Review: the Lufthansa airport lounges at London Heathrow Terminal 2

This is my review of the Lufthansa lounges at London Heathrow Terminal 2.

This is part of our series of reviews of airport lounges across the UK.  You see all of the reviews here.

My SWISS First Class flight to Dubai started at a worryingly early hour at Heathrow Terminal 2.  Passing through security at 4.30am for a 6am flight, I discovered that the lounges did not open until 5am.  I had to kick my heels for 30 minutes before I could go in.

I last visited the Lufthansa lounges in Terminal 2 in 2015 as part of an official tour.  Unlike the Singapore, United and Air Canada lounges which are out in 2B satellite terminal, the Lufthansa lounge is in the main building.

If you are flying on a Star Alliance carrier from there, especially short-haul, it is your only option.  The other lounges in 2A are the Aer Lingus lounge which we last reviewed here and the Plaza Premium (Priority Pass etc) lounge I reviewed here.

To be honest, unless you have a long layover, you are unlikely to want to walk over to the satellite terminal to try out any of the lounges there.  It is a long way.  If you do have the time, the United Club lounge in Terminal 2B is by far the best of the four Star Alliance lounges.

Inside the Lufthansa lounge at Heathrow

Apart from the First Class Terminal in Frankfurt (review) and the First Class Lounge in Munich (review), Lufthansa lounges don’t really ‘do it’ for me.  They are very utilitarian – plain walls, functional chairs and tables, large open spaces.  There is nothing to make you feel special, in my view.

That said, there is nothing wrong with what you get and the daylight is excellent.  There are two lounges – one for silver / Frequent Traveller card holders and business class passengers, and a Senator lounge for Gold card holders and anyone connecting to a First Class flight.  Slightly oddly, to get to the Senator lounge you must walk through the business lounge.  As I was flying in SWISS First I was given a bit of paper with a bar code on it to activate the door to the Senator section.

(To spoil the surprise, the only obvious difference between the two is that breakfast in the Senator lounge included sausages ….)

The Lufthansa Heathrow business lounge

This is the main business lounge which most people will use (pictures courtesy of a new iPhone 8 so you should see some improvement!):

and

and

and part of the hot breakfast, without the Senator only sausages:

Whilst I didn’t take a picture, there is also a large utilitarian business / working area with a table that could accommodate a small team meeting.  There is also a decent but not exceptional range of newspapers and magazines.

Inside the Heathrow Senator lounge

Once you pass through the door into the Senator Lounge, the utilitarian design does not change, except for the fake wall of greenery at the rear:

…. with some working space:

and

Here is the main dining area in the Lufthansa Senator lounge at Heathrow:

…. where you can eat at these uninspiring tables:

Fairly decent alcohol collection but no champagne, only sekt:

The main difference between the two lounges is this:

… although the main lounge does have fresh fruit segments and yoghurt which I didn’t see in the Senator area.

Conclusion

The Lufthansa lounge in Heathrow Terminal 2 is spacious and, at least at 5am, has a decent food spread.  United Club in Terminal 2B remains the stand-out Star Alliance lounge, but if you haven’t got the time or effort to walk over there then this will do perfectly well.

I would be happy to use it on a regular basis if I was shuttling between Germany, Austria, Poland, Croatia, Switzerland or Scandinavia and the UK with a Star Alliance carrier.  All it lacks is a sense of occasion.

A more interesting contest is between the Lufthansa lounge and the Priority Pass option downstairs, Plaza Premium.  In terms of design and overall style, Plaza Premium wins by a mile.  It also has a better food selection.  What is doesn’t have is any natural light and it also gets more crowded.  I get a feeling that, if I had access to both, I would end up switching between them depending on my mood on the day.

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.