Well, I didn’t really love the No1 Lounge at Gatwick Airport North Terminal

I’ve always liked the No1 Lounge concept, as they are a step up from the usual bland airport lounge template. The facilities and design are attractive, making them a nice place to spend some time before flying.

Recently I passed through London Gatwick flying Qatar Airways and used this lounge. Passengers on the oneworld alliance airline are supposed to use Clubrooms (also by No1 Lounges) but this lounge was closed.

No1 Lounge Access

There are various ways to get into this lounge. You can pay into this lounge with a £34 fee online or you can also gain access with Priority Pass, Dragonpass, Loungekey and whatever Wexas is.

Passengers travelling on China Eastern, Finnair, Georgian Airways, Icelandair, Royal Air Maroc, RwandAir, TUI, WestJet and Rossiya in a premium class will gain free entry. All pretty standard stuff.

Why I Didn’t Love It

I arrived early in the morning, sometime around 7am and the lounge was quite busy. All the seats in the main area with the window view were all taken, and there were people and families everywhere. That is no big deal though, lounges are often busy, and I would have sat there too had here been space.

However, the thing that really struck me was how grotty everything seemed. Everyone who had been through this No1 Lounge seemed to have left a mess as there were crumbs everywhere and general disarray throughout. Staff were going around cleaning up and doing their best, but that was my impression. At one point some of the power failed to the heated food units, but they quickly sent someone to sort that out, so don’t get me wrong, the people employed were not being lazy. It was just in need of a clean.

Overall Thoughts

It’s weird to come away with a bad impression of what is a pleasantly designed lounge. Maybe I was just grumpy at that time of the morning and should have taken a glass of Prosecco from the tended bar (or paid the extra pounds and upgraded to Champagne!) to help change my view.

Anyone operating an airline lounge, airport or any facility where customers are visiting know the importance of cleanliness. Obviously I just happened to visit presumably between scheduled sweeps.

What do you think of the No1 Lounge at London Gatwick North Terminal? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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