Review: the British Airways Concorde Room lounge at London Heathrow Terminal 5

This is my review of the British Airways Concorde Room lounge at London Heathrow Terminal 5.

This is part of our series of reviews of airport lounges across the UK.  You see all of the reviews here.

The Concorde Room is the flagship British Airways lounge at Terminal 5 with a sister lounge at JFK in New York.  It is only open to passengers holding a First Class flight ticket or who hold a Concorde Room card, given out for earning 5,000 tier points in a year.

The name is a carry-over from the days when Concorde was still flying and British Airways was based in Terminal 4.  The Concorde Room was the dedicated departure lounge for that service – it was the only BA lounge which allowed you to board the plane directly from the lounge.

(Where can you do this at Heathrow today?  The Emirates Lounge in Terminal 3 allows direct boarding.  Any others?)

You enter the Concorde Room through the white door which is found immediately after passing through South Security in Terminal 5.  There is no need to take the escalators down into the shopping area and then back up again.  According to urban legend, this was a late design change when Terminal 5 was being built and British Airways had to pay a huge financial penalty to the airport owner.  I have seen sums as high as £14m quoted in the past, designed to offset the lost commission from Concorde Room visitors no longer passing the shops.

Rather like the Plaza Premium lounge in Terminal 2 which I reviewed recently, The Concorde Room is a little lacking in natural daylight – although some does come in from the large terrace.  The dark ‘executive’ colour scheme used for the furnishings does not help.

The Elemis spa is situated outside The Concorde Room which is why I did not photograph it.  If you are holding a First Class reservation you can now book spa treatments in advance which does mean you have a decent chance of getting a slot.  It also means that Club World passengers in Galleries First have almost no chance.

Similarly, I did not visit the cabanas, where you can reserve a private room for a rest during a long connection.  This is potentially the main selling point of the lounge.

Here are a few shots:

and

and

and

and

and

and

and

and

As you can see, there is nothing earth shattering about the architecture.  The standout feature is the private booths available for dining.  The quality of the food, unfortunately, is not noticeably better than what is served in Galleries First – and presumably they use the same kitchen.  If you are expecting the sort of gourmet delights offered by Lufthansa in the First Class Terminal in Frankfurt, for example, you are out of luck.  My eggs benedict, above, is looking a little lost.

The bar does look impressive.  However, unless you want a cocktail, you may prefer the self-pour approach used in Galleries First.  There is nothing in The Concorde Room to match the impressive champagne bar in Galleries First.

If you need to work, there is a totally separate room with four PCs and two printers.  This is an improvement over the open plan work area in Terminal 5 – you do get a proper desk and chair here.

All in all, this is a perfectly ‘sound’ lounge.  Like much of the British Airways First Class offering, it does the job in a satisfactory way without ever attempting to reach greatness.

BA has an official website for the Concorde Room if you want to find out more.

PS.  The first British Airways screw-up of the day occurred here.  When I checked in, I was told that my flight was delayed by 20 minutes.  This was repeated to me when I entered The Concorde Room.  However, at some point between entering the lounge and the flight departing, the 20 minute delay disappeared.  At no point did anyone bother to find me and tell me.  It was only by coincidence that I realised, very close to the cut-off time, that the flight was no longer delayed.  And, as an A380 departure, I then had to get myself over to Terminal 5C in record time …..

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.