[BA744fan]

I had the pleasure of an hour in the Galleries South Lounge on Friday afternoon. I’m not going to do a full review because I wasn’t there long enough, but I have to say I was surprised how good it was.

Friday afternoon at Heathrow is always busy, yet the lounge was very peaceful and probably less than 25% full.

I sampled several of the white wines. One was a Sancerre. I forget what the second was. Both were excellent. Being mid afternoon I wasn’t particularly hungry but I had a good look at the food options and there appeared to be a good selection of hot and cold snacks. I chose a cheese tartlet which was surprisingly good.

The lounge was clean throughout. I didn’t see any dirty plates or glasses left on tables after guests had finish.

Overall impression was much better than I expected, especially as it was Friday afternoon.

[AnthonyDunn]

And mid-morning Friday Galleries South was pleasantly clean, tidy and well stocked even with a constant flow of customers passing through the front desk. No problem finding somewhere to sit whichever part of the lounge one wished to use.

Sunday afternoon at the CX lounge at CDG2A was another experience again: with just about a handful of passengers there, the staff appeared to outnumber the clientele. Great view of the apron and southern runway.

[esselle]

My sense is that there has been an improvement in the range and quality of hot food across all the lounges since the contracts were transferred from Compass to the new operator. Has anybody else noticed this?

[Gold-2K]

I passed through the Concorde Room twice in the last ten days and have noticed an improvement in food quality and service. The staff were efficient and courteous and on a number of occasions I was approached to see if I needed anything. Overall it was a very good experience.

An earlier poster mentioned the T4 Qatar lounge as the gold standard. It is impressive though I found the service a little oppressive. When I went looking for a glass of water I was “invited” quite directly to return to my seat and it would be brought to me. And was it really necessary to escort me to the bathroom? We’ll at least they didn’t knock on the door to check I was OK. But no question this is an impressive lounge. However it’s not realistic to expect the T5 Galleries to deliver the same standard. The sheer volume of people passing through makes it cost prohibitive.

At the other end of the scale, has anyone experienced Americans Admirals club at DFW. a 10 minute queue to BUY drinks at the bar and the only free food, a bucket full of mini pretzel chips. Disgraceful!

[tarisingh]

11am yesterday – CX (oneworld) lounge in FRA is a very poor offering , a couple of stale sandwiches and a very “cold” atmosphere, a couple of staff, not very friendly at all – I decided to go to the SKYLOUNGE yesterday using my priority pass, greeted with a lovely smile, great view of planes coming into land – MUCH better atmosphere !

[SCF]

Having been downgraded to Silver last Nov I can only access the Galleries Lounge. Yes, the South is better but only because it is closer to all the shops that I visit. The only gripe is the stairs/lifts usage – not easy if you have more than a wheeled hand trolley. As mentioned earlier, one has to ask for a glass of champagne, unlike the First Lounge, which has a Champagne Bar!!! Heaven. More incentive for me to fly more and get back to Gold.

[smith101]

Last time I was in the Galleries South it was a total mess – every single empty table was covered in dirty glasses and crockery. The lounge at T5B was much more civilised, but the choice of white wine very poor – sauvignon blanc, sauvignon blanc or sauvignon blanc. As a non-sauvignon drinker that meant having to keep tracking down a member of staff (which wasn’t always easy) to order some champagne.

[Cloud-9]

My experience also last month; but I happen to like Sauv Blanc! Gallereis staff are just not on the ball with regard to clearing tables. Compare to the CX BC lounge in HKG – clean, great views, and with a dedicated eating area to savour noodles freshly prepared to order

[Speedbird_ABZ]

Can I just check something relating to this please? I am now only Bronze on Ba, but have One World Sapphire. On my BA boarding card last week it showed my BA Bronze status, but also only One World Ruby due to being Bronze I suppose. When accessing lounges and Fast Track lanes etc, do I need to have Sapphire shown on my boarding card or will showing my One World card be sufficient? Thanks.

[openfly]

I am amazed that all the captains of industry who are complaining about the state of the lounges haven’t got the gumption to go to the Guest Services desk or the Welcome desk and ask to speak to the T5 Lounge Manager.

They like to get feedback……they turn up in seconds. Complain to them, let them see the problem that you find offensive. After all BA pay a fortune to the third party companies to run the Lounges to the highest standards.

The Lounge Managers are delightful people and are there to help you. They also like to hear from you. Mind you, I did ask f they ever read the comments book….there was an honest admission that they don’t…but will now.

Complain…there and then!

[Cloud-9]

If I am travelling economy I also show my SIlver card at Fast Track etc.

[nigelbrinklow]

I flew to NYC from LHR a week or so back. Arived at around 10.30am for a 1.30pm flight. Managed to book a spa treatment for the two of us. No problem with availability on a Wednesday. South lounge was lovely. Don’t know what previous posters have to gripe about really. Seats are certainly not “tatty”, didn’t see “litter strewn everywhere” either. All in all it was a really lovely experience.

Spa treatments were arranged in the B Gates – where JFK flights normally depart from. B Gate was actually much more tranquil. Plenty of seats, great views and a good selection of food and drinks. The only blip was that our flight left from the C Gates. We seriously underestimated the time it would take to get from the B to C gates on the train especially as we had just missed a transit. It has to travel to C gates, back to B, back to A, back to B and then to C! I estimated it would take at least 20 mins and the “flight was closing” quite suddenly. Anyway, we had to leg it along the tunnel underneath the apron – somewhat negating the relaxing spa treatment in 5B!
Apart form that we had a great time!

[VintageKrug]

Did you manage to do a review, BA744fan?

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