Best and worst UK airport lounges

We rated airport lounges on food, drinks, cleanliness, space and facilities – and too often they came up lacking.

Buffets were unappetising, ‘premium drinks’ were extra and there was no more space than you’d find at the airport pub or café.

This is despite the fact that the kind of pay-as-you-go lounges where everybody’s welcome – not just business travellers – are more expensive than ever. 

The Aspire lounges we looked at were an inflation-busting 40% more expensive at the beginning of this year than when we previously checked in 2020. We checked again for summer 2024 and they're even more expensive than in January.

You’ll now pay between £30 and £48 for a lounge - even booking weeks in advance.

Undercover inspection of airport lounges 

We review lounges anonymously, and pay for all visits.

Our lounge rating, of between one and five stars, is based on an assessment of a number of criteria. This includes the quality of the food and drink, if there is enough seating and whether the lounge is clean and well staffed. 

We carry out reviews of airport lounges on a continuous basis and all of the lounges below have been visited between February 2023 and May 2024.

Our latest round of inspections saw a new, record-high score. Gatwick My Lounge, in the airport's South Terminal, was rated 4 by our inspector. And we did find decent lounges at Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester airports that are worth a visit - if you can get a cheaper deal through one of our tips below.

For more independent travel advice and recommendations, subscribe to Which? Travel

Which? Travel trusted travel advice

Independent recommendations and inspiring destination ideas from the experts. £4.99 a month, cancel any time.

Join Which? Travel

Best UK airport lounges

Which airport lounges are worth the money?

Gatwick My Lounge, in the South Terminal, is the best rated airport lounge we inspected, receiving four stars out of a possible five. 

It’s owned by Swissport. In fact the majority of airport lounges are owned by Swissport. It owns or co-owns the Aspire, Clubrooms, Gateway,  No1 Lounge and Upper Deck brands. That’s 12 of the 21 lounges we visited.

The Escape and 1903 lounges are owned by Manchester Airport Group, while the third firm in our table is Plaza Premium. Skylife in Southend is owned by the airport itself.

The Escape lounges we visited were typically cheaper than other brands – but with budget decor and food to match. Even including the luxury 1903 lounge at Bristol airport, all Escape brand lounges were rated less than two stars out of five.

For the other firms there was more variation, with scores ranging from one and a half stars to three for the same brands at different airports.

Best airport lounge we visited at Heathrow 

There are six pay-as-you-go airport lounges across Heathrow’s four terminals. We liked the Heathrow Plaza Premium at T2 much more than the same brand’s lounge at T5, or the Club Aspire in the same terminal.

Heathrow Plaza Premium T2 £45

3 stars out of 5

This isn’t a lounge for plane-spotters. There are no windows, but with its dark wood and soft lighting it looks much better than many of the lounges with runway views. Food was above average, and included chicken curry or vegan meatballs with quinoa salad. Like many lounges it was busy, with staff fighting a mostly successful battle to keep tables clean and free of plates. Our only real concern was the price. As usual, ‘premium’ drinks were extra – £4.50 for a 12-year-old blended whisky, £40 for a bottle of champagne – which is, admittedly, cheaper than at airport bars. Beer and wine was free. The best reason to book, though, was the warm, fragrant brownies that arrived halfway through our stay.

Verdict: If you can get a better deal (see our tips), this is a pleasant place to relax and have a meal.

Best airport lounge at Gatwick 

We’ve visited six of the seven lounges at Gatwick and found that the most expensive ones aren't necessarily the best. Both No1 Lounges were pretty good, particularly No1 South with its impressive runway views. We found the supposedly luxury Clubrooms disappointing. The impressive decor didn't make up for toilets that hadn't been cleaned recently when we visited and slow clearance of tables.

Our favourite was My Lounge - also at the South Terminal. 

My Lounge, South £34

4 stars out of 5

My Lounge has the unique selling point that it's the only place in any major UK airport terminal where you can smoke. Best to whisper this, though, because its small, outdoor terrace (pictured) would lose its charm if overrun by gasping smokers. 

The lounge inside is simple but self-service beer pumps and fridges mean you can get a drink quickly. The main food choices - chicken pasta, beef and veg hotpot and jerk sweet potato with rice - were all, sensibly, things that are difficult to mess up. Unlike in some lounges we've visited, the pancake maker was actually working.

You won't get the luxury touches here that you'll find at some lounges (sparkling wine is extra), but it does the basics very well at a very good price. 

Verdict This is among the cheapest, as well as best, lounges we've visited.

Best airport lounge at Stansted airport

Escape Lounge £32

2 stars out of 5

There’s only one lounge at Stansted Airport, called the Escape. We were no more impressed here than by the same brand in Manchester. It was clean enough and, at £32, cheaper than some other lounges, but the dull food let it down. You’re better off going to one of the airport’s bars or restaurants.

Verdict: Save your money for a meal elsewhere.

Best airport lounge we visited at Manchester airport

There are four lounges across Manchester’s two terminals. We weren’t impressed by either of its own-brand Escape Lounges, but the Aspire at T1 was much better. During our visits this time, the premium 1903 Lounge wasn’t available, but it was one of our favourites when we visited pre-pandemic.

Terminal 1 Aspire £40

3 stars out of 5

It's often the case that lounge ‘runway views’ turn out to be dull vistas of the parked planes on an airfield. Here, the floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over planes taxiing towards take-off give the room an energy that was lacking in the Escape lounge. It’s also much cleaner, despite being just after lunch when we visited. It looked like more thought had gone into the main meals – spinach dhansak with rice or beef ragu and pasta – than at the Escape, too. We’d be worried about how hot it would be here in the height of summer (other visitors have complained about poor air con, given those big windows), but in winter it’s bright and appealing. Modern decor makes this look a bit more like the chic lounges of our imagination. However, it does get busy.

Verdict: Worth a visit, before the whole terminal closes in 2025.

Best airport lounge we visited at Edinburgh airport

Aspire Lounge £38

3 stars out of 5

There are two pay-as-you-go lounges at Edinburgh: Aspire and Plaza Premium.

We visited the Aspire where the hot, nourishing chilli con carne or mac and cheese were improvements on food we’d seen in some other lounges. We loved the scones and clotted cream. It was just as well we didn’t want to work, though, as the booths were positioned by the entrance with people passing by constantly.

Verdict: A good choice of food, but not somewhere to work. 

Can you get a lounge for less?

If you’re planning to visit more than five lounges a year, a basic Priority Pass (£69 for first year and includes most but not all lounges in our table) might make sense. Lounge access then costs a flat £24.

An Amex Gold card gives you free lounge entry four times a year. Barclaycard Avios Plus gets you into most lounges for £18.50. On The Beach offers free lounges with four or five-star holidays.

Failing that, shop around. Gatwick North’s Plaza Premium was £8 cheaper on Gatwick’s website (£36) than Plaza Premium (£44). Check Holiday Extras and Lounge Pass, too. They’re rarely cheaper in our experience, but worth a look.

If you know you want a lounge then do book in advance - prices are almost always higher if you leave it to the last week or two before your flight.

The best and worst airports

Airport lounges are likely to be most appealing at the worst airports. If you’re visiting a smaller airport, you’re likely to spend less time hanging around – and they’re generally better anyway.

See our guide to the UK’s best and worst airports to get an idea of whether you might need somewhere to hide from the chaos.

How we review airport lounges

All of our reviews were carried out by Which? staff in 2023. We paid for entry to all the lounges we reviewed.

We don’t accept freebies and all our reviews were anonymous and independent.