London Gatwick South My Lounge

The My Lounge is a nice new addition to the lounge scene at London's Gatwick South Terminal, with the airport's only outdoor terrace, plus the usual complimentary food and drinks, a games room, and a bar where you can Mix Your Own Cocktails.

Operated by No1 Lounges, it has a very different style, and offers 'lounging without the formality' according to No1, with a laid back loft-style setting.

It is also marginally cheaper than the main No1 lounge, and very different in style to the No1 lounge's Club Aspire.

My Lounge London Gatwick South

The London Gatwick South My Lounge is on the ground floor after security, up the corridor between Duty Free and the Grain Store, and then upstairs again. If you don't want to go via the shops, and two flights of stairs, there is a short cut on the same level as security, via the corridor as you leave security, to the left, and not down, the escalators.

The My Lounge at Gatwick South occupies half of what used to be the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse, but it has a very different loft style atmosphere, and it looks very much like a Manhattan loft, with dim lighting, lots of use of (fake) brick walls, and metal screens to separate the various parts of the lounge into themed rooms.

The London Gatwick South My Lounge can get exceptionally busy in the main holiday season, which is why it's a little odd that much of the furniture is huge. Dominating the lounge is a large wooden dining table with yellow chairs, which takes up a huge amount of floor space, as is only occasionally used by passengers with laptops. For eating, there are plenty of dining tables, with 1+1 chairs on each side, and a fake plastic plant in the middle. You can also sit at the bar counter.

The famous outdoor terrace, is small with just three round tables and a bench, but for most people it is just an area to smoke in. At the entrance you'll see lots of signs saying it is the only area at the airport with an outdoor terrace, and many passengers seem to pay entrance to the lounge, just so they can smoke. There certainly isn't much of a view, although you can just see the tops of some of the aircraft if you lean around the corner.

Indeed, that is a major problem with much of the lounge: you can't see a lot of the view, just the tops of some flat roofs.

Don't miss the children's room either, with a video games console, table football and toys.

Incidentally, if you are confused as to the multitude of No1 lounges at Gatwick south, My Lounge is a brand owned by Swissport (a joint venture with Airport Dimensions) which also runs the No1 Lounge, Clubrooms and Club Aspire lounge brands, hence the reason why all three lounges operate in close proximity: they share the same kitchen. However, the Aspire Lounge brand is solely controlled by Swissport, hence it has different branding.

Food

The main dining area in the My Lounge London Gatwick South has a long refectory area running beside it, with buffet dining.

As the lounge is mainly open for the breakfast rush, the dining area mainly caters for holiday makers who want breakfast. There is cereal, with a large urn of milk, bakery including croissants, and a large cooked breakfast section, with all the makings of a cooked English. There is bacon and sausages, beans, potato cubes, and scrambled egg.

Don't miss the slab of honeycomb, for honey on your toast.

Bar

Drinking in the London Gatwick South My Lounge is actually better than in the main No1 lounge, as you don't have to queue at the bar.

There are numerous fridges with cans of beer, and white wine. However, an eyecatching bucket in the middle of the lounge has bottles of white, in a layer of ice.

However, for sparkling wine, you have to pay. A bottle of prosecco will set you back £13, while Champagne starts at £30.

You can also pour your own pint, the MyLounge is one of the few lounges with cider, on draft, that you can pour yourself! There is also a rather weird beer called Cruzcampo.

Business Facilities

There is free, fast wifi.

There are no newspapers, however you can connect to Press Reader, if you ask for the code from reception.

Bathrooms

In lounge, no showers.

Access

If you pay on the door, prices start at around £36, and then up. In advance you can book for £32.

There is also access with Dragon Pass, or Priority Pass. However, to guarantee your entry when using a Priority Pass card you need to pay an extra £6, or risk being turned away at the door.