- Introduction: The Long Way To Abu Dhabi
- The Unglamorous Reality Of My Review Trips
- Review: EVA Air Business Class Boeing 777 (IAH-TPE)
- Review: EVA Air Infinity Lounge Taipei Airport (TPE)
- Review: EVA Air Business Class Boeing 787 (TPE-HKG)
- Review: Regal Airport Hotel Hong Kong
- Review: Chase Sapphire Lounge Hong Kong Airport (HKG)
- Review: Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Lounge Hong Kong Airport (HKG)
- Review: Cathay Pacific The Wing First Class Lounge Hong Kong Airport (HKG)
- Review: Cathay Pacific The Pier Business Class Lounge Hong Kong Airport (HKG)
- Review: Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Airport (HKG)
- Review: Cathay Pacific Business Class Airbus A350 (HKG-SIN)
- Review: Singapore Airlines The Private Room Singapore Airport (SIN)
- Review: Singapore Airlines First Class Lounge Singapore Airport (SIN)
- Review: Singapore Airlines First Class Boeing 777 (SIN-CGK)
- Review: Garuda Indonesia Lounge Jakarta Airport (CGK)
- Review: Plaza Premium Lounge Jakarta Airport (CGK)
- Review: Garuda Indonesia Business Class Boeing 777 (CGK-JED)
- Review: Aerotel Jeddah Airport, Saudi Arabia
- Review: Etihad Business Class Airbus A321 (JED-AUH)
- Review: Etihad Business Class Lounge Abu Dhabi Airport (AUH)
- Review: Etihad First Class Lounge Abu Dhabi Airport (AUH)
- Review: Pearl Lounge Abu Dhabi Airport (AUH)
- Review: Etihad First Class Airbus A380 (AUH-LHR)
- Review: British Airways Concorde Room London Heathrow (LHR)
- Review: British Airways Galleries First Lounge London Heathrow (LHR)
- Review: British Airways First Class Airbus A380 (LHR-ORD)
To finish off my review trip, I flew British Airways’ A380 first class from London to Chicago. Prior to my flight, I had the chance to check out the British Airways Concorde Room, which is British Airways’ most exclusive lounge.
Oh, the Concorde Room… while it’s a perfectly pleasant place to pass some time, it’s nowhere close to being among the world’s best first class lounges.
On the plus side, the lounge features comfortable seating including on a terrace, excellent coffee, a premium alcohol selection, and a la carte dining. Furthermore, during this visit I found the staff to be quite friendly.
However, there’s really nothing that makes this lounge too exciting. The lounge’s Elemis Spa has closed permanently, the Cabanas (private rooms) have been closed for a long time now, and the food quality just isn’t good, at least at breakfast. This pales in comparison to other first class oneworld lounge, like the Qantas First Lounge Sydney or Cathay Pacific First Lounge Hong Kong. Let’s get into the review…
In this post:
British Airways Concorde Room location
The British Airways Concorde Room is located in London Heathrow Terminal 5, so only expect to use this lounge if you’re departing from the terminal. While there are airside buses operating between terminals, they take a very long time, and require you to have a boarding pass departing from that terminal.
There are a variety of ways to get to the Concorde Room, depending on whether you’re originating at Heathrow or not. If you’re originating at Heathrow, just go to the very right of the check-in hall to the First Wing check-in area (note that this is being closed for a few months in early 2024).
This not only offers a more personalized check-in experience, but also offers a dedicated security checkpoint which lets out right in the Galleries First Lounge (and from there you can go to the Concorde Room).
Alternatively, if you use the standard security checkpoint, just make an immediate right turn before you take the escalators down, and you’ll see some unmarked double doors. This is the sort of secret entrance to the Concorde Room.
There has long been an urban legend that British Airways has to pay £1m per year for this door, to make up for lost duty free sales from passengers not having to go through all the duty free shops. However, this isn’t true, as far as I know, though it makes for a fun story.
Last but not least, if you’re trying to access the Concorde Room from the terminal level, just look for the signage for the Galleries South Lounges. When you get to that entrance, you’ll then be directed to the Concorde Room, which will be to the right.
British Airways Concorde Room hours
The British Airways Concorde Room is open daily from 5AM until 10PM, covering all British Airways departures from the terminal.
British Airways Concorde Room entry requirements
When it comes to accessing the British Airways Concorde Room, this lounge doesn’t follow standard oneworld lounge access policies. Instead, the lounge is open to:
- British Airways first class passengers, either arriving or departing, as long as you still have an outbound flight; one guest is allowed
- British Airways Executive Club Gold members who rack up at least 5,000 Tier Points (or 3,000 Tier Points in subsequent years) traveling on any oneworld flight; one guest is allowed
- American Concierge Key members traveling on any oneworld flight; one guest is allowed
The Concorde Room isn’t open to oneworld Emerald members — instead, those passengers are directed to the British Airways Galleries First Lounge.
British Airways Concorde Room seating & layout
The British Airways Concorde Room is large, but then again, it needs to be, given how many people have access to it. The lounge has both an indoor and “outdoor” space (I put that in quotes because it’s a terrace looking out over the terminal, so it’s not actually outdoors). Let’s start by looking at the indoor space.
The indoor space consists of a variety of cozy seating areas, plus a dining area and a bar. There are a bunch of seating arrangements that almost feel like they’re in someone’s living room, with couches and coffee tables.
In the center of the indoor area you have the bar, which features some seating. Next to that are a couple of communal tables with high-top seating, plus a few smaller tables. I suspect this is intended to be overflow seating for the main dining area.
Concorde Dining features roughly two dozen tables with white tablecloths, and it’s the main dining area in the lounge.
There’s a room off the main indoor space of the lounge that features sort of semi-private seats, and it’s intended to be a quiet zone.
Back in the day, this space had workstations, which I found to be a much better setup. Then in 2021, we saw the airline introduce “40 Winks” sleep pods in this space, but I guess that partnership already ended, as these were no longer there.
The Concorde Room then has a large terrace, with a variety of seating options. There are some chairs for lounging, as well as a few seating areas with drapes.
New compared to my list visit, there’s now also a dining area out on the terrace, I guess reflecting the amount of demand for dining, plus the previously limited capacity.
The Concorde Room is woefully lacking when it comes to availability of outlets. Now, the lounge has improved compared to previous visits, and now some seating areas do have little charging “cubes.” However, you’ll still have to put some effort into finding seating near outlets.
What can we really say about the lounge’s layout? I definitely appreciate that some of the furniture has been replaced, and there are a few more charging ports than before. However, the lounge isn’t about to win any design awards.
British Airways Concorde Room food & drinks
The British Airways Concorde Room has an entirely a la carte dining concept, as there’s no buffet. The servers are constantly roaming the lounge to offer drinks, so early in my visit I ordered a cappuccino, which was very good.
Later on during my visit, I had breakfast in the Concorde Dining facility.
You can find the breakfast menu below, which is served until 11:30AM.
Then you can find the beverage list below. To British Airways’ credit, the airline has an excellent drink selection, and serves Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle champagne in the Concorde Room, which is the same champagne served onboard. So many airlines serve cheaper champagne in lounges, so it’s nice that British Airways invests in this.
Unfortunately the food left a lot to be desired. You’d think that if you’re going to offer a seated dining experience with white tablecloths, you could serve people restaurant quality food. I ordered the “California toast,” described as having slow roasted tomatoes with crushed avocado and chili on toasted sourdough.
Honestly, it just wasn’t great. It didn’t look great, and it was kind of tasteless, and seemed to use more of a guacamole spread than actual crushed avocados.
I also ordered the greek yogurt with granola. You’d think that they could make a nice-looking yogurt parfait, or something, but instead it was just the below, sad dish.
Maybe lunch and dinner are better, but honestly, is anyone going to tell me “oh that looks like fantastic dining for a first class lounge?” British Airways’ biggest long haul market is the United States, and a vast majority of those flights board by 11:30AM, so breakfast is what most people on those flights are eating in the lounge. The airline could put a bit more effort into what’s being served.
British Airways Concorde Room bathrooms & showers
The British Airways Concorde Room bathrooms are located down the hall from the rest of the lounge.
All the bathrooms are individual rooms, which is a nice feature.
These bathrooms feel like something you’d find in a hospital, though. On the plus side, I believe British Airways has updated the flooring in the bathrooms compared to my previous visits. That’s a step in the right direction, but this still doesn’t exactly scream luxury.
The Concorde Room shares its shower suites with the Galleries First Lounge, though I believe Concorde Room guests are given priority access to the showers.
The shower suites are totally okay, but nothing special. They have a toilet, a sink, and a walk-in shower, with toiletries in reusable Elemis containers.
Let me also mention that back in the day, British Airways had an Elemis Spa in its lounge, but this has been permanently closed. Furthermore, while you could in the past reserve Cabanas (private living rooms of sorts), these aren’t available anymore, and it’s not clear to me if that’s temporary or permanent.
Bottom line
I struggle with the British Airways Concorde Room. It’s a comfortable place to pass some time, with a la carte dining, a great alcohol selection, and friendly service.
But we have to be objective, and the lounge simply can’t compete with some of the best first class lounges and ground services out there. The lounge has no more special amenities (they eliminated the spa and even workstations), charging ports are hard to come by, and the food quality wasn’t good, for some dishes that aren’t hard to execute well.
If you take the alcohol selection out of the equation, I’d argue that some of the best business class lounges in the world beat this lounge (like the Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge Doha or the Cathay Pacific Business Lounge Hong Kong).
As I often say, the truth is that the British Airways Concorde Room (and the first class experience overall) doesn’t really have to be any better than it is. British Airways dominates Heathrow, which is heavily slot controlled, and is the only truly global airline at the airport (Virgin Atlantic’s network can’t realistically compete). But let’s also not pretend that it’s anything special or amazing.
What’s your take on the British Airways Concorde Room?
Good evening All,
We flew First class early December 2023. And i have to agree, Concorde lounge is a big disappointment. The place is fine, but the amenities, and the service is just a national shame...
Firstly t is over crowed, secondly the food and beverage offering is extremely limited and cheap (Wine list is closer to an Air France Economy offering, than anything remotely first class), the bothersome to have to order food and...
Good evening All,
We flew First class early December 2023. And i have to agree, Concorde lounge is a big disappointment. The place is fine, but the amenities, and the service is just a national shame...
Firstly t is over crowed, secondly the food and beverage offering is extremely limited and cheap (Wine list is closer to an Air France Economy offering, than anything remotely first class), the bothersome to have to order food and drinks as there is no buffets, thirdly the staff is enterely from india and South east Asia which is not a problem as such but the expression of the cheap approach of BA for everything: outsourcing the service in yout flagship lounge to a contractor surely paying a minimum wage unqualified waiters, having no idea how to br eficient, no idea if there was a wine list and so on... Plus the strange feeling to be in Dehli in the last century, where white wealthy people are served by locals..
Compared to Lufthansa lounge or Air France were staff are properly trained and surely properly paid for there skills.
Those toilets and shower rooms illustrate peak British Nanny State culture. The UK has gone completely mad on health and safety regulations in the last 15 years, hence the non-slip flooring and uncomplicated fixtures. You'll also note the signage for BA's "allergen champions" near any food and drink in the lounges.
The problem with nanny state culture is that the more you treat people like children, the more they act like children which begets more nannying!
I have had access to the Concorde Room for many years as a GGLfL member. The food is generally poor with the odd exception. This is because the kitchen is managed by third party caterers who are screwed down on the food budget. For example the eggs are powdered, the orange juice is not freshly squeezed and the bread is not freshly baked. None of these things happen in the Cathay, Qatar or even Qantas...
I have had access to the Concorde Room for many years as a GGLfL member. The food is generally poor with the odd exception. This is because the kitchen is managed by third party caterers who are screwed down on the food budget. For example the eggs are powdered, the orange juice is not freshly squeezed and the bread is not freshly baked. None of these things happen in the Cathay, Qatar or even Qantas flagship lounges. Even in their premium lounge BA focus on minimising the food cost.
I have had access to the Concorde Room for many years as a GGLfL member. The food is generally poor with the odd exception. This is because the kitchen is managed by third party caterers who are screwed down on the food budget. For example the eggs are powdered, the orange juice is not freshly squeezed and the bread is not freshly baked. None of these things happen in the Cathay, Qatar or even Qantas...
I have had access to the Concorde Room for many years as a GGLfL member. The food is generally poor with the odd exception. This is because the kitchen is managed by third party caterers who are screwed down on the food budget. For example the eggs are powdered, the orange juice is not freshly squeezed and the bread is not freshly baked. None of these things happen in the Cathay, Qatar or even Qantas flagship lounges. Even in their premium lounge BA focus on minimising the food cost.
What happened to the horse with the lamp coming out of its head?
Do the shower drains still make 100 decibel noises?
The people demand answers!
The horses are still there, but they are in the BA First lounge, not the Concorde lounge.
Why on earth did you order a California-style avocado toast? I wouldn't order that in any restaurant in London. The move was to order the full English breakfast, which has always been a glorious thing even when British cuisine wasn't as good as it currently is.
One correction about guest entry.
Gold Guest list members flying in first class can bring in 2 guests.
The Concorde Room is just like any other BA lounge -- worn-out/mismatched/dated furniture, poor design, closed sections/facilities, substandard food, overcrowded, and lots of marketing hype. Not much different from the hard and soft product on the plane. I would take the Cathay, Qantas, or Virgin lounges at Heathrow anyday over the Concorde Room. But given the horrors of Heathrow, I'd much rather skip Heathrow altogether unless I'm visiting London.
We visited the Concorde Lounge in June as the last leg of a month’s vacation before returning home. My wife and I enjoyed the Lounge and its service on a busy afternoon. The Champagne is truly ‘first class’.
My first suggestion was to skip the Club’s lunch as we were flying FC to PHL. Fortunately, my wife suggested a light lunch. Then We sat on the tarmac for four hours as a storm passed...
We visited the Concorde Lounge in June as the last leg of a month’s vacation before returning home. My wife and I enjoyed the Lounge and its service on a busy afternoon. The Champagne is truly ‘first class’.
My first suggestion was to skip the Club’s lunch as we were flying FC to PHL. Fortunately, my wife suggested a light lunch. Then We sat on the tarmac for four hours as a storm passed through Heathrow.
Added point …our original flight to PHL was cancelled so we had to fly to EWR. BA was of little assistance the week before our flight in rebooking alternatives.
I once ran into Henry Kissinger in the Concorde Room so I have a fond memory and we had access to one of the Cabanas so it was enjoyable to have that much private space with a bed and shower. But the lack of any effort in First Class, insane fuel surcharges and a total disdain for English food makes London never on the itinerary. Brexit will be the final blow to the British economy.
You are clearly relying on old jokes about English cooking. If you care to be disabused of your opinion, look up London restauranteur Jeremy King and the Caprice Group. My wife has known the management team for 40 years.
As ever, it's till has "Sheraton Club Lounge" written all over it.
""These bathrooms feel like something you’d find in a hospital,"" and are referred to by many UK flyers as "NHS toilets" for that reason.
Can’t remember if I’ve ever had a good breakfast in an airport lounge. Lunch or supper is usually better. Maybe Ben should visit later in the day - tougher to get photos of an empty lounge, but at least he’ll get the chance to eat well.
Have never seen Laurent Perrier served in this lounge. It is listed in the blurb in first class on the plane, but even there have always been told it was finished. I have seen Laurent Perrier bottles being taken by the crew, and stuffed into their bags however. Would agree that all the food is rubbish in the lounge whatever your choice. It's similar to the buffet breakfast in a mid level hotel chain in...
Have never seen Laurent Perrier served in this lounge. It is listed in the blurb in first class on the plane, but even there have always been told it was finished. I have seen Laurent Perrier bottles being taken by the crew, and stuffed into their bags however. Would agree that all the food is rubbish in the lounge whatever your choice. It's similar to the buffet breakfast in a mid level hotel chain in England. The carpets are stained, the chargers don't work, and the english still have not mastered how a flushing toilet should work.
The only benefit is going through security quickly, and not having all the queues for scanning etc.
@UncleRonnie, try the Virgin Clubhouse or, even better, revivals. My partner still swears that her breakfast in Revivals in 2022 included the best eggs she has ever tasted -- and it's not like she hasn't eaten at some of the best restaurants in the world.
Small typo: "just look for the signage for the Galleries North Lounges" - it should be Galleries South.
Otherwise... spot on!
"like ... a hospital" is spot on !
While everyone is comparing BA's experience relative to other first class carriers, also compare BA's airfares to those other first class carriers as well. BA r/t F to JFK is $6k. AF is $12k to $14k. For dollar difference, I'll deal with it.
Well Lufrhansa first is in ball park of BA fares. The FCT and Onboard F experience on LH is moles better!
Is it? Usually the LH first has been in the ballpark of the AF options. That's been the case when originating in the UK anyway. When looking at 4-5k roundtrip for BA, 13-20k for the other european competitors it's usually clear that they are two very different products.
I’m not a regular in First class but I must say that the overall experience with BA is underwhelming in comparison with other carriers.
Whenever I have been there, the Concorde lounge was very busy. The journey between lounge and aircraft was totally lacking in a premium experience.
The Concorde Room proving the old saying: "BA First Class is one of the best Business Classes on the market." The food is meh, but my wife enjoys the champagne and tea service. I will say this, the Concorde Room beats the hell out of the BA First lounge.
Oh wow that’s a really funny way of saying it. Never heard that one before, very very creative!
Is that an attempt at embarrassment? :)
the calories in the menu looking like prices
Regular to CCR. The avocado toast is definitely disappointing and honestly I get a self serve fry up from the F lounge next door for breakfast but do like dinner.
You also missed that they’ve refurbished the taps in the bathrooms - they’re now black! No expense spared by BA.
Time for BA to bring in consultants and rethink the staffing and management.
The Concorde is parked in museums.
The Ritz Room?
Two remarks from my side:
1. First wing security will be closed in Q1/2024 (I don’t know the exact dates) for the installation on latest generation scanners.
2. Arguably the biggest downside of Concorde Room is the lack of power plugs. Apparently the interior designers thought that CR patrons no longer need to work …
Hard to believe but food quality has actually even improved slightly since Covid… But is definitely not up to where it was back in 2019. And it varies wildly from day to day. Specifically presentation. They must have some chefs who care about it and others just don't.
I had the same dishes (salmon as my go-to starter and duck confit as my go-to main) several times recently and it tasted and looked different every...
Hard to believe but food quality has actually even improved slightly since Covid… But is definitely not up to where it was back in 2019. And it varies wildly from day to day. Specifically presentation. They must have some chefs who care about it and others just don't.
I had the same dishes (salmon as my go-to starter and duck confit as my go-to main) several times recently and it tasted and looked different every time. From a beautiful, intricate presentation to just 'bashed on the plate'. Taste/seasoning was also different every time and usually in-line with the presentation quality…
It's a shame BA can't manage to have any consistency here (or on board for that matter…)
I think we need more Top 10’s and some Emirates reviews. Did you ever get round to reviewing Rwandair in business? Or are we sticking with Singapore Airline for now?
Your review echo’s my view also, the lounge staff are hearing rumours of a major refurbishment programme spanning the entire space currently housing the Galleries Business/First and the CCR, I hope this comes together as you say they need to up their game.
Bearing in mind that this is a lounge in the UK, you probably shouldn't be surprised that a California style breakfast wasn't to your taste. I've always (ie 2 out of 2 times) had the kippers which are really very good, so no complaints here.
So it's his fault for ordering the wrong food?!
Bluntly, yes. In any restaurant on earth, if you order food that is out of season or not local, don't be surprised if it's mediocre.
Avocados don't grow in Britain. Tomatoes are out of season in Europe at this time of year. Is it any surprise that the food was tasteless? It was only on the menu as a sop to Americans who have to eat American wherever they are.
Ben does not eat pork so his choices were limited. Moreover, the early AM lounges reviews are common on OMAAT.
@cbchicago, plenty of non-pork options on that menu that are both British and appropriate for the season...kippers, smoked salmon, porridge, various egg dishes. All would have been excellent.
As a Brit, I have never eaten a decent tomato here in winter, and I have rarely eaten a decent avocado at any time of the year. That California toast was never going to be worth eating.
Eat seasonal, eat local. If you don't, don't complain.
Haha good joke, you act as if you order an English breakfast in Concord Room it's gonna be any better.
Nice joke.
Agree with this. As soon as I saw the menu, I knew what Ben would order, and that it would be mediocre.
It's a bit like going to a steakhouse and ordering the fish dish.
RichM, quite. That wretched tomato will have been hydroponically grown in a heated Spanish greenhouse with barely 9 hours of feeble winter sun per day. It will have been picked rock-hard and under-ripe, refrigerated (which destroys flavour) and packed into a lorry for a 48 hour journey to London. So-called ripening would happen in a London warehouse. The fruit was probably a week old by the time Ben ate it. Its existence is a miracle...
RichM, quite. That wretched tomato will have been hydroponically grown in a heated Spanish greenhouse with barely 9 hours of feeble winter sun per day. It will have been picked rock-hard and under-ripe, refrigerated (which destroys flavour) and packed into a lorry for a 48 hour journey to London. So-called ripening would happen in a London warehouse. The fruit was probably a week old by the time Ben ate it. Its existence is a miracle of modern agriculture, transport and technology, but it was never going to taste like a soil-grown, fruit planted outdoors under the blazing summer sun - which is exactly what is needed for the centrepiece of a dish.
For anyone unfamiliar with British food, other things to avoid on that menu are yoghurt (almost always Greek-style rather than strained in the UK), breakfast cereals (mass-produced Frankenfood for those who value convenience and familiarity over quality), croissants and pain-au-chocolat (we have almost no bakeries in the UK that make these the French way).
Based on my experience of the Concorde Room, the fish, eggs and full English will have been very good.
For me, the best First Class lounges is ... the one I have access to when I travel to my destination. Most of the top rated first class lounges are in the middle east or Asia.
For transatlantic travel there are a few first class options. Air France, LH and Swiss may be better, but those first class tickets are harder to obtain, at least on miles with a fixed travel schedule.
The Concorde...
For me, the best First Class lounges is ... the one I have access to when I travel to my destination. Most of the top rated first class lounges are in the middle east or Asia.
For transatlantic travel there are a few first class options. Air France, LH and Swiss may be better, but those first class tickets are harder to obtain, at least on miles with a fixed travel schedule.
The Concorde room should be better than the BA Galleries lounges, is it better than the Virgin Clubhouse though ? When I visited the Concorde room several years ago, the food (lunch in my case) was much better compared to Ben's experience.
Agreed. My wife and I have had breakfast, lunch, and dinner there multiple times. It's never a disappointment. Chevre D'Or it is not. Emirates First it is not. But, it is certainly better than the Qantas first class lounge at LAX.
The food in the Air France La Premiere Lounge is without doubt the best. The quality as well as presentation, are outstanding.
Then you must also consider AF is very exclusive considering there are just 4 seats and with perhaps no
more than 25-30 at peak time.
It’s a pity as the UK has a wealth of great chefs /cooks. The avocado toast looked awful and out of place on a huge plate. I can prepare a better one.
Understand the airfare for AF F round trip to JFK or LAX is two to three times the airfare for BA. Typically $12k to $14k.
For that matter, the same goes for BA's airfare relative to Emirates and Singapore and . . .
Yes. Only 4 seats in an intimate space which are almost always occupied as customers are prepared to pay for top quality.
BA offers a denser cabin with 8-14 seats depending on the aircraft.
Similarly emirates has a massive entire floor dedicated to a first class lounge which isn’t personalised and more Las Vegas.
My wife and I have been in the Concorde Room many times. I have to agree with you that it's not of the same caliber as other well-known first class carriers. That being said, my wife had experienced it when the Concorde was still flying. It was top-notch back then. When Alex Cruz became CEO, everything changed. To set readers' expectations, I'd say that it's a step up from BA's "regular" first class lounge and I'd put it above the Qantas first class lounge at LAX.
PS - The Concorde Room at JFK T7 was quite elegant. While smaller, it was a top-notch experience. Sadly, the joint BA/AA Chelsea Lounge that replaced it is a pale shadow of it.
The Concorde Room at JFK T7 is still in use, complete with its furniture. It's now the Aer Lingus business class lounge. All you need to do to experience it is to fly Aer Lingus business class to Dublin or have status with Aer Lingus.