Review: the new Blush Lounge by Plaza Premium at Heathrow Terminal 4

This is our review of the new Blush Lounge in Heathrow T4.

Blush Lounge is a new lounge at Heathrow Terminal 4, operated by Plaza Premium. It supplements the existing Plaza Premium-branded lounge at Terminal 4 (review here).

It is part of our collection of UK airport lounge reviews.  You can see our full list of UK airport lounge reviews here.

Why is Plaza Premium operating another lounge in the terminal? Well, it’s complicated.

The Blush Lounge website is here.

The Blush Lounge has a colourful history:

• In 2016, EL AL opened the King David lounge when it moved in to Terminal 4. It was managed by Plaza Premium, which manages a number of airline lounges in addition to its own-branded ones.
• In 2019, EL AL quietly divested of the King David lounge, and operations were taken over by a new company which rebranded the facility ‘ART&LOUNGE’. Whilst still catering to EL AL’s passengers, it was a bizarre concept with, it turned out, no art …. You can read our review here.
• In 2022, management of the lounge was handed back to Plaza Premium. It continues to cater to EL AL passengers.

It seems that EL AL is not keen on having an own-branded lounge at Heathrow. As there is already a Plaza Premium lounge in Heathrow Terminal 4, Plaza decided to rename it the ‘Blush Lounge by Plaza Premium Group’.

This is a brand new lounge brand from Plaza Premium – it isn’t clear if it will be rolled out elsewhere.

How to access the Blush Lounge

Although it still caters to EL AL passengers, the Blush Lounge is now open to lounge membership holders including Priority Pass.

Anyone travelling under the following is eligible:

• EL AL business class passengers
• EL AL Top Platinum, Platinum and Gold Matmid frequent flyer club members
• EL AL King David Club members
• Priority Pass holders
• DragonPass holders
• LoungeKey holders

If don’t have any of the above then you can also pay cash to access the Blush Lounge – it costs £44 for two hours on the Plaza Premium website. One reason you may want to use this lounge above any other is that Kosher food is available.

Where is the Blush Lounge in Heathrow Terminal 4?

The Blush Lounge isn’t difficult to find, although it is a bit of a walk. It is next to Gate 2 in Heathrow Terminal 4.

You want to turn left and walk down the long terminal building as you exit security. You will, eventually, get to it.

The location does mean that it’s a bit of a trek if your flight is departing from a higher-numbered gate. That said, Terminal 4 isn’t the biggest terminal in the world (or even at Heathrow).

Inside the Blush Lounge at Heathrow Terminal 4

Very little has changed since Plaza Premium reclaimed management of the lounge. The fixtures and fittings are still in excellent condition so it wasn’t necessary to carry out a refurbishment.

At around 340 sqm. the Blush Lounge has capacity for around 105 guests, although I’d imagine it would be pretty crowded with that many people.

First up in the lounge is a circular dining and buffet area. There are four of five round dining tables here:

After this you have the main area of the lounge:

This features a range of more casual seating in the form of armchairs:

The lounge is very light thanks to the big windows along its length:

On the left you’ll find another room with the drinks buffet and some more glass dining tables:

There are not, unfortunately, charging sockets at every seat, although I did see a number throughout during my visit.

Note that there are no showers or toilets in the lounge.

Food and drink in the Blush Lounge

Breakfast service was in full steam when I popped in at around 7:30am. With only two other guests in the lounge, the food was virtually untouched.

The hot buffet included scrambled eggs, mushroom florentine, ‘breakfast potatoes’ and some baked beans with basil, which is something I’ve noticed Plaza Premium trying recently.

and

A range of fruits, yoghurts and cheese was also available:

…. as were pastries and cereals:

There is also a salad bar:

Kosher meals are available on request, although if you’re in the lounge on the back of your Priority Pass or other lounge membership then you will apparently need to pay extra.

When it comes to drinks, hot and soft drinks are available:

The alcohol selection is, shall we say, limited. There are house red and white wines, whilst Carlsberg is the only beer on offer:

A tiny selection of bottom-shelf spirits are tucked away in the corner, almost as an afterthought:

Conclusion

The Blush Lounge is a comfortable, quiet place to relax before a flight – at least in the morning, when I went. I thought the wood panelling and leather furniture looked stylish and the floor-to-ceiling windows really help to keep you awake if you’ve been on the go since 5am.

It’s a slightly different story when it comes to food and drink, with a fairly limited selection of both. It’s for this reason that I wouldn’t pay the £44 entry charge, although I feel less hard-done by using Priority Pass via my Amex Business Platinum card. You will get a better selection in the main Plaza Premium lounge in Terminal 4, reviewed here.

Overall, the Blush Lounge a decent experience and far better than I was expecting given the lounge’s history of changing ownership, although the lack of toilets and departure boards is frustrating.

You can book for cash on the Plaza Premium website here.

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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.