Review: the impressive Malaysia Airlines lounge in London Heathrow Terminal 4
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There is my review of the Malaysia Airlines lounge in Heathrow Terminal 4.
You can find full details of Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounges on this page of their website.
This is part of our series of reviews of airport lounges across the UK. You see all of the reviews here.
EDIT: This lounge was permanently closed in 2021. It is possible it will reopen at some point under new management but you cannot use it at present.
As far as I can tell, I have visited every lounge in Terminals 2, 3 and 5 at Heathrow. There are still a couple of hold-outs in Terminal 4, however. I have now ticked Malaysia Airlines off the list and will be visiting the Gulf Air lounge in May. I will only be missing the King David Lounge in Terminal 4, but as El Al is not in an alliance I can’t see a way of penetrating that one unless the manager Plaza Premium gives me a tour. Whether I would then get a certificate from the airport remains to be seen!
Inside the Malaysia Airlines lounge at Heathrow
I visited the Malaysia Airlines lounge after my tour of the new A350-900 aircraft which I covered here. It was very quiet by this point, as most passengers had already moved down to the gate.
I walked in with absolutely no prior knowledge of the space whatsoever. Unlike most lounges, I had never read a review of this one and I had never heard any feedback from anyone who had used it. What I found therefore came as a very pleasant surprise.
There are two key things you should know about the Malaysia Airlines lounge:
it has some of the most amazing views of any lounge at Heathrow – because it was built as a tiny extension to Terminal 4, and does not use an existing space, the airline was able to get wrap-around floor-to-ceiling glass walls on one side. You can even see Windsor Castle on the horizon.
it has a dedicated First Class / Business Suite area with restaurant-style dining which can also be accessed by British Airways Gold card holders and oneworld Emerald equivalents
This means, for clarity, that if you are flying on Qatar Airways from Terminal 4 at a time when the Malaysia Airlines lounge is open (the times are listed below) then you could use the Malaysia Airlines lounge instead. British Airways Gold members would have access to the First Class area. There are no other oneworld airlines flying from Terminal 4 (I think).
The Business Class / British Airways Silver / oneworld Sapphire area
When I arrived breakfast was still out. The seating was broken down into a number of areas. You have a dining area:
…. and the main seating area:
These pictures don’t really give you a proper feel, however, because the huge glass windows give a sense of light and space you don’t really pick up. Looking one way you see the Jet, Gulf and Saudia aircraft:
…. whilst the Malaysia Airlines A350 is off to the left:
This gives you a good impression of how much you can see:
This nondescript circular space:
…. is actually a small kids playroom. This is one reason why you might want to choose the Malaysia Airlines lounge over the Qatar Airways facility.
Here was the breakfast buffet on the Business Class side:
Hot options included nasi lemak, chicken sambal, mee goreng, chicken sausage, plain omelettes, beans, mushrooms and lyonnaise potatoes. There are also cold options:
As it is always a bug-bear of mine, I should mention that there was a small but suitably upmarket selection of newspapers and magazines.
There is also a bar in the lounge which I didn’t photograph.
The Business Suite (First Class) / British Airways Gold / oneworld Emerald area
The Malaysia Airlines lounge team was very proud to stress their catering credentials. Long-term readers will know that I have always said that the Qatar Airways lounge in Terminal 4 has the best food in Heathrow. According to the Malaysia team, however, Qatar Airways has recently switched caterers and much of the food in its lounge is no longer cooked fresh. Malaysia Airlines still cooks all of its lounge food on the premises.
This is the dining area. Remember that there are only FOUR Business Suite seats on the aircraft, so I doubt it gets busy. The only other people here would be oneworld Emerald / BA Gold card holders.
The hot buffet options at breakfast include chicken curry puffs, sweet potato curry puffs, vegetable spring rolls, vegetable samosas, paratha and dal curry.
I’m not sure what a la carte options are also available at breakfast. I did pick up the evening menu, where the ‘cooked to order’ options were:
- fish and chips with mushy peas and tartare sauce
- mee goreng
- oxtail stew
- vegetarian tempura
…. with vegetarian spring rolls as an appetiser and chocolate fondant or bubur pulut hitam for dessert.
Once you’ve finished dining, you can retire to this slightly eclectic First Class corner or go back into the main area to enjoy the views.
Conclusion
Given that Malaysia Airlines has just two flights per day out of Heathrow, and with only a relatively small Business Class cabin, I was impressed by what I saw in its Heathrow lounge.
I haven’t tried the a la carte food (I did try the buffet, which was good) and I have no idea how busy it gets, but I doubt anyone would be disappointed by a visit here.
If you are flying on Qatar Airways and want to try the Malaysia Airlines lounge, it opens four hours before the departure of the two MH flights. This means around 7am for the 11am flight and then again around 5.35pm for the 9.35pm flight.
Thanks to the Malaysia Airlines team for my tour. You can learn more about Malaysia Airlines lounges on their website here.
How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (March 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.
SPECIAL OFFER: You receive a huge 120,000 Membership Rewards points if you apply for American Express Business Platinum by 9th April 2024. You receive 80,000 points for spending £12,000 within 90 days and a further 40,000 points if you retain the card for 14 months. Click here to apply.
American Express Business Platinum
Crazy 120,000 points bonus (to 9th April) 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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