Heathrow Terminal 3 First Class Lounges…

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “Four lounges, one terminal, & far too many boozy coffee cocktails”    

A month or two ago Darce & I took a day-trip to Prague - pretty much with the express(o martini) reason of visiting Heathrow’s posh lounges before take-off. And we weren’t disappointed.

It turns out Heathrow Terminal 3 is less of an airport concourse & more of a first class lounge tasting menu. If you’ve got right ticket - or an airline status that involves a secret handshake - you can spend hours of your pre-flight time drifting between four very different sanctuaries, each one quietly judging the others. And indeed there are still others - but let’s stick with these four. 

British Airways First Lounge  

A cozy blend of worn carpets, breakfast wine, & mild confusion. The décor whispers “recently refurbished Travelodge,” but the champagne is cold & the bacon rolls hot, which almost balances things out. It’s the spiritual home of toasties, complimentary newspapers, & people muttering “Where’s Concorde Room?” under their breath. BA keeps it functional, with enough drinks to take the edge off any potential upcoming turbulence & enough food to remind you that, yes, you’re still in Britain. There’s a self-serve bar because nothing says ‘trust’ like letting sleep-deprived travellers pour their own gin @ 8am. Darce & found it comfortable, familiar, & slightly chaotic - like being in your posh friend’s kitchen.

Cathay Pacific First Lounge  

Minimalist. Serene. Possibly run by monks with degrees in interior design & suspiciously clean - we started to wonder if anyone else had ever actually been in it. This is lounge where noise goes to die. The dimly lit, marble-heavy setting is home to legendary noodle bar & staff who treated our breakfast order like a diplomatic engagement. It would feel entirely appropriate to whisper your drink order in Mandarin. Sit in leather chair, order Dan Dan noodles, & briefly believe in peace on Earth.    

Qantas Lounge  

If Cathay lounge is a spa, Qantas lounge is a business-class dinner party hosted by someone who read Monocle once & took it personally. You’ll find Neil Perry-designed food, a double staircase to make an entrance Nicole Kidman would be proud of, a serious cocktail bar, & a bunch of Australians being aggressively friendly. It’s lively without being loud, polished without being pretentious. You’ll leave full, caffeinated, & slightly more adventurous than intended.    

American Airlines Flagship Lounge  

An all-you-can-eat buffet of practicality. It feels like a well-funded college lounge that grew up, discovered wine fridges, & got a business degree. There’s an impressive buffet, solid bar, & more TVs than necessary. It’s confident, capable, & surprisingly relaxed - like the lounge equivalent of someone who shows up to black-tie event in a hoodie & still looks better than everyone else. The food is surprisingly solid, drinks flow freely, & there was someone FaceTiming on speaker. It’s got subtle “mid-West airport hotel” vibe, but in charming way — a lounge that doesn’t try too hard because it doesn’t need to. You’ll eat, drink, & possibly forget you’re in Heathrow at all. We did. 

Final Thoughts  

Start at Cathay for zen, move to Qantas for sustenance & espresso martinis, swing through BA for British snacks & mild chaos, then wrap it up at AA for a drink or three of pink champagne & Wi-Fi that actually works.  

  

You’ll board your flight nourished, a bit woozy, relatively clean, & deeply reluctant to sit not-quite-upright in a steel tube for 2 hours with strangers. 

@darce_styles

@heathrow_airport

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