I recently had the chance to check out the No1 Lounge at Gatwick Airport’s South Terminal. Gatwick’s South Terminal is pretty limited in terms of lounges. The only other option is My Lounge and the Clubrooms (British Airways’ lounge). The No1 lounge is a lot smaller than many flagship lounges at airports like Heathrow or Hong Kong. However, it had a nice cosy feel, was clean and not overly crowded. This was a nice change to the Clubrooms at Heathrow Terminal 5 which was completely full (my full review here).
To access this lounge it will usually cost you £34 per person. You can book online, which I strongly recommend as almost everytime I’ve visited it is full with a 45 minute wait. You are also granted access to the lounge if you have any of the following membership cards or a premium ticket with the following airlines. Thanks to my American Express Platinum I have unlimited Priority Pass Access so I managed to enter for free:
Lounges at Gatwick Airport
Despite being the UK’s second busiest airport, Gatwick has a pretty disappointing offering when it comes to lounges. The North Terminal has some good options, but my flight today was with Norse Atlantic who operate out of the South Terminal.
The No1 Lounge is located on the upper level of the departures area down a small corridor and up some stairs:
Interior & Seating
The lounge itself is quite small so the furniture does feel like it’s been crammed in. This gives it a slightly cosy vibe but despite this I would give it a positive rating. The furniture was all high quality and kept clean by the staff. I managed to find myself a secluded corner overlooking the runway which gave a great view of planes taking off and landing (more on that later). There were plenty of power sockets all over and the interior design feels nice and luxe.
There are also seperate areas such as the Sports Lounge with a massive tv, a library for quiet working and a seperate seating area near the entrance. The toilets were also kept clean.
Food & Drink
I arrived just after 10am so they were still serving breakfast. There was a relatively limited but good selection of both cooked and cold options. I went for a full english breakfast which really hit the spot. You could also get porridge, cereal, fruits and pastries. Most impressive though was the pancake making machine and a full honeycomb which you could break bits off of. I wouldn’t describe any of the food as haute cuisine but it was all good.
There are a few coffee machines scattered about the place with Douwe Egberts branded coffee. For breakfast at least there were a range of fresh fruit juices and tea. Water flavoured with fresh lemon and cucumber was also available and I assume that is an all day thing.
There is also a bar with bartender for all your alcoholic needs. Unlike other lounges (e.g. Clubrooms Heathrow) you can’t serve yourself alcohol which some may see as a negative.
Other Cool Stuff
The main highlight of the lounge for me at least was the spectacular view. I highlight this in my Youtube video but where I sat I had a view of all the planes taking off and landing which was fun to watch.
There was also free high speed wifi which is handy. Besides that though there is nothing much to talk about. No showers or spa areas like some of the worlds better lounges. But I only tend to use Gatwick for short haul flights so that’s not a major issue for me.
Final Thoughts
I was actually quite impressed by the No1 lounge at Gatwick. I have tried to enter several times on previous trips and always been turned away as it has been full. This is understandable as it is quite small inside, however, when I visited (10:30am) it wasn’t overly busy. I’m still not sure I would pay £34 to enter but if you have Priority Pass or some other way to access for free I would definitely go. Being able to grab a full meal and drinks for free with sweeping views of the runway is just a nice way to start a holiday.
More from me…
Please feel free to check out other related posts I’ve written:
- My review of the British Airways Galleries Club Lounge at Heathrow Terminal 5 – A much better lounge
- Best Airlines in the World – If you want to find out which airlines I think are better than British Airways, read this…
- Best Airline Alliances and why you should care– For a guide on how to decide between Oneworld, Star Alliance and Skyteam.
And if you fancy earning some fantastic rewards and Avios points through American Express, please use my referral links below:
- The Platinum Card – You Receive 35,000 Membership Reward points after spending £3,000 in the first 3 months: https://americanexpress.com/en-gb/referral/fREDEGgRA5?CPID=100493012
- British Airways Card: You Receive 12,000 Avios after spending £1,000 in the first 3 months: https://americanexpress.com/en-gb/referral/fREDEGuUeO?CPID=100493012