British Airways Galleries First lounge, London Heathrow Terminal 3: Surprisingly empty

While we just disembarked from our flight from Boston, we used the connection directions for our second flight to Budapest.

As a reminder, here is the itinerary followed:

#	Type	Review
1	Diary	Summer escape in Hungary
2	Lounge	British Airways Galleries Club, Boston Logan
3	Flight	British Airways Club World, Boston Logan – London Heathrow, Boeing 777-200
4	Lounge	British Airways Galleries First, London Heathrow T3
5	Flight	British Airways Club Europe, London Heathrow – Budapest Liszt, Airbus A320
6	Hotel	The Ritz-Carlton, Budapest
7	Restaurant	Ottimo at The Ritz-Carlton, Budapest
8	Train	MAV Start Intercity First, Budapest Nyugati – Debrecen
9	Train	MAV Start Intercity First, Debrecen – Budapest Nyugati
10	Hotel	Matild Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Budapest
11	Restaurant	Spago by Wolfgang Puck at Matild Palace, Budapest
12	Restaurant	Bistro Parísi, Budapest
13	Restaurant	The Duchess Rooftop Bar at Matild Palace, Budapest
14	Lounge	Plaza Premium Lounge, Budapest Liszt
15	Flight	British Airways Club Europe, Budapest Liszt – London Heathrow, Airbus A320
16	Lounge	British Airways Concorde Room, London Heathrow
17	Flight	British Airways Club World, London Heathrow – Boston Logan, Airbus A380-800

Today’s itinerary

Connection circuit

Connections between terminals at London Heathrow airport are not necessarily the easiest. For some months now, Budapest has been reopening from London Heathrow’s Terminal 3, forcing us to take a connecting shuttle bus between Terminals 3 and 5, where British Airways operates.

However, Terminal 5’s boarding satellites B and C are also served by shuttles, and ours arrived less than 5 minutes after our arrival at its gate.

After a 10-minute bus ride, we arrives at Terminal 3, where the security checkpoints were deserted. We were airside within 15 minutes of disembarking from Boston.

Location

The British Airways Galleries First lounge is located near the entrance to lounge No1, and is separated from the rest of the terminal by a solid door.

Once through this door, two different lounges are available: the Galleries Club lounge, accessible to British Airways Silver and Business class passengers, and the Galleries First lounge, accessible to First and Gold British Airways passengers. It’s the latter that we accessed before our flight to Budapest.

Lounge design

The design of the lounge is very nice, the result of a much more recent renovation than the one of Terminal 5 lounge. We can also assume it is a little less busy.

Much to my surprise, the lounge was completely deserted during our stay. When I say deserted, I mean it literally: we were the only two passengers with my wife. Very strange indeed in a hub like London Heathrow.

Catering

The catering on offer was of a very high standard. The entire buffet was appealing, but I limited myself to a very reasonable selection, given that we would be dining in flight a few minutes later. The drinks on offer were also plentiful, almost to the level of the Concorde Room, but be warned: the drinks available at the buffet are limited. You have to ask at the bar for premium champagnes and liqueurs.

Bottom line

An excellent lounge, especially when so deserted. The Concorde Dining Room was unavailable at the time of our visit, but I imagine it is open at busier times. To be repeated!