Review: the British Airways Galleries First lounge at Heathrow Terminal 5

This is our review of the British Airways Galleries First lounge in Heathrow Terminal 5.

There are some unexpected gaps in our airport lounge reviews. We’ve been to every corner of the UK to review airport lounges but there are huge holes in our BA Terminal 5 coverage. The last time we looked at Galleries First was 2012 (not a typo) and it wasn’t even a proper review.

The reason is that the lounges are always so busy that it’s impossible to get the photos we need. However, two weeks I found myself on the last flight departing Terminal 5 and around 9pm I realised that I was virtually alone in the lounge.

This allowed me to get enough pictures to show you what you’re missing. It was obviously dark outside when I took the photos so the lighting could be better in places. Unfortunately the lack of people may give a false impression of how calm the lounge is during the day ….

Who can access the Galleries First lounge?

You do not need to be flying First Class to access the Galleries First lounge. In fact, if you are flying in First Class then you shouldn’t be here – you should head to The Concorde Room lounge next door instead.

The requirement for Galleries First is that you are flying on a oneworld carrier (as this is T5 it would only be British Airways or Iberia) either on a same-day First Class ticket or with oneworld Emerald status.

Anyone with oneworld Emerald status (ie. British Airways Executive Club Gold) can access the lounge, with one guest, even if you are flying on a hand-baggage-only economy flight. Separate guest rules apply to Gold Guest List and Premier members.

Entering the Galleries First lounge

There are two entrances into the lounge. Whilst the manned desks are still there, you are only likely to use them if connecting.

Anyone starting in London is likely to enter via the First Wing. This is the dedicated First Class / Gold card check-in and security area at the far south end of Terminal 5:

(Galleries First restricts you to one guest. If you are a BA Gold travelling with more than one other non-Gold, you can check in at the First Wing. However, you cannot use the private security lane or the Galleries First lounge. You need to go back out into the main terminal and use the main security line.)

Once you have cleared security you walk down a passage and you enter the Galleries First lounge here:

The layout is a bit tricky to explain. Entering via First Wing, if you keep walking you will go directly through the main seating area, past two bars, and eventually emerge on the far side on the terrace:

The terrace has a small self-serve wine and champagne bar, and you will occasionally find pop-ups here promoting various brands. The atmosphere is a lot different in daylight. There are around 40 seats out here although most are in groups of four.

You’ll see from the rack above that BA is in no rush to bring back newspapers or magazines, apart from High Life.

Let’s run all the way back to the entrance and do the full tour.

On your right as you enter is this self service bar. New furniture was being installed in this area when I was there, hence the lack of people below – the area was actually cordonned off.

More furniture in the lounge has been replaced in the last fortnight since my visit, so some of what you see below is already out of date.

To your left is another self-serve bar and snacks area:

It doesn’t scream ‘premium’ and that’s because it isn’t – Gordon’s, Tanqueray, Johnnie Walker Red and Black, Martini, Bacardi etc. There was a selection of Ciroc flavoured vodkas

The old business centre / champagne bar is now a ….

Immediately to your left is a corridor which leads down to what was originally the business centre and the champagne bar.

The business centre was ripped out post pandemic (fair enough, it wasn’t necessary in the 2020s) and replaced by sleep pods in May 2021. These seem to have been a flop and have also now gone.

The pods have been replaced by this uninspiring and windowless area of additional seating, although as few people know it exists it is probably quiet during the day.

As for the champagne bar? It’s now a hot desking area:

The bathrooms – now unisex – are also in this area. There are only cubicles, each containing its own sink.

and

I couldn’t access one of the showers. They are apparently in need of refurbishment but I don’t have any first hand experience of them.

The exit

Head back to the main area and continue walking towards the terrace, you come to the exit (the only exit – you can’t leave by the First Wing entrance). This is also the way in if you are in transit.

The dining area

Continue walking, past this group of monitors (PLEASE BA, convert one of these into a flight information screen!):

…. and you see a large area running off to your left. This contains the buffet and coffee stations.

During the pandemic, BA introduced ‘at seat’ food ordering in Galleries First. This was fantastic. Apart from the obvious benefit of not having to leave your seat and baggage to get supplies, the food you received was restaurant style, as a proper plated meal. Everyone loved it and declared it the way forward. So …. BA scrapped it.

You’re now back to the buffet only. You can still order drinks via a QR code from your seat but that’s it. I honestly don’t get it – a new system was developed which everyone agreed was a huge improvement in every way (except possibly the cost) from the old one, and it was dropped.

The first area contains a number of Union Coffee-branded drinks stations. If you like stocking up on clasic British biscuits, as my son does, you’ll be very happy here!

Before you get to the buffet you’ve got sandwiches and cake:

…. a salad bar:

… and, erm, the kids play room!

Here is half of the hot food area. Late at night, it was an odd mix of pies, fishcakes, pasta, curry, rice etc. The quality is not bad, to be honest – I don’t want to give the impression that it’s just ‘slop’ because it isn’t. However, it is fundamentally the same food that is served in the two Galleries Club lounges in Terminal 5A.

In terms of seating you’ve got a variety of options, assuming you don’t want to carry it back to your lounge chair. This is behind the buffet:

There are long tables like this:

…. and some standard cafe-style seating:

I haven’t shown you much of the main seating area. This is mainly because, at 9pm, it was very dark. It also gets a bit dull showing lines of leather armchairs!

It’s worth highlighting this staffed bar – the only staffed bar in the whole lounge – which has had a facelift recently. This is meant to be a ‘premium’ bar, stocked with products chosen by BA’s Master of Wine. I’m not sure what champagne is currently available but you should approach with modest expectations.

Here is one run of seating to give you a feel:

and

As I said above, a lot of the furniture in the lounge was changed in the week after I was there. Here is a shot of the same wine cooler above showing the new-style chairs (thanks to Shane for this):

Whilst the main business centre disappeared a couple of years ago, there are still a couple of terminals and a printer in a small area near the entrance to the balcony.

Conclusion

I use the Galleries First lounge a lot, and have come to accept its various quirks. If you look at it as what it realistically is for most users – a space for Gold card holders to use before catching a short haul flight – it does the job.

The food and drink, and the general overcrowding (unless you’re on the last flight out as I was!) are arguably acceptable for this ‘Gold card member flying to Milan’ market.

It’s a quirk of the BA structure that a non-status member on a £4,000 Club World ticket will be sent to the inferior Galleries Club lounges, whilst a Gold on a £39 one way economy ticket to Amsterdam can come here. Remember that anyone with a First Class ticket won’t be in Galleries First – they will be in The Concorde Room next door with proper restaurant-style food and service.

It is also worth stressing – because I think many forget this – that the ability for a BA Gold to get from a taxi to Galleries First via the First Wing in under 10 minutes is a real perk, unmatched at any other European terminal.

Of course, the best British Airways lounge in Terminal 5 is probably the mixed Business / First Galleries lounge in the 5B satellite which we recently reviewed here. It has now finished its upgrade with a new hot food live cooking area.

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How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (January 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 Plaza Premium, Delta Air Lines and Eurostar lounges.  Our American Express Platinum review is here. You can apply here.

If you have a small business, consider American Express Business Platinum instead.

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.

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.

PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.