Aspire lounge in Heathrow Terminal 5 – official photos and the official entry rules

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EDIT: This article was published in 2015. Our 2021 review of the Club Aspire lounge at Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 is here.

Today is the official opening of the Aspire lounge in Heathrow Terminal 5. Yesterday evening I was sent some official photographs by Priority Pass which you can see below. I have also reproduced the official press release.

You can buy entry tickets via the Aspire website.

Access

The access rules are as we expected:

Priority Pass IS accepted. This is great news if you have an American Express Platinum charge card as this comes with two Priority Pass cards, each of which admits two people for FREE. If you don’t have an Amex Platinum, take a look at my other article today which shows how to buy a Priority Pass for half price – although, with that deal, you still pay £15 per visit on top.

Lounge Club is NOT accepted – this is a blow to Amex Gold cardholders as they receive two free passes each year for any Lounge Club lounge.

Airport Angel is NOT accepted

Cash prices are £40 on the door and £35 if you book in advance

Note that NOT all food and drink will be free. There will be a charge for champagne and premium wines as well as for premium food dishes. All drinks are served from a bar – it is not self-service. The showers and spa will also incur an additional charge.

The official press release:

London (4th August 2015): Collinson Group, owners of Priority Pass, and Swissport, the world’s largest aviation services provider, today announced the opening of the first independent, shared use lounge at London Heathrow Terminal 5.

‘Aspire, the Lounge and Spa at LHR T5’ will be jointly owned and operated by Swissport and Airport Lounge Development (ALD), Collinson Group’s lounge operating arm. Located at Gate A18 in Terminal 5, it will be the first lounge open to all travellers in one of the world’s busiest airport terminals.

Priority Pass members will have access to the lounge as part of their membership. Travellers without membership can enjoy three hours in ‘Aspire, the Lounge and Spa at LHR T5’ for £35 when booked in advance at www.executivelounges.com or for £40 at reception on the day subject to availability. The lounge is open from 5am until 11pm daily.

Errol McGlothan, General Manager EMEA, Collinson Group said: “Aspire, the Lounge and Spa at LHR T5 has been designed to meet the exacting needs of the millions of travellers who travel through the terminal every year. Using insights gained from frequent travellers, we are confident that we’ve delivered the most compelling destination lounge where travellers can relax and refresh ahead of their next journey. Developed in partnership with Swissport, we are delighted to offer travellers access to an independent lounge at Heathrow Terminal 5 for the first time.”

Stephen Wilkinson, Property Director, Heathrow said: “We are delighted to announce that as of today, we now have independent lounges in each of our terminals. Our team works tirelessly to ensure our customers receive the very best service when they fly and we’re delighted that Aspire, The Lounge and Spa at LHR T5, at Terminal 5 will enhance this service from today.”

Shaun Weston, Travel Services Director, Swissport commented: “Since launching in 2012, the Aspire brand of airport lounges has grown in popularity and now covers many global destinations. The opening of ‘Aspire, the Lounge and Spa at LHR T5’ is a significant step for Swissport, giving us a presence in one of the world’s leading airport terminals. We look forward to combining our operational expertise with Collinson Group’s reach amongst travellers, to deliver a world class facility.”

The 4,000 sq ft lounge space is dominated by soaring windows on two sides giving guests dramatic runway views. An extensive British-inspired seasonal food and drink menu has been created which includes a wide range of complimentary as well as premium (chargeable) options, changing throughout the day. Guests can also enjoy a unique opportunity to sample Spey Whisky, draught beer and a selection of wines on a complimentary basis or choose to pay for carefully selected ‘Wine Flights’, an innovative way to taste a variety of wines from different regions.

A highlight of the lounge is the ‘Bliss Spa at Aspire’ which is the award-winning beauty company’s first location in an airport. The specially designed travel spa menu includes a range of facials, manicures and pedicures available as refreshing 20 minute express, or luxurious 40 minute appointments guaranteed to deliver amazing results in a fun, positive environment.

This includes an express version of the famous Bliss Spa Oxygen Blast facial, a 40 minute complexion reviver for bright, glowing skin and the Hot Cream Manicure for perfect nails. & magazines, refreshments and beverages.

To help guests relax before or during a long trip, state-of-the-art ‘rest pods’ let guests recline back on specially engineered, reclining loungers, watch television and recharge in private so that they are rejuvenated for the journey ahead.

Travellers on business will have access to connected work spaces with complimentary high speed WiFi, charging posts and designated quiet zones to make the most productive use of their time.”

If you are planning to visit the Aspire lounge and do not have a Priority Pass, your best option is to book in advance and guarantee admission via the Aspire website here.

Getting airport lounge access for free from a credit card

How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, here are the three options to get FREE airport lounge access via a credit or charge card:

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

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 and Eurostar lounges. Our American Express Platinum review is here. You can apply here.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for the first year. It comes with a Priority Pass card loaded with two free visits to any Priority Pass lounge – see the list here.

Additional lounge visits are charged at £20. You get two 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

A huge bonus, but only available to HSBC Premier clients Read our full review

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard gets you get a free LoungeKey card, allowing you access to the LoungeKey network. Guests are charged at £20 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.

Category

American Express Platinum card

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

Hemz says:

4 Aug4 August 09:54

Hello all! I’m flying BA Club World on Friday using 2-4-1 (thanks to Rob and everyone on here). Will be my first time. I hope to enjoy it even though everyone says other airlines have far better business class products.
I also have the Amex Platinum. Can anyone tell me which of the Lounges in T5 is the best for CW? (My flight is at 10:45am if that makes a difference). Any restrictions on me using the BA lounge and nipping off to the Aspire Lounge too?
- R says:
  
  4 Aug4 August 10:03
  
  BA lounges by far. If you’re flying from satellite B, then the lounge in t5b. Otherwise galleries north is my preferred one. The aspire lounges are a joke and I can’t understand why people get excited about them – always full so half of the time you’re turned away, poor food offering, paid drinks and showers… Come on… For 40 quid, i’d rather grab a steak and a glass of Malbec at gaucho and then go to the airport, rather than arrive 3 hours early to enjoy a pack of crisps and a warm pint of Stella…
- Rob says:
  
  4 Aug4 August 11:46
  
  The quietest lounge is the one in 5B. However, BA (under orders, apparently, from Heathrow to keep people in the shops in the main terminal) only announces that flights are off 5B quite late. It is worth asking at check-in if they know the gate (they will, the plane will already be on it, being cleaned) and then head directly to 5B if it is there. If it is off 5C, you can still go to 5B and then go back to the train and head on to 5C nearer departure.
  
  If 5A, then they are much of a muchness. I prefer Galleries North – there is something about the layout that I find preferable to Galleries South.
  - Alan says:
    
    4 Aug4 August 11:48
    
    Interesting – I tend to use Galleries North when on a domestic flight (as the low numbered gates are at that end, beneath the lounge) but on long-hauls prefer to go to Galleries South as I generally find it quieter. Of course when I then got Gold I would nip to the First Lounge at South for a hot meal anyway 😉
  - Hingeless says:
    
    4 Aug4 August 13:13
    
    I didn’t know BA cleaned its planes, I thought they just picked up the newspapers off the floor in Club
    - Lady London says:
      
      4 Aug4 August 13:41
      
      🙂
    - YL says:
      
      4 Aug4 August 19:25
      
      Same here. 3 out of my last 4 BA shorthaul flight setas were dirty with crumbs and stains…..
Godfrey says:

4 Aug4 August 09:56

I popped in this morning (6am), only one other person, i was told not serving hot food, but will start in the next days/weeks. no newspapers, but can’t believe this is permanent ! Nice, bright and airy. Quite small so might get a bit overcrowded. I will check it out again in a couple of weeks. I left to get papers and breaky from BA lounge only to be told Munich flight leaving from C gates, so grabbed papers and left for C gates and no lounge, come on BA get a lounge in C gates, or at least give us back our mini bottle of champagne for the inconvenience !!!
The_Real_A says:

4 Aug4 August 10:28

OT – Just a reminder that Tesco Clubcard double up has started on all products at Tesco Direct.

At 2p/point – I value this ahead of Avios conversation (based on the fact im unable to see any sensible availability for the rest of the year on the routes i need, and i can get an ex-eu Turkish J seat for not much more than the tax on a BA redemption)
- Rob says:
  
  4 Aug4 August 11:42
  
  Yes, I saw this last night by accident. It is a shame we are at the wrong point in the Apple upgrade cycle because I would have jumped on a new iPad. Unfortunately, if I buy one now it will be have been superceded within 6 weeks.
  - The_Real_A says:
    
    4 Aug4 August 12:36
    
    I was considering a phone too, but it was £100 more than Amazon so the numbers didnt quite add up. Im still suprised at the vast range from Tesco Direct…
- Brian says:
  
  4 Aug4 August 12:23
  
  Don’t forget that RedSpottedHanky offer 2x face value for train tickets, so if you are buying the train tickets anyway and don’t need/want to go via some other seller, then that is also a definite 2p per point.
- Fenny says:
  
  4 Aug4 August 22:57
  
  I’m frustrated that for my £67 of vouchers, they’ve given me £50, £15.50 and £1.50. Not very easy to split when you want to spend £5 or £10 to double up and use the rest for assorted things, as the “change” comes back as points so not available as vouchers until the next statement date.
Liz says:

4 Aug4 August 17:58

Out of interest, should Amex Platinum supplementary card holders receive their PP card automatically or does it need to be requested. I’ve had one for about a year as the main cardholder but my husband doesn’t have one….
- Rob says:
  
  4 Aug4 August 18:38
  
  Not sure. What I do know is that’s wife’s was not renewed automatically this year (she is my supp) and I had to call Amex to get it.
  - Simon Spanswick says:
    
    4 Aug4 August 19:19
    
    This happened with me a couple of years ago. I was told then that if the supplementary PP card had not been used, a renewal would not be issued, except on request.
    - Liz says:
      
      4 Aug4 August 21:01
      
      Ok thanks both shall give them a call
    - Rob says:
      
      4 Aug4 August 21:25
      
      That is possible. This was for a one-off flight from T2 on Aer Lingus where she wanted to use Plaza Premium because she dislikes the Aer Lingus lounge. I think every other flight she has done in the last year was BA.
Andy says:

4 Aug4 August 19:25

Hi, do u get free champagne in the BA lounges in T5? If so which champagne is it? Thanks.
- Oliver says:
  
  4 Aug4 August 20:48
  
  Yes
  
  Galleries Club – I don’t know but not a famous name
  Galleries First – Tattinger Prelude (I think) and Castelenau Rose
  CCR – LP Grand Siecle
- Rob says:
  
  4 Aug4 August 21:24
  
  Yes, still Taittinger (the £45 a bottle version) in Galleries First which is surprisingly impressive.
  - John says:
    
    4 Aug4 August 23:19
    
    I was at the galleries lounge at LGW – Antoine de Castelnau Champagne is now in self service at the wine bar. Great improvement!
Johnny5a says:

4 Aug4 August 20:23

Have you seen the opening times? They’re closed from 6 Aug to 31 August.
- jeff says:
  
  4 Aug4 August 21:47
  
  Which opening times? #confused
- Arthur says:
  
  6 Aug6 August 13:16
  
  On executivelounges.com it lists the opening hours under the heading :”Normal opening times”, followed immediately by a calendar saying “We are closed all day on” and listing every day in August. Without any further qualification.
  
  Thanks to helpful support staff at ExecutiveLounges.com (who admitted that they too were confused when they looked it), I learned that the latter comment refers only to online bookings.
karen says:

4 Aug4 August 20:57

Priority pass,lets you in to the new T5 aspire lounge, with one free guest and is for 3 hours.hours. BA lounge is for business and first class passengers.on my they do have shower facilities,they have the relax pods area,hot and cold food and drinks.the bliss spa are £20 for a 20 minute appointment,you can pay the fee of 39.99 to gain access as a walk in,there is also another card which admits entry as a leisure card and is a pay as you go option.the lounge has TV areas,and flight information screens,it has a good variety of food and drinks.
- Leo says:
  
  5 Aug5 August 15:38
  
  You need to be specific about WHICH Priority Pass you are talking about. We don’t all have PP via Amex even when we have the “full” PP version as available through the website – as per Rob’s explanation above. Standard full PP will still pay for a guest unless obtained via Amex.
Phil says:

7 Aug7 August 17:32

Absolute rip off of £39.99

No hot food as advertised. Only stale sandwich and slice of cake!

After entering and finding out there was no food as advertised I asked for a refund and I would leave, however the Manager Joe Olival refused. Now taking it up with my Credit Card company.
- Rob says:
  
  7 Aug7 August 19:34
  
  Sounds like my 11am visit on Thursday!