After my pleasant flight in Air New Zealand Premium Economy, I had a few hours to kill at Heathrow. Priority Pass offers one lounge option in the Queen’s Terminal, so I headed there. The Plaza Premium Lounge London Heathrow Terminal 2 offers a comfortable area to sit for a spell. But unfortunately, as with too many lounges at Heathrow, it’s quite crowded.
Note: this post is part of my trip report covering my trip to Germany in March, 2019. Click here for the introductory post and trip report index.
Plaza Premium Lounge London Heathrow Terminal 2
Location
Just past the transit security/immigration area in Terminal 2. As you exit the transit area, the entrance is literally right in front of you, before entering the terminal proper.
Access
The lounge provides access to Priority Pass, Diners Club, and LoungeClub cardholders. In addition, anyone can purchase a pass for £40/$53. Interestingly, the lounge also offers “private resting rooms” for £60/$74 for three hours, or £100/$123 for 6 hours. You can book these in advance on the lounge’s website. That’s an interesting option if you have a long layover at T2, but don’t have time to leave the airport. The lounge’s hours are 5 am to 10 pm daily.
Review
As you step inside, a four-sided couch forms an impressive centerpiece. The decor, both here and throughout, feels modern yet warm, unlike the cookie-cutter minimalism in many lounges today.
Turn left for the bar. The lounge provides complimentary beer and wine, but most spirits incur an extra charge. Apparently, you can also order espresso drinks here. I wish I’d known that during my visit. But you can also already see how crowding is an issue here.
Proceed straight ahead for the main seating area, which extends mostly to the right. One communal table is on the left; continue down that corridor to reach the restrooms and showers. The lounge’s website suggests shower access costs £15/$18; however, I’ve read elsewhere that this fee may no longer apply.
From this point, the lounge extends a long way forward, with a dining area to the right, and seating to the left.
A busy seating area to the left consisted mainly of typical lounge chairs. (To be clear: there were empty seats, but it definitely felt busy.) The lounge does provide ample power outlets in the seating area. However, don’t forget an adapter, as they are UK-spec.
Across from this main seating area is a fairly large dining area. This area was actually fairly empty when I came in, but quickly filled up as lunch hour progressed.
The Plaza Premium Lounge apparently offers a full English breakfast buffet, but the spread already switched to lunch when I arrived. The cold selection consists of salad, sandwiches, and various cold cuts and cheeses.
There is also a pretty impressive hot selection for a contract lounge, with four mains and some tasty mini-samosas. For the main courses, I recall pasta, curry, and rice.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the dining area is an additional seating area with semi-private cubicles. There is also a relaxing room back here, but it was too crowded to go in and sneak a photo.
As for the design of the lounge itself, I found it a mixed bag. On the one hand, I enjoyed the modern yet traditional look of the lounge. It also featured nice design cues like the expansive couch and bar right at the entrance. On the other hand, the lack of natural light makes it feel like a dungeon.
Service was good throughout the lounge, with empty plates cleared away quickly. Password-protected WiFi was free and fast.
Final Thoughts
For a contract lounge, the Plaza Premium Lounge London Heathrow Terminal 2 is a good quality offering. Actually, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, as Plaza Premium usually does a decent job with their lounges. It features comfortable seating, a clean design, and a good food selection. However, crowding was definitely a problem on Friday at midday. I suppose that’s just to be expected at Heathrow these days, though.
