Best UK airport lounges

When we first started reviewing lounges in 2017, we paid £25, on average.

Some of the more luxurious ones had showers and spa facilities. All had free magazines. 

Despite this, our conclusion was that ‘you’d have to eat and drink an awful lot to make it worthwhile’. 

Since then, the spas have gone, the magazines are all online, and showers cost at least £25. They even took away the toast that you used to get at breakfast because it’s a fire risk. 

Despite this, the average price has rocketed. Booking months in advance for an off-peak trip, the average for the lounges we visited is now £42. Airport lounges – for economy passengers at least – are almost always a rip-off. 

 We've found a handful that might be worth the money - but only if you can get a special deal. 

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Undercover inspection of airport lounges 

Our inspectors 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. These include the quality of the food and drink, whether 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 May 2024 and September 2025, with most being visited in summer 2025.

Our latest round of inspections saw two lounges that were worth a visit - the Clubrooms at Birmingham and Gatwick South. 

Several other lounges were awarded three stars and may be worth booking if you can get a good price. 

Some cheaper lounges can be better

The most expensive lounge we visited was Newcastle's Suite by Aspire. It cost £68 and we should have got a welcome drink and table service. Neither was offered to our reviewer. Aspire later apologised, when Which? got in touch, and admitted it 'fell short of our usual high standards'. It's not the first time that we've been disappointed after paying well over £45 for a lounge.

Some lounges that cost under £40 - such as the My Lounge at Gatwick South and the Northern Lights lounge at Aberdeen - were rated better 

How to get the cheapest airport lounge 

When we checked prices for lounges, we found that booking direct - through the lounge operator - was never the cheapest option. Comparison site Holiday Extras was often cheaper, as was booking through the airport.

We've linked to lounges in the table below, but it's worth shopping around for the best price.

Best UK airport lounges

Gatwick shines – but Heathrow disappoints

We visited all seven lounges at Gatwick airport and found four that were worth at least three stars. The My Lounge in the South Terminal was particularly good value, while the Clubrooms in the North Terminal and the No1 Lounge in the South Terminal were also decent.

This was a big contrast to the seven lounges that we visited at Heathrow. Only one got more than two out of five from our reviewers, even though all but one cost more than £40 for the dates we checked. One got just one star.

Best airport lounge at Heathrow Airport

Heathrow T3 My Lounge
Two and a half stars out of five

One important thing to remember when booking a lounge is that paying more doesn’t guarantee a better experience. The best lounge we reviewed at Heathrow – the My Lounge at T3 – was also the cheapest. My Lounge is intended to be more family-friendly and informal than the other lounges in the terminal – there are even games for the kids. We liked the comfortable seating, but found it a bit small. 

It didn’t help that some of the best tables – the ones with the view across the runway – were reserved throughout our reviewer’s visit. And no one even arrived. Annoyingly, lounges often put ‘reserved’ signs on tables, without anyone having reserved them, so that they can control the numbers and have somewhere to put new arrivals. 

The biggest letdown, as always, was the food. It specialises in canteen-style dishes such as spicy rice, bean stew, spicy pulled chicken, fajitas and macaroni cheese. But the choice of spice or stodge isn’t a winning combination. 

However, for £6 more at Club Aspire T5 , we had a much worse experience. Even though we arrived at 6am, the floor was already splattered with crumbs and, even worse, it was hard to find a clean plate as most of them were stained. The food was just as unappealing, with congealed scrambled eggs and no extras such as mushrooms, tomatoes or toast. That left this Club Aspire with the lowest rating of all the lounges we inspected this year. Other lounges at Heathrow were only slightly better and equally expensive. In fact, over the past two years, our inspectors have made 10 visits to Heathrow lounges and haven’t found one that they recommend. 

Verdict If you’ve got a long wait before your flight, such as time for dinner and a couple of drinks, and the airport is busy, maybe the My Lounge is worth a try

Best airport lounge at Gatwick Airport

London Gatwick South, Clubrooms £44
Three and a half stars out of five

The Clubrooms are expensive. Booking long in advance, we found the one at Gatwick South available from £44 to £48. But booking the same week as your trip, you can pay £50. 

Despite this, they’re better value than the similarly priced Plaza Premium. Table service means there’s little of the budget hotel-style milling around the buffet table that you get at most airport lounges.

Some of the food at Gatwick South Clubrooms – our reviewer was astonished to announce, was nice – made-to-order poached egg and avocado at breakfast, ‘delicious’ Mexican-spiced chicken at lunch. Prosecco is included (unlike some lounges where you’d pay a supplement) and guests were handed a free bottle of water on departure, which is an unusually thoughtful touch. The fact that they’re ‘adults only’ also means they’re a calmer environment than other lounges. Four other Gatwick lounges got three stars out of five from our reviewers. Avoid Gatwick North’s Plaza Premium (‘a cheap hotel-chain buffet room ambience’) and South’s Club Aspire (‘crumbs and stains on the seats, and the floor could do with a wash’). Gatwick's My Lounge and No 1 Lounges are a few quid cheaper and not bad at all. The former has the curious claim to fame of being the only place in any UK airport where you can smoke (because of its outdoor terrace). When it’s not fully booked, it also offers one-hour deals for £25, which is long enough for a good-value dinner and a drink.

Verdict: The Clubrooms was the only lounge we visited that genuinely felt luxurious.

Best airport lounge at Stansted Airport

Escape Lounge, £40
Three stars out of five

Crowded Stansted is not a happy place to be, but we found this lounge offered a genuine escape. The Escape Lounge was refurbished in 2024, and we found it spacious and comfortable. We visited for dinner (spicy chicken, tomato pasta, sandwiches) in 2024 and lunch in 2025 (ramen, as well as English breakfast buffet or sandwiches) and both times items were replaced quickly and were hot and satisfying. It's also cheaper than many other lounges we visited.

Verdict: Don’t expect luxury, but this is better than the rest of Stansted.

Best airport lounge at Manchester Airport T1

Terminal 1 Aspire Lounge, £47
Three stars out of five

Last year, we optimistically said that we’d never go back to the Manchester T1 Aspire. The whole terminal (consistently dubbed – along with T3 – as among the worst in the UK in our airports survey) has long been marked for closure. 

However, if it’s still open for your next Manchester flight, the Aspire is more appealing than its neighbouring Escape Lounge. The floor-to-ceiling windows mean it’s bright and cheery, in contrast to the gloom of the Escape Lounge’s low ceilings and striplights. However, it’s expensive. 

Verdict: A fee of £47 is ridiculously pricey for what is a fairly standard lounge.

Best airport lounge at Edinburgh Airport

Edinburgh Escape £40

Three out of five

There are four pay-as-you-go lounges at Edinburgh Airport – two Aspires, a Plaza Premium and an Escape Lounge.

Unusually, they've all been OK when we've visited. We loved the fact that the Plaza Premium has great provision for kids – with table football, an air hockey table and even a small climbing wall – but, crucially, this was in a separate room to the quieter bar area for adults. We visited at midday in 2025 and were less impressed by the lunch options (Thai curry, pasta bake, salad) - all reminiscent of a work canteen - than we were by the Scottish breakfast (including haggis) that we'd had in 2024.

The Escape only opened this year, and we enjoyed the natural light flooding in from big windows, with views of the mountains in the distance. The food was, again, a fairly standard mix of pasta, salads and sandwiches, which didn't quite live up to the boast that it 'offers a taste of Scotland' (although there was shortbread).

We didn't visit either of the Aspires this time, but last time they also provided a solid, comfortable stay. 

Verdict: If you can get a good deal, any of the lounges here are worth a visit. 

Best airport lounge at Birmingham Airport

Birmingham Clubrooms £48
3.5 stars out of five

Booking in advance, we found that the Clubrooms at Birmingham were just £1 more expensive than the Aspire. For this, you can order a fresh, hot meal to your table, rather than getting up to scoop the usual sad breakfast from a buffet tray. The quality of the poached egg and avocado wasn’t perfect – our egg needed about 30 seconds less cooking time – but it was pretty good. It was at least as good as eating at one of the airport’s restaurants, but the coffee, unfortunately, wasn’t as good as the Costa round the corner. Anywhere aspiring to be luxurious should have coffee that’s at least as good as an average café chain. 

Verdict: It’s not Business Class, but it’s better than any other lounge at the airport

Can you get a lounge for free?

As the old saying almost has it, there’s no such thing as a free lounge. However, there are packages that include lounge access as one of the perks. 

On The Beach provides free passes with all of its five-star holidays. Some credit cards (American Express Preferred Rewards Gold, Barclaycard Avios Plus Card and HSBC Premier) provide access at a discount through Priority Pass or Dragonpass. 

Standard Priority Pass means you’ll pay a set fee of £24 for entry to lounges, or around £34 for entry to the fancier Clubrooms. If you’re a frequent flyer and a lounge-lover, you can also pay for a higher-tier Priority Pass membership that costs £229 a year and includes 10 free lounge passes. 

An alternative is the Dragonpass, which costs £68 a year, provides access for £24, plus one free lounge a year. But you can’t use it for the more luxurious Clubrooms. Some high-end credit cards, such as the American Express Platinum Card or HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard, provide unlimited lounge access for the cardholder and a guest. However, the American Express Platinum costs £650 a year. If you’ve got one, you probably fly Business Class anyway. If you have none of these, always check Holiday Extras and the airport’s website, as there are often deals available.

More tips on how to save on an airport lounge

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.