If I have a weird obsession, it’s luxury travel lounges – typically airports, but also in hotels. I’m not sure why, but hanging out, drinking good drinks and eating good food while getting some work done and departing from a destination is decidedly enjoyable. Oh wait, I know why – it’s because of all of those things are awesome. As excited as I was to fly British Airways First, I was even more excited for my trip to the London Heathrow Concorde Room. Unfortunately, I had a series of delays on my Great Western Railway trip from Bath, including a car ramming into a train bridge (necessitating a safety inspection of said bridge) and a man collapsing on the platform next to the train (thankfully he was OK), so I lost an hour of time at the lounge. Would I regret that missed hour? Did the Heathrow Concorde Room live up to my bougie expectations? Read my Heathrow Concorde Room review to find out!
As a reminder, for internal “house” reviews, we score on the same 1-3 scale we use elsewhere. A 3 indicates that a given category exceeded reviewer expectations, a 2 indicates it met expectations, and a 1 failed to meet expectations. We evaluate the categories we believe are most relevant to the flight, hotel, or lounge experience.
Details
Name of Lounge: British Airways Concorde Room
Location: Heathrow Terminal 5
Date: 10/21/19
Time/Length of Visit: 1:40 PM – 3:00 PM
Seating – 2/3
I’ve read numerous reviews which critiqued the furniture and layout of this lounge. Perhaps because I had seen so many critiquing it, I was surprised when I found it to be charming. While there was a variety of different styles, it seemed to work pretty well for me. Then again, I don’t think anyone would be hiring me to decorate their home, so… buyer beware.
Similarly, I had read that the power outlet situation was grim, but again this seemed overblown – but I am wondering if this is a new addition, as some of the outlets seemed new-ish. There were numerous end tables with chargers built in at about 60% of the seats. That said, this is 2019, and we’re all electronics zombies, and this is a first class lounge, so I can see there being issues with a lack of 100% coverage.
When I visited, the lounge was probably 80-90% full. Despite this, I was able to find a powered seat quickly, but couldn’t stake out a balcony spot, which was unfortunate. I’d rate this 2/3 overall because it IS a first class lounge, and having trouble finding a seat immediately detracts from the first class vibe.
Food – 3/3
The Concorde dining room is set up very similar to the Concorde Room in Dulles – albeit with more booths. Similarly, a strong (if not stronger) food menu is available. I went with a cheese plate and the smoked mutton. The cheese was good, the mutton was great. And of course, a glass of the Grand Siecle to wash it all down. I will note that the service was a bit slow – they had a queue/waitlist for dining booths. I also had to proactively ask for water and other requirements. That said, I was quite pleased with the meal. In addition to the restaurant menu, there also were an assortment of bar snacks available at the bar – I indulged in some truffled nuts, which were excellent.
Drink – 3/3
Between Johnnie Walker Blue and Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle – and many other drink options – it’s hard to give this anything less than a 3/3. While not quite the two-minute-long page list of the Lufthansa First lounge (seriously, I made a video of the Lufthansa lounge drink menu, and it was two minutes long) – it’s a pretty damn fine drink assortment.
Cleanliness – 3/3
The lounge was very clean and they were actively bussing everything.
Bathrooms – 1/3
What the heck British Airways… you have a lovely lounge but the bathrooms are awful. I usually can’t bring myself to take pictures of a bathroom… but I did in this case. The bathrooms were single-person rooms and quite grim and industrial in nature. These desperately need to be redone.
WiFi – 2/3
The WiFi seemed fine, and I finally ran a speed test. A slick 12 ping, but only 3 down, 1 up for mps. It didn’t really seem to inhibit me, but to be fair, I was mostly drinking scotch and writing reviews. I suppose if I was streaming videos I’d be sad.
Views – 2/3
The balcony has delightful views both of the terminal and the tarmac. The views are partially obstructed, but if you can snag a balcony seat, those are the best in the house in my opinion.
Heathrow Concorde Room Review Bottom Line – 3/3
I’m very much “just happy to be here” when it comes to first class lounges. My only other comparison was the Lufthansa First lounge (before my Premium Travel Insider time), which was spectacular… but it was also 8 AM when I visited it. The bathrooms were the lowest point by far of the Heathrow Concorde Room review, but everything else about the British Airways Concorde Room was pretty awesome. Thanks to some train delays and a need to review the First Galleries lounge, I wasn’t able to spend as much time as I wanted – which, to be fair, would basically be an unlimited amount of time – in this wonderful lounge.
Splash graphic of the Concorde Room credit to British Airways because I was too excited to take my own picture.