After an absolutely hectic day spent wandering around WTM London, I was delighted to be able to head back out to Heathrow for my return flight to Shannon and get a chance to experience, and be able to write up, this Aer Lingus Lounge review – especially after the lounge was closed a few months ago for renovations.

You’ll recall that I’ve enjoyed this lounge previously, so I was thrilled to make my way through Heathrow’s (on this day, anyway) incredibly slow fast track, make the required right turn after security and – after pausing for a moment before realising it was the neighbouring Lufthansa lounge that was now under renovations – make a beeline for the lounge entrance.

Aer Lingus’ Heathrow lounge staff are ever-pleasant and, from past experience, ever-helpful when needed – and I was quickly admitted, and welcomed back by name.

I took a moment to wander through the relatively quiet and peaceful lounge, taking stock of the renovations – which in all honesty, are probably geared more towards increased consistency with the lounge in Dublin, at least initially in terms of furniture.

You’ll find the same banks of plush chairs to relax in, as well as chair-side plugs and wireless charging points.

Something that I’ve always enjoyed remains much the same, which is the ability to sit by the floor-to-ceiling windows and watch the Aer Lingus ground operation unfold a few floors below. In my case, I was able to sit back, drink in hand, and watch as my plane taxied in alongside another service bound for Dublin, before slowly making my way downstairs in time for boarding. This is such a real ‘nice to have’ of this lounge, that makes it almost feel like a ‘home from home’ lounge, as opposed to an airline lounge outside of its home country.

As before, the lounge is spacious, with plenty of seating for all – and even as it got busier later on, there was nobody having to forego a choice of seating.

One thing that does seem to have improved – even if it hasn’t, in which case it’s just my poor memory kicking in – is the food and beverage selection.

In terms of food, there were several hot options on offer from a buffet stand, as well as a variety of sandwiches/ciabatta’s laid out a little while later as it got busier.

Meanwhile my personal favourite, the drinks selection, definitely seems to have improved and now includes beers, a variety of wines in the waist-height fridges, as well as a selection of spirits you can help yourself to (along, of course, with soft drinks – but as you know, that wouldn’t really be my thing…).

The temperature – which previously was occasionally quite warm – was just comfortable during my visit, so this also seems to have been resolved.

The bathrooms on offer are also perfectly functional and kept fresh, and there is a shower available on demand.

Overall, this was a very pleasant and relaxing way to wind down after non-stop traipsing around the Excel, and while the improvements are relatively minor, they go a long way to make this Aer Lingus lounge an easy place to want to spend an hour or more before the short hop back to Ireland.