I recently flew from Gatwick to Mykonos for a Cyclades island-hopping trip. I don’t often fly from Gatwick, so I thought it would be a good chance to try out the new Plaza Premium Lounge at North Terminal.
Arriving at the Gatwick North departure area at 5:30 AM, the airport was already hectic with queues for most restaurants and cafes, limited seating and busy shops. We headed straight to the Plaza Premium lounge for our pre-booked slot, where we stayed for two hours. At this time of day, the lounge was spacious, had plenty of natural light, and was not crowded. After reading reviews, I knew this lounge could be extremely overcrowded at times, but at 5:30 AM, it was ideal!
This lounge was originally the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse before being taken over by Plaza Premium and reopening in 2021.
In this post:
Location
In Gatwick North, all the pay-to-use lounges are grouped across four floors: the No 1 Lounge on the ground floor, and both Plaza Premium and Plaza Premium Express on level three.
To get to the lounge area, follow the signs to gates 45-54 and 101-107, and you will see the entrance on your right. The area was much easier to find in comparison to past experiences at Heathrow!
My Experience
Checking In
No queue at all. A friendly member of staff asked if we had visited before and gave all the info we needed. There was no list, as on our recent T5 Plaza Premium visit; he simply scanned the QR code on the DragonPass app and boarding pass.
Seating
The lounge is spacious with plenty of seating areas to choose from. The dรฉcor was stylish, and the furnishings were of high quality throughout.
As you walk to the right of the door, there is a quieter section nearer the buffet. This area was the most popular as it got closer to our flight departure time.
To the right of the lounge, there were lots of tables and a kids’ soft play area. This area was noisier because there were lots of families, although this won’t always be the case.
There were also individual seats with charging ports and lots of nice high-back seating with window views. To the right, you could see the EasyJet planes and to the left, British Airways and long-haul aircraft.
Food
Breakfast was the order of the day during my visit, but the spread wasn’t especially memorable. Everything was self-service, with the usual continental staples: pastries, breads, yoghurts, cheeses, cold meats, fruit and cereals. The standout items were the pastries and cakes, which were fresh and tasty.
There was also a hot breakfast counter, though the selection felt limited. The options available didn’t look particularly appetising, and the absence of hash browns was a let-down.
I made the most of the food selection, considering I was flying EasyJet and wasn’t planning to purchase food. With a bit of mixing and matching, I still managed to put together a decent plate to start the morning.
Drinks
The lovely marble-effect bar was well-stocked and quiet at this time of morning.
There was a bar with a bar menu, but there were also self-service beers, wines and spirits, as well as soft drinks and ice.
The spirits were also self-service, but there was a variety of other choices behind the bar. The bar also has some premium drinks at an additional charge.
The coffee machine was very good and produced delicious coffee. Coffee machines in lounges (and hotels for that matter) are always a bit hit and miss! There was also a nice selection of syrups and Twinings teas.
The soft drinks were also self-served, which differed from other Plaza Premium lounges I’ve visited. There were also some cans behind the bar. Fridges near the children’s play area were empty. They were either not stocked or the lounge has switched to self-pour.
Toilets
The toilets fell short… There was no shower, the baby changing and accessible options were out of order, and the rest of the toilets were subpar.
The layout was a unisex corridor with female toilets on one side and male toilets on the other.
For Families
Travelling with a one- and five-year-old, I found the children’s play area useful. The wall map decor was a nice touch, and there were plenty of highchairs too.
The lounge had a more family-friendly atmosphere compared to past Plaza Premium lounges I’ve visited. However, this may have been because we opted for a flight so early in the morning. There were plenty of highchairs and a soft play area at the far end. There was also table football, which some older children were enjoying.
Unsurprisingly, this section was noisier, though the sound didn’t carry into the quieter seating zones near the buffet. It was, however, right next to the open door of the Qatar Business Lounge.
The Qatar Business Lounge
To the far right of the lounge, after the kids’ play area, was the door to the Qatar Business lounge. The lounge only opened halfway through our visit, and people would walk through the Plaza Premium Lounge to be given the Qatar Business food menu and enter. There were lots of people who had a quick walk around and left – maybe to better Oneworld lounges in the terminal!
Qatar used to use Clubrooms as their lounge, so this was new to me! There are also reports of even more of the lounge being used for Qatar during busy times. Have you used this lounge? Let us know in the comments below!
Other Aspects of the Lounge
There was a single screen displaying the departures. It would have been good to have a few more throughout the lounge.
Leaving the Lounge
We were fortunate to be extremely close to our boarding gate when the announcement was made.
Booking and Access
I had two free lounge passes left from the Barclays Travel Plus Pack via DragonPass. I also had six discounted passes at a rate of ยฃ20.50 from Barclays Avios Rewards. I used the remaining two passes and paid for one of us with a discounted pass. For more info about this, make sure you read our guide to lounge access with lounge passes.
Using DragonPass for lounge access gives three options at Gatwick North:
- No 1 Gatwick North – 4:00-21:00
- MyLounge Gatwick North – 4:00-20:00
- Clubrooms – 6:00-18:00 – Read our review here
You can also opt for a ยฃ18 voucher at one of the following:
- Aerospa – right in the middle of the terminal
- Sussex Hours Kitchen and Bar
- Joes Coffeehouse
- Giraffe
- Sonoma
This lounge also accepts Priority Pass, which you can either purchase or get along with an eligible credit card or bank account, such as the AMEX Platinum.
Purchasing Access
You can book Plaza Premium North directly via the Plaza Premium website, choosing either a 2-hour or 5-hour stay.
- 2 hours: ยฃ40.50 for one adult, ยฃ68.67 including a child
- 5 hours: ยฃ67.50 for one adult, ยฃ114.75 including a child
Children under two enter free of charge. Plaza Premium often runs promo codes, so it’s worth checking before you book.
Final Words
Overall, I enjoyed the visit. The lounge was spacious and child-friendly, and the food selection was good, though I didn’t sample the hot dishes this time. As a family option, I’d happily return, though if travelling solo, I would most likely opt for the No 1 lounge.
In comparison to other Plaza Premium lounges I’ve visited, it’s a far cry from the Plaza Premium T5 I visited earlier in the year and similar to my experience at the T4 version, although less crowded.
You can read more about the lounge on the Plaza Premium website here.
2 comments
Iโve used this lounge as a Qatar customer and itโs shockingly bad compared to any other Qatar lounge Iโve visited. No champagne and a really limited menu. You go to the bar with a โenhanced offeringโ voucher which just means cheap Proseccoโฆ
I use this group of lounges weekly and No1 lounge is by far the better of the two standard lounge options. I only use the Plaza on the occasions where No1 is at capacity. The food is significantly better and the ambiance about the same. Obviously if you fancy paying the upgrade Clubrooms downstairs is better but has no natural light and gets super busy occasionally with premium passengers from long haul carriers who donโt have their own lounge.
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