United Club Lounge – Heathrow T2

I write this from a hotel in Cork, arrived here via a very busy Are Lingus flight LHR-ORK on a Friday evening. Nothing to report, other than a ‘standard’ flight and experience.

However, I thought I’d use my Priority Pass card to gain access to the only available lounge in T2, as I can not gain access to the Gold Circle lounge located near to the Aer Lingus A gates. The lounge (United Club) is by gate B34, the signs says this is a 15 minute walk, and it’s not wrong…

We walked there and gained access with no problem, and was advised by the ladies on reception that Aer Lingus only departed from the A gates and this was a long walk back. We availed ourselves of the free champagne, plus our party enjoyed the thai green curry, afternoon tea including finger sandwiches and various bar nibbles. The staff brought more drinks without question and we were very well attended to. Eventually the time came to walk back, and we gave ourselves plenty of time. The first obstacle was getting back to the underground walkway. On the way to the B gates we descended and ascended the escalators, but on the way back you can only take the lifts. The lifts to take you out of the B gate area are cunningly hidden away, behind glass panelled escalators, but once found took us to the long walk way that takes you to the A gate area.

On the way to the lounge you are assisted by moving walk ways, these are not available on the return journey, so the trip back does take longer, definitely something to factor in. We arrived at the gate just as the flight started to board. A nice start to a great weekend away.

My verdict? Well if you can gain access to the United Club lounge then the walk is definitely worth it, but with anything less than a 1 hour wait to boarding then it’s a little too far to walk, before you need to walk back, so not worth the bother. What it does mean though is that I will alway endeavour to get to Heathrow early enough in order to enjoy the hospitality of the lounge, as it was a great first impression/visit.