Updated Review: Club Aspire Lounge Heathrow Terminal 3

Last year I had the opportunity to experience the Club Aspire lounge which is located within Terminal 3 at London Heathrow Airport. Today I would like to share an updated post with you based on my most recent visit to the lounge.

Club Aspire is a joint venture between three companies you may have heard of. Swissport (Aspire), the Collinson Group (Priority Pass) and The Club; and opened the lounge in late 2016.

Since my past visit the lounge has continued to roll out a number of improvements including expanded food offerings, table-side charging facilities

General Information

The opening times for the lounge are from 05:30 – 22:30 daily.
Entry starts at £22.49 for Adults and £15.99 for Children and can be booked online.

What JetsettingBen likes

• Complimentary food, drink and WiFi
• Priority Pass is accepted
• Shower facilities available (additional surcharge)
• Smart casual dress code but Christmas Jumpers are allowed in the Winter, phew!

I never used to be a fan of airport lounges but that changed a few years ago. Now I do love visiting an airport lounge as they are the perfect place to relax and unwind away from the somewhat small and congested departure lounge – especially at Terminal 3 or when flying from Gatwick. *shudders*

Location

Club Aspire is located “airside” at Terminal 3. For those of you not familiar with aviation terms, airside refers to the area past security. Once you’ve cleared security, follow the directional signs for “Lounge D”; which is located in-between gates 7 and 9.

Lounge Entrance

A lounge with multiple zones

Nowadays people travel for all sorts of reasons, so it’s great to see that Club Aspire have introduced multiple “zones” within the lounge which are perfect for different reasons. P.S. there is free WiFi throughout the lounge, thank goodness!

There’s a business zone where you can quite set-up as your own remote office and also a rest area which features these cool individual “rest-pods”. (See photo towards the bottom of the page). If I didn’t have a flight to catch, you could have probably left me there all day. It was very comfy!

It is worth nothing the Aspire Lounge is open to everyone; not just those lucky enough to be flying in business class or whom are elite frequent flyers.

Food and Drink

As with most airport lounges (at least here in Europe), food and drink is a complimentary offering with the exception of Champagne, Prosecco and Cocktails. Even Heineken is offered on draught!

Complimentary Soft Drinks

• Coca Cola/Diet Coke, Lemonade, Tonic/Slimline Tonic, Ginger Ale, Bitter Lemon, Soda Water
• Orange, Apple, Pineapple, Grapefruit, Cranberry and Tomato Juices
• Speciality Teas and Coffees

Complimentary Alcoholic Drinks

• Draught Heineken, London Pride Ale, Guinness and Continental Lagers
• Wines including Sauvignon Blanc, Malbec, Rose and Pinot Grigio
• Spirits including Gordons Gin, Belevedere Vodka and and Baileys.

Aspire also exclusively offer Spey Tenne single malt whisky, which is very popular. The single malt is distilled in the Scottish Highlands. It’s sweet but oh so delicious.

Now onto food…

Rise shine

Between lounge opening and 11:00 you can enjoy an array of hot and cold breakfast items including bacon, scrambled eggs and baked beans along with fresh fruit, yoghurts, granola, pastries and cereals. Yum yum.

The selection of food was plentiful and was constantly restocked whenever anything was running low.

Time for brunch, or should I say lunch?

At least two hot dishes are offered which rotate often. The offerings for July and August include Chicken and Chorizo Pasta or a Vegan Three Bean Mexican Chilli. Looking ahead to September you’ll find a Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff  and a Sweet Potato, Chickpea and Spinach Curry.

Additional options include a soup of the day, salads, cold meats, cheese boards, bread rolls, cakes, scones, crisps and olives to name a few things on offer. Vegan and Gluten Free options are available.

As I was visiting the lounge around 07:30 in the morning, I opted to eat pastries and a bacon roll before it was time to venture to my gate.

Keep those devices powered up!

As with any traveller nowadays, the chances are you’ve got an abundance of portable electronic devices that you want to ensure are fully powered up for your flight and first few hours at your destination. Well, I was very impressed that the lounge offered table-side charging points for your devices with both plug and USB ports. Whilst you try and resist using your phone whilst it charges up, there are plenty of newspapers and magazines to choose from. The travel ones will give you great inspiration for a future trip. Just saying.

Other Information

Access to Club Aspire is available from three hours prior to the scheduled departure time of your flight. I learned that one of the advantages of booking directly via the ExecutiveLounges website is something called their “Guaranteed Delay Cover”. If your flight happens to be delayed, you are welcome to remain in the lounge until the flight is ready for boarding. That’s not bad!

Showers are available for an additional cost of £15 for 30-minutes. This includes towels and toiletries. There are three showers within the lounge, one is wheelchair accessible.

A “smart casual” dress code applies, which is something I have absolutely no problem with. I know it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you are thinking of booking it’s worth checking for further information on the website before confirming your reservation. Think of what you would wear going to a nice restaurant. 😉

Final Thoughts

The Club Aspire Lounge at Heathrow Terminal 3 is a great place to unwind away from the crowds before your short or long-haul flight. I’ve visited a couple of airport lounges over the years and I would rate Club Aspire as a perfectly suitable airport lounge to consider if you’re flying from Terminal 3, especially if you don’t qualify for lounge access through your airline and want to treat yourself. It’s quite small, but even at a peak time in the morning it didn’t feel overly crowded.

The standard cost of entry is reasonable and you’d be challenged to enjoy some food, a couple of drinks and a place to relax elsewhere. If you’re flying from Terminal 5, there is a lounge located there too!

If you want to book a visit to Club Aspire at LHR T3, click here and don’t forget to check out the virtual tour below!

_____

Please note: I was a guest at the Club Aspire lounge, however all views remain my own.