly baked. None of these things happen in the Cathay, Qatar or even Qantas flagship lounges. Even in their premium lounge BA focus on minimising the food cost.
@UncleRonnie, try the Virgin Clubhouse or, even better, revivals. My partner still swears that her breakfast in Revivals in 2022 included the best eggs she has ever tasted -- and it's not like she hasn't eaten at some of the best restaurants in the world.
Those toilets and shower rooms illustrate peak British Nanny State culture. The UK has gone completely mad on health and safety regulations in the last 15 years, hence the non-slip flooring and uncomplicated fixtures. You'll also note the signage for BA's "allergen champions" near any food and drink in the lounges.
The problem with nanny state culture is that the more you treat people like children, the more they act like children which begets more nannying!
Good evening All,
We flew First class early December 2023. And i have to agree, Concorde lounge is a big disappointment. The place is fine, but the amenities, and the service is just a national shame...
Firstly t is over crowed, secondly the food and beverage offering is extremely limited and cheap (Wine list is closer to an Air France Economy offering, than anything remotely first class), the bothersome to have to order food and drinks as there is no buffets, thirdly the staff is enterely from india and South east Asia which is not a problem as such but the expression of the cheap approach of BA for everything: outsourcing the service in yout flagship lounge to a contractor surely paying a minimum wage unqualified waiters, having no idea how to br eficient, no idea if there was a wine list and so on... Plus the strange feeling to be in Dehli in the last century, where white wealthy people are served by locals..
Compared to Lufthansa lounge or Air France were staff are properly trained and surely properly paid for there skills.
To be fair, if a lounge is going to make offerings on its menu, it should be outstanding especially in a First Class only lounge. If food is out-of-season, or not originating from a particular region, then make sure the food you put out is great. BA has the power to control every aspect of this lounge including non-native food.
I agree with Ben the alcohol selection is quite good. Compared with other big airline First only lounges, it is probably dead last in terms of amenities, furniture, food, etc. Emirates, Qatar, Cathay, and Qantas leaves this flagship product with a lot to be desired.
I do think there needs to be a major overhaul to the lounge even if BA control most of the LHR slots into this facility. Other national carriers who dominate at their home location seem to care more about how they present themselves.
The concorde restrooms are dirty. Take a good look at the restrooms and you will feel dirty. Is a disgrace that BA calls this their flagship lounge for first class passengers. I don't recommended going to the restrooms.
100% agree. I am in the Concorde lounge today and being served entirely by people of Indian origin who have been brilliant. They are much better than anyone that I have experienced onboard and are a real credit to BA.
Whilst the food int he lounge may not be great, the whole point is that it is not ostentatious and showy but understated and classy.
They have miss information on the sign for the nose. She went a max of Mach 2.04. "2.2" would be Mach 2.20. That's .16 faster then it ever went.