Review of the impressive Malaysia Airlines lounge in London Heathrow Terminal 4

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There is my review of the Malaysia Airlines lounge in Heathrow Terminal 4.

You can find full details of Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounges on this page of their website.

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

EDIT: This lounge was permanently closed in 2021. It is possible it will reopen at some point under new management but you cannot use it at present.

As far as I can tell, I have visited every lounge in Terminals 2, 3 and 5 at Heathrow. There are still a couple of hold-outs in Terminal 4, however. I have now ticked Malaysia Airlines off the list and will be visiting the Gulf Air lounge in May. I will only be missing the King David Lounge in Terminal 4, but as El Al is not in an alliance I can’t see a way of penetrating that one unless the manager Plaza Premium gives me a tour. Whether I would then get a certificate from the airport remains to be seen!

Inside the Malaysia Airlines lounge at Heathrow

I visited the Malaysia Airlines lounge after my tour of the new A350-900 aircraft which I covered here. It was very quiet by this point, as most passengers had already moved down to the gate.

I walked in with absolutely no prior knowledge of the space whatsoever. Unlike most lounges, I had never read a review of this one and I had never heard any feedback from anyone who had used it. What I found therefore came as a very pleasant surprise.

There are two key things you should know about the Malaysia Airlines lounge:

it has some of the most amazing views of any lounge at Heathrow – because it was built as a tiny extension to Terminal 4, and does not use an existing space, the airline was able to get wrap-around floor-to-ceiling glass walls on one side. You can even see Windsor Castle on the horizon.

it has a dedicated First Class / Business Suite area with restaurant-style dining which can also be accessed by British Airways Gold card holders and oneworld Emerald equivalents

This means, for clarity, that if you are flying on Qatar Airways from Terminal 4 at a time when the Malaysia Airlines lounge is open (the times are listed below) then you could use the Malaysia Airlines lounge instead. British Airways Gold members would have access to the First Class area. There are no other oneworld airlines flying from Terminal 4 (I think).

The Business Class / British Airways Silver / oneworld Sapphire area

When I arrived breakfast was still out. The seating was broken down into a number of areas. You have a dining area:

…. and the main seating area:

These pictures don’t really give you a proper feel, however, because the huge glass windows give a sense of light and space you don’t really pick up. Looking one way you see the Jet, Gulf and Saudia aircraft:

…. whilst the Malaysia Airlines A350 is off to the left:

This gives you a good impression of how much you can see:

This nondescript circular space:

…. is actually a small kids playroom. This is one reason why you might want to choose the Malaysia Airlines lounge over the Qatar Airways facility.

Here was the breakfast buffet on the Business Class side:

Hot options included nasi lemak, chicken sambal, mee goreng, chicken sausage, plain omelettes, beans, mushrooms and lyonnaise potatoes. There are also cold options:

As it is always a bug-bear of mine, I should mention that there was a small but suitably upmarket selection of newspapers and magazines.

There is also a bar in the lounge which I didn’t photograph.

The Business Suite (First Class) / British Airways Gold / oneworld Emerald area

The Malaysia Airlines lounge team was very proud to stress their catering credentials. Long-term readers will know that I have always said that the Qatar Airways lounge in Terminal 4 has the best food in Heathrow. According to the Malaysia team, however, Qatar Airways has recently switched caterers and much of the food in its lounge is no longer cooked fresh. Malaysia Airlines still cooks all of its lounge food on the premises.

This is the dining area. Remember that there are only FOUR Business Suite seats on the aircraft, so I doubt it gets busy. The only other people here would be oneworld Emerald / BA Gold card holders.

The hot buffet options at breakfast include chicken curry puffs, sweet potato curry puffs, vegetable spring rolls, vegetable samosas, paratha and dal curry.

I’m not sure what a la carte options are also available at breakfast. I did pick up the evening menu, where the ‘cooked to order’ options were:

fish and chips with mushy peas and tartare sauce
mee goreng
oxtail stew
vegetarian tempura

…. with vegetarian spring rolls as an appetiser and chocolate fondant or bubur pulut hitam for dessert.

Once you’ve finished dining, you can retire to this slightly eclectic First Class corner or go back into the main area to enjoy the views.

Conclusion

Given that Malaysia Airlines has just two flights per day out of Heathrow, and with only a relatively small Business Class cabin, I was impressed by what I saw in its Heathrow lounge.

I haven’t tried the a la carte food (I did try the buffet, which was good) and I have no idea how busy it gets, but I doubt anyone would be disappointed by a visit here.

If you are flying on Qatar Airways and want to try the Malaysia Airlines lounge, it opens four hours before the departure of the two MH flights. This means around 7am for the 11am flight and then again around 5.35pm for the 9.35pm flight.

Thanks to the Malaysia Airlines team for my tour. You can learn more about Malaysia Airlines lounges on their 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.