Best OneWorld Lounge in Heathrow Terminal 3

[SelectSys]

Tomorrow we have our journey home following our river cruise.  We are flying home on AA which I assume departs from Terminal 3.  What is the preferred OW lounge available to me?

 

Thanks in advance for your suggestions and advice!

 

 

[Gardyloo]

For years the Admiral's Club (AA) in T3 was miserable but was updated a few years ago and is now much more pleasant.  I haven't been in it, but the new-ish Qantas lounge has gotten terrific reviews, especially for the food and service.  I'd also see what the crowds are like in the Cathay Pacific lounge, which has always been a personal fave.  Your business class ticket or Sapphire or better OW status will get you into any of them.  

 

 

[SelectSys]

@Gardyloo That was a great video you posted!  I will try a couple as we have a longish connection although I think the Cathay lounge is at the top of my list.

[6rugrats]

4 hours ago, SelectSys said:

 What is the preferred OW lounge available to me?

 

 

 

 

You've received an answer, but when asking this type of question, it's helpful to add how you would have lounge access.  Class of service?  Status?

[Host Mike]

For me, it's between Quantas and Cathay.  I do tend to favor more to the Quantas side myself.

 

[SelectSys]

8 hours ago, 6rugrats said:

You've received an answer, but when asking this type of question, it's helpful to add how you would have lounge access.  Class of service?  Status?

  Business class with emerald status 

[SelectSys]

Since there were so many different options, we decided to try several of them since they are all clustered together: 

 

1) Cathay Pacific- first class lounge is small but nice.  We had breakfast there consisting of wonton soup and dumplings.  Everything we ate was tasty and western options are available.   The first class and business sides have decent views of the tarmac for those interested. While the lounge could possibly use a light refresh of furniture, the service was really good and the seating comfortable.

 

2) Qantas - we caught them at a bad moment as the Perth flight was just about to leave the gate and the lounge had just emptied.  The lounge wasn’t offering too much food t next hour and it was really dirty.  We probably caught it at the lounge’s worst moment.  The plane viewing options aren’t that good as the lounge doesn’t have too many windows.  The agent at the front desk did indicate that their gin bar was good but the moment wasn’t right.

 

3) BA first - very clean and quiet.  It is somewhat like the Terminal 5 lounge is design but a bit older.  My highlight was the availability of Don Julio

Anejo at the self service bar.  Good seats as well for watching the planes.  A nice buffet was available and this along with bright ambiance was the nicest for sitting and relaxing.  The BA lounge has an open feel compared to the Cathay lounge and is a very solid Terminal 3 option.

 

4) AA first - I wanted to like this more than I did.  The entry is definitely very new and modern but the lounge itself is kind of small.  The sit down restaurant was serving lunch but we didn’t really try any food as we had already eaten in the Cathay lounge.  The lounge was clean and quiet we had a seat by the window although the views weren’t the best other than a Virgin Atlantic 787.

 

While everyday is different, our two favorites for today were Cathay Pacific and British Airways.  

[Zach1213]

12 hours ago, Host Mike said:

Quantas

 

[happy cruzer]

Totally off topic, but really did not want to start a new thread with such a dumb question:

 

Never been in any of the airport lounges.  But I will have business class tickets purchased through AA and no advantage status.  We usually get to the airport 3 to 2 hours before a flight just because  🙂

Could we visit the lounge pre flight for food and/or beverages?

 

This would be in August, Finnair Oslo, Finnair Helsinki, IB Budapest, AA MAD then later AA DFW and AA (CUN)

 

General and/or specific advice appreciated.

 

And yes I will use FlyerTalk, etc. once I get smart enough to look for specifics.

[6rugrats]

See if you can find your answer here:

https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/clubs/lounges.jsp

[Gardyloo]

This would be in August, Finnair Oslo, Finnair Helsinki, IB Budapest, AA MAD then later AA DFW and AA (CUN)

 

Yes to all the European airports (not sure which lounge you'd use at BUD.)  You can only use lounges at US airports or at Cancun if arriving or departing as part of a continuous set of flights that begin or end overseas.  So for example if you flew through DFW on the way home from Europe, or on the way TO Europe, you could use the lounge.  If the trip starts and ends in North America, then no.  Hope that makes sense.  

Edited June 1 by Gardyloo

[happy cruzer]

Thank you to all for information.  I have bought one ticket i.e. RTW in business class.  Does that matter?

 

I am confused between ticket and trip?

[Gardyloo]

Sorry, my bad.  You can access domestic US lounges only when you're on an itinerary that day that includes an intercontinental origin or destination.  So for example if flying LAX-JFK-LHR with JFK only being a connection, you'd have lounge access in both LAX and JFK.  If you're stopping over in New York for a day or two, you wouldn't have access at LAX.

[happy cruzer]

Thanks.  I am starting to get it.  We'll be lounging in Europe 😉