arrival lounge at LHR - how strict?
 

I know the arrival lounges in LHR are for Gold and First only.

How strict are they in enforcing this rule?

Will they accept a flown First boarding pass stub from the day before (outbound) when arriving WT+ inbound?

[This message has been edited by strflyer (edited 10-02-2003).]

I thought incoming CW passengers could use it too

Then when flying with the family, Dad has chosen to get us home rather than use the Arrivals lounge. pity really I've heard its rather good

Yes on incoming F/J pax but NO on a flight the day before. The Arrivals lounge staff are VERY strict and have a no favours policy. It never hurts to ask of course, perhaps they won't notice it...

Gold, First and (unfortunately) Club World are okay.

Very strict on entry ie: no Gold guests, etc. Will only accept inbound First bp from following day if they don't notice the date difference, IMHO. Otherwise, I think you will be S.O.L.

Good luck anyway.

strflyer makes a good point here

Last year I flew on Concorde on 5th September and retained the whole boarding pass, I flew again on the 5th September this year but on a WT+ ticket (no lounge access)

If I had taken my Concorde boarding pass to the lounge a year later would they have let me in by mistake. At other lounges the BP has been swiped but in Concorde room it was just looked at, I remember as if it were yesterday ahhhh http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/redface.gif

You say it correctly, "let you in by mistake", all you need is one agent that's not asleep and you'll be refused. And considering the arrivals lounge has pretty strict agents I doubt you'll get past them...

Small thing that's confusing about the arrivals lounge I find is that the membership book clearly states that Gold card is ok for getting in (good for me travelling often on WT+ tickets), but at the sign up at the desk/entry in to the arrivals lounge only First/CW is mentioned, but not Gold.

Small detail but... or does it say somewhere where I'm missing it?

So, how nice is the Arrivals Lounge? I've got a night flight this month, arriving at LHR at 6:45 on a Sunday and likely our hotel won't be ready until 11 am, or even 2 pm. Should we take a break in the Lounge for showers etc before heading into London? Where is the Lounge in relation to the normal exit point from Customs (I need to arrange for mini-cab pick-up)?

The lounge is 200 meters to the right of where you leave airside on the arrivals level of T4.

On the gound floor there is a baggage store (staffed) and a large shower complex (I think around 20 or 30 stalls). Shower staff provide you with towels and any amenities (Molton Brown) you might need. In the double door is a special cabinet where you can place clothes, you then press the bell and someone comes and takes them to be pressed, by the time you are done showering your clothes are back in the double door. Upstairs is a buffet breakfast bar with all the usual English breakfast trimmings, pastries, breads and a waiter for eggs made to order. Also on the first floor is the Molton brown spa where you can request a massage treatment, there is a business lounge with some PC's and work cubicles and a serenity zone where it is totally silent and you can use VERY comfy leather seats, put your feet up and rest. They even have some foot massagers on the floor you can use. All in all a very nice expereince and much less noisy and busy than the other lounges.

I've had 5 or 6 hour waits in this lounge and just took a nap in the serenity room...

The T4 arrivals lounge is nothing special IMHO, but then by the time you've waited an age for luggage to come off the carousel at LHR it can come as some respite. It'd be more useful if it was in the baggage hall, but I guess there's a reason why this isn't the case.

Btw, BA plans to open an arrivals lounge at LHR T1 in time for this Christmas.

Funny how experiences and opinions differ... perhaps my expectations aren't as high but I find the Arrival's Lounge to be a delightful place after a long-haul and have never had to wait more than 5 minutes for my bags at T3 or T4. In fact, whenever I'm flying in a premium cabin (the only way I can access the lounge as I'm not BA Gold) my bags have always been waiting for me after clearing immigration. Maybe I've just been lucky!

I often go directly to morning meetings in London after flying overnight from BOS, and then the arrivals lounge is outstanding, if nothing else to get your shirt/suit pressed! Makes huge difference to survive a day without sleep the night before if you get
shower+shoulder massage+great breakfast (all in the lounge) before you start the day!

Thanks for the info. As I'm travelling with a friend who is new to Club World, and we may have a long wait for our room, it's probably worth a try. Also, it might simplify arranging a pick-up time with our mini-cab driver because we can specify a time, rather than asking him to meet the flight and risk the possibility that he'll charge us wait time if we're late.

It is sometimes possible to bend the rules slightly... as a BA Gold I remember getting in in transit between arriving in J on CX and departing in Club Europe to CDG.

In my humble experience they could teach a fifties school master a thing or to. An example:

I had interlined on to BA at SIN from SQ. my BA sector BP was printed on SQ stock (travelling in J). No problem at SIN, getting on the plane whatever. The warden at the lounge took one look and went 'not valid here'. I tried to plead my case that I had come from a BA flight. The answer - you CAN'T have done, you'd have a BA BP. After a couple of minutes haggling she agreed to check the flight details......and then let me in!

The lesson? The stock answer to anything outside the ordinary is 'no'. But good luck trying to twist their arms.