A large but crowded business class lounge in London Heathrow airport that offers a superior kids room of all the British Airways options at Terminal 5.

This lounge visit occurred in April 2023.

View other posts in this series:

• Trip Introduction: Springtime in the City of Light
• Review: AA Flagship Lounge LAX
• Review: American Airlines 777-300ER Business Class LAX-LHR
• Review: British Airways Galleries First
• Review: British Airways Galleries South
• Great for Families: A Review of the Hyatt Regency Étoile
• Exploring Paris With Children
• Thoughts on Disneyland Paris
• Review: Air France Business Class Lounge CDG Terminal 2E Hall K
• Review: Air France 777-300 Business Class CDG-LAX

Location

This lounge is located in London-Heathrow (LHR) Terminal 5. If you’re arriving from London, there is direct access to the lounge via a special check-in section. However, since we were arriving as a transit customer, we needed to first take a bus from Terminal 3 to Terminal 5. We then needed to clear transit security and walk the length of the terminal to the South end where three British Airways lounges are located (The Concorde Room, Galleries First, and Galleries South). This lounge is located just above the Galleries First lounge.

Access Rules

We accessed the lounge since we were flying in Club Europe business class to Paris. Other eligible ways to access this lounge include:

• Fly in British Airways first class (but doing so would make you eligible for the more-exclusive Concorde Room)
• Fly in British Airways business class (Club World or Club Europe)
• Fly in first class or business class with other oneworld carriers (but it would be difficult given only British Airways operates out of Terminal 5)
• Have oneworld Emerald or Sapphire status when flying a oneworld airline

Arrival and First Impressions

As mentioned in the previous post, Alex and I arrived at the lounge after everyone else in our party. We quickly gained access by scanning our boarding passes. The agents at the check in desk seemed more interested in talking to each other than chatting with us. Inside, we found a lounge that was fairly crowded just as the Galleries First lounge a level below.

This lounge is mostly similar to the Galleries North lounge, but there are some differences.

Seating

This lounge felt bigger than the Galleries North lounge and there are more seats to accommodate passengers. There is also a room here that intends to offer a more private movie-watching experience but I don’t think it works out quite as well as intended. It would have been nicer if they had recliners and audio throughout the section. Instead, everyone seemed to drag their seats to the front where a news channel was played.

Food

As referenced in the Galleries First post, the food here is sourced from the same kitchen. As a result, almost everything is a duplicate between the two lounges. It did seem though that food was refreshed more frequently in the business class lounge than in the first class lounge, at least based on my experience in both lounges. Note that most flavors are tailored to adult tastes. You might struggle to find something blander for the kids.

Drinks

There are plenty of drinks here and I consider this to be a well-stocked business class lounge. Just note that everything here is self-service, so make sure you’re able to make the drink if you want a cocktail. Just don’t come here expecting high-quality alcohol and you’ll be fine here.

Kids Room

The Galleries South lounge has the best kids room of both the Galleries First and Galleries North lounges. At both other locations, the kids club felt like an afterthought. But here, the play space is twice as large and with better equipment. The kids spent most of their transit time here.

Showers

The showers at the Galleries South lounge are a bit inconvenient. They are not located within the lounge but rather downstairs in between the Galleries First and The Concorde Room lounges.

As usual, you find a QR code located at your table and check on whether a shower is available. Once you select it, you have to leave the lounge, head downstairs, and check in at the shower desk. Make sure you bring your boarding pass with you as you’ll need it to regain entry to the lounge.

Once you get your shower assignment, you’ll find the same train quality shower you’ve come to know and love with British Airways.

Service

Most employees here seem invested in what they were doing and not actively looking to interact with customers. But one charming lady stopped by to chat with us, and specifically the children. She seemed thrilled to see kids and made a real effort to get the kids to come out of their shells and talk with her (it didn’t work). If we weren’t in a rush to make it to our connecting flight (once again in the satellite terminal), we would have spent more time getting to know her better. A real shame on the timing.

Recommendation: Yes

Having been to three British Airways lounges here recently, I feel it’s best to sum them up in this way:

• Galleries South (this lounge): best if you’re looking for a larger space or have younger children (for the far superior kids room)
• Galleries North: best for transit passengers as it’s closest to the transit security and if you’re looking to have a shower (without needing to inconveniently leave the lounge)
• Galleries First: assuming you have access, it’s best if you’re looking for a quiet space for a nap or want made-to-order food from the kitchen (from the few selections available)

It has been a while since we’ve been to The Concorde Room (back in 2014) and I know there have been changes since we last went, so I won’t comment on how that lounge compares to the others.

It seems a bit excessive to have so many lounges here at Terminal 5. There are a lot of flights here and all business class passengers do have access. So this lounge will likely be perpetually crowded but it’s worth a visit especially if you have younger kids.

Have you been to any of the British Airways Galleries lounges before?