Gatwick Airport Lounges: The Complete Guide to North and South Terminal

Your flight isn’t for three hours. You’ve done duty free. You’ve had a coffee you didn’t need. Now you’re just sat by the gate, watching the departure board and wondering if Gatwick Airport lounges might have been the better way to spend this bit of the day.

There was. Gatwick Airport lounges exist for exactly this moment. Most passengers walk straight past them without knowing what’s on offer, what it costs, or whether it’s actually worth it for their flight. This guide sorts that out. North Terminal, South Terminal, real prices, and a straight answer on which one suits your trip.

What lounges does Gatwick actually have?

Gatwick runs two terminals, and they don’t share lounges. North Terminal keeps things fairly simple. South Terminal, being the bigger and busier of the two, has more choice.

North Terminal has the No1 Lounge and the Emirates Lounge. South Terminal has the No1 Lounge’s sister site, Clubrooms, My Lounge, and Plaza Premium.

Check your terminal before you book anything. Gatwick doesn’t run an airside link between North and South. Booking the wrong lounge means starting your journey again from scratch, minus the calm bit you were trying to buy.

One more thing worth flagging early. Every lounge in this guide is a departure lounge, reached after security. Gatwick doesn’t currently run a dedicated arrivals lounge at either terminal. If you’re landing, head straight through arrivals instead of counting on a lounge stop first.

What’s in the North Terminal lounges?

North Terminal is the smaller of Gatwick’s two terminals, and its lounge line-up reflects that. Two options, both airside after security.

No1 Lounge, North Terminal

This is the terminal’s main pay-to-enter lounge, and it’s open to any passenger on any airline, regardless of ticket type. You don’t need a business class boarding pass or airline status card to get in.

Inside, you’ll find a full à la carte dining option alongside the usual buffet. That’s a step up from most airport lounges, where food usually means a hot plate and a tray. There’s a bar serving spirits, wine and champagne, plus proper barista coffee rather than a machine.

Treatment rooms let you book a massage before you fly. WiFi is fast, and the seating is genuinely comfortable rather than departure-hall spillover.

Typical pricing sits from around £35 per adult when booked in advance, rising if you walk up on the day. Children are usually charged at a reduced rate. Book ahead if you can. Same-day walk-up rates run higher, and during peak summer mornings, the lounge can hit capacity and simply turn people away.

Emirates Lounge, North Terminal

Emirates operates its own dedicated lounge at North Terminal, and access is restricted. It’s built for the airline’s business and first class passengers, plus Emirates Skywards Gold and Platinum members. If you’re not flying Emirates in a premium cabin or holding top-tier status, this one isn’t available to you, whatever card or pass you’re carrying.

For those who do qualify, it’s a proper airline lounge. Expect full dining service, showers, and a quieter, more private feel than the shared pay-to-enter options. Table service replaces the usual self-serve buffet, and there’s a dedicated cabin crew liaison desk.

Boarding announcements come directly from lounge staff rather than a general tannoy. If you’re flying Emirates from Gatwick in economy, the No1 Lounge remains your realistic option.

Between the two North Terminal lounges, your ticket really makes the decision for you. Premium Emirates passengers have their own space. Everyone else has one genuine choice, which at least keeps things simple compared with South Terminal’s wider spread.

What’s in the South Terminal lounges?

South Terminal handles more traffic than North, and the lounge choice reflects that. Four options, each pitched slightly differently.

No1 Lounge, South Terminal

The South Terminal branch of No1 Lounge runs the same open-access model as its North Terminal counterpart. Any airline, any ticket type, no status required. Expect a similar standard too: proper dining, a full bar, treatment rooms, and reliable WiFi.

Because South Terminal handles more flights, this lounge tends to run busier, particularly during school holiday departures. Pre-booking a set arrival window, rather than turning up whenever suits, tends to get you a smoother visit.

The lounge also runs a family corner away from the main seating, with lower tables and a bit more space to spread out. It helps if you’re travelling with young children and want somewhere other than the main dining area.

Clubrooms

Clubrooms is South Terminal’s other open-access lounge, and it takes a slightly calmer, more understated approach than No1. Think comfortable seating split across quieter zones, a solid hot and cold buffet, a self-serve bar, and decent WiFi, without the spa-style extras.

It’s a sensible pick if you want a proper break before your flight without paying for treatment rooms you won’t use. Layout-wise, Clubrooms spreads seating across several smaller rooms rather than one large hall.

That genuinely helps if you’re after somewhere to work quietly rather than sit in the middle of a busy space. Advance booking, again, gets you a better rate than walking up on the day.

My Lounge

My Lounge sits at the value end of South Terminal’s offering. It’s smaller and simpler than No1 or Clubrooms, with a straightforward buffet and soft drinks and alcohol included. There’s enough seating to get your head down for an hour before boarding.

It won’t suit anyone expecting a full sit-down meal or spa treatments, and the space itself is more functional than atmospheric. But for a short-haul flight, where you just want somewhere quiet with a coffee and a sandwich, it does the job at a noticeably lower price than the bigger lounges. It’s also rarely the one that sells out first.

Plaza Premium

Plaza Premium rounds out South Terminal’s line-up with a middle-ground offering: solid buffet food, a bar, and shower facilities in some locations. It’s generally accepted through Priority Pass and DragonPass alongside direct booking. That makes it a reliable, no-fuss option if the other three are fully booked or don’t suit your budget.

Plaza Premium also tends to attract a slightly younger crowd of business travellers using it as a workspace before short trips. That’s likely down to the strong WiFi and the plug sockets built into most of the seating. If you need to send a last email before boarding, it’s as good a bet as any of the four.

With four lounges in one terminal, the honest advice is simple. Pick based on what you actually want from the visit, not which name sounds most familiar. Want a proper meal and a treatment room? No1. Want quiet space to work? Clubrooms or Plaza Premium. Just need a seat, a drink and a sandwich before a short flight? My Lounge.

Is Priority Pass or DragonPass accepted at Gatwick?

Yes, across most of Gatwick’s lounges, though the details matter more than people expect.

Priority Pass Gatwick access typically covers My Lounge, Plaza Premium, and Clubrooms, with entry included as part of your membership rather than a separate paid booking. DragonPass works in a similar way across a comparable set of lounges. No1 Lounge in both terminals sometimes participates too, though availability through membership schemes can be more limited than direct payment, especially at busy times.

Here’s the bit that catches people out. Holding Priority Pass or DragonPass doesn’t guarantee you a seat. It guarantees entry if there’s capacity. During peak departure windows, particularly Friday afternoons and the first wave of summer holiday flights, lounges do reach their limit. Card holders get turned away just as readily as anyone paying on the day.

The fix is simple. Pre-book your slot through the app rather than assuming your membership alone gets you through the door. It takes two minutes and removes the one genuine risk of relying on a membership scheme.

Worth knowing before you commit to any lounge: a pre-booked, paid slot through the lounge’s own website guarantees your seat regardless of how busy the day gets. That’s the safer route if you’d rather not gamble on capacity at all.

What does a Gatwick Airport lounge actually cost?

Typical prices for 2026, based on advance booking rather than walk-up rates:

These are typical ranges, not fixed rates. Prices move with demand, time of day, and how far ahead you book. Walk-up prices on the day usually run £8 to £15 higher than pre-booked rates across the board. During peak periods, you may simply find the lounge full regardless of what you’re willing to pay.

Children are generally charged at a reduced rate, and most lounges let under-threes in free. Check the specific lounge’s policy when you book, since the age cut-off varies slightly between operators.

Is a Gatwick lounge worth the money?

Depends entirely on your trip. A few honest scenarios rather than a blanket yes or no.

Early morning long-haul departure, after a drive down from the Midlands? Genuinely worth it. A couple of hours somewhere quiet with proper coffee and real food beats sitting in the main terminal after an early start.

Short domestic hop, already eaten, flight on time? Harder to justify. You’ll likely spend more on the lounge than you would on food at the gate. You also won’t be there long enough to make full use of it.

Travelling with young children? Often worth it purely for the stress reduction. Space to move that isn’t a packed departure hall, food that isn’t overpriced airport fast food, and somewhere to sit that isn’t a hard bench. It tends to pay for itself even on shorter flights.

Flight delayed and you’re facing an unplanned few hours? This is where a lounge earns its keep fastest. Several operators offer delay cover through certain booking routes, keeping you inside without extra charge if your flight overruns.

Business travellers with calls to finish or a report to review before boarding? The quieter lounges, particularly Clubrooms, suit this well. Reliable WiFi and space that isn’t the middle of a crowded walkway make a real difference.

Nervous flyer, or simply not a fan of busy airports? Worth considering even on a short flight. A calmer environment before boarding, away from tannoy announcements and crowds at the gate, genuinely changes how the whole journey feels for some people. That’s a legitimate reason to book one, even when the numbers alone don’t obviously add up.

Travelling alone on a work trip with a couple of hours to spare? This is arguably where lounges offer the best value pound for pound. You’re not splitting the cost across a family. You get a proper meal and a decent coffee instead of grabbing something rushed at a kiosk. The quieter surroundings suit catching up on work, too, or simply decompressing before a flight.

The pattern across all of these is the same. A lounge earns its cost when it solves a specific problem, whether that’s time, comfort, stress, or a genuine need for space. It’s a weaker buy when you’re simply doing it because it feels like the done thing on a short flight where nothing’s actually going wrong.

What to expect once you’re inside

The four open-access lounges, No1 in both terminals, Clubrooms, My Lounge and Plaza Premium, work on broadly the same principle. You’ll find a self-serve food area, a bar covering soft drinks through to spirits and often champagne in the premium options, and comfortable seating. Charging points are built into most seating too, so there’s rarely a hunt for a spare socket.

WiFi runs faster and more reliably than the free terminal network in every lounge covered here. Flight information screens are dotted around the room too. Most lounges also send a boarding alert to your phone or make a direct announcement as your gate time approaches. That means you’re not glued to the departure board the whole visit.

Toilets are standard everywhere. The larger lounges, No1 in particular, add proper shower facilities too, useful if you’ve had an early start or a long drive to the airport. Dietary requirements are generally handled well. Buffet-style food is labelled for common allergens, and flagging anything serious to staff on arrival, rather than assuming the labelling covers it, is the safer move.

Dress code across Gatwick’s lounges is relaxed. Nobody expects a jacket and tie. It’s still a shared indoor space, though, so very casual holiday wear, think swimwear or bare feet, tends to draw a polite word from staff.

Accessibility is generally good across the open-access lounges, with step-free access and accessible toilets as standard. If you need specific support, mention it when you book so the lounge can prepare ahead of your arrival rather than sorting it on the day.

Opening hours vary slightly by lounge, but most open from around 4.30am and close by 9pm or 10pm, matching Gatwick’s flight schedule rather than running round the clock. That covers the vast majority of departures, though it won’t help on a genuinely late-night or very early red-eye flight outside those windows. Check the specific lounge’s hours against your own departure time before you book.

What to bring

Nothing unusual, but a few things make the visit smoother. Bring your boarding pass, digital or printed, since you’ll need it to check in at the lounge desk even if you’ve already paid online. A phone charger is handy despite the built-in points, purely because popular sockets near the best seats fill up first.

If you’re using a Priority Pass or DragonPass, have the physical card or app confirmation ready rather than searching for it at the desk.

Anything you’d normally carry through security applies as usual. Lounges sit airside, so you’ll already have cleared the liquids and electronics checks before you reach one. There’s nothing extra to prepare specifically for the lounge itself beyond your booking confirmation.

Things to consider before you book

• Confirm your terminal before booking. North and South don’t connect airside.
• Pre-book rather than walk up. It’s cheaper and it guarantees your seat.
• Check the maximum stay allowed. Most lounges cap visits around three hours.
• Ask about group size limits if you’re travelling with more than four or five people.
• Flag any dietary requirements or allergies when you book, not on arrival.
• Check opening hours against your actual flight time, particularly for very early or very late departures.
• If your flight time changes, update your lounge booking manually. It rarely adjusts automatically.
• Factor in walking time from security to the lounge. Ten minutes isn’t unusual in South Terminal.

How do I book, and what should I check first?

Three routes get you in. Book directly through the lounge operator’s own website, book via Gatwick Airport’s own lounge page, or use an existing Priority Pass or DragonPass membership.

Direct booking through the operator is usually the cheapest route and the one that guarantees your slot. Gatwick’s own booking page aggregates most options in one place, useful if you’re comparing before deciding. Membership schemes work well if you already hold one, provided you pre-book your visit rather than relying on walk-up access.

Payment on the day is straightforward wherever you go. Every lounge covered here takes card payment at the desk, and most accept contactless or mobile wallets without any fuss. Turning up with only cash isn’t a great plan, so have a card ready regardless of how you booked.

Whichever route you choose, most bookings allow free cancellation or amendment up to a set number of hours before your visit. Check the specific cut-off, since it varies by lounge, and always match your booking to your correct departure terminal before you pay.

One more thing worth checking before you commit. If your flight time shifts, whether that’s an airline schedule change weeks out or a delay on the day itself, your booking doesn’t update on its own. That part’s on you.

Log back into your confirmation and adjust the time yourself, or contact the lounge directly. It’s a small step, but it’s the difference between arriving to a booking that still stands and turning up to find your slot’s already closed.

Driving and parking versus a pre-booked transfer: what actually saves you more

Booking a lounge only solves the waiting-around part of the day. The getting-there part still needs sorting, and this is where a lot of the stress genuinely lives, whatever a spreadsheet of parking costs might suggest.

Drive yourself, and you’re weighing up motorway traffic, finding a space in long-stay or valet parking, and the walk or shuttle bus to the terminal. That’s all before you’ve even reached security. Add the mental load of remembering where you left the car for the return leg, particularly after a long-haul flight when you’re not thinking clearly.

On paper, self-drive parking can look like the cheaper option. In practice, the time and stress cost rarely gets factored in. It usually only hits home once you’re stuck in a queue for the car park shuttle, with twenty minutes left until your lounge slot closes.

A pre-booked chauffeur removes most of that. You’re dropped directly at the terminal entrance. No parking search, no shuttle bus, no walk with heavy cases. The price is fixed before you travel too, so there’s no surprise add-on for a full car park or a longer stay than planned.

For the return journey, your driver tracks your flight and adjusts the pickup automatically. That means no taxi queue and no standing outside arrivals in the rain waiting for someone to notice you.

The honest comparison isn’t really pounds against pounds. It’s the value of arriving relaxed enough to actually enjoy the lounge you’ve paid for, rather than walking in flustered with fifteen minutes left before your gate opens.

Getting to Gatwick without the stress starting early

None of the above matters much if the journey to the airport itself is a scramble. A tight run down the M23, a stressful drop-off, or a parking search that eats into your lounge time. Any one of those undoes the whole point of booking a lounge in the first place.

We track your flight and time your pickup around it. That way, you reach the right terminal with room to actually enjoy the lounge. No rushing through security just to make the most of a booking you’ve already paid for.

Our Gatwick Airport chauffeur service covers the whole journey door to terminal from Birmingham, the wider West Midlands, or further afield, with the price confirmed before you travel.

If you’re still weighing up parking against a pre-booked transfer, our breakdown of Gatwick parking versus chauffeur costs covers the real numbers on both sides. Not sure what time to leave home in the first place? Our guide on how early to leave for Gatwick from Birmingham walks through realistic timings by flight type.

Want the wider picture on each terminal beyond the lounges? Our full North Terminal passenger guide and South Terminal guide cover security, parking, and getting between gates in detail.

Why book National Executive Transfers for the journey there

A good lounge only counts for something if the trip getting to it isn’t the stressful part.

Our chauffeurs know Gatwick, both terminals, and they check your flight before you’ve even thought to. Every pickup includes real-time flight tracking, so a delay on your end doesn’t mean a wasted wait on ours, or a rushed one on yours.

You travel in a Mercedes-Benz, S-Class, E-Class or V-Class depending on your party size and luggage. A professional, licensed driver handles the route while you sit back. Fixed pricing means no surprise on arrival, no meter running if the M40 is having a bad day, and no last-minute add-ons.

Flexible enough for a solo business trip, a family holiday, or a group heading to the same flight. Reliable enough that the airport run is one less thing to think about on travel day.

Ready to book your Gatwick transfer and actually enjoy the wait before your flight? Get a fixed-price quote here, and we’ll take care of the rest.

The takeaway

Gatwick Airport lounges have genuinely improved their range over the past couple of years. There’s now a realistic option whatever your budget or flight type, from My Lounge’s straightforward value to No1’s full spa-and-dining experience.

Pick the right Gatwick Airport lounge for your actual trip rather than the most expensive name on the list. Book ahead rather than risk a walk-up refusal, and get the journey there sorted first so you actually have time to use it.