T8191

Yo!

I reference the typical American "MEN", where you get one disabled WC, one standard WC, one urinal bowl and one low-level bowl for small people or 'big boys'. I never see a queue/line.

Dicksbits

I agree. A room with urinal blocks would be fine. I think the three self contained cubicles they have are in the style of the lounge. You know: Stylish. lol

Basi1

Relatively seemless entry and only a minute or so to queue on entry.

The No.1 representative was asking passengers whether they would like the MyLounge or No.1 whereas the BA agent was sending straight to the No.1.

It's busy without being overwhelming however there is considerable congestion around the coffee machines but not many seats outside the library.

flashware

Sounds like a Qantas lounge in the morning rush.

shefgab

I tried out the "No1 for BA" for the first time yesterday. I was honestly really shocked at how busy it was. At 2pm on a Sunday, I did two laps before finding a seat at an empty table.

Long wait at the bar to order the fish finger sandwich (out of curiosity more than desire, it must have been 1995 since my last fish finger). The barman was way more interested in carrying on his conversation with the two guys getting lathered on bar stools than serving anyone else. Professional it was not.

Toilet situation was ridiculous, with a long queue for the gents. I agree this fascination with private cubicles instead of urinals shows a massive misunderstanding of the requirements of the end user.

On the plus side, the drinks selection (when you can get to the bar) is much improved, and the snacks were pretty good (different, but probably similar quality to the F lounge).

I overheard one guy getting quite angry to one of the servers about the soup not having been refilled in over 20 minutes, despite having already asked. She was very polite, saying she would go and ask again, and offer to make get a manager. Very professional attittude from her given the circumstances. ^

Overall, it was a disapointment, simply because of the tremendous overcrowding. I've got a 4 hour layover here in March, and am not looking forward to it.

I was in the No.1 last summer and it was PACKED. I assure you, they do sell a lot of entries during the holidays. Last June I was also in the South No.1 and was denied entry (on PP) due to overcrowding. I was put on a waiting list, but wasn't called in over an hour.

One fish finger sandwich...not too bad!


Slightly OT, but for the first time in ages, Premium Gatwick security was pretty much empty. No massive queue leading all the way back to the ticket scanner. Shame the staff couldn't be ar$ed so the experience wasn't exactly 5*.

bbjoylove

I have been there the past couple of Thursday evenings 17:45 - to 18:40 and it has been packed out, to the point of standing room only. On both occasions I have ordered the fish finger sandwich wandered around with my number on a stick trying to find somewhere to sit, but so far have not tasted one! Been called to the gate before it arrived. On both occasions I was informed they were very busy and it would be 30-35 minutes. This was also after a 10 minute wait at the bar to order them!

Coming from the BA Flounge, then the Terraces after they seemed to close it at 15:00, there does seem to be a better choice of food (on paper!), but the quality of the wines is poor. Not really bothered about the Champagne, but do think £8 for a small flute of unheard House Champagne is a little rich. I would though be a little miffed if I was flying out First, as this is not a First Class service, and there would be a riot if BA tried this at T5.

The bar service for all the drinks is time consuming, and can not see why they can not adopt a BA model of self service, maybe just keep the hard liquor behind the bar. As for the food not sure why this has to come out of a kitchen and why it takes so long. Would be a lot easier just to have the beans/chilli/broth in warmers with a ladle and the fish fingers on a hot plate.

The main I issue I have is the overcrowding, it does feel manic, and this is in January when the airport is at its quietest. Not sure how the Lounge will cope when the airport is running up to the half term and Easter holidays.

Have complained to BA in the past about the levels of service in the Lounges, especially when they closed the Flounge at 15:00, but as much as they appreciated my 'Feedback' it fell on deaf ears and nothing changed, so am of the opinion that BA will do nothing about the current situation, just let the poor girls on the desk take the flack and write it on their sheet which is then sent to Jubilee House and ignored.

flashware

I'll tell you why - cost. If self serve, people tend to consume more. Given this is by and part a paid for lounge, if people have self serve then it means they make less money as they can't restrict how much you have, etc.

Just going to have to suck it up for the next 11 months unfortunately.

scottish minnie

connected via Gatwick from a TATL to a Domestic flight(both BA) on Thursday. Arrived at the lounge at approx 9.15. Upon having our boarding passes scanned there was much huffing and puffing from the lady behind the desk before she scribbled a note which she passed to her colleague. No idea what the content was - the response from the colleague was "Looks like you will have to then". Still no response to us so I enquired if there was a problem and was told that we would be allowed entry "just this one time". My question about why we wouldn't be allowed entry (two business UK boarding passes and one silver exec member) was ignored and two cards placed on the counter.A fellow passenger leaned across and explained we should present these at the next "desk".

No issue at the next desk so we entered the lounge. Unfortunately these wasnt a seat to be had anywhere. There were many seats being used for luggage and handbags and we, politely, asked several people if they could move luggage however were largely ignored although one passenger did respond very loudly she wasn't putting her Gucci bags on the floor for anyone.

We made our way to the bar hoping to sit there however, people were jostling to try and give food orders to the one member of staff present and it wasn't at all feasible to attempt sitting there.

We decided to pay a visit to the restrooms and then call it a day. Even that simple task wasn't straightforward. The line for the gents was only 3 however the ladies restrooms had 8 people waiting at this point.

At this stage we decided there was no value in trying to find a seat/order food/balance a coffee on a ledge somewhere so we left.

Perhaps the timing of our arrival was unfortunate, it was a most unpleasant experience from start to finish. We were considering flying to Tampa with BA in May however we are now looking at Miami to enable us to transit via Heathrow rather than use Gatwick as I wouldn't contemplate returning to this ounge.

bbjoylove

We are talking fish fingers, not crab claws and lobster tails!

martyndavid

Long queue for the gents last week. Couldn't wait any longer (it comes with age) and had to leave the lounge in a hurry to find a loo outside. I know there's sometimes a wait in T5 GN, but the previous BA lounges at LGW had sufficient capacity.

Why didn't thay anticipate this problem?

DYKWIA

You should have said "Fair enough, I'll put them on the floor for you then".

rapidex

Or knocked them onto the floor,said "oops" and sat in the now empty seat.

bafan

You should get a job with BA customer services...

Dicksbits

Barman acted like he was doing you a favour last Friday morning. Very curt.

Toilets? A joke. Used one on the way to the gate instead.

Dicksbits

If you use Gatwick regularly, brand loyalty is now dead for most of the year. Crowded lounge, slashed avios collection, poor excuse for food in Club Europe… price is king now…
LCC only cost more to select a seat if you're a BA sapphire / gold member, looking for HBO fares and are not chasing tier points for the majority of 2016. Definitely an option if price / dates are more attractive. I'll pay for my food thanks.