This is a continuation of our recent First Class trip to India, a journey where we had Big Travel with Small Money!
Trip Report Index:
- Introduction
- American Airlines Admirals Club Lounge and Flagship Lounge – Kansas City & Chicago
- American Airlines Flagship/First Class – Chicago to London
- British Airways Concorde Room – London Heathrow
- British Airways – (New) First Class – London to Mumbai, India
- An Indian Wedding Extravaganza
- InterContinental Lalit – Mumbai, India
- Park Hyatt – Goa, India
- Jet Airways, First Class – Mumbai, India to London
- Jet Airways, Business Class – Mumbai, India to London
- American Airlines, First Class – London to Chicago
- American Airlines, Business Class – London to Chicago
After clearing security at Terminal 5 at Heathrow, we entered the Concorde Room, British Airway’s First Class lounge.
We saw the very sleek and discreet white colored entrance, showed our boarding passes to the attendant, and entered the lounge.
I wasn’t blogging when we took this trip, so unfortunately I didn’t take many pictures!
We had booked a private cabana in the lounge which is described by British Airways as:
“private cabanas, hotel-style rooms, with a comfortable day bed and en suite bathroom for complete relaxation”
Unfortunately, with our flight delay and additional delay at Heathrow’s security checkpoint, we had only 1 hour to enjoy the lounges and make our way to the gate.
We also wanted to have a massage at the Elemis Spa, but there were no slots available in the Concorde Room. But there were slots available in the Business Class Galleries Lounge next to our departure gate.
I wanted to try out the massage, so we booked two 15 minute massage slots.
That left us with 20 minutes to explore the Concorde Room, so we decided to sit by the bar and have some champagne!
The bar was very elegant and there were lots of crystal chandeliers.
The atmosphere was very muted in the bar, and I felt that I had entered a set for a James Bond movie!
The lounge was very elegant. It had several fireplaces, plush velvet and leather sofas and chairs, crystal chandeliers a full bar, and lots of food.
The Concorde Room also has private dining booths with staff who take your order and bring you your food. We didn’t have the time to eat here, but I did snap a quick picture!
Concorde Room – British Airways – Private Dining
The tables were very well laid, with a crisp white table cloth and leather wall paneling.
Outside the Concorde Room, there was seating area where you could play with a big wooden horse or watch the planes through the glass windows!
We watched the planes for a few minutes.
Even the lounge outside the main Concorde Room by the windows put American Airline’s First Class Flagship lounge to shame in terms of spaciousness and decor!
The 20 minutes in the Concorde Room passed by sooner than we expected and soon it was time to trudge to the Elemis Spa in the Galleries Business Class Lounge.
It took us at least 15 minutes to get to the Elemis Spa.
Once there, we had a choice of the following massages:
- Customized Flying Facial
- Stress-Away Shoulder to Scalp
- Flying Feet
- Exotic Hand and Arm Re-Energiser
I chose the Shoulder to Scalp massage and Emily chose the Customized Flying Facial.
I shouldn’t have anticipated how relaxing the massage would be, because I was disappointed with the massage.
I sat in an automated massage chair for the first 8 minutes by myself, and for the next 7 minutes the massage therapist gently pressed on my shoulders and scalp.
I like a really firm massage, but the therapist massaged my scalp using the same amount of pressure as my hairdresser does when she washes my hair!
Oh well, lesson learned – next time we’ll spend more time enjoying the lounge! And what was I expecting in a 15 minute massage in any case?
At least, Emily’s facial seemed to have relaxed her, but then Emily is always more relaxed than me!
We poked around the Galleries lounge for a few more minutes.
Galleries Lounge – British Airways – Funky Upholstery
We helped ourselves to some water and juice from the breakfast bar in the lounge. Even though this was a business class lounge, the food and drink offerings surpassed those of American Airline’s First Class Flagship lounge!
There were yogurts, crisps, fresh fruit, milk, cheese, juices and lots of other food available.
The lounge was very busy when we left, and we preferred the quieter Concorde Room.
We left the lounge and made our way to our gate.
At the gate, I bumped into a former accounting professor and we chatted as we made our way into the plane headed to Mumbai, India.
We didn’t know that this segment would be the most memorable part of the journey for both of us. So stay tuned for that report!
Bottom Line:
The British Airways Concorde Room surpassed my expectations for a First Class Lounge.
It was elegant, understated, spacious, luxurious, refined and the food and drink options were terrific. You could even reserve a massage or a private cabana to unwind!
There really was no comparison between the bare-bones American Airlines Flagship Lounge with their carrot sticks and ranch dip to the British Airways Concorde Room with its understated luxury and sit-down dining service!
What do you think?
What do you expect from a First Class lounge? Tell us about it in the comments!
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I have earned and redeemed millions of airline miles and hotel points to travel the world for free. Now I'm blogging to help more people do the same! 
The Concorde Room is a nice enough space but I find the service lacking and the food to be remarkably underwhelming, even accounting for the fact that on the whole food in airports and in the UK tend to be underwhelming. It’s a great lounge, but doesn’t come close to comparing to the Lufthansa First Class Terminal in Frankfurt or the Thai Airways First Class Lounge and Spa in Bangkok. It’s more in line with the first class side of The Wing in HKG.
Daraius, did you bump into Bala in Heathrow? Was he travelling in First?
I agree with Gary. Although the Concorde Room was worlds better than any US lounge I prefer Lufthansa First in Frankfurt and the Lufthansa First in Munich. In general the Mercedes meet and greet plane side in Germany avoids all the shuttling around the airport at Heathrow.
@Gary – I had only 20 minutes in the Concorde Room so couldn’t sample the food or evaluate the service. I’ll have a review of the Lufthansa and Thai lounges later this year!
@Truthbuster – Yes, it was Bala! Did we take his class together? Email me! He was traveling in Business Class.
@Joediver – I can see how being whisked in a car beats trudging around Heathrow! The Jet First Class experience in India was pretty similar – Emily got escorted from the time she reached the airport to the time she was on the plane! It wasn’t in a Mercedes, but in a golf cart, but she got to skip all the lines (immigration included!)
I know it’s not a first class lounge but the Admiral’s Club at JFK is so shitty it’s not even funny (well compared to every other lounge). The bagels though were so bleeping good. I had like 6 (because AA economy class from JFK-MIA means no food D:)
Good review Daraius.
Considering the space constraint on BAA when building T5 the Concorde Room is a wonderful place to relax before a flight. I have had a number of visits to the lounge and thoroughly enjoy myself each time. A recent visit had me chatting away to Desmond Tutu! Though my champagne induced bravado meant I chatted more than him, Lol!
I am confused about your 15 min trip to get to the Elemis Spa? Is there a spa at the B gates as the Elemis Lounge next to the Concorde Lounge is shared by Club World passengers too and is seconds from the Concorde Room bar.
@Jason Bigaspen-Isuk - You’re right – most Admiral’s lounge are deplorable, but seems to be par for the course in the US! I’m always struck by how I can get a hot meal, bottle of water, towel to clean my face and hands, and smiling flight attendants in a 40 minute flight in Asia, but can barely get a glass of water on a 3+ hour flight in the US.
@RichUK – I agree – the Concorde Room has that understated elegance which I really like. It is spacious too and a nice place to rest. Maybe I’ll bump into the good Bishop next time!
Yes, I meant the Elemis spa by the B gates, since there is one by T5 B. I should have stayed in the Concorde Room instead!
I’m not even sure if I could have come up with those expectations for the lounge! I’m just used to the domestic US airline lounges. That is amazing – almost a destination in and of itself!
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@Mommy Points - You’re right – it is a destination of itself. That’s why I need to plan more time in the lounges!
@ Mommy Points – It really was a destination by itself! I was very impressed by the decor and felt like I was in a James Bond movie. We will get to experience the Lufthansa First Class Terminal in Frankfurt and the Thai Airways First Class Lounge and Spa in Bangkok that Gary highlighted in his reply later this year.
I always recommend arriving at LHR at least 4hrs before a flight. By the time you clear security or get off a connecting flight, get to the lounge and settle and then you need time to head to the gate for your departure. Arriving 4hrs early means you will get at least 2hrs to enjoy the Concorde Room, have some food, few glasses of bubbly and a treatment.
Sorry your treatment wasn’t up to much. The seats are nice but I recommend the foot massage or facial. Don’t ever expect a heavy massage. They are just relaxation massages so no beasting like a sport massage.
Make sure you pop in to the business lounge (with printers, PCs etc) situated between the bar and the entrance from security as it has real Concorde seats. Sadly the arms are missing as these were shaped like the BA swoosh logo and were lovely sculpted arm rests.
@RichUK – I agree, and I won’t make that mistake again! I like your protocol – food, bubbly, foot massage and a looksie at the business lounge. I’ll give it a go when I’m back in the Concorde Room!
If you want my official itinery then I always tell people to:
1. As soon as you arrive head to the spa and book a treatment as they book up quickly
2. Get some champagne, sit, relax and drink
3. Head to the dining area and have some food. Do this early so you are hungry again when you get on the flight.
4. Have a stroll, see who is in the lounge. When I was chatting to Desmond Samuel L Jackson was there. Parents-In-Law where there a few weeks back and Andrew Lloyd Weber and Diana Ross were there.
5. Have some more champagne before heading to the gate.
Enjoy!
It’s a nice lounge — spent about 5 hours there my last visit — though am still baffled as to why they have separate First Class and Concorde lounges. A First Class ticket gets you in the Concorde lounge….so is the First Class lounge simply a token for Executive Club Gold members?
@RichUK – You seem to run into all the celebs
@MileCards – It is a nice lounge, and 5 hours is a lot of time to enjoy it! A BA First Class ticket, or gold or premier card will get you into the Concorde Room. The other first class lounge (not as nice as the Concorde Room) is for oneworld Emeralds and first class passengers on airlines besides BA.
Wondering what you use to pay for this in terms of miles, because we all know that with great BA miles comes great
responsibilitytaxes and fees.@Jason – I paid 90,000 AA miles and about $300 in taxes and fees (not including the $150 change fee which I also paid) for the 1 way ticket from the US to India.
Nice. AA miles are far more valuable than BA.
Hey just wanted to let you know my name is now Jason Martinse (taking my stepfather’s name so…). Forget to change that…
@Jason – Strange how BA is the better airline, but AA miles are more valuable!
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The Concorde room is only accessible to F pax, Premier card holders or Concorde room card holders.No other airlines operate out of T5 so BA gold and OW Emerald use the F lounge, which apart from the reduced celeb spotting opportunities is my favorite T5 lounge.Great report by the way.
@Chris – I will check out the F lounge on my next trip!
The FCT in Frankfurt and Munich on Lufthansa cannot be beat. I had the luck to enjoy both 2 months ago. They had gourmet cooked to order meals such as tiger shrimp, freshly sliced jamon (spanish ham), and many different kinds of fresh berries.
Hi I’m flying on February 6th first class with miles from Miami to Berlin. I have a layover of 9 hours in London and I want to reserve a cabana. How do you go about that. Thank you for sharing the info with us.
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