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Skytrax reveals the top 10 independent airport lounges – two are at Heathrow

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Skytrax, the company best known for its airline quality rankings (you have probably seem airline ads trumpeting their ‘5-star Skytrax Airline’ credentials), has published its list of the top 10 independent airport lounges.

Note that it is not clear what the methodology was.  Skytrax rankings are generally based on reader feedback but they do not have massive coverage of airport lounges, especially third party ones.

Here is top 10 for 2017:

Plaza Premium Heathrow 2

1 Plaza Premium Lounge, Heathrow Terminal 2 

2 Centurion Lounge, New York La Guardia

3 Plaza Premium Lounge, Hong Kong

4 Centurion Lounge, Dallas Fort Worth

5 SATS Premier, Singapore Terminal 1

6 Aspire by Swissport, Heathrow Terminal 3

7 Plaza Premium Lounge, Vancouver

8 dnata Lounge, Singapore Terminal 1

9 Centurion Lounge, Las Vegas

10 Plaza Premium Lounge, Brisbane

I have only been to two of these lounges – Aspire in Heathrow Terminal 3, which I reviewed here, and Plaza Premium in Heathrow Terminal 2, reviewed here and photo below.

I do rate both of these facilities highly.  Aspire has a small communal nap area which is rare in independent lounges, and of course is brand new.  (As the lounge is brand new – it opened in October 2016 – the ranking cannot be based on the volume of positive reports.)  Plaza Premium in Terminal 2 at Heathrow is a very classy facility with impressive food offerings, although it has no natural light.

I would also put Plaza Premium at Heathrow Terminal 4 up there, probably ahead of Aspire in Heathrow Terminal 3.

I’m surprised to see nothing from No 1 Lounges up there, although the Gatwick North facility suffered badly last year due to being used as BA’s overflow lounge.  I haven’t been to the new Gatwick South No 1 Lounge yet (Anika reviewed it here) but my ‘hard hat’ visit before it opened made me feel that it should be an unbeatable combo of size, views and No 1 service quality.  As always, though, awards such as these must be subjective.

The majority of these lounges can be accessed with a Priority Pass card (buy one here, or get one free with an American Express Platinum) or a Lounge Club card (two free visits with the free American Express Preferred Rewards Gold).

PS.  If you’re wondering what a Centurion Lounge is, I explained them in this article.  They are American Express-owned lounges which can be accessed by Platinum and Centurion American Express cardholders.

PPS.  The Plaza Premium Lounge in Heathrow Terminal 5 is now under construction as I reported here

Getting airport lounge access for free from a credit card

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.

Category

General

Comments (37)

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

  • Alex W says:
    26 Jun26 June 10:07

    I went to the Centurion lounge at DFW and didn’t think it was anything to write home about. Partly because it was packed – presumably all these lounges will now be even more packed after the Skytrax article!

  • startupflyer says:
    26 Jun26 June 10:18

    The Centurion lounge choices are odd, the one in San Francisco is far better than Las Vegas or La Guardia. The Seattle lounge is nice, glad to hear its been expanded, it was a little on the cosy side. The staff and service levels in the Centurion lounges has been consistently excellent anytime I have visited them.

  • Dan says:
    26 Jun26 June 11:22

    I’m surprised Centurion lounges haven’t been opened up in other locations.

    slightly off topic but does anyone know why Emirates gets rated a 4-star when it consistently wins Skytrax airline of the year awards?

  • Scottydogg says:
    26 Jun26 June 13:01

    Ive got priority pass and im travelling through LHR terminal 3 , after I looked at what is on offer through the PP app , I thought No 1 Lounge looked better for us , but we have 2 kids to amuse so the idea of the games room and cinema was more appealing for us . Perhaps if we were just 2 adults , we would find this Aspire lounge more appealing

  • Andy E says:
    26 Jun26 June 13:12

    Was impressed by the quality of the food in both Sydney and Las Vegas Centurion lounges. A big advantage (for me anyway) is that with a Platinum Charge, you can bring in all family members (and with some supplementaries presumably an extended family too).

  • Artem says:
    26 Jun26 June 13:32

    We are travelling from Terminal 5 soon with 2 kids on CW, no BA status, and also have PP.
    What lounge would you recommend?

    • Klaus-Peter Dudas says:
      26 Jun26 June 14:17

      BA Club Lounge. Use the fast-track security away from First Class and go to the lounge straight after security.

      • Rob says:
        26 Jun26 June 15:41

        Yes, definitely. Use the new private Fast Track at the far, far north end of the terminal (get your taxi to drop you by the first set of doors, or just walk straight forward as you exit the tube lift). You will be in the lounge in less than 5 minutes from entering the terminal if you’re not checking in a bag (and it is quiet).

    • Gavin says:
      26 Jun26 June 14:38

      Galleries 5B as in all probability in CW you will travel from 5B or 5C

      • Artem says:
        26 Jun26 June 15:19

        Galleries 5B it is! I’ll double check the gate. Thanks Gavin. I hope they will serve something for breakfast in contrast to what Rob experienced at 5pm.

  • Lounge Lizzard says:
    26 Jun26 June 14:15

    Flying BA Y short haul out of T3 in August. O/W Sapphire/PP.
    Am I correct in saying the best choice (in order) would be CX Business lounge, then Aspire? Anything else worthy of a visit?

    On return back into T3….(before transferring to T5 domestic) can I access the AA Arrivals lounge (is it worth it / any other options, other than T5 Galleries?)

    Thanks

    • Rob says:
      26 Jun26 June 15:41

      Qantas if it is open, but I think they are saying September now.

      Try BA as well, purely for comparison with Cathay.

  • Scott says:
    26 Jun26 June 18:10

    Anyone have lounge experiences for a ZRH departure to another schengen country? Lounge club shows 5 lounges at ZRH, but I can’t work out which of these will be accessible from my departure terminal/gates.

    • Genghis says:
      26 Jun26 June 20:16

      PP has the Swiss lounge in the Schengen terminal which isn’t too bad. Not sure if there’s access with LC

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