Review: the No1 Lounge at Edinburgh Airport
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This article is my review of the No1 Lounge at Edinburgh Airport.
A long layover at Edinburgh Airport last week gave me a chance to take a look at three of the lounges – No1 Lounge, Aspire (reviewed here) and the British Airways Galleries. I will take a look at all three over the next few days.
You can learn more about the lounge on the No1 Lounges website here.
I like No1 Lounges. There is something about their design aesthetic that appeals to me, and I have always found that their food offerings suited my tastes. I hadn’t been to the Edinburgh one before but I had a decent idea of what to expect.
The No1 Lounge is probably the most central of the lounges in the terminal, although that isn’t saying much. Aspire and the British Airways lounges are tucked away around a corner, about a minutes walk away. My British Airways 767 back to Heathrow departed from a gate opposite the No1 Lounge, so the BA lounge is clearly not next to any dedicated BA gates.
I got in using my Priority Pass, which comes with my American Express Platinum card (or you can buy one) and allows unlimited free lounge visits. It also accepts Lounge Club, which comes with American Express Gold (two free visits per year) or HSBC Premier’s LoungeKey card.
The London lounges operated by No1 Lounges are often very busy and will often refuse Priority Pass walk-ups because they are full. This was not a problem in Edinburgh on a midweek lunchtime. The lounge only had about 10 guests.
It occupies a large square space as you can see below:
There are four zones – a dining area with formal tables and semi-formal white chairs, an area with table but lower slung green comfy chairs, a boardroom table more suited for working (just visible at top right in my photo) and a very casual sofa-based seating area (top left). It is cleverly laid out with something for everyone.
The only thing it lacked was privacy. There are no hidden nooks or corners, which means there is nowhere to hide if your child (or travelling companion!) is playing up.
Hot food can be ordered from the bar. You are limited to one hot item per visit – you need to hand over the menu you are given on entry when ordering.
Breakfast options are a bacon roll, beans on toast, florentine quesadilla or toast and jam. For the rest of the day, you can currently choose from:
beef-filled Yorkshire pudding
forest mushroom risotto (can be done gluten free)
fish finger wrap (can be done dairy free)
beetroot and goat’s cheese salad (can be done vegan, gluten free or dairy free)
cheese and biscuits
I took the fish finger wrap, which was well presented although could have been a little warmer:
The buffet had a decent range of salads:
Drinks must be ordered at the bar. Standard drinks are free and you can pay for premium options – there was a variety of Moet & Chandon champagnes on offer.
Here a couple more general shots from different angles:
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If you wanted something to read, there was a small but high quality selection of magazines and newspapers by the entrance.
I liked the No1 Lounge at Edinburgh. I preferred it to the Aspire Lounge (see my other review) unless you need more privacy or want a hot food buffet, so pick No1 if you are using a Priority Pass, Lounge Club etc card.
It is a closer call between No1 and the British Airways lounge. The BA lounge, as my review will show, is bigger with more facilities but somehow feels less inspiring, and is a lot busier.
You can find out more about the lounge, and pre-book a cash visit, on the No1 Lounges website here.
How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (April 2024)
Here are the four options to get FREE airport lounge access via a UK credit card.
The Platinum Card from American Express comes with two free Priority Pass cards, one for you and one for a supplementary cardholder. Each card admits two so a family of four gets in free. You get access to all 1,300 lounges in the Priority Pass network – search it here.
You also get access to Eurostar, Lufthansa and Delta Air Lines lounges. Our American Express Platinum review is here. You can apply here.
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review
If you have a small business, consider American Express Business Platinum instead.
American Express Business Platinum
40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for the first year. It comes with a Priority Pass card loaded with four free visits to any Priority Pass lounge – see the list here.
Additional lounge visits are charged at £24. You get four more free visits for every year you keep the card.
There is no annual fee for Amex Gold in Year 1 and you get a 20,000 points sign-up bonus. Full details are in our American Express Preferred Rewards Gold review here.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard gets you get a free Priority Pass card, allowing you access to the Priority Pass network. Guests are charged at £24 although it may be cheaper to pay £60 for a supplementary credit card for your partner.
The card has a fee of £195 and there are strict financial requirements to become a HSBC Premier customer. Full details are in my HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard review.
HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard
A huge bonus, but only available to HSBC Premier clients Read our full review
PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.
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