Latest posts by Martin Moodie (see all)
The Queen’s Terminal (T2) at Heathrow Airport may be very close to being my favourite airport. The more I use this magnificent new facility the more I like it.
Over recent days I have flown out of there (en route to the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby near Dublin) and on another occasion dropped someone off, noting on both occasions the excellent way-finding, the efficient security, the great panoramas and the top-class food & drinks offer.
Leon (pictured above and below) is just excellent. I love in particular the giant Leon World Food Map; the well-placed FID screen; the phone/tablet docking stations; the colour and buzz of the whole place; and, most of all, The Drawer of Wishes.
Diners can write down their wish, together with contact details, and pop it into one of the drawers. Alternatively, they can tweet the wish. Every now and again, Leon makes some of these wishes come true. I asked that the All Blacks win this year’s Rugby World Cup and I am confident that Leon will deliver on my wish.
I also like the landside Caffè Nero a lot – surely as good a coffee outlet as you’ll see in the airport world? It even has a florist at the front, perfect for an Arrivals hall.
Then there’s EAT. As someone who, for medical reasons, has to eat small portions, I bemoan the super-sized nature of most grab ‘n’ go options. At EAT you can have a deliciously fresh half-sized baguette as well as a wide range of fruit pots and other healthy snacks.
There’s more, much more. Caviar House & Prunier is a perennial personal favourite, and I like the look of the attractive La Salle (I have yet to try its offer but from the outside it certainly appears enticing). A very, very good food & drinks proposition (by the way we have dropped the tag ‘food & beverage’ – what consumer ever talks about ‘beverage’?).
Enough about food & drinks. To my recent list of top shop windows in airport retail I’m going to bend the rules a bit and add Pink (it’s an entrance not a store window) just because it’s just so Brit chic. Every time I pass by this shop I want to buy the entire contents.
The main WHSmith store is impressively open and expansive (not always a characteristic of some of its shops) but I do wonder about its Self-Service stations elsewhere (below) which seem to cause more delays than they solve – and actually drive some shoppers into apoplexy.
And one last talking point. In the Queen’s Terminal you have to have a Queen’s Trolley right? Well I found just the thing…
I can just see Her Majesty wheeling her bag and duty free goodies through the terminal as she returns from a visit to the colonies. Truly a trolley, a touch, and a terminal, fit for a Queen.