I was invited to use the Global Services Lounge before my recent United Airlines flight from London Heathrow, a unique concept to LHR that also serves as an occasional overflow lounge for Premier 1K members.
United Global Services Lounge London (LHR) Review
This lounge within a lounge in London Heathrow Terminal 2 was once called the Global First Lounge and made available to travelers in international first class. When United eliminated its first class product, it left a dilemma for this space: it was too small to become a Polaris Lounge. Instead, it became a lounge for Global Services members, United’s invite-only top status tier that is determined based upon annual (or earning four million lifetime miles on United Airlines).
These days, it offers a tranquil space for not only Global Services members, but lucky 1K members when the main part of the lounge (which I reviewed here) is crowded. I happened to arrive during a crowded period in the afternoon before my flight to Los Angeles and was invited to use the Global Services side. You’ll find down a hall and around the corner from the check-in desk.
The biggest selling point of this lounge is how quiet it is, but I love the design and space…the Big Ben clock face adorning one wall is just beautiful and the use of trees and wine bottles to separate different sections of the lounge creates a very nice environment.
There’s even a little quiet area with a pair of lounge chairs:
Prior to the pandemic, the difference between the two lounges was that the Global Services side offered an a la carte menu. During my visit, one of the lounge catering workers told me that a la carte menus would be returning soon. That was in early June and it is now July 2022 and we have yet to see the menus return.
Currently, you’ll find the same selection of food and drinks that you will find on the other side of the lounge, though the bar is self-serve here. That food, by the way, is delicious and better than anything currently served onboard in United’s Polaris Business Class.
Gaining access to this lounge has become a delicate matter on FlyerTalk, with some 1K members offended they were not given the invite. My only advice is that we 1K members (myself included) should never ask for access. Access is currently granted as a “surprise and delight” courtesy and if we want it to remain that way, we best not stake out entitlement claims over access. Agent do have discretion in letting passengers use the Global Services Lounge. Let’s keep it that way by not pushing the envelope and demanding access when we are not entitled to it…
A few other notes:
- There are no showers in this lounge, but there are restrooms
- This side of the lounge may operate on more limited hours than the main lounge
- Global Services members are permitted to invite a guest or companions traveling on the same itinerary
CONCLUSION
This is a cool lounge that I hope to receive an invite to during my next trip through London…but I won’t bank on it. As of now, there is no set rules for entry beyond being a Global Services members, but many 1Ks, including this one, have been invited to check it out. The good news for those who do not get the invite is that there is no currently difference between the two lounges in terms of amenities beyond the self-serve bar.
For a review of the main United Club at London Heathrow, please click here.
> Read More: United Club London (LHR) Review
Just curious, are there other secret lounges for Chairman’s Circle members?
Of course, it’s likely next to impossible to become a Chairman’s Circle member
Handsome, and very very tastefully done.
As a 1K travelling on a paid Business ticket, I hope to get an invite when passing through in a couple of weeks time. However, the way I look at it is that it’s great if I get an invite, and if I don’t I still have the choice of the UA club (which I am very happy with if it’s not too crowded, or the SilverKris lounge which I also like very much. The problem is much more in the other direction, where I find the SFO Polaris lounge to be quite mediocre and the UCs to be terrible.
You don’t like the Polaris lounge, but you love the LHR UC? That doesn’t make any sense.
You also have access to Air Canada’s lounge which, granted, is either the second or third best Star Alliance lounge at LHR (I do know some people who prefer it over Singapore’s lounge). Might be worth it if the timing of your flight and other flights means the Air Canada lounge could be less crowded…
I do think the AC lounge has the best lounge coffee in T2.
The lounge is lovely but so many cuts since pandemic. As a GS, I was in there 2-3 times a month.
– They used to serve very high end champagne and wines which have all vanished.
– On-order dining from the menu and a beautiful dining room surrounded by the wine cases
– Personalized table service.
I was in LHR recently and the lounge food was poor.
I thought the food was good, but I do miss the a la carte menu.
Glad they’ve kept it open. I went there several times when in GlobalFirst, and really enjoyed the a la carte dining, as well as premium champagnes. It is a very nice space, though if the food is not more distinctive, I wouldn’t really mind it if I was not offered it as a 1K.
Somehow I’m starting to get the feeling that UA is toying with the idea of bringing back Polaris First?? Maybe when they announce their new orders for the 777x type?? Whether they do or don’t, don’t keep your hopes up peeps, it’s going to be classified as mediocre at best!!
Maybe a F-O-Y configuration
Most businesses do not pay for J any longer. However, they will pay for O. Make a nicer version of Premium Plus to placate the business travelers (maybe the old barcaloungers) and they put in a top notch F product, which the premium leisure travelers who insist on good service will pay for
Hey!, never thought about it that way and it does make sense. Creating a super F product and bypassing J altogether. I guess you could then build a good case for higher fares on an awesome First Class product? Only time will tell.
Not only would they be able to command high fares for a true F product, but also higher fares for the O product as well.
People would be willing to pay to sit in something with a 48 inch pitch, vs 31-34 in Y/Y+. I’d pay about 3-5K for that for a Transpac (assuming the soft product is up to par)
To keep F from becoming upgrade class, only upgrades to F would be from O, and they would be 80PP. Y can upgrade to O for 40PP
There is 0 chance that UA brings back F under the current leadership. This whole thread is a pipe dream.
Did I miss something? Since when is UA getting the 777X?
No, you didn’t. Just speculating here. Obviously, at some point, and probably even sooner rather than later,UA will need to start replacing at least some of it’s 777 fleet. You can bet they’re going to choose some version of the 777 X family fleet. I would be totally surprised, or maybe even disappointed if they just did it with the same Polaris J cabin we all know. At least a better iteration of the seat would be in order. Like I said, only time will tell, but like Derek pointed out, maybe an F, O, Y configuration would be a game changer. Surely they will need to do something different, something better for such a massive aircraft.
My sense of it was the LHR UC and its next door GlobalFirst lounge were an early idea to try to overcome the bad impression that their regular UCs made on customers who paid for business class (or international first, back then). The idea was to have a much better UC where almost all flyers were international (unlike, say, IAD, ORD or EWR). LHR was also a good place to start because it is such an important market. That then was superseded by the whole Polaris lounge idea that accompanied the Polaris rollout and the elimination of GlobalFirst. So the LHR UC is basically just an early experiment that would not be built today. At most, I suspect it would be toned down to an LAX level, with a separate Polaris. Maybe Matthew has more information on what UA’s original thinking was.
Hard to see bringing F back today. Especially as existing F on BA, AF and LH seem more likely to shrink than expand. There just seems to be limited demand for anything better than business class, which is so much better than years ago (except the soft product on UA). The last AF TATL flight I took a month ago, the La Premiere cabin was empty, though if I’d had a longer connection at CDG, I would have paid for an upgrade.
The LHR UC is actually just an updated UC very a similar feel to US domestic United lounges – ORD F gates and BOS to name two. Perhaps the LHR lounge was a prototype for the updated/nicer US lounges but it’s not really all that different – just a lot larger to accommodate the higher volume of traffic LHR receives at specific times. The food and drink selection isn’t a huge step forward and if it is, it’s probably due to the different standards of European vs. US lounge caterers/food in my opinion.
Agree IAD and EWR didn’t have a comparable product until their Polaris lounges opened (as well as the updated UC at EWR) which was a huge frustration for many flyers. My guess it United was caught between the UA/Continental merger and changing travel trends, and decided instead of the nicer lounge with separate F lounge, to go with the Polaris concept.
I think we’ll see the two LHR lounges (as well as Narita and Hong Kong which are similar setups) be replaced by a single Polaris lounges in the future if things keep on their current trajectory, although Hong Kong may never move forward given the travel restrictions.
I’m 1K and was just offered access December 2022. A pleasant surprise. Had no idea about it! Very peaceful and enjoyable.