Eurostar evaluation: Enterprise Premier vs. Commonplace Premier vs. Commonplace class

Paris is one of Europe’s preeminent bucket list destinations. Just a stone’s throw (or train ride away) from London, it’s also a great city to visit from the U.K. thanks to the convenience of Eurostar.

The 305-mile nonstop journey between London St Pancras and Paris Gare du Nord takes just more than two hours and runs seven days a week. It has an almost hourly service between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m., with the exception of Christmas Day.

TPG recently hopped aboard to review its services across all three fare classes: Business Premier, Standard Premier and Standard. Check out our latest video where Nicky and Liam compare Eurostar’s Business Premier and Standard Premier fare classes on a trip between London and Paris.

For everything you need to know about choosing your fare class on Eurostar, read on.

Related: 4 European train loyalty schemes UK travelers should definitely check out

To check in, you’ll show your ticket to an agent who will then direct you to the security screening. This is the same for all ticket types; the only difference is how long you wait. You then immediately enter security. (Business Premier passengers will have a dedicated lane.) To make this process move faster, Eurostar is also currently trialing biometric face scans at London St Pancras.

One of the standout features of Eurostar security is that you don’t need to remove liquids or electronic items from your luggage. You put your bags on the conveyer belt, move through the scanners and collect your luggage. This speeds things up tremendously and makes passing through security incredibly relaxed, especially in comparison to most airport experiences.

You can’t really dismiss the difference this makes to your journey, and if this is an insight into how airport security will look when the 100 milliliters (3.4 ounces) liquids rule is eventually scrapped, we can’t wait.

Once through security, you move on to passport checks, which a person performs regardless of ticket class. Then you step up to the smart gates to scan your travel documents and walk through to the departure waiting area.

Standard or Standard Premier ticket holders are restricted to the main concourse, which has a mix of coffee shops and newsagents to stock up on snacks, water or reading material for your journey, plus various seating areas.

This space can get crowded, but the regularity of Eurostar services means that you shouldn’t be waiting too long to get a seat at any given time.

If traveling with a Business Premier ticket, you can avoid the main departure area entirely and head to the St Pancras Business Premier lounge.

Business Premier tickets also have lounge access if there’s a lounge at your departure station. There are Business Premier lounges at London St Pancras, Paris Gare du Nord and Brussels Midi/Zuid.

Business Premier travelers passing through Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the Netherlands will also have access to NS International lounges.

If you don’t have a Business Premier ticket, you can also gain entry if you hold a personal Platinum Card® from American Express.

The Business Premier Lounge at London St Pancras is immediately to the righthand side of the concourse after the eGates. Inside, the lounge is spread across two floors.

During TPG’s visit, we found that the ground floor was extremely busy, with most passengers seemingly oblivious to the additional seating areas upstairs. Our top tip here would be to immediately head upstairs if you find that space is limited on the lower level.

If you can’t find space, don’t be dismayed: The frequency of Eurostar trains passing through the station means that the lounge empties quite quickly between services.

Downstairs you’ll find an array of seating options, various snacks and two self-serve drink stations with a selection of alcohol, soft drinks and coffee machines.

You can access the upper level via a spiral staircase to the right of the main entrance or via a slightly dingier but chandelier-clad stairwell to the left.

Upstairs has more seating options and additional tables — perfect for working on the go.

Along with a large self-serve drink area similar to the one downstairs, there’s also a dedicated self-serve area for snacks. On our travel day, there was an assortment of nuts, chips and chocolate brownies.

A stand-out feature of the upper level is its fully stocked bar, which adds a classy feel to the lounge. Sadly, the bar does not open before 3 p.m., so we could not sample its range of specialty cocktails during our trip.

Dotted throughout both levels, you’ll find several screens detailing upcoming departure times and 24-hour news channels.

There’s also an abundance of magazines and newspapers available on both floors. Options range from international newspapers like The New York Times to GQ Magazine to Wallpaper*. The selection here was probably better than any we’ve ever seen in an airport lounge.

All the seats came with power sources fitting both United Kingdom and European-style plugs, which made working from the lounge a breeze.

All-in-all, the Business Premier lounge is a comfortable space away from the bustle of the regular departure area.

The only criticism we have is the lounge’s limited food options. If you’re hungry, you’ll need to visit a cafe outside the lounge. Most passengers in the lounge will likely eat onboard their train, so this won’t be a problem for most travelers.

Related: The best UK credit cards for airport lounge access

What’s the difference between seats in Eurostar Business Premier, Standard Premier and Standard class?

The differences between each class largely come down to the amount of space you have in your seat, food services, power supply options and lighting. All Eurostar carriages come with free Wi-Fi regardless of which class you are traveling in.

Business Premier and Standard Premier

Regarding general comfort, the seats in Business Premier and Standard Premier are practically identical. Both railcars are set up in a 2-1 configuration.

The double-seat rows come in either one pair or two pairs of seats facing each other (perfect for a group of four) and sharing a table.

The single-seat rows are either single seats or two seats facing each other sharing a smaller table.

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Eurostar Business Premier seats. JORDAN WALLER/THE POINTS GUY

The table is initially in a closed position, which is large enough to place a drink or book on but not wide enough to work on a laptop without obnoxiously disrupting the person opposite. Thankfully, the table expands on both sides, which almost triples its width.

Table seats in both fare classes use the same style of extendable table. On the newer e320 Eurostar train, you’ll find the most tables in coach No. 3, which has 11 tables divided between single and double seats. This railcar is also split between Business Premier and Standard Premier classes.

The next best for snagging a table is coach No. 2, which has four double tables and four single tables.

If your seat doesn’t have a table, you’ll have an airplane-style tray table attached to the seat in front.

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Eurostar extendable table in Business Premier. JORDAN WALLER/THE POINTS GUY

The seats in both Business Premier and Standard Premier come with much more legroom than you usually find on a train. However, since we were sharing a table, we found our legs butted up against the person sitting in front when we stretched out.

The chairs also recline but not very much, and the difference isn’t very noticeable.

The amenities on offer are more limited than what you’ll find on an airplane (no in-flight entertainment screens here). They’re also the same in both Business Premier and Standard Premier.

Each seat has its own charging ports for electronic devices (USB and U.K./European-style plug sockets). The seats in both classes also come with built-in reading lights, which are operated by buttons beneath the armrests.

The design of the buttons was the only difference between the seats. Business Premier comes with silver metal light switch buttons, whereas Standard Premier features plastic buttons.

Standard

In Standard class, railcars are laid out in 2-2 formations with pairs of seats on either side. Like in Business Premier and Standard Premier, not every seat comes with a full-size table. Where one isn’t available, you will have an airplane-style tray table attached to the seat in front.

The chairs are slightly less roomy than Business Premier and Standard Premier, but they still provide more legroom and space than on an economy flight. We found the chair more than comfortable enough for the short journey, and there was plenty of room to store luggage.

Each pair of seats shares two power sockets (one U.K. and one European) for charging your devices.

As with Business Premier and Standard Premier, the seats also reclined but not by very much. They also added little extra comfort.

During our Business Premier journey, we received crunchy, black pepper edamame beans. We could choose from various soft drinks, still and sparkling water, beer, red and white wine and Champagne.

The cart did not have any cold beers, and we opted for a glass of red. It was surprisingly pleasant and much better than some of the red wines we’ve tried on flights.

The same drinks and snacks (minus Champagne) were also offered in Standard Premier and Standard class. If you’re riding in the latter, though, you must pay for items.

Business Premier

Business Premier offers a three-course menu designed by Raymond Blanc. It’s served with the same selection of drinks detailed earlier, along with a coffee service after you’ve eaten.

The menu changes fairly regularly. During TPG’s journey, we started with a fennel, quinoa and corn salad and followed it with a main course of sustainably sourced cod with Parmentier potatoes, peas and carrots.

In tribute to the Wimbledon tennis tournament occurring during our travel dates, dessert was a delicious strawberries-and-cream dish styled as a tennis ball — a very cute touch.

The starter fennel dish was a little bland for my liking, but the main course more than made up for it. Fish can be tricky to get right on planes and trains, but the cod was great; it fell apart easily and was not overcooked. The Parmentier potatoes were also perfectly cooked. However, the decadent Wimbledon-themed dessert was the real star.

Standard Premier

Eurostar describes the Standard Premier food option as a light meal. It features a main, a dessert and a bread roll, along with the same drinks served in Business Premier (minus the Champagne).

During TPG’s journey, we had a cold chicken and potato salad that was pretty unappetizing, so much so that we couldn’t finish it. The dessert was a fairly heavy cake with a strawberry jam-like center. While certainly nothing to shout about, it hit the spot.

Standard

Standard class does not offer a full meal, so you must make do with the bar buffet cart or onboard Café Métropole.

Food options at Café Métropole were more substantial than expected for a two-hour train journey, and we were surprised to see options like daal and cottage pie on the menu. However, our winning items were the Proper Corn salted popcorn for 2 pounds ($2.55), dark chocolate bites and a Perrier sparkling water.

It’s not much of a surprise to say that the Business Premier ticket offered the best food of all the classes. Still, we did expect the Standard Premier food to be far better than it was given the higher price than a Standard ticket.