5) On way home - Concorde Room at Heathrow Terminal 5
The only exciting thing about my trip from MAN-LHR is that as someone close to 40 years old, and having spent the majority of those years living in the UK, this was the first time I had ever flown domestically in the UK. There is not a lot to report other than I like the fact that they use a decent sized plane as this I am sure would be a CRJ if it were in the US, and also they gave out chocolate biscuits which were a very nice breakfast!
After the very short flight we got into Heathrow on time and got a gate at T5. Within a minute or two I was right in the middle of T5, and after ambling around the shops a little to get some souvenirs for the kids, I headed to the Concorde Club Room. They had a bouncer manning the door, which is a nice touch seeing the guy in front of me got turned away *lol* I was quickly checked in, there were a lot of people waiting but an equal number of staff to help smooth it along, and then I had an amble around to see what was on offer. I have to say it is a beautiful lounge, very open, airy with great views of the birds on the tarmac outside.
enjoying the views
While the lounge chairs all looked very comfy I was in the mood for a bite to eat, it was late morning and my flight was 1:35pm meaning a couple hours at least until lunch. I did not want to sit down in the dining area, a bit too much formal restaurant style for me and I would lose the view so I perched myself on one of the stools along the longbar tables next to the bar. I was quickly offered service and had to make the hard choice between Bollinger Rose and Taittinger. I've got to hand it to BA they offer great champers. I went with a glass of the pink Bolly and ordered some duck dumplings which turned out to be fabulous
duck dumplings and bubbles
the bar
ccr scenery
After the food I started to make my way over to the Elemis spa. I had called in advance from the terraces lounge at MAN to make a booking which is a good thing as they were otherwise full, and I was very quickly checked in and soon getting a nice shoulder and scalp massage. The only odd thing is they use these massage chairs that are extremely powerful, so I could barely tell what was going with the actual massage as it was being "drowned" by the strength of the chair. I'd suggest they make this a separate option.
Anyway it was a very nice way to while 20 minutes and by the time I was out it was getting close to time to leave for the gate. As with the Flounge in FRA, I wish I had allowed more time here. Could really imagine spending a fun afternoon between massages, booze and food at this fabulous club. But not to be this time and so off I headed to the B gate area for my departure
Some nice scenery along the way:
While at the club I noticed that 1K was available (I was booked in 2K) and I decided to switch to that. There is just something to be said for sitting right in the nose and watching forward. Anyway with 8-9 hours of F service in 1k ahead of me, I am pretty sure I will....
