Lounge Review: LHR Qatar Airways Premium Lounge

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Qatar Airways opened what was then their first lounge outside of Doha at Heathrow Terminal 4 back in 2011, a year or so after the airline moved homes from Terminal 3. Closed for almost two years during the pandemic (during which time QR temporarily operated from Terminal 5), the lounge reopened in June this year. I visited for the first time that month, and my experience is the subject of this report.



The lounge is located within what is known as the Coaching Gate Building, a 1999 addition to 1986’s T4, built adjacent to Gate 1c. The building was originally home to a two-floor British Airways Terraces lounge (latterly known as the British Airways Gate 1 lounge), with two gate rooms (1a and 1b) on the lower level accessed by stairs and escalators with ramps down to bus pick-up areas to service aircraft on remote stands. When BA finally vacated T4 in 2009, the middle (gate) level was soon let to Qatar Airways, with Air India taking roughly a quarter of the upper level (now redundant space since AI moved to T2), and Plaza Premium taking the rest of the upper-level space a few years later.

With the expansion of Gates 5 and 6 in 2009 to facilitate A380 service, Gate 4 (with its stand space shrunk due to the adjacent gates’ expansion) became the coaching gate, and Gates 1a and 1b became all but redundant. Prior to the pandemic, space had been set aside on the former gate room level to facilitate expansion of the QR lounge. QR finally opened their Frequent Flyer lounge in this space in June this year, serving status passengers who don’t have access to the Premium lounge (which is open to First Class and most Business Class ticketholders).

The Coaching Gate Building is connected to the main T4 building via a link bridge with three entrances. The left-hand entrance (formerly serving Gate 1a) has been fully Qatar Airways branded and will eventually serve the entrances to both the Frequent Flyer and Premium lounges. At the time of my visit in June, the work to connect this entrance to the Premium lounge’s entrance had yet to be completed, and I was asked to use the middle entrance, which serves the common lift and stair core for the middle and upper-level lounges. Signage could’ve been improved here. The right-hand entrance still serves the ramps for access to buses at ground level, even though what was the waiting area for the gates is now within the demise of the Frequent Flyer lounge.

Once along the link bridge, the entrance to the Qatar Airways Premium lounge is an understated affair, with a simple black panel sign announcing you’ve successfully arrived. There is no reception desk as such, so I was welcomed by an agent in the orchid-decorated lobby and given a brief overview of the lounge’s features.



The lounge’s centrepiece is a (sadly non-functioning) fountain which is slightly ironic given a fountain was always the trademark of a BA Terraces lounge, one of which used to occupy this exact same space. Arranged around the fountain are a few uncomfortable-looking sofas and armchairs. QR could certainly use this space more invitingly with some plusher furniture.





A self-serve wine table is set to one side, whilst a more extensive drinks station is located on the opposite side of an attractive wooden screen. The coffee machine uses pods; I would have preferred a real bean machine.







Behind the drinks station are two sofa seating areas, one with a TV. I like the way these are set up as mini living areas, although they don’t work particularly well for solo travellers or couples.





Washrooms and showers are located off to one side of this area; all are smartly designed individual rooms with Diptyque amenities.













The business centre (despite still being signed as such on the lounge’s internal wayfinding) is no longer, having been converted to a prayer room, which is essentially an empty room adjacent to the entrance to the washrooms and showers, screened off with a curtain.

The main seating area consists of multiple groups of armchairs running along two thirds of the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Gates 1 to 3.















This is where the lounge is starting to show its age, as despite a pandemic-era refurbishment where carpet and floor lamps were replaced, QR didn’t take the opportunity to add easily accessible power sockets. Those that do exist are within awkwardly located floor boxes, leading to passengers having to move floor lamps and side tables to gain access. The armchairs in this area, whilst supportive of the back, are not particularly comfortable.

The end of the lounge is home to three dining concepts: the Martini Bar, the Global Deli, and the Brasserie. The Global Deli is comprised of communal dining tables adjacent to the window, with one table for two. These are all nicely laid, with easy access to the partially self-serve and partially tended buffet integrated into one half of the tended Martini Bar.







The other half of the bar features bar seating, with individual tables and two banquette sofas. For a small space, this is all very cleverly and smartly designed.





I chose to have breakfast at one of the communal tables in the Global Deli; service was haphazard, as I had to flag down a waitress to take my order of the Adana kebab. When it arrived, it was a pretty nice light breakfast. The breakfast menu is a good mix of Arabic and Western dishes, complemented by a decent buffet which was just about to be switched to the lunch options (hence the rather depleted look in these photos).











It was clear that the waiting staff were all brand new, so I forgive the lack of polish that one might normally expect in a QR lounge. Real olive trees used to be present in this area giving it more of a premium café vibe, but were removed during the lounge’s closure.

Flanked by impressive floor-to-ceiling wine coolers, the Brasserie is tucked away right at the far end of the lounge. This is a more formal dining venue, with individual tables laid with tablecloths, a private dining nook at one end which can be screened off if required, and an open kitchen at the other. Where once there were communal sweet stations in the centre of the Brasserie there are now two dining tables, which is a much better use of the space. As throughout the rest of lounge, menus were only available via (rather aptly for this airline) QR code.









I ordered the lamb shank for lunch but was presented with the seared beef steak. For some reason I didn’t fully process this until I had started eating, and given the dish was flavoursome (and hating food waste), I didn’t ask for it to be changed. The lunch and dinner menu offers a good selection of main courses, although starters and desserts could be improved.









The buffet looked excellent (although is not quite as extensive as it once was), and the staff were very happy to let me take photos even offering to open the lids of the hot dishes.







In summary, the Qatar Airways Premium lounge at Heathrow is of high quality with an elegant design, a variety of interesting seating options, plenty of natural light, an interesting view, and a decent menu. A recent light refurbishment has kept the lounge feeling generally fresh, although the lack of easily accessible power sockets and the removal of the business centre is annoying. Service issues will hopefully improve as the team get used to the product. This is easily one of my favourite Heathrow lounges.