A decent but very crowded lounge with a nice view of the runway. Certainly worth a visit if you have access but not worth going out of your way.

View other posts in this series:

• Trip Introduction: A Birthday at the German Christmas Market
• One of Our Favorites: The Thompson Central Park NYC
• Exploring New York City with Kids
• Cramped When Full: American Express Centurion Lounge JFK
• Review: Singapore Airlines A380 Business Class JFK-FRA
• Taking the Train in Germany with Kids
• Review: Park Hyatt Hamburg
• Exploring Hamburg with a Family
• Enjoying the Hamburg Christmas Market
• Review: Radisson Blu Hotel Hamburg Airport
• Review: British Airways A320 Club Europe Business Class
• Review: British Airways Galleries North (this post)
• Review: British Airways 777-300 Club World Business Class
• Bonus: Video Review of A Birthday at the German Christmas Market

We landed in London Heathrow Terminal 5 from our flight departing Hamburg and there was a short wait making it through immigration and security. Thankfully, the British Airways Galleries lounge is found just past security before descending the escalator to reach the departures level. Conveniently, it was right next to a Harry Potter store that the kids just needed to check out.

Access

We were granted access to the lounge thanks to our business class tickets. We just needed to scan our boarding passes and proceeded to enter the lounge.

Ways to access the lounge include:

• Flying first class on a oneworld airline (though honestly, you should go to a better lounge if you’re flying first class)
• Flying business class on a oneworld airline
• Having oneworld Emerald or Sapphire status while flying on a oneworld flight and members can bring in one guest (though you should consider going to a better lounge if you have Emerald status)

Seating

It felt like a fairly large sea of chairs inside the lounge. Compared to other lounges, there didn’t seem to be a large selection of options. For the most part, it felt like you could choose between a seat with a round dining table or a seat with a rectangular dining table. Given the timing of our flights, we were here for at least three hours in the morning and the lounge felt consistently busy.

We ended choosing a table “outside”. It’s not truly an outdoors area as it was still within the giant glass walls of the airport, but it felt less claustrophobic and a bit more relaxing. The one thing you can say about this lounge is it has plenty of natural lighting. Perhaps in an attempt to further make you feel like you’re outdoors, there are a number of potted plants scattered about the deck.

It was nice to have a good view of the planes going by. Too bad the kids weren’t more interested in it on this trip.

Food and Drinks

Given our early flight, we arrived here while breakfast was still being served. They didn’t have too many options when compared to other lounges, but the buffet was refreshed frequently — absolutely necessary given the crowds at this lounge. There is only one station in the lounge where guests can get food, so finding lines at the buffet weren’t uncommon. The theme for breakfast on the ground was once again English breakfast, with eggs, sausage, beans, and ham as the hot items. Unfortunately, I found the cooked food to be a bit salty, in line with the experience we just had on the flight.

If you’re not looking for an English breakfast–and I can’t say I was looking forward to it given I just ate it on their plane–you’re free to choose from fruit, cereal, or pastries. I wish British Airways would do a better job at varying the food options so it doesn’t feel like I’m eating the same thing in the skies and on the ground when on connecting flights.

There is a sign at the lounge that suggests children must be accompanied. I felt embarrassed that Alex snuck away from my whole we were seated and focused on Char. I found him at the buffet, being helped by staff. I quickly apologized to them but the staff seemed genuinely happy to help.

There is a decent variety of drinks, at least. The Mockingbird juice was refreshing and reminded me of Naked Juice back home. There is a large section dedicated to alcohol. Those looking for someone to mix their drinks for them will be disappointed, as there is no bartender anywhere in the lounge. Everything is self-service, for better or worse.

Showers

This lounge does have a number of shower stalls, helpful while in transit. To add your name to the list, you just need to use your phone to scan the QR code found at your seat and add yourself to the list… if the option is available. When there are no showers, there is no way to reserve a room. If you find an open slot, the room will be available for ten minutes and you just need to check in at the reception desk.

I put my name down just to take one for the team. Checking in with the front desk, I was directed to one of the stalls and found a very simple room. British Airways is not going to win any awards for the aesthetics of their shower room, but it was functional and at least there is a place for me to place my clothes while showering. Relative to other showers I’ve been to inside lounges, this one probably rates as the ugliest. And, for those who care, body soap and shampoo are available in the shower but there is no conditioner.

Play Area

In an attempt to keep all the kids occupied, there is a kids room in the corner of the lounge. It has a nice airplane theme to it, but the room itself was missing a key element to keeping the kids interested in it—there are no toys or entertainment in here. There are three desks with connections that look like an old iPad used to be hooked up here, but kids will have to bring their own toys.

Odds and Ends

Rather oddly, the kids area is right next to the dedicated work desks for adults. Perhaps they wanted to throw all of these miscellaneous sections in the back of the lounge, but it doesn’t seem like a good option to place the guests looking to focus on work right next to the kids room with no door.

There is a luggage room available right at the entry to the lounge. We didn’t use it, but if you’re going to be here a while, it is nice to not have to worry about your bags.

There are also no plane announcements in the lounge but there is a board showing assigned gates. Much like the rest of Europe, gates aren’t assigned until close to departure and the hope is to avoid the satellite terminals requiring a tram ride. Sadly, we weren’t lucky and were placed in a satellite terminal.

Recommendation: Don’t go out of your way

It’s nice to have a place to get some drinks and a bite to eat before your next flight in a connection. But if I were originating in London, I wouldn’t arrive especially early to spend time here. It frankly doesn’t seem worth doing.