Hello All,

I have booked my brother in law a reward trip to Dublin and would like some opinions from travelers more experienced with Heathrow than I am.

They arrive on AC822 at 6:35 in Terminal 3 and depart on BD123 at 13:05 from Terminal 1.

Would you advise them to visit the AC arrivals lounge or just head straight to BMI�s London Room? I�m not sure how they compare in terms of amenities and I also don�t know if they�ll have to clear extra security to access the AC lounge before making their way to Terminal 1. They are not very experienced travellers so I�d like to make things easy for them while still helping them get the most out of their first trip in J.

Any advice and tips I can pass along will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks to all in advance,

Jimmy.

Duplicate

He will have a lot of time, so I suggest leaving T3 and going to the AC arrivals lounge, assuming he will have access rights. Once he leaves the baggage area, turn left, then straight out the doors, walk 30 paces, and the AC lounge is on his left.

Once he has had a nice shower and an ok breakfast, go back to T3, take the tunnel to T1 and head for security (I assume he already has a boarding pass for the onward flight, if not check in at BD). There is fast track security and then go to either the *A lounge at the far right of the terminal or the BD lounge on the way to the gates. Not much difference in my opinion.

I really truly love the BD lounge. The AC lounge is great for taking a shower, if that's his cup of tea. Breakfast was cr*p when I was there.
The BD lounge has super super super views.
Here you can see both the BD and *A lounges in my TR:
http://thelounge.me/2010/09/25/part-4-lhr-abd-lounges/

BTW, I think he would only have access to the BD UK & Ireland lounge, so I would suggest going to the LHR AC Arrivals lounge and then there. I haven't been to that lounge, so maybe someone else can comment how that lounge is?

I think that you can go to either lounge. I transferred on the bus earlier this year and ended up right by the *A lounge. I took a shower there and then went on to the UK & Ireland lounge afterwards.

I would base which lounge is visited based on the lines at immigration. If you have fast track or the line isn't bad then head on to the arrivals lounge. If the line is long, then use the transfer bus.

Good point!!!! Often the line-ups for transfer security are longer than exiting customs, so I usually try to exit customs and take the train to the transfer terminal.

the domestic BD lounge is very old........shortbreads, coffee, tea, juices

surprised no one made mentioned of the LHR AC bacon sandwich

In your situation there are no obvious 'bests'. The best shower 'experience' you are going to have in is the AC arrivals lounge. The best 'breakfast' you are going to have is in the *A lounge, although the warm lunch there is disgusting (find a restaurant in the terminal). The salad and cold cut selection for sandwiches is ok, but the hot food is chicken tikka skewers and goujons with sweet chili sauce. I'm there once a week and just have a salad.

at least there is something warm to eat!

I do this all the time - go to the AC Arrivals lounge and get a shower and a quick breakfast. Then use the tunnel over to the BD flight. I never use the transfer queue - always longer in my experience. Plus the walk to T1 is a great way to stretch the legs.

I didn't see this one until today, but I'm going to have to vote for the AC Arrivals lounge as well. Stop there for a shower and maybe take a look at the breakfast to see what one thinks, then head over to T1 and the *A Lounge. Pick up a coffee to go for the walk over.

I haven't been over to the BD domestic lounge in a really long time so they may have done something nice with the place, but unless they really, really did something magical it's certainly not comparable to either the Arrivals lounge or the *A lounge.

Note: I have never been able to really get the wifi working at the arrivals lounge and there is a serious lack of power plugs in the *A lounge. They exist, but they're rare.

For power in the *A lounge, go to the business centre. If you are standing in front of the food section, go all the way to your right. Plenty of power there. There are also some outlets at the far rear section (if you are facing the big windows, take a step back and go all the way to the left.). The wifi is very fast.

Yeah, the wifi at the *A lounge is great. No complaints there! I just find that the far rear section has suspiciously few outlets for the seats that are there, same at the windows. Maybe it's just because I tend to always head to the rear section but I just always feel like I've got to search a few minutes to find anything.

I think the business centre is for you...enough power there!