After doing the "London Lounge Hop" yesterday with several FT'ers, I will add my own little report on the lounges. It seems like all of us pretty much agreed, so it is not totally just my opinion.
I will intigrate pictures into the report, as always.
UA RCC:
RCC
RCC
RCC
RCC
Overall impression: The RCC is just mediocre. It does have showers, but a VERY limited number, and you often times have to be put on the list. The lounge is essentially like any other RCC. Of course, it has free booze, a very limited selection of snacks (ie pre-packaged muffins, chocolate, and danishes). Nothing fresh or new, just your average RCC. It does have a few PC's, but they tend to fill up quickly. Lastly, it tends to fill up quickly during peak times, so is not private at all.
London Lounge (SK/AC):
LL
LL
LL
LL
LL
LL
LL
LL
Overall impression: My first impression was Ikea. This is not necessarily a bad thing, just very different. It seems as if every piece of furniture was bought from Ikea. Anyway, moving on, the lounge is quite nice, IMO. It has hardwood floors, and two floors. The first floor has a buffet with fresh croissants, danishes, pastries, and the like. Unlike the RCC, they are not packaged, and taste noticeably better. There are several PC's there, which are obviously free of charge.
The second floor has a lot more seating. It also has food, but not as wide of a spread as downstairs. It also has showers, which are more numerous than the RCC, as well as a sleeping room, which was nice. We were there very early, so it was very empty. To wrap it up, it is a nice lounge with only snacks, but is not bad to just sit around in. It feels a lot more private than the RCC.
SQ Silver Kris Lounge:
SKL
SKL
SKL
SKL
SKL
SKL
SKL
SKL
Overall impression: The first thing which has to be mentioned are the reports of this lounge being horrible, earlier in this thread. HUH?
While it is by no means a world class lounge, it was our favorite at LHR.
You enter on the first floor, to the left of which is the First Lounge, and to the right of which are the stairs to the Raffles Lounge. Also to the left are the showers, of which there are four (?), which are pretty good.
As you walk up the stairs, there is a nice water fall and model of the A380. The lounge is quite small, but we were there right as it opened. Fortunately, we were the only ones there, so it was obviously very private.
The food spread was what really set this lounge apart. There are full packaged sandwiches, like the ones you buy for $7 at ORD. Also, there are hot noodles, and plenty of other nice stuff to eat. There are five PC's, which are always nice to have. Notice one of the pics having to do with this. Very funny!
While the decor is the same as any other SKL worldwide, the lounge was just a bit worn. Overall, excellent lounge though, at least compared to the other two.
Overall verdict: If you have time to do lounge hopping, why not? The lounges are all only a few minutes apart, so it is easy to let your true, inside FT spring out.
I would have to say that the SKL was the best, the LL the second best, and the RCC the worst. Of course, I could see that the SKL would just to second if it got really crowded, since it is not too large.