Secret Gems: Exploring Qantas Lounge Heathrow T3

The Qantas Lounge Heathrow Airport may be an unknown little gem for some travellers. What with many Oneworld airlines directing passengers to specific lounges, some are simply not aware they can use this. Having previously visited this before I started this site, I had forgotten all about it!

This haven of luxury offers a tranquil escape from the hustle and bustle of Heathrow Terminal 3. Greeting you with an ambiance of sophistication and elegance, coupled with impeccable service that will leave you feeling like a VIP.

What can you expect? Plush seating spaces, a la carte dining with sit down waiter service, champagne and Gin bar, well appointed shower rooms, it has any discerning travellers covered.

Access & Location

Heathrow T3 lounges are given rather anonymous letter coding.

This lounge is referred to as Lounge B, just opposite the Louis Vuitton store. It is open to Qantas First and Business customers, eligible status holders from Qantas Frequent Flyer, Qantas Club, Emirate’s and oneworld® Emarald & Sapphire members and their guests are welcome.

Yes that mean’s you can access this lounge even if flying Economy on a short European flight! More on this later!

Right now, the lounge is open from 8am to 9pm daily.

Qantas Lounge Heathrow Layout & Design

The first set of glass doors will lead you through a small reception where you are checked through by scanning your boarding pass..

Designed to resemble a private members club, a mix of British and Australian touches completes the spaces. The aesthetic is sleek and contemporary, with a warm colour palette and stylish furnishings that create an inviting atmosphere.

The lounge is split over two levels with upper level featuring a glamourous looking champagne bar, most of the seating and work spaces, private shower suites, and buffet area.

This elegant brass-gilded staircase leads you to the upper floor..

When I entered around 4pm in the afternoon this April there were only a handful of guests scattered around the lounge..

There are various types of leather sofas, plush suede chairs and some deep upholstered seats to suite your preference.. there are also various sizes of coffee tables spread around you

Then at the back of the upper level there are open booth like seating options

Power outlets are conveniently located throughout the lounge. And the whole space has strong WiFi. You also have a workstation area..

The whole space felt very serene, like a good First Class lounge would be! Finally, you have a small area with decent views out into the airfield too

First order of business, I decided to have a drink at the champagne bar.

There was no menu here, but pretty much got the impression anything goes! I then moved onto checking out the buffet area..

Self Service Food & Drinks

Right at the back you have the buffet area which operates from open to close

There was a menu on display for the main options available..

The smoked paprika chicken with white beans looked great! I did not take a picture however :/ I did not plan on eating anything here as I had lunch before arriving at the airport and there was an even better option for dinner!

The hydration station was handy though..

Qantas First & Business Lounge A La Carte Dining

Qantas has allocated majority of downstairs space to the formal dining restaurant with full waiter service. Neil Perry inspired à la carte menu features the favourite quintessential British dishes..

This facility only opens at 5pm, and you have to reserve a spot! Since I arrived at 4pm, I booked a slot a 5.30pm. I need not have worried, it was still fairly empty then…

For a lounge of this size, dining has been made a substantial element here..

There are tables also affording airfield views!

Once I was seated, I had a menu offered too me with some water and drinks choices were taken first..

The menu was as follows:

I was a little confused why there was a buffet selection on this menu too, but I was explained this was just food that was already pre-prepared and I could have whenever I like.. the “From the Kitchen” items are cooked to order and thus require preparation time.

The number of Gluten free options was rather impressive! Since it was still before 6pm, I was not all that hungry so decided to order the Salt & Pepper Squid..

This arrived in 10 minutes and was rather brilliant. Very fresh inside and crispy on the outside. I absolutely loved the garlic dip and green chilli sauce. Not sure the dish could have been made any better !

I then ordered the Apple & Vanilla crumple, which I forgot to take a picture of, but was equally delicious 🙂

If this was a couple of hours later, I probably would have ordered a couple of other items. The waiter serving me was keen to check up on me and take any further requests, for which I could only manage more drinks!

Qantas Gin Bar

After 6.30pm the restaurant started to get busy so I moved onto the famous Gin bar..

This is essentially right under the stairs with stools on both sides.. this time there was a proper menu!

I had the Bloom Gin, which was as refreshing as expected..

I could have easily stayed here for hours to sample more of the gin but I had a flight to catch!

Qantas Lounge Shower Suites

A good lounge would not be complete without proper shower Suites, and this is an area where Qantas excels, see Hong Kong Lounge.

There are several shower rooms, which you again have to book and get an allocated number..

Each shower suite is adequately spacious with plenty of room to unpack your carry on and still move around.

They are well equipped with fluffy towels and slippers. Qantas has partnered with ASPAR by Aurora Spa, bringing you the luxurious Aurora skin care range.

The showers have good pressure so makes it a great way to freshen up before your flight.

Premium Service

To differentiate the experience for the First Class passengers, Qantas looks like they provide some sort of escorting service with dedicated First hosts. But it is not quite clear what more they do here.

If you know please enlighten me in the comments section!

BA Flights Operating From Terminal 3

Finally if you are a BA/Qantas status holder and not flying Qantas, you maybe wondering how you can use this lounge?

British Airways has always operated some European flights from here and recently shifted 12 long haul flights from Terminal 5.

Currently BA short routes that operate out of T3:

• Algiers
• Billund
• Bucharest
• Bastia
• Budapest
• Figari
• Gibraltar
• Gothenburg
• Krakow
• Ljubljana
• Luxembourg
• Marseille
• Nuremberg
• Olbia
• Oslo
• Perugia
• Prague
• Pula
• Sofia
• Stuttgart
• Valencia
• Vienna
• Zagreb

Overall Thoughts

This is a great lounge option if you happen to be flying out of Terminal 3 in Heathrow and made even sweeter by the fact that is is accessible to status holders. All the staff I interacted with were super friendly and helpful. The service was superb all around.

Qantas is doing a great job maintaining the standards here, few business lounges provide a good a la carte service these days. I would say this is almost on par with Virgin’s Clubhouse, the clubhouse does seem to have a more extensive menu however. Despite the restricted space/location of the lounge, has still managed to provide some window views out to the tarmac.

Terminal 3 does however also have excellent Cathay Pacific and American First Class lounges, that I will review soon too! Going forward, Qantas is planning on a whole new First Class lounge in T3!