Background
There are two Silverkris lounges in Terminal 2B at Heathrow, and at reception you will either be directed to the left for first class or to the right for business class (or depending on your tier level in the Singapore Airlines loyalty programme). I’ve used the business class lounge before and been very impressed, but this was my first time in the first class lounge.
All of these lounges are coming up to the third anniversary of their opening.
Where is it?
The lounge is in Terminal 2B, along with the Air Canada Lounge, the Lufthansa lounge (Lufthansa has another couple of lounges in the main terminal for short haul flights) and the United Lounge. It’s a long walk over to T2B, but you can ask for a shuttle buggy if you need it (I imagine there are plenty of people who do). I was going to film a time lapse walking over there, but it would have run out the battery on my camera.
There are various Star Alliance lounge options at London Heathrow.
What’s it like?
Both SilverKris lounges were developed by the interior design firm Ong&Ong with a “home away from home” theme.
There are several distinct areas for sitting, working, dining and privacy, and there are a couple of shower cubicles for passenger use at the far end. I was very early at the lounge, so I was the first there.
I made a short video showing the features of the lounge which I will post here when it has been edited.
The lounge is rectangular, so on first entering there is a seated area to your left that is partially obscured by some decorative batik screens.
There is also a wine counter which is self-service, though you have to try hard to serve yourself since the staff are so helpful.
There are then a few tables if you want to dine more fully.
The main part of the lounge is a sitting area, mostly with individual chairs either facing into the lounge or towards the window.
It isn’t a particularly innovative or exciting design, quite traditional in fact. In terms of wow, it is well behind the Cathay Pacific lounge at Heathrow and also the Qatar Airways one (to take two examples). Nevertheless, it has good service and everything you need, including a good choice of food and wine.
The lounge wasn’t busy during this time of the morning, and there were plenty of power points around the room so I could keep my devices going and do some work.
I was there for the 0910 departure to Singapore on the new A380. This was for a review of the new First Class Suites.
Breakfast was on offer, both in buffet form and with cooked options such as Nasi Lemak, Singapore Laksa, Chicken Curry and Mee Goreng, or Western options such as Eggs Benedict or Eggs Royal, Full English breakfast or homemade waffles.
I wasn’t drinking this early, but there was Laurent Perrier Champagne, a choice of wines (pictured) and some cocktails such as Singapore Sling, Ginger Mojito and a Stablilizer (Baileys, Kahlua, Vodka and espresso coffee).
If it had been a bit later I definitely would have tried that one.
There are a couple of showers available at the far end of the lounge opposite the toilets.
Verdict
I was in the lounge for about 90 minutes before the flight. It was lovely and quiet, with a view over to what was once Terminal 1, I suppose. There’s certainly a lot of construction work going on.
The lounge opens at 0515 and stays open until 2200.
