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Terminal 5's £60m lounges for high fliers
Katharine Barney, Evening Standard20.02.08
These are the first pictures of the opulent airport lounges at Heathrow's Terminal 5.
Costing £60 million, they include a cinema, champagne bar, spa and Swarovski crystal chandeliers.
The lounges, covering a total of 15,000 sq ft, will open with the rest of the £4.3 billion terminal on 27 March. Not everyone will get to enjoy their comfort - they are for passengers travelling first-class or club-class, or in the Executive Club run by British Airways.
They include specially commissioned artwork and furniture imported from Italy. All offer complimentary food and drink, wi-fi access and computer and printing facilities.
The most accessible are the three Galleries Club lounges, open to first or club class passengers and Gold or Silver members of BA's Executive Club. They have a 20-seat cinema showing films and sport.
Next step up is the Galleries First lounge, for first-class and Gold Executive Club members. It has a champagne bar, a second bar covered in gold leaf and a wine gallery where tasting sessions will be held. Its guests can use the Elemis Spa, which has massage chairs and treatments designed for passengers.
A children's room in the Galleries First lounge has two plasma screens and a PlayStation. It was inspected by the 12 children who form BA's Kids' Council. Beau McCarthy, 13, from Wimbledon said: "I thought it was amazing. The lounges are brilliant, but I wish the terminal had an iPod shop."
The Concorde Room holds just 156 first-class passengers. It includes three private hotel-style bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. There is a restaurant, a Concorde Bar and a boardroom.
Furniture in the lounges includes four life-size wooden horses whose heads are crowned with lamps.
Gary Ranns, lounges manager at British Airways, said: "Terminal 5 will be a fantastic experience. It will make travelling a pleasure again and not a chore."
