Lounge Shower Review: British Airways Galleries Club Lounge, IAD (Priority Pass Hours)

note: this lounge functions as a priority pass lounge from 7 AM until 2 PM, at which point it closes for an hour and then reopens as the BA lounge. i accessed this lounge in the morning, so the experience may vary (albeit only slightly, i’d imagine) when it’s under BA control. quick side note: during PP hours only the front section of the lounge is open and there are minimal food and drink offerings.

update 2013-12-04 i was surprised to find amenities waiting for me this time, though i’m not sure if these were left over from when the lounge was a BA lounge the previous evening (the room required a cleaning before i was able to use it, and i was first in the lounge this morning).

i found it odd they gave you two bottles of conditioner until i looked in the shower — instead of shampoo and body wash, it was shampoo and shampoo! to be honest, i didn’t notice much difference when i used shampoo instead of soap, so umm, it’s all a wash? (BA DUM BUM!)

since this was the first time in three showers that there were amenities at all, your mileage may vary. i’m hoping they do rectify the double shampoo issue in the shower, though. and i guess if we’re going to get amenities, it wouldn’t hurt to get a toothbrush set since everything else is there.

 

ease of access and location: there is only one shower, located to the right of the reception desk. it was occupied and i just told the priority pass lady running the lounge (it seems to be her duty to do everything — check people in, clear dishes, clean the shower…) that i’d wait. i made myself a coffee, heard the shower room door once, then twice, and headed over. i opened the door to find the lady cleaning, so i waited outside. it’s not busy (at all) but i didn’t want anyone sniping my spot. there didn’t seem to be any sort of sign-up sheet to keep track.

the shower room itself is quite large (maybe for ADA purposes?) but the one thing i noticed right away was the lack of hooks (just one) and shelf space (none, but there’s a stool). i wasn’t about to use the baby-changing table lest i get some erm, yeah. you know.

the goods: i don’t know if you get anything more when the lounge is BA, but i got a bath towel and a floor mat. the bath towel was surprisingly plush. there is wall-mounted lotion and soap by the sink and wall-mounted body wash and shampoo in the shower. a weak hairdryer is provided.

i should have asked if they had toothbrushes available, but alas, i failed there (and just used the one i had in my carry-on).

shower:

it’s quite a nice large shower with a fold-down bench. the controls were a bit confusing, though. the bottom knob controls on/off and temperature, the top knob controls what the water comes out of — either the handheld or the wall-mounted or both.

the hot water was quite hot and the water pressure decent, although it was hampered by the crap wall-mounted shower head. only several of the holes spouted water and it felt feeble, but if you supplement it with the handheld it’s not too bad.

cleanliness and state of facilities: it seemed clean enough, but the ventilation could have been improved a bit. it remained steamy in there a bit longer than i would have prefered.

overall rating: 3.5 out of 5. what i loved: the size of the room, the elemis-brand products. what i didn’t love: lack of hooks and space to place things, lack of organization when it comes to the waitlist (this may be different when under BA management). if they add a bench (there’s more than enough room) things would be greatly improved.