Review: Qantas Lounge, London Heathrow

As one of the most popular lounges spoken about on the frequent flyer internet, the Qantas Lounge at London Heathrow Terminal 3 had a lot to live up to - but did that reputation match reality? Here’s my take.

Location

The Qantas Lounge can be found by following signs towards Gates 1-11 and looking for Lounge designation B. It’s a tiny bit easier to find than the Cathay Pacific Lounge thanks to the expansive ‘shop front’ of the lounge with a huge Qantas logo embedded into a stylish wood panel.

Access

Admittance to the lounge can be via either your Qantas Business or First Class ticket and those of oneworld partner airlines e.g. if you are flying from Heathrow T3 on British Airways or Cathay Pacific in Business or First Class, you can still use this lounge despite them having their own respective spaces. Passengers with oneworld Sapphire, equivalent to British Airways Silver or Finnair Plus Gold, or higher can also visit this lounge. Currently, Etihad Airways have contracted with Qantas for the use of this lounge meaning passenger in Business and First on this airline will also be directed here - one assumes until Terminal 4 reopens. Despite also having a lounge at Heathrow and thanks to their Joint Venture, Emirates passengers in Business and First as well as those with Skywards Platinum or Gold status can also enter the Qantas lounge.

Opening hours, unlike Cathay Pacific, are focussed entirely on the bank of Qantas flights departing from Heathrow in late morning as opposed to an all-day operation. Lounge operating hours are between 06h00 and 14h00.

Design, aesthetic, and functionality

Out of all the oneworld lounges at London Heathrow, Qantas has one of the most stylish spaces on offer. Walking in, you are greeted initially by the dining area and gin bar - both of which are currently out of operation - but are still impressive thanks to being clad in marble.

It gets better as you walk up the stairs though when your eyes are focussed on the centrepiece upstairs barista and bar station - again covered in beautiful marble. With a huge light hanging above it and the morning light beaming through the windows, this is a good place to start the day with your caffeine kick.

Upstairs is a variety of seating options. Around the bar area, the primary focus is lounging with a selection of sofas and chairs to relax and work from during your visit.

Towards the back of the lounge, the area is split primarily between the dining zone with a self-serve buffet and large pods which I think are supposed to be for relaxation and sitting - despite not looking comfortable.

Around this area is a large desk which could fit up to five people to work on a laptop as well as printer for communal use. Private rooms can also be requested here but I am not sure if this is just on a first come, first served basis, pre-ordered before your visit or for ‘VIPs’ only. I could imagine these would be quite useful for families visiting with children to keep a closer eye on them without worrying they might walk away in the lounge.

Although I prefer the cosiness of the Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge, it’s clear that Qantas have gone for a high-class design for this lounge - which I’d argue is still one of the best in the UK. It is both a modern and classic look which will age quite well as well as being quite Instagram-friendly. The only downside currently is that all passengers are directed upstairs meaning it was quite crowded when we arrived, due to the boarding for the Sydney via Darwin flight not yet being called, however it did thin out considerably afterwards.

Food and drinks

All reviews I had read always spoke of the quality of the food at this lounge and it was something I was quite looking forward to. Unfortunately, this was a case of expectations being high and the actual result being underwhelming. We arrived at around 09h30 which is towards the backend of the breakfast service. There was a selection of options at the buffet which was inclusive of the standard English breakfast fare which I am not a fan of as well as some other options such as pastries, Greek style feta and spinach pie as well as self-service tea. Quite average but I must admit the pie was actually pretty good.

I noticed that a number of people had Eggs Benedict but there was no menu, I requested some for us despite not knowing what the other options were. Even though the food took 15 minutes to arrive, it was stone cold and tasted poor. I didn’t mind the wait but the fact that when it came it wasn’t hot just made no sense and made me question what all the fuss was about the food at the lounge.

I will note, however, that the lounge does do good coffee - which is a theme throughout every other review you’ll see. You will wait a little while thanks to the high demand and just a single barista, but it is worth the wait and they will bring it to your table if requested.

Although I am not a big fan, you could tell that this is the lounge for people who love gin as well as good tipple. There seemed to be a big selection of alcoholic options with more expensive brands than other lounges, so this may be the preferred destination if that is what you are looking for.

Service and staff

Qantas visibly outsource their staffing of the lounge to an arm of the hotel group Accor via it’s Sofitel chain. All badges have both the Qantas and Sofitel logo on so you would expect a high standard of service. Like the difference between the lounge aesthetic and food quality, the staff service standard was mixed. On a high note, the staff at the barista station were extremely personable and efficient delivering the coffee as fast as possible, considering demand, whilst having a smile - whilst the bathroom attendants were extremely helpful. On the other hand, the front desk staff were in my case very unwelcoming and cold thanks to their lack of greeting or even a short hello on arrival. This isn’t what you expect from a lounge like this. This was made worse by a particularly rude member of staff in the dining area who didn’t particularly help in advising of the non-buffet breakfast options as well as putting the (cold) dishes on the table with little care on arrival. Whilst I hope I just got a bad few staff on that day, it does let down those staff who did give a positive experience.

Amenities + odds and ends

Again not to the high standard of the Cathay Pacific Business and First shower and bathrooms, but the Qantas Lounge still has excellent shower and toilet facilities on offer. These follow a similar theme to the rest of the lounge (marble as well as white tiles) alongside great lighting - although they are pretty chilly, likely due to external ventilation bringing in the wintry weather at the time.

Amenities such as shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and moisturiser are provided by the Australian spa beauty product firm Aspar which is common throughout the Qantas Lounge network.

The showers themselves are akin to a five-star hotel with great pressure and temperature - alongside my favourite, an overhead rainfall-style shower.

Conclusion

As you might be able to tell, I was a bit disappointed by the Qantas Lounge at London Heathrow but in fairness my expectations were probably set too high. I may have caught the lounge on a bad day but aspects like hot food arriving cold is not acceptable. At this moment in time if you are at Terminal 3, I would head to the Cathay Pacific lounge for your fix of food and a peaceful lounge experience. That being said, this is by no means a bad lounge - with some good staff and excellent shower facilities you will have a decent experience. In terms of hard product, this lounge far surpasses anything offered by British Airways on its home turf - and I hope the soft product, i.e. food and service, improves in future. My last experience of a Qantas Lounge was in the now closed Hong Kong location where they offered excellent dining options. As such when the more formal dining area reopens downstairs and I’m next visiting Terminal 3, I will give the lounge a second chance to see if it is any better. I hope to report better things next time! For the time being, head across to Cathay Pacific - longer opening hours, more food choice and marginally better showers.