Let’s go for a rather busy weekend in Hungary, to move some of my wife’s stuff, in anticipation of our move to the United States coming in the next few weeks. Also, we booked an itinerary a few weeks before, that will take us to Debrecen, the second largest city in Hungary, where my wife lived during her youth.
Here is the route followed:
# | Type | Review |
---|---|---|
1 | Lounge | British Airways Concorde Room, London Heathrow T5 |
2 | Flight | British Airways Club Europe, London Heathrow – Budapest Liszt, Airbus A319 (unreported) |
3 | Hotel | Matild Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Budapest |
4 | Lounge | Plaza Premium Lounge, Budapest Liszt Terminal 2B, non-Schengen |
5 | Flight | British Airways Club Europe, Budapest Liszt – London Heathrow, Airbus A320 |
Check-In and ground experience
We departed from our home in Chelsea, West London, approximately three hours before our flight departure. Since there was a bit of traffic to get to Heathrow airport, our journey took about 1 hour door-to-door.
We had previously checked in online for this flight, and upon arrival at the airport, we headed to the far right of Terminal 5, to the First check-in area, and promptly dropped off our luggage.
On the way back, we planned to check in a lot of luggage so we took empty suitcases to help us pack my wife’s things.
Once these formalities are done, we used the security lines dedicated to the First class, and in only a few minutes we were airside. Once through the security checkpoints, we got into the British Airways Galleries First lounge, which is actually dedicated to oneworld Emerald customers. The real First customers, as well as the British Airways Gold Guest List customers, including myself, can access the Concorde Room, the most prestigious lounge of the platform.
Location and welcome
The lounge is located in the High Contribution South complex, which includes three lounges, the British Airways Galleries Club dedicated to customers traveling in Business on oneworld airlines serving Heathrow terminal 5, as well as oneworld Sapphire passengers.
The second lounge, Galleries First, is dedicated to oneworld Emerald passengers.
The third lounge, the one we have access to today, is the Concorde Room, reserved for British Airways First passengers and Gold Guest List members of the British Airways frequent flyer program.
Apparently, AAdvantage ConciergeKey members are also invited to this lounge.
The reception is correct, our boarding passes are scanned at the entrance to check our eligibility and we are invited to enter.
We love the olfactory atmosphere very cinnamonny!
Lounge design
You could already discover the design of this lounge in previous reports. A small effort of decoration was made on some armchairs, with a change of covers of cushions. The whole is relatively clean, even if a refurbishment would not be too much for the most lucrative customers of the British company.
Catering
The lounge’s catering offer is very comprehensive.
I ordered a Johnny Walker Blue Label on the rocks from one of the waiters, along with a glass of plain water.
Afterwards, my wife and I went to the dining room for a light dinner before our flight and both order ravioli with pumpkin sauce.
Bottom line
The Concorde Room is definitely a good lounge. Is it a First lounge? Not sure…
The offer is good in some aspects, but the service has nothing to do with what customers in First class can expect.