Aspire lounge in Heathrow Terminal 5 – official photos and the official entry rules

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

• Hemz says:

  4 Aug4 August 09:54

  Hello all! I’m flying BA Club World on Friday using 2-4-1 (thanks to Rob and everyone on here). Will be my first time. I hope to enjoy it even though everyone says other airlines have far better business class products.
  I also have the Amex Platinum. Can anyone tell me which of the Lounges in T5 is the best for CW? (My flight is at 10:45am if that makes a difference). Any restrictions on me using the BA lounge and nipping off to the Aspire Lounge too?

  • R says:

    4 Aug4 August 10:03

    BA lounges by far. If you’re flying from satellite B, then the lounge in t5b. Otherwise galleries north is my preferred one. The aspire lounges are a joke and I can’t understand why people get excited about them – always full so half of the time you’re turned away, poor food offering, paid drinks and showers… Come on… For 40 quid, i’d rather grab a steak and a glass of Malbec at gaucho and then go to the airport, rather than arrive 3 hours early to enjoy a pack of crisps and a warm pint of Stella…

  • Rob says:

    4 Aug4 August 11:46

    The quietest lounge is the one in 5B. However, BA (under orders, apparently, from Heathrow to keep people in the shops in the main terminal) only announces that flights are off 5B quite late. It is worth asking at check-in if they know the gate (they will, the plane will already be on it, being cleaned) and then head directly to 5B if it is there. If it is off 5C, you can still go to 5B and then go back to the train and head on to 5C nearer departure.

    If 5A, then they are much of a muchness. I prefer Galleries North – there is something about the layout that I find preferable to Galleries South.

    • Alan says:

      4 Aug4 August 11:48

      Interesting – I tend to use Galleries North when on a domestic flight (as the low numbered gates are at that end, beneath the lounge) but on long-hauls prefer to go to Galleries South as I generally find it quieter. Of course when I then got Gold I would nip to the First Lounge at South for a hot meal anyway 😉

    • Hingeless says:

      4 Aug4 August 13:13

      I didn’t know BA cleaned its planes, I thought they just picked up the newspapers off the floor in Club

      • Lady London says:

        4 Aug4 August 13:41

        🙂

      • YL says:

        4 Aug4 August 19:25

        Same here. 3 out of my last 4 BA shorthaul flight setas were dirty with crumbs and stains…..

• Godfrey says:

  4 Aug4 August 09:56

  I popped in this morning (6am), only one other person, i was told not serving hot food, but will start in the next days/weeks. no newspapers, but can’t believe this is permanent ! Nice, bright and airy. Quite small so might get a bit overcrowded. I will check it out again in a couple of weeks. I left to get papers and breaky from BA lounge only to be told Munich flight leaving from C gates, so grabbed papers and left for C gates and no lounge, come on BA get a lounge in C gates, or at least give us back our mini bottle of champagne for the inconvenience !!!

• The_Real_A says:

  4 Aug4 August 10:28

  OT – Just a reminder that Tesco Clubcard double up has started on all products at Tesco Direct.

  At 2p/point – I value this ahead of Avios conversation (based on the fact im unable to see any sensible availability for the rest of the year on the routes i need, and i can get an ex-eu Turkish J seat for not much more than the tax on a BA redemption)

  • Rob says:

    4 Aug4 August 11:42

    Yes, I saw this last night by accident. It is a shame we are at the wrong point in the Apple upgrade cycle because I would have jumped on a new iPad. Unfortunately, if I buy one now it will be have been superceded within 6 weeks.

    • The_Real_A says:

      4 Aug4 August 12:36

      I was considering a phone too, but it was £100 more than Amazon so the numbers didnt quite add up. Im still suprised at the vast range from Tesco Direct…

  • Brian says:

    4 Aug4 August 12:23

    Don’t forget that RedSpottedHanky offer 2x face value for train tickets, so if you are buying the train tickets anyway and don’t need/want to go via some other seller, then that is also a definite 2p per point.

  • Fenny says:

    4 Aug4 August 22:57

    I’m frustrated that for my £67 of vouchers, they’ve given me £50, £15.50 and £1.50. Not very easy to split when you want to spend £5 or £10 to double up and use the rest for assorted things, as the “change” comes back as points so not available as vouchers until the next statement date.

• Liz says:

  4 Aug4 August 17:58

  Out of interest, should Amex Platinum supplementary card holders receive their PP card automatically or does it need to be requested. I’ve had one for about a year as the main cardholder but my husband doesn’t have one….

  • Rob says:

    4 Aug4 August 18:38

    Not sure. What I do know is that’s wife’s was not renewed automatically this year (she is my supp) and I had to call Amex to get it.

    • Simon Spanswick says:

      4 Aug4 August 19:19

      This happened with me a couple of years ago. I was told then that if the supplementary PP card had not been used, a renewal would not be issued, except on request.

      • Liz says:

        4 Aug4 August 21:01

        Ok thanks both shall give them a call

      • Rob says:

        4 Aug4 August 21:25

        That is possible. This was for a one-off flight from T2 on Aer Lingus where she wanted to use Plaza Premium because she dislikes the Aer Lingus lounge. I think every other flight she has done in the last year was BA.

• Andy says:

  4 Aug4 August 19:25

  Hi, do u get free champagne in the BA lounges in T5? If so which champagne is it? Thanks.

  • Oliver says:

    4 Aug4 August 20:48

    Yes

    Galleries Club – I don’t know but not a famous name
    Galleries First – Tattinger Prelude (I think) and Castelenau Rose
    CCR – LP Grand Siecle

  • Rob says:

    4 Aug4 August 21:24

    Yes, still Taittinger (the £45 a bottle version) in Galleries First which is surprisingly impressive.

    • John says:

      4 Aug4 August 23:19

      I was at the galleries lounge at LGW – Antoine de Castelnau Champagne is now in self service at the wine bar. Great improvement!

• Johnny5a says:

  4 Aug4 August 20:23

  Have you seen the opening times? They’re closed from 6 Aug to 31 August.

  • jeff says:

    4 Aug4 August 21:47

    Which opening times? #confused

  • Arthur says:

    6 Aug6 August 13:16

    On executivelounges.com it lists the opening hours under the heading :”Normal opening times”, followed immediately by a calendar saying “We are closed all day on” and listing every day in August. Without any further qualification.

    Thanks to helpful support staff at ExecutiveLounges.com (who admitted that they too were confused when they looked it), I learned that the latter comment refers only to online bookings.

• karen says:

  4 Aug4 August 20:57

  Priority pass,lets you in to the new T5 aspire lounge, with one free guest and is for 3 hours.hours. BA lounge is for business and first class passengers.on my they do have shower facilities,they have the relax pods area,hot and cold food and drinks.the bliss spa are £20 for a 20 minute appointment,you can pay the fee of 39.99 to gain access as a walk in,there is also another card which admits entry as a leisure card and is a pay as you go option.the lounge has TV areas,and flight information screens,it has a good variety of food and drinks.

  • Leo says:

    5 Aug5 August 15:38

    You need to be specific about WHICH Priority Pass you are talking about. We don’t all have PP via Amex even when we have the “full” PP version as available through the website – as per Rob’s explanation above. Standard full PP will still pay for a guest unless obtained via Amex.

• Phil says:

  7 Aug7 August 17:32

  Absolute rip off of £39.99

  No hot food as advertised. Only stale sandwich and slice of cake!

  After entering and finding out there was no food as advertised I asked for a refund and I would leave, however the Manager Joe Olival refused. Now taking it up with my Credit Card company.

  • Rob says:

    7 Aug7 August 19:34

    Sounds like my 11am visit on Thursday!

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.