[LHR T5 Galleries First and Arrivals] Lounges just suck.
Oct 10, 2015, 12:09 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2015
Programs: BAEC (Gold)
Posts: 18
[LHR T5 Galleries First and Arrivals] Lounges just suck.
Ok ok I'll prefix this rant with "I know it's a first world problem".
T5 GF lounge food sucks, it's dirty, old, and the staff are neither friendly or welcoming.
On a recent trip I moved to galleries and felt much more welcomed with better facilities.
The arrivals lounge staff are worse. Rude: "may I have two poached eggs please", reply was: "yeah". Then 20 minutes later I asked her again and got told "two minutes" before they showed up five minutes later. This is not the first time.
The showers are mouldy, dirty cramped and falling apart.
On board things are always fine (never had a problem with any flight/cabin crew). It the ground product has a lot to be desired. It certainly doesn't feel premium.
T5 GF lounge food sucks, it's dirty, old, and the staff are neither friendly or welcoming.
On a recent trip I moved to galleries and felt much more welcomed with better facilities.
The arrivals lounge staff are worse. Rude: "may I have two poached eggs please", reply was: "yeah". Then 20 minutes later I asked her again and got told "two minutes" before they showed up five minutes later. This is not the first time.
The showers are mouldy, dirty cramped and falling apart.
On board things are always fine (never had a problem with any flight/cabin crew). It the ground product has a lot to be desired. It certainly doesn't feel premium.
Oct 10, 2015, 12:38 am
#5
Join Date: Jun 2007
Programs: BA silver
Posts: 447
I'm not a GCH and only fly CW so I have never been in this lounge myself
Oct 10, 2015, 1:19 am
#6
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: UK
Programs: BA, U2+, SK, AF/KL, IHG, Hilton, others gathering dust...
Posts: 2,552
Personally I quite like T5 GF as long as it's not crazy busy. I've never found it dirty, though plates can pile up a bit sometimes. Food has gone a bit downhill in the last couple of years, but still fine for me in the circumstances.
The staff can be a mixed bag, though I've had more problems with finding them than their attitude, which is generally fine IME.
Similar for arrivals lounge, I'd agree about the showers feeling their age but otherwise I like it, with the exception of the Concorde Breakfast Room, where I've found service very patchy.
The staff can be a mixed bag, though I've had more problems with finding them than their attitude, which is generally fine IME.
Similar for arrivals lounge, I'd agree about the showers feeling their age but otherwise I like it, with the exception of the Concorde Breakfast Room, where I've found service very patchy.
Oct 10, 2015, 1:40 am
#8
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: KSA
Programs: BA LTG, UA Gold, EK Silver, Hilton LT Diamond, Marriott LT Titanium, IHG Plat
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Am in the GF lounge at the minute "enjoying" my last taste of pork for a while before I decamp back to Dubai.
Some of the bacon is dried like a crisp with no flavour, the single sausage I cut into leaked (oil) like a xxxxxx. I've generally found the staff nice enough but the food is like a transport cafe, just wheeled out day after day with absolutely zero imagination.
Tomorrow I will be in the J class lounge in DXB and can get fresh food and veg and even a hot dog. It wouldn't take much for BA spruce things up so here's hoping.
Some of the bacon is dried like a crisp with no flavour, the single sausage I cut into leaked (oil) like a xxxxxx. I've generally found the staff nice enough but the food is like a transport cafe, just wheeled out day after day with absolutely zero imagination.
Tomorrow I will be in the J class lounge in DXB and can get fresh food and veg and even a hot dog. It wouldn't take much for BA spruce things up so here's hoping.
Oct 10, 2015, 1:47 am
#9
Suspended
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: London
Programs: BA GGL, AA 1MM LT GLD, SPG PLAT, National Exec Selc, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Plat, Marriott Silver
Posts: 8,278
There is room for improvement with BA's LHR lounges. And they can certainly get crowded. But they are very much in the top 5% of lounges worldwide. The whining on this board about them never ceases to amaze me. As a GCH, I can enter a lounge regardless of ticket price with a guest and drink Tattinger, Johnnie Blue, sit on a terrace with a great view of the runways, have a hot buffet and a menu to order off of (yes, there are lounges with better food but the food is more than passable, there is decent variety, and unlike most lounges in the world, qualifies as a full meal), and take a shower. Sorry, but very few lounges offer this (especially for anything less than a full F ticket).
Oct 10, 2015, 1:56 am
#10
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: UK
Programs: I go wherever the content takes me.
Posts: 5,698
Lounges just suck.
GF isn't that bad. The breakfast (and bacon in particular) can be hit and miss, but otherwise I've found the food okay.
I just wish they had a larger eating area though.
I just wish they had a larger eating area though.
Oct 10, 2015, 1:59 am
#11
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Effectively grounded
Programs: BA GGL for a little while longer
Posts: 844
I think our views are often coloured by the mental context we hold them in.
If you think of GF as a luxury hotel with a Michelin-starred restaurant, from which you are collected in a chauffer-driven Bentley, then you are likely to be disappointed.
If like me you consider an airliner to be a glorified bus with wings, then GF is a bus station waiting room with a little caff built in. And a perfectly serviceable one at that...
If you think of GF as a luxury hotel with a Michelin-starred restaurant, from which you are collected in a chauffer-driven Bentley, then you are likely to be disappointed.
If like me you consider an airliner to be a glorified bus with wings, then GF is a bus station waiting room with a little caff built in. And a perfectly serviceable one at that...
Oct 10, 2015, 2:00 am
#12
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: UK
Programs: British Airways Gold, IHG Spire Elite, HHonours Gold.
Posts: 403
Can I counter this and state that I've had nothing but excellent service from the GF staff in T5. There are a number of them who frequently stand out, and are very welcoming, including the lounge manager. Note, these are not BA staff, but they work for the company who manages the lounge.
Within 10 minutes of entering yesterday, one of the staff brought me over a menu (I was sat at the far end of the lounge to the right as you walk in, near the tv and bar). The BA burger yesterday was one of the best I've had, the lounge was clean, despite being busy, and the champagne bar was constantly stocked with fresh bottles and ice buckets.
Excellent, once again.
Within 10 minutes of entering yesterday, one of the staff brought me over a menu (I was sat at the far end of the lounge to the right as you walk in, near the tv and bar). The BA burger yesterday was one of the best I've had, the lounge was clean, despite being busy, and the champagne bar was constantly stocked with fresh bottles and ice buckets.
Excellent, once again.
Last edited by thepinkponce; Oct 10, 2015 at 2:09 am
Oct 10, 2015, 2:10 am
#13
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold / Hilton Diamond / IHG Diamond Ambassador / Marriot Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 2,533
I think our views are often coloured by the mental context we hold them in.
If you think of GF as a luxury hotel with a Michelin-starred restaurant, from which you are collected in a chauffer-driven Bentley, then you are likely to be disappointed.
If like me you consider an airliner to be a glorified bus with wings, then GF is a bus station waiting room with a little caff built in. And a perfectly serviceable one at that...
If you think of GF as a luxury hotel with a Michelin-starred restaurant, from which you are collected in a chauffer-driven Bentley, then you are likely to be disappointed.
If like me you consider an airliner to be a glorified bus with wings, then GF is a bus station waiting room with a little caff built in. And a perfectly serviceable one at that...
I don't expect Bentley or Roll Royce service, certainly not on BA, they are more akin to VW, a strong brand in rapid self inflicted decline.
cleanliness and hot food is not difficult just needs commitment and some training.
Oct 10, 2015, 2:14 am
#14
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold / Hilton Diamond / IHG Diamond Ambassador / Marriot Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 2,533
