British Airways First Lounge in Hillingdon

Amazing experience through and through. After passing through First security, you will immediately be at the Lounge. There are a lot of seats available and it was very cosy - though it can be quite crowded at peak periods. There is a wide variety of food available for lunch - buffet style. There are also bars where you can order alcohol, champagne etc. Overall, an amazing experience and made out wait for our flight very comfortable.

I am a oneworld emerald member. When I entered, it was so crowded that I couldn't find a seat. But the service was great!

I will update this review with pictures later, but the environment is classy with great views and delicious food. The tables are a bit low, so if you do want a full meal it might be easier to eat in the dining area of the lounge. Wonderful team and staff and everyone is very helpful, and I like the in-order drinks directly to the table or seat.

Usually quite a good lounge, unfortunately some of the staff aren’t able to uphold to that. Rude cleaner to both me & my partner while checking if a toilet stall was occupied or not, having a go at both of us on seperate occasions and calling me blind. Great start to a trip, otherwise it is a nice lounge with good amenities , just a shame about some of the staff.

We were there mid-morning and seem to have dodged the overcrowding that others have mentioned. The staff were attentive - especially when requesting changes to our booking - and the buffet was well-stocked with a myriad of options catering for vegetarians, etc. This was a great way to refresh and relax before a long-haul flight.

British Airways truly knows how to treat its top customers. Skipping the line at First security and entering the lounge directly adds a special touch to the experience!

First class lounge in Terminal 5 South. The alcohol and drinks were average, and the food was British, so I thought it was something like that. The curry was delicious. It was so crowded that it took a while to find a seat because it was slow to collect glasses and plates from customers who had disappeared.

My recent three hour layover in this lounge gave me a lot of time to consider its myriad flaws and disappointments. The customer is definitely not at the center of what they do in this lounge: SEATING/SERVICE Good luck finding a clean spot to sit. Glasses and plates strewn everywhere. Passengers were having to clear tables themselves. Meanwhile staff were hanging around TV monitors watching either the soccer or cricket games that were playing at the time. FOOD This is bad people. BA is not the "world's airline" it claims to be when it comes to food. The buffet is a sad, sub-standard, sloppy, unappealing carb-dense array of tired old British fare. A world away from the high quality offered by Qantas and Cathay in their First Class Lounges. American Airlines Flagship Lounges are 3 or 4 times better than BA First. Staff also fed from the buffet whisking their plates off to a nearby office to watch the soccer with their manager. Coffee machines were out of order, glasses were not restocked, everything was messy. RESTROOMS/SHOWERS The number of showers and toilets is woefully deficient for the number of customers. Expect long waits for both. OVERALL British Airways cost-cutting and outsourcing measures are on full display to its clientele at this location. Once again they miss the opportunity to surprise and delight their customers. Expect a low-quality experience with cheap, bulky, unhealthy food.

The speed of passing through security & being in the lounge is amazing - 6 mins from car park to lounge seat is my record. It is spacious & comfortable. The food is average. The coffee has to be the worst cup of coffee in the world. Those Union machines are awful, leaving ground coffee in the water & it tastes disgusting. The wireless charging pads rarely work. Under table storage is convenient.

A fine collection of books food and drinks (always love a champagne bar!!)- while it’s a big lounge there’s usually a high amount of traffic here. The options for food are always plentiful and caters to many different tastes. I would highly recommend sitting out by the atrium to watch the planes taking off and landing May 2024 update: the showers and lavatories are all in temporary units so you may not have there best accommodations…. But there’s usually available

The world’s least favorite airline now does not allow you through the first class lounge before 9,30 am unless you have cleared security 45 mins before boarding. They do not write this down but we learnt the hard way.

Only vegan food. No table service for food. By 2000hrs all food was being cleared .

Great people and overall nice sparse lounge, doesn’t feel too crowded and drink selection is good.

I appreciate the quick service and separate security. The lounge is beautiful and well lit. We came twice during our trip. English breakfast was nice except for the eggs which were made with milk. Cakes were moist. Johnny walker black highball was delicious. Lunch food was good though a tad overcooked.

Nice place for a layover with lots of food options and amenities

The food options are very poor in the morning compared to other lounges or even First Class lounges. Basically the offered the typical English Breakfast items, which I personally don’t like, and pancakes. The somewhat positive thing here were the beverage selections. The lounge itself is nicely and brightly designed, but it was way too busy at the time of my visit on a Thursday early morning. The staff was nice at least.

A recent refresh of the furniture and this is a very nice space.

A bit too crowded when we visited and no a-la-carte menus but enjoyed good food and drink options.

We travelled 1st class on our way to New York via BA . A bit over priced for what you get but we wanted best of the best. 5 stars

Lovely quiet lounge, nice food, great drinks.

BA should be ashamed to call this a “First” lounge. The only nice thing about this lounge is the separate check in wing and the security (which is closed at the moment). Otherwise there’s absolutely nothing special about it. They’ve cut the service over the years so that this is on par with the ordinary Club lounges. Nothing more.

Overcrowded, food offering okay but the food was overcooked, salty and unpalatable. Too much people and people were talking on their phones and it was very noisy. Not a good environment to be in. They should set a quiet area. Cleaning up service is good though. There was only 8 individual toilets for the entire lounge and that’s unacceptable.

Updated 2023.11.23. If you have a high enough privilege rank, Emerald status, you may approach and enter or be the guest of one. Showers are available if you need to refresh yourself. The food is on one end of the lounge, with quite a large variety of offerings, drinks. The penne with mushrooms and the chocolate cake were both particularly tasty. Then there's the more regular food for the masses. The baked beans, bacon, sausage, potatoes, eggs, croissants, mini pies, juices. It's quite a bit better than their business lounge being less crowded and better food. Heathrow airport is an unpleasant airport to be in, and having access to a lounge to relax and enjoy some food and drinks is a nice escape from the airport travel for a short time.

Great views of the aircraft . Food and beverage generally good.

What can I say? One of the best lounges in the world. Good, drinks, everything. And I have been everywhere, on all continents.... It is free for exec club members Gold and above :)

There is a decent amount of seating though not all seats have power which is disappointing. There are no seats with power in the terrace. Food is good but nothing special. Good selection of alcohol and a couple of Champagne options. They don't make announcements in the lounge which is nice so it's fairly quiet. Overall one of the better lounges in Heathrow.

Nice lounge but busy, hard to find a good place to sit and relax, just really crowded every time I’ve been.

Very limited food options and unnecessary loud music when I visited this time. I don't understand why the toilets are mixed now! They were really dirty and way below standards.

Lots of places but can be busy during peak periods. Some, seats not have seat in power. Love the restrooms are very private, each with own door privaty. Also has a great section to rest. Food selection is good, usually English food.

Probably the worst 1st class lounge in the western world compared to the global standards for first class. This used to be a proper 1st class lounge, now you get a run down cafe style buffet, over crowded space, bathrooms always full, underwhelming.

A little bit war m but it is a nice lounge with drinks and good food

An underwhelming and overcrowded first lounge relative to global competition. Hard to find a seat, pretty ordinary buffet with classic British stodgy processed foods and unrefrigerated drinks. No real incentive to do better given monopoly on LHR / even worse offers from US competitors flying transatlantic routes, but nowhere close to what’s offered by Asian and Middle Eastern carriers at their hubs.

Interesting that the British Airways Lounge in JFK in New York served traditionally English food, and this lounge, at Heathrow served more exotic options, at least during my visits. Both lounges were solid in terms of food and service.

As the BA executive gold tire member, one of the benefits to use this lounge regardless of the cabin you fly. I didn't have any food in the lounge this time but the rose champagne went down nicely before my flight. Much quieter in this lounge and nicely organised compared to other BA lounges in T5. Annoyingly, there was a particular guy who didn't shut up the whole time and continuously on various business calls so the entire lounge could hear his business proposal. 🥱🙄 Other than that, the staff is very attentive and friendly.

Both outward journey and return journey plagued with an hour delay on departure. Business and cattle class no difference in terms of seating. My return journey seat smelt strongly of vomit and this was endured for 5 hour flight as I had to return to UK for work. British Airways is now a low rent airline, would never fly again. For fair comparison, recently flew 50 min flight from Amaan to Larnaca Cyprus with Royal Jordanian and was offered food and drink (water, sandwich, desert) complimentary. 5hrs with British Airways and was offered nothing free of charge.

Decent enough lounge offering for status holders. Food is good, but lounge is always busy.

El South es muy grande y tiene distintas áreas con diferentes asientos. No hay gran variedad de comida para el que no come lo típico British. El North es la mitad en tamaño. La misma comida pero y menos oferta. Lo peor fue que ayer había un ratón corriendo por debajo de la barra que está frente a la cocina. Avisé y ya estaban al tanto.

We were directed to the lounge by BA staff from the other side of the airport. There was nil signposts or direction from ground staff and we wasted 35 mins walking to get here. On arrival the lounge was crowded spent 10 mins looking for a seat! Food was ok but limited it was at 11.30am. There was abundant beverages (cold &hot drinks).

Toilets a bit dated. Whole place needs a refresh really

Lovely stay as always. Slightly long wait for the showers - advise checking in with the when you first arrive. The curry was really good today.would be lovely if the bar could put a little thought to a creative nonalcoholic drink of the day.

I’m regular guest in this first class lounge but now it’s time to tell something about the quality of the food and services. In term of food I think quality is dropping too much from 3/4 years and now it is much better having a lunch/diner on the plane in business class than stay here in first class lounge. BA people are always very polite but in this facility, with hundreds of guest, you can find just 8 male toilets with a long queue. As gold member from many years, I would suggest BA to give us a voucher to use in some other restaurants in LHT and save money. I’m really regret to write this but hope someone can rethink about the level of a first class lounge has to have in London.

This place is dreadful. A real feel of upstairs/downstairs whereby the very nice staff speak very little English and the clientele treat them poorly by believing that they are first class passengers, when in reality this is a business class zoo for those with airmiles status.

I like this lounge, and it's become a place where I can relax before a flight. I travel a fair bit and I appreciate being able to come here and spend a few hours away from the crowds before my flight. The priority entrance is great for skipping large queues at security. The buffet is well stocked and breakfast is good there. If you're sitting a little further away, it can be ordered to your table via the app which is quick. I'd prefer if there were outlets in the dining area but the work area is good if you need to plug in. The toilets are big and clean, but there aren't really enough of them, there always seems to be a queue and as they are individual toilets, there are quite often women using the men's toilets. Are there better lounges around the world? Sure, but this is the best one for my needs and it has everything I need.

The showers were filthy, and the stench in the whole area is unbearable. The shower drain makes all huge racket the entire time you're trying to refresh ourself. The food is poor at best. Dry, stale croissants and zero decent coffee options apart from a machine. No oatmilk coffee options. But worse is all the staff are utterly miserable and unwelcoming/unhelpful. This is clearly down to bad management from the top and unnecessary budget constraints. Happy and helpful staff are the result of good management. End of.

One of the better lounges I’ve been in for vegan food- they have tea sandwiches with vegan cheese! There are options at the buffet and a vegan curry you can order to your table. Also had quite a variety of serve-yourself champagne. Usually the ‘view of the runway’ that lounges mention is meh but the giant windows in this huge space is rather enjoyable. Can be tough to find- read the directions they give closely.

Spacious lounge, very comfortable options from sleep pods to lounge chairs to counter seating overlooking the runways. Fast table service for food, great bar and drink selection. Overall a great place to refresh and recharge durning a journey.

This is the lounge that gold card members can use. Since BA lowered its status requirements allowing for more gold members, it has become busy but not unreasonably so. Food is now ordered via a QR code menu rather than queuing up, which I prefer. My vegetable curry was pretty decent and the drinks came quickly. My preferred lounge remains the BA galleries lounge at the B Pier, which tends to be much quieter. For that a silver card (OneWorld sapphire) will do. That's because this lounge isn't really a quantum leap from the 'normal' lounges. Slightly better food and drink selection. Note that if you have a long layover there are sleep pods past the WCs

Was travelling from LHR to BOM and the flights was delayed by more than 2 hours so rested at the first class lounge and was a wise decision. Amazing view of the run way from the lounge. Food was good, had good variety for starters as well as main course including options for salads. Tried two cocktails Manhattan & Negroni.

Great lounge, with nice food and drinks. Run out of rosé champagne for the last 2 weeks, and been a lot busier. Can be hard to find a seat at rush hour, so lost a star. Staff are very helpful and friendly.

Large lounge, which I visited twice. Both times the lounge was very busy. A few food options, some cook to order and also some self service.

Truly a stand out airport lounge in London's (LHR) Terminal 5. While the amenities have diminished in the post COVID era, this is still a premium experience club. Pros: Direct access from dedicated First class (One World Emerald) check in, Staffed baggage storage, good food and bev Cons: Like many clubs these days it can get very busy/crowded

10 hour layover, crowded when we arrived midmorning, but by 930PM it had cleared out. A lot of the charging ports are not working, so that sharing with strangers away from your seat is needed, but chairs are comfortable, alcohol is top shelf and food is good.

Quite a spacious lounge with lots of space between seats. There is a separate balcony with some really great views of the tarmac. Shower facilities are offered as well as napping pods and numerous places to work. The Buffett is probably the best that I have ever seen at a lounge. There is also ordering on demand from your seat for a more limited selection of food but it does include cocktails. LHR is so big that this lounge does fill up but if that’s the case, just be patient and you’ll find a seat in 10’ or so.

Experiencia que es bueno vivir, la atención súper.

Over crowded. BA needs to expand this lounge. Walking around for fifteen minutes to try and find a seat is not a good start. Staff friendly. Food drink is good but it's all a bit cafeteria

The “First” security line was long and slow, but arriving in the lounge to a full champagne bar helped set the stage for a short relax before we had to head the gate. Large assortment of snacks and meals were available along with full liquor bar. My only real complaint was how little signage BA has for priority check-in when you arrive at T5

It's adequate, but I've experienced better lounges. It's probably time for a bit of an upgrade. I don't have any negative comments.

As usual a great place to relax and the friendly team is taking care of you. Good food and large selection of drinks

As bad as LHR T5 Business Class Lounges. Still extremely crowded and apathy is abundant when enquiring with staff at entry and at Customer Service desk and when supplying food. Food selection and quality was good although confusing as can still order at table or venture to view at self service but risk losing seat !

Reasonably good food, there is not a wide selection but they rather change it throughout the day. Good selection of drinks. The lounge is big, so although it can get busy, I have not seen it full. Could use some small renovation and tidying up (toilets, some of the seating). It is at one end of the airport, so if you need to get to A gates or the satallite terminals, then give yourself enough time. There could also be more or bigger screens as there are no announcements, so you need to keep getting up and checking them (note that you can use your BA app for this instead).

One of the amazing lounge with lots of food varieties available.. it’s a wonderful place to spend time if you are travelling with BA business class.. as a silver card holder I have visited many times and really I appreciate the setup, service and fasciitis.. amazing

Definitely the best spot in Heathrow.. waiting for the next flight

Overcrowded and limited options compared to other lounges.

Excellent alcohol selection and spacious lounge, though furniture now dated and damaged in places, several plugs and usb sockets not working, with many seating areas having no access to power at. Bathrooms also dated with peeling paint, no free amenities I could see. Food same as Business Lounge upstairs, though not bad at all - see pics.

Slightly dated, the showers were cold and the staff didn't seem to know what was going on.

Great place to spend a few hours while at at Heathrow. Relaxing place during a stressful day travelling

Generally good, but not big enough/ too busy.

Cathay Pacific and Qantas T3 are much more comfortable

Poor condition for a first class lounge...needs a refurb and update of the power points as so few work at all....way overdue for some TLC...

Second visit in a few days. At 0630 it wasn't busy. Same comments apply as in my previous review. Quite busy today, 26 Nov but found seat with charging point .staff friendly Ordered coffee and custard creams got one lol...

It’s a decent size first class lounge for Gold Tier members. It’s open and clean enough. In a strange way, I prefer this lounge over the Concorde Lounge because it is brighter and much more open. I find the Concorde Lounge overcrowded at times and the service is quite appalling. Food is ok, good selection of drinks. Can’t compare with the Concorde Lounge in that respect but decent enough. After your food, I suggest you pay the Champagne Bar a visit and relax before your flight. This is the lounge you walk straight in from the First Wing check in area. September 2021 update: due to Covid, now you need to scan the QR code enter the WiFi code to place your order for food and drinks. Staff will deliver the items you ordered which is not too bad until you realise your food and drinks come at different time due to them being served by different staff from different department. Update: 9th August 2022, standard has dropped. Breakfast cold and almost inedible, appalling really! Update: 23rd November 2022, hot buffet is back and I am happy!

Large lounge with direct access from First Wing check-in zone. Good choice of hot food self-service, and table-service also available. Often busy.

Absolutely 5 stars. For a start I got in as a guest as I was travelling with someone who had a certain status to get into the lounge, they let me in, and were treated like royalty. Very peaceful, very relaxing - the sleeping pods were bliss and the facilities appeared clean

This was my first experience in 4 years. I really liked the previous dinning and lounge format. Not sure if it was in a different terminal (this time terminal 5)but the previous lounge I experienced 3-4 times was much more relaxing and enjoyable.

Getting back to normal, pretty busy 1st thing on a Friday but still space. No black pudding or tomatoes. 😉

I think the business lounge is better. The First lounge is only quieter. However, the choice of food is so little. BA lounge far behind CX, Finnair, etc. I gave 2 stars because it is still better than those Americans airline ones.

Always clean. Good food amd facilities most helpful when one is travelling. Keep up the good work.

Relaxing area straight after check in. Great selection of drinks, including a variety of decent champagne, and a buffet of basic but reasonable food prepared for the time of the day. Alternatively you can order more dishes via a QR code on your table. Only downside is it can be hard to find a seat as it gets really popular at peak times.

BA first class lounge offers Indian curry and Thai curry 🍛 😘💕

Mycket bra lounge. God service. Ibland mycket folk

Relaxed with a great choice of food and drinks on offer

excellent lounge, always enjoy my time here. the staff are also fantastic

Not many varieties of food, short stocked bar.

Some of lounge is looking tired. Food less good than before...just average lounge...

Very good good selection of food and wines

The Concorde Room is a haven of tranquility. Shame you can't get to the aircraft easier from it ..

This is always a reliable place to hold up and wait for my flight. It can get busy at peak times, but I've never had to wait for a seat. There are a good range of seating options, too, from dining table to sofa to workstation. The food options are plentiful, with breakfast being my favourite. The buffet isn't quite as high quality as pre-pandemic times (the burgers can be rough!), but there are some good dishes if you're choosey -- and the deserts are great. There is ample premium booze, and the coffee and tea selection is good. There aren't any magazines and papers anymore, but the WiFi is solid (I've taken Zoom calls successfully here). The staff are friendly, and there are departure boards everywhere.

A beautiful and spacious lounge. All needs of food and beverages are catered here. Clean large restrooms 🚻. Attendants every where to assist you. Many sockets provided for charging your phones and laptops. A grand view of Heathrow with planes landing and taking off. A good lounge for spending time when you have long halts between flights ✈️.....👍🏻🙂🙂

Crowded, good food options but lacking in alcohol selection. No single malt, Johnny Walker Red and Black only? For a first class lounge. Yikes

great service, food and drinks.

Busy but good area to wait for flights

Would be a decent business class lounge, but this is meant to be the first class lounge of British Airways. I would expect a full dinner offering with table service etc, but there is only a small buffet and a few things to order via the app. The furniture is very dated and especially the toilets need an urgent refresh.

Lots of space to spread out and relax. Decent food selection and many choices for drinks and coffee. If you have a few hours to wait and can get in, worth the walk.

Goodbto see the lounge back to normal.

Pleasant relaxing environment. Friendly staff, food & beverages were good.

Always a great experience. Nice selection of wines, and fresh food all day. English breakfast is my favourite

Food was good but lounge felt outdated and full of people.

This was my first experience of the BA first class lounge, it was a very relaxing and serene one, definitely way better than the normal hustle and bustle of the main airport. Admittedly the breakfast was quite disappointing, the scrambled egg was quite inedible and it arrived luke warm as did the black coffee. The BEST area is the designated pod beds snooze zone, you can lay back in the ambient lit room and await for your gate to be opened. Such a great start to a holiday. Although the breakfast was disappointing, I would still give it 5 stars because I certainly enjoyed my experience.

Great lounge, if a little busy at times. There doesn’t appear to be a time limit so you can enjoy a good few hours sampling the different food and drinks.

Very nice atmosphere. Good food, decent wine & liquor selection. It's quite amazing more people didn't take advantage of the quiet area with the sleeper pods. I highly recommend finding them and using them. Nice, brightly naturally lit common space. Restrooms were fine, but could be updated & inviting.