I remember seeing bag wrapping at the Excess Baggage store,from memory it was on the ground floor.

Another tip for T5 - if you want to check in bags, you can't do this until 3 hours before departure. There's not many places to hang around if you arrive at the terminal earlier than this, so bear this in mind when you plan your trip to the terminal.

Thanks TS, we did find it, although it was not as easy as we hoped since the signage is not great. If you stand outside one of the shops and look down the line of shops - there are no signs visible. You have to stand away from the line so that you can look along the front of the whole row to see the signs that are flat against the shop front.

Coupled with three people not knowing what we were looking for (two were shopkeepers and one was airport staff who turned out to be standing 30m from the shop but directed us to the far end)

On a lighter note ... I like this from Simon Calder:
Heathrow Terminal 5
When the sole tenant of a new terminal feels obliged to take out advertisements saying that only one in 10 of its flights is more than 15 minutes late, you know it has issues. But in the unlikely event that you find yourself lost in transit at Heathrow, try to make it inside this £4bn-plus public relations disaster. You can expect breathtaking views across Europe's busiest airport, classy shopping and the sense of space from a terminal operating at 50 per cent capacity.
Articel coparing a number of airports is here: The airports that make you pray for a delay - This Britain, UK - The Independent

Parking
 

Worthy of note, that the Valet parking is at the end of the departures lane, not inside short term, don't try asking anyone in Short term parking where valet parking as they don't know.

Also, valet parking (for 2 days at least) is the same price as business parking at T5, which is daft, as with the valet stuff you just arrive, throw your keys at someone and then clear off.

AAF

"To get from Trains to Arrivals, you must go via Departures
To get from Arrivals to Departures, you must go via Trains

I hope this makes sense to someone!"

Start - Shutdown anyone? :D:E

Was in T5 a couple of weeks ago and had a few hours to spare so after having a fab breakfast in April in Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food we booked lunch. It was good but we didn't come away with the "wow" factor which we had before. Cannot complain about any of the food (apart from the price) Total bill £77 which included a bottle of wine at £21. Most of the meals do not come with potatoes or veg so you need to order those separately at £2.95 a shot - 5 tiny boiled potatoes for that as well!!

One thing that did disappoint me slightly was at the side of the table on the floor was a sort of vent (basically a stainless steel/metal strip about a foot wide) which ran down the side of the floor and I noticed this had become quite dirty in the grooves and needed a good clean. Also there was a high chair at the back of the next table which sat there with its dirty tray for the whole of our time in the restaurant. Minor things I know but not what I would have expected from Gordon Ramsay.

Before our meal we went for an aperitif in the Bar 5 (think that is what it is called) which is the bar inside one of the World of Duty Free shop) and two gin and tonics set us back a staggering £16.00 :eek: Not bad when they sell two, two litre bottles for £16.00!!

I think I'm turning into Victor Meldrew.....I think T5 is utter gash to be honest. Took me 15 minutes to find Boots for some paracetamol on Sunday. I don't actiually see the public flocking to the Sony / Nokia / Ramsey / Other top end retail experiences.

TBH, I think T4 was better, with my newspaper and a Pret sandwich.

T5 Conformance - NO excuses
 

:ugh:Just for anyone else who doesn't spot it on their boarding card.

MAKE SURE YOU GET THROUGH SECURITY AT LEAST 35 MINUTES BEFORE DEPARTURE - Or, You'll get your balls cut off!

It can apparently take at least 15 minutes to walk swiftly to the gate and make sure you get there 20 before departure or you'll get duffed up by the ground staff or worse!

And where is rainboe now?

Am i missing something or is it really only possible to get to the Club Lounge (the one on your right as you go through security, is that north or South) by going down and then up? Seems ridiculous

T5
 

The whole flipping place is ridiculous - compare t5 to Schiphol and you'll understand what I mean. It all up and down - like crossing the Alps! Starting at Hex station it's Up, Up, Up and as soon as you get through Security is back down down down - I'm out of breath even thinking about it! Probably much easier if you arrive by car!

If T5 is the answer - I would really like to see the question!:ugh:

Munnyspinner you've been ranting about this on and on. You have to present your boarding card at security at -35, not be through security. T5 is the way it is because of the obvious space constraints. Hence it is a bloody long way to T5B and there is no way back if you miss your flight, hence the cut off.

Grounded SLF posted this from the BA website

Vagueness 1e - admitted! But the word through is used by BA themselves. Perhaps more clarity is required!

It does seem that I may not be the only pax that thinks T5 is a waste of space. Constraints my ass. The building is big enough to enclose the whole of St. Paul's cathedral!

ProM
I am trying not to get involved in the general "T5 knocking" but yes, after three visits where I have tried to use the building to it's advantages, it would appear you do indeed have to go down then up.
To then, on some flights, be bussed out to the aircraft (or back from) is the final ignomy. I'm embarassed to have to explain to business visitors that this is London's answer to air travel in the 21st Century.

It means that you can walk past all the shops............. Its a BAA thing!!

To add my tuppence - I went through T5 yesterday for the first time. I didn't find any issue with it - I found it a good place to travel from. It was relatively quiet for evening rush hour, able to walk about without feeling like a battle's being fought. Only gripe perhaps would be to include a sign immediately at the bottom of the escalator from security telling people which way to go for the gates. But I enjoyed the experience and didn't have have any problems with it!

Okay, let's get back on track.

My survival guide for T5 is not to go there :}

Alcockell,
It sounds like the old Punch cartoon

Railway booking office clerk to 3 kids

'Dogs is dogs and cats is dogs, but tortoises h'is h'insects and goes free.'

Getting to the south end BA lounge - what a route march. At the south end, IF you're travelling first, you get straight into the Concorde room without passing the shops. Strange in a way, because only if you can afford to travel First are you likely to be able to afford so much of the overpriced tat in the shops!

Final 3 greens, I wish it was possible to avoid Heathrow altogether, but for me the alternatives are much further away.

BA management is not really apparently that good, but I reckon they could run Heathrow better than the useless wotsits of BAA.

Trying to be fair, if you have to travel through T5 and have access to the Terraces lounge, the coffee machines produce a pretty good drink. I especially like the one situated by the windows (and the "cinema") which looks down on the security check point.
You can sip your latte-mocha-espresso whilst watching other unfortunates being frisked.
Also, still being fair, my one and only experience of the Arrivals lounge was good.
The shower facilities were efficient and the breakfast was tasty. Access to the car park where my pick-up was located was quick and simple.
Now, if they could only get access to the aircraft similarly smooth, we'd be there:E

Quetion: When are they going to finish T5.
I arrived last week in the "B" section on a 777 from Mumbai - 20mins early, and had to wait for a stand, (then a little trouble parking the 777 :oh:), but it appears that "C" section is not complete? Is it still WIP?