British Airways (BA) has been revitalising its London Heathrow lounges including with new seating, power points, and refreshed furniture. The carrier’s Galleries Club Lounge at Terminal 3, which is open to Oneworld business class and Sapphire status passengers, is included in the revamp.
On a recent visit, I spotted some important premium additions. Alas, the lounge also continues to feature an awkward layout and could still be improved with some basic tweaks.
The lounge was refreshed in late 2023, but when I arrived for my morning flight I was reminded of previous visits thanks to the strong smells emanating from the reception area. As I queued up to be admitted by the sole agent on duty, the smell of the full English breakfast buffet was intense.
There is, I fear, little BA can do to solve this problem without serious work to the lounge structure itself.
The lounge was very quiet at this time of the morning, so having one agent on duty is understandable. Image: Fintan Horan-Stear
Welcomed into the lounge, I followed a snaking corridor, bordered by frosted glass panels and individual armchairs. This area leads into the larger of two passenger spaces which are connected in the middle.
The silhouettes of trees suggested an earthy theme that did not continue into the lounge. Image: Fintan Horan-Stear
In this first main room, the hot food buffet is flanked by bar seating as well as cafe style tables and chairs which, while appearing new, are utilitarian in design.
I did not stop to check if the plants were real. Image: Fintan Horan-Stear
Moving quickly away from the pungent aromas, I inspected the seating area. The seats were certainly an improvement on prior iterations, with high-quality fabrics on armchairs and lighter, brighter shades making the space feel more luxurious and airy. Some of the seats were fitted with USB-A, USB-C and UK power points.
The colour palette in the first space reminded me of a fruit crumble. Image: Fintan Horan-Stear
This space also included a large self-service wine bar (without Champagne, in line with BA’s policy of only serving it on request). Fixtures on the glass wine walls looked new, but the design itself was unchanged and felt dated.
This cabinet doesn’t seem to serve a practical purpose as different wines are kept at the same temperature. Image: Fintan Horan-Stear
Passing through this room I entered the other passenger space which boasts more noticeable changes. This space is centred around a large bar and delicate chandelier with a self-service bar of premium spirits on the far side of the room. Various seating options fill the space.
After flagging down an attendant/cleaner for a glass of Champagne, I sat down near the window and inspected the changes.
The first thing I noticed was the quality of the furnishings. My seat was upholstered in a richly textured blue corduroy fabric and faced a quality stone table. This was complemented by the new carpeting alongside hardwood flooring and textured wallpaper that significantly elevated the experience.
The mixed lighting also helps bring the very best out of the much improved quality of the furnishings. Image: Fintan Horan-Stear
This room also felt the most coherent as everything was variations on blue, rather than the peach and cerise palette of the larger space. It is clear that BA has spent significant amounts of capital on adding high-quality fixtures, and it felt premium. Having said that, pictures which hung askew on the walls and a haphazardly placed dried leaf arrangement diminished the luxurious effect.
BA could do so much more with this beautiful bar than just plonk some dried leaves and baskets of snacks on it. Image: Fintan Horan-Stear
Whilst I waited for my Champagne I checked out the food. It was actually not bad overall, and I appreciated that vegan hot food was available on request.
I helped myself to a croissant and decaf Americano. The croissant was incredible; it was both crispy and flaky on the outside and soft and buttery on the inside. The coffee was inoffensive. The Champagne, when it arrived, had clearly gone flat in the bottle.
The croissant was remarkably good. Image: Fintan Horan-Stear
After my croissant, I decided to try out the showers. These have not been updated, and it showed. The design itself is very clinical, and my cubicle had chipped and broken wood near the doors. Hopefully, BA will tackle the showers as part of its refreshment plan.
My stall was, however, clean enough to use and had Elemis toiletries.
The pitted wood made this feel like communal university showers. Image: Fintan Horan-Stear
As I left the lounge, I thought about how this long overdue refresh was decent but still didn’t quite hit the mark, especially when compared with other Oneworld offerings in Terminal 3 like Cathay Pacific’s lounge.
BA’s Galleries Club Lounge at Terminal 3 falls down in a couple of key areas. The fundamental design leaves bad flow and unpleasant aromas at the entrance. The airline can’t do much about that without a complete overhaul, admittedly, but it can gain a sense of identity. The lounge had very little BA branding and doesn’t say much about either British culture or the airline itself; some images from the airlines storied past like JAL and GWR have done in their lounges would bring this space to life. The dried leaf vases and generic planters also felt more like a department store furniture display (albeit a high-end one).
The uneven hanging of these smudges does at least temper their foreboding design, but a picture of Concorde would be much better. Image: Fintan Horan-Stear
Not only that, but the lounge design still feels incoherent. For example, it had references to the ‘Galleries’ lounge concept (with the name emblazoned at the entrance) but appeared nowhere else in the lounge or on the BA website. The etched nature motifs and wine walls clashed with the minimalist design of the new shelving units and tables.
The branding feels confused at this point. Image: Fintan Horan-Stear
Ultimately, BA has invested effort in this revamp. It’s certainly better than before but a few points hold it back. A more thorough cleanse of old design elements and the addition of some unique art and décor would allow the new high-quality fixtures to shine and bring BA’s identity to the fore.
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Featured image credited to Fintan Horan-Stear
