Plaza Premium Lounge (London Heathrow T4 – Departures)

Plaza Premium Lounge (London Heathrow – LHR Terminal 4 Departures) Review:

Just to set the scene right at the start given the many Plaza Premium Lounges at London Heathrow, this review is specifically for the one at Terminal 4’s Departures Concourse.

Thanks to my American Express Gold Card that comes with 2 complimentary lounge visits by Lounge Club, I was able to enjoy lounge access prior to my flight back home earlier this year. Upon checking in for my flight to Kuala Lumpur at LHR’s T4, I made my way to the Plaza Premium Lounge after passing through security. Being my very first visit of this lounge, I managed my way to the lounge easily thanks to the many signages available at the departures concourse.

P/S: If you are based in the UK and would like to know more about the AMEX Gold Card I mentioned above which has a £0 annual fee in the first year (basically no costs for you in securing 2 lounge access for FREE!), do get in touch as there are further benefits through the referral scheme. 🙂

Obvios signages to the lounges present at Terminal 4 upon security clearance. Arrived at the entrance to the lounge, which is shared by Qatar Airways and PP being on the upper level. First look at the lounge upstairs.Greeted by a friendly attendant where I presented my Lounge Club card and was subsequently asked for my boarding pass as well (I suppose for identification purposes). It is noted that there will not be any boarding announcmenets made within the lounge but FIDS are available for checking the status of your flight.Slightly dim lighthings (perhaps this is some sort of ”mood” lighting?) at the entrance but not a major issue. Note the magazine rack with various literature options available on the left upon entering the lounge. Explored the lounge a little and did some plane spotting (not entirely the best lounge to plane spot given that it is located at the same side of the terminal building’s entrance hence no runway action can be seen, nevertheless still happy that large windows are present in this lounge!) before eventually settling down for food. Quite an empty lounge that morning, lucky me?A quick visit to the WC which looked sleek, clean and well maintained. A good selection of food available for breakfast that morning. Pictured above being the cold options.Decent amount of hot food options available too but only Western choices offered. Made to order eggs were also available. The ”bakery” section within the lounge. Good variety of cold drinks for selection from the fridge with hot drinks also available from the self service machine next to the fridge. An overview of the lounge from the sitting area. Not a very big lounge in general but decent and definitely fits its purpose. Alternative sitting option being the sofa area besides the dining tables and the solo ”pods” below.My sitting option for that morning, the very unique individual ”pods” for maximum privacy which comes with your own charging outlet. However, my attempt in charging my phone using the USB outlet with this pod and an additional try at an alternative one after the initial failure led to a give up as I was not in dire need to charge my phone. Not sure if it is pure bad luck or all of them just dont work?! A plus to the lounge was the natural light as noted above from the ‘sky’ window above the dining tables. A couple of computers available for use right beside the reception area. Decided to tour around the rest of the lounge after breakfast, first stop was the bar which is located to the left hand side of the reception where hot and alcoholic drinks can be ordered. Tried my luck on some bubbles (champange) but apparently none is available at this lounge 😛Further down passing the bar is a secluded nap area which is dimly lit with individual angled sofas available if you fancy a nap.I initially thought that the showering facilities are not included within my complimentary access but apprarently it is included! Given that I still have time before boarding is expected to commence, I decided to have a hot shower but as all the shower rooms were occupied at the time, I was told to put my name on the waiting list and got a hot drink while waiting. The lounge attendant came to me about 10 minutes later, informing that the shower facility is now available for my use. Having experienced showering before my flight at the Qantas lounge in Melbourne which you can read about here, I am since then hooked with the idea of a hot shower before a flight (no matter how long or short the flight is!). 🙂Pretty tidy and neat set up, and seemed to have been cleaned well after the previous guest’s use. Basic amenities including toothbrush and toothpaste are included within the drawer below the sink, without the need for asking for them separately from the reception, thumbs up for convenience! Good amount of showering space and water pressure but the only complain was the temperature control that seemed to be either end of the extremes and I struggled to get a balanced temperature. With my flight’s boarding time approaching, it was time to bid farewell to the lounge after spending slightly over an hour here.

Conclusion:. 

Overall, I was impressed with the facilities that are available, from the good spread of food options to the unique individual dining ”pods” and the presence of showering facilities, this Plaza Premium Lounge has ticked most if not all of the boxes of what you would expect at a lounge. The staff within the lounge were friendly, and despite the lounge not being very big in general, it did not feel cramped due to the nice layout of the sitting areas and possibly due to the low number of guests at the time of my visit. Food wise, good overall but if only there were non-Western options available as well if would have been perfect (typical Asian I know…)! Also, I like the fact that when I used the showering facility everything I needed was already in the shower room (whether it was towels or amenities) and I was not required to get them separately from the reception. I would definitely recommend this lounge for use and would personally re-visit in the future if I get the chance.