snaxmuppet

Having only just got to Gold status I have not used the First lounge at LGW South before. I am flying next week and wondered is you could give me the benefit of your experience to help us get the most from our first F lounge experience

We are staying in the Hilton. Should we have breakfast in the hotel or wait and have it in the lounge? We don't fly until 1.30pm so we could either have a leisurely breakfast in the hotel and lunch in the lounge or just make our way to the lounge and have breakfast and lunch there. What would you do?

Is there any other info/advice you can give please?

Many thanks.

T8191

LGW FLounge is fine, and in your shoes I would tend to have both meals there. F&B perfectly acceptable, decent variety and good staff.

Depends on how you feel about n hours in the Lounge, of course ... we've just 'enjoyed' c. 5 hour layovers both ways on our recent MLA trip!

Magic01273

If breakfast is included in your room rate - eat it there. If not, then I'd head to the lounge to eat. Congratulations on reaching Gold

corporate-wage-slave

The Hilton LGW breakfast is one of the better breakfast options in the Hilton world, it's well over the specification laid down by Hilton for a hotel operating at that level. More information in the Hilton forum, just make sure your room card begins with the number 7, ideally 73 or 74. This is relatively easy for Hilton Diamonds, otherwise you may need to pay a bit more at check-in for that.

The main LGW First thread, however, is here:
London Gatwick South: First Lounge

UKtravelbear

Personally I'd use the hotel room until check - out time. Lay on the bed, watch day time telly and relax.

Remember you can check-in your bags the night before if you want to get rid of them then just go straight to security.

The F lounge is good but I personally wouldn't spend more than a (planned) hour or two there if I had other options available.



CWS - what's the significance of the '7' ?? 7th floor? is that an entrance to Hilton Narnia / Garden of Eden ??

golfmad

corporate-wage-slave

It's building 7, not that they have 7 buildings of course. It's the southern and more recently built end of the hotel, one of UK's largest hotels. It consist of two piers running north-south. The second number is the floor number, so 7332 is on the third of the non existent 7th building. If you are still with me, the rooms are bigger and more modern, the bathroom has both a shower and one of the best sized baths around. 73s and 74s are the Executive level, 71 and 72 are not, so they take away the hand flannels if you're not a Diamond, but that's about it, they are identical to the other floors. 73 is better since 74 absorbs some aircraft noise if the aircraft are coming in from the Royal Tunbridge Wells direction, though the rooms are well sound proofed generally.

RoxyMountain

This ^

I have a love/hate relationship with this. I end up eating so much at breakfast I can hardly move. This week I am at a series of German Hiltons that I am sure will result in an extra 10 pounds

snaxmuppet

Thank you everyone. I realise that everyone has your own personal preference with this and it is a case of what works for you. Thanks for your insights.

I think in this case it makes sense to enjoy the Hilton breakfast and mosey over to the lounge for a bite of lunch and some bubbly before the flight.

I realise that many people here frequent lounges a lot and I can see that if you do then you might look for ways to avoid spending more time in them than you have to. I, on the other hand, only travel for pleasure and look for ways to spend time in the lounges! Perhaps that is a bit sad but there you are!!! Can't wait for my first F lounge experience!

lcylocal

snaxmuppet

I have no Hilton status unfortunately.

bisonrav

The LGW Flounge is pleasant, but it's not a jewel in the crown. The dining section is a set of very small circular tables in the far end of the lounge along the wall, with a sort of breakfast bar arrangement with views onto the runway and gates. Food is a small buffet, plus some a la carte options the same as the LHR flounge more or less. There's a couple of seating areas in the lounge proper (one in a sort of dark side room which is often quiet) and it's a nice enough place to spend an hour. The staff are uniformly lovely. I wouldn't be looking to make it a major part of the flying experience though, just spend enough time in there to leave you wanting more for next time.

But definitely you'll get a better breakfast in the Hilton, the flounge buffet tends towards overcooked sausages and slightly wangy hashbrowns at LGW. So I think you have the right plan here. Repair to the lounge after a leisurely breakfast for a quiet sit and watch the planes come and go with a glass of fizz. Note also that the fast track is pretty efficient at LGW, but don't miss the corridor to the left of the escalators when you've gone through, this leads straight to the lounge floor (you then cross the floor to the lounge entrance straight across and to the right). Saves a lot of wending your way through the duty free shop.

PUCCI GALORE

T8191

All is well provide the Lounge Angels grant access according to status. On Saturday, after scanning our BPs (CE, Group 1, 1A/C, BAEC Gold etc. etc.) the ‘Angel’ asked if iWife was my guest! I pointed out that “She’s just as Gold as I am.”.

We went on our merry way into the FLounge, somewhat bemused by the query!

Oh, and the inbound sector renewed Gold, so there!!

Vinotraveller

One point that hasn't been made (as far as I can see) is that there are terrific runway views from the lounge, so if you enjoy a bit of plane spotting then you might want to breakfast there too. If that isn't your thing then a later checkout and breakfast at the Hilton would probably make the time pass a bit quicker than 5 hours in the lounge. I have quite a soft spot for Gatwick South GF and often arrive early just to enjoy the views with a glass of something nice.