BA235

Let’s say I am more comfortable with the easy-clean ‘gay’ sauna recliners than I am with Old Thatch

crazyarmadillo

I am obviously missing something here, as I don't find this funny at all, as I mentioned above.

Why the references with easy clean / wipe clean of a gay sauna. Do they have easy clean , wipe /clean in a 'straight sauna'? Any why look forward to the recliner because it looks like its from a 'gay' sauna.

Oh, of course, the word was hijacked, so it means just a colourful 'gay' sauna recliner. I am stupid.

Now I understand. Best I move on and do some flying I think rather than have a very childish debate. Dear oh dear.

crazyarmadillo

Just to add to others. The flagship at JFK is now too busy. It was great after the remodel finished, before they opened it to OWS. The lax is opening this week, unless it's delayed yet again. I get to see it in a few days.

Flagship dining is good, CCR better however.

The CCR is superior but the power issue.

Now AA have allowed OWS I prefer the old lounge at JFK.. I hope lax isn't too busy. I suspect not tho as most OWS peeps will stay at TBIT, fingers crossed.


And also I suspect many OWE will still go to Qantas. So it's looking better for LAX, thankfully.

That's the issue where the CCR at LHR and JFK come into its own . Compared to the rest of T5 LHR and the BA terminal at JFK, it's very relaxing and calm.

bullroot

I reserved judgement until spending a few hours in CCR on 4 trips, all time on the terrace apart from a little while in the dining booths.

Shame to see the already limited charging points in the terrace now gone. Portable chargers are no use for laptops. Surely it wouldn't be too hard to install some power points.

The cabanas are literally a waste of space. In around 50 trips to the terrace in past few years, I can count the number of parties I've seen there numbering more than 2 people, on my fingers. The way they are set up now is that if a single traveller or couple (which is the vast majority of people on the terrace IME) sit in there, they take up the whole cabana as it gives a vibe of not being shareable. Kind of like the old chair setup at the far corner under the flight departures screen, which was a big waste of space but sometimes used by families - now a third of the seating area is taken up that way.

The smaller chairs at the front of terrace aren't as comfy as the larger ones that used to be there.

Terrace service is consistent with before.

lost_in_translation

Think I’m safe to say this is the first Flyertalk thread to cover both gay saunas and Thatcher - well done BA forum

se1lad

My reference to a gay sauna certainly wasn't meant to be homophobic, and was based on first hand experience of visiting such an establishment in my misspent youth. It's fair to say that no one in attendance had gone just to have a sauna, and the furniture provided to facilitate this looked similar to the new recliners in the CCR.

I'm not sure if a similar 'straight' sauna concept exists, but it certainly hasn't in any gyms or hotel leisure facilities where there is a sauna that I've visited. Not to say it doesn't happen, but it's certainly not advertised as a feature in the gym/hotel marketing!

Safe travels.

Dave_C

I guess even Chariots provides better service than the Concorde Room.

crazyarmadillo

Thanks for the clarification that you did indeed mean sexuality.

More importantly that you meant no offense, appreciated thank you.

I don't however agree with your comments, but this is (UK,USA) a democracy and I realise not all people share the same sense of humour. We are all different obviously.

To get back OT, I get to see these changes next week, so will give view on the changes then .

HIDDY

Never been in a sauna in my life. Just not my cup of tea although I still regret turning down the offer to share one from a Sundsvall lass while cycle touring through Sweden.
Must admit the first thought that came to my mind when I saw the pictures of the loungers was of my sisters conservatory furniture. She's a bit hoity-toity but I bet she procured them from Dobies.

bulkhead

Deleted. Duplicate post of video.

orbitmic

"How many buzz words can you cram into a 1'17" podcast ("creating a new experience", "feeling at home", "oasis in an airport environment", "it's all about luxury", "iconic", etc). I didn't like the new sofas when I saw them but tomorrow I'll discover the new terrace (usually my place after a meal) so will see what I think of it.

azj

First time BA F flyer and spent a significant transit in the CCR. Now it all makes sense as to why there were so many official looking people observing the CCR and taking notes. Some of my observations from an unbiased pov, with no knowledge of the previous CCR.

- I enjoyed the "outdoor" terrace area. Except it is a terrible place to want to eat. It was offered to me as an option when the dining room was full. As I tried to find a decent place one of the official type people asked me if I needed anything. Having no clue who they were, I just replied "the dining room is full and I'm trying to find a decent place to eat out here." She replied... "oh yeah... that would have been nice out here. Those chairs are terribly low for dining." In the end I gave up and asked to just get in line for a table.

- Once I did get a table to eat, the service was not great. Disjointed, inattentive and they acted as if I was a burden. The food was pretty decent however.

- Showers - for an F lounge I thought they felt like a gym shower and not luxurious at all. Nowhere to put luggage and no mention of what products were available.

- Elemis spa - took advantage of my free treatment. I was worried when the appointments were all taken when I attempted to pre book at the 28 day mark. The morning that I was there, they were able to take me in reasonable time. Staff however, was hardly friendly and not that particularly helpful in describing treatments, offering advice etc... What I did get however, was pretty nice.

- Toilet facilities, like the showers were not great. While clean, they just had a very utilitarian feel. There weren't enough of them either, with the attendant sending women to the men's side, there ended up being a line for both at one point.

- Overall, it was a decent place for me to spend my nearly 7 hour layover. Was I impressed? No. Would I go back? Of course. It beats the heck out of Y cabin and killing time in the crowds of people. However, after my F experience on two long haul flights, I'm not going to be rushing back to BA for future travel needs.

Beaulieu

Just about to leave the CCR after passing through for the first time this morning following the changes and I have to say that I quite like the new layout on the terrace, although it seems a little packed with furniture; not sure how it would be if there were lots of people here as there are currently a grand total of 3 people including myself on it!

Agree with others that the the photos don't really do it justice, and people do seem to be enjoying the new seating.

marshy11

My observations (just a few days ago) were that it was a good place to eat, apropos, no worse or better than any other. We didn't mind the seating in the terrace, in fact, we found it quite relaxed.

Such a shame to hear the service was bad. Ours was great, the food however scored lower. The "sliders" were inedible.

The Spa staff aren't employed by BA but by Elemis themselves and having chatted to the one single staff member (3 went sick on the morning we were in the lounge )I felt she did more than a stirling job. I booked at T-29 with no issue.

Such a shame your time wasn't as you wanted, hopefully you'll try it again and have a better experience. I can't fault it, personally.

orbitmic

So my first time with the new terrace. I think it's ok, quite crowded during my visit. The cabanas are not really cabanas to me, just more like big canopies around some of the sofas and chairs (but without the privacy element of cabanas if only because they are very large and you can't curtain the front and back). The new sofas there are quite comfortable though. Loungers: less convinced: they were too close together to be tempting. Even on a private beach in St Tropez they would leave a bit more space between every few seats! I am also not too keen on the change of the water bottles table now organised like a bar and which discourages people to help themselves to water. I drink a LOT of water and much prefer to be able to help myself than to have to bother the waiting staff every time.

And I'm afraid I still haven't changed my mind about the new inside furniture. I still do not like it on my third visit with it.

PS: tried the new portable chargers for the first time. The one I borrowed did not work well in my iPhone and every tiny movement stopped the charging process. I changed it and the second one worked better though the leads are so short that they aren't particularly great.