Saturday, September 5, 2015

Review: Singapore Airlines' London Heathrow SilverKris Lounge

I've just created this blog and started thinking on where to start, and figured out I'll start with one of the most Gluten Free accommodating lounges I've had a chance to visit. It was during a business trip I took a few months back and didn't consider the fact that I'll be opening a blog when I was taking just the minimal amount of photos (planned for a Flyertalk review), but I promise to make up to it during my next trip through Heathrow.

Anyway, the new SilverKris lounge was opened exactly one month before my visit (as the receptionist pointed out to me). My original intention was to visit all 4 Star Alliance lounges during this visit and decided to start with the SilverKris lounge assuming that the best airline operating out of terminal 2 will also have the best lounge. As I was starving after a spending the day in the city I headed to the food section. First thing that caught my eye was the allergens legend. That's right, not a sign stating "Please ask our staff about any food allergies" but rather had (almost) every food item marked with its relevant allergens icons which can be mapped through the legend.

Legend

Sample food marking
Hot dishes

Out of those hot dishes, the Spiced Butternut Squash soap, and another dish of Pad Thai were gluten free and were delicious!

Deserts were next on the list. The cheesecakes you can see here in the photo didn't have any labeling on them, yet seemed too good to be just left alone, so I've asked one of the staff members to check with the chef (saw at-least two chefs working non-stop through the kitchen window) and gladly she came back with the all clear on the gluten! Yippee!

Cheesecakes
For celebrating their new lounge they also offered us a Singapore Sling ice-cream. Also gluten-free.
Singapore Sling Ice-cream
The buffet also features a quite boring self-serve drinks and snacks table.
Drinks and snacks

By this time I was full and went ahead to visit the rest of the lounge.

The lounge features a full service bar which always seem to be unattended when you approach it, yet, the second you glare at it, the bartender pops out from somewhere and takes your order. As I was already in the spirit I've ordered a Singapore Sling, which was OK, but  when you're ready for your drinks I recommend visiting the United Club nearby which features the most amazing and longest airport lounge bar I've even seen, with an impressive cocktail menu. I'll get a better review of the United Club the next time I'm there but you can see a part of it two photos down, and to the left...

The SilverKris full service bar (with an hidden bartender)


The United Club bar (to the left of the photo)

And for the rest of the lounge:

Personal work pods which, while small, give a decent work-space and privacy:

Coffie and soft drinks station:


And a small children play area:

That's it for this lounge. My original plan was to visit all 4 of them (Singapore's, United's, Air Canada's and Lufthansa's), but since both the SilverKris lunge and the United Club exceeded my expectations (I'm mostly used to the crappy U.S based United Clubs), I decided to skip the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, and assumed I'll stop at the Lufthansa Senator Lounge on my way to my Swiss flight to Zurich at Concourse A as this is where I read all the short-haul flights depart from, but about 15 minutes before boarding it was announced on a B gate and I figured it wouldn't make sense to walk all the way back to A.

Do you know any other airline lounges using such clear marking regarding what you can and cannot safely eat? 

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