Five Star Virgin: Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse London Heathrow

been through there several times - love the place ... Virgin are a great airline with a great product.

I thoughy you were working on your british. It's a "Lift" 🙂

funny - your experience of checkin to lounge is identical to mine. Went in the wrong door, made it up to the fast track, had the "a haaaa!" moment when the door opened....

....at least you didn't have food poisoning at the time...

Is all the food off the menu free in the lounge, waiter service?

All the lounges i've ever been in (i've only been in ones in the US) just had complimentary cheese and crackers, or chips, as far as food goes.

Do they let you order multiple things off the same section of the menus? As much as you want? I don't plan on pigging out, i'm just curious if there are any rules

@ michael -- Absolutely, all the food is free and you can have as much as you want.

Great pics. Looks huge, not sure if it is as big as it appears.

Hey JR - I bet Ben's heard that before 😉

"Yes, given the option I prefer Lufthansa’s or Thai’s flagship first class lounges, but this is a close third."

Wow. And you've been in some impressive lounges...

Thanks for sharing your photos and thoughts. I really enjoyed reading your report and loved all the photos, which made me wanting to give it ago on my next visit to London. Again great work and thanks for sharing!

"The Fast Track security for Virgin Atlantic actually leads to a special corridor, which I later realized is the area where I was also supposed to check-in"

I don't think so. I'm through this lounge every month or two, and you check in on the regular floor, (at the 'Upper Class' desks to the right of EC and Premium) get your boarding card, hand off any bags, and then... go upstairs to the private security channel you picture. It is simply a great to sweep through security checks and x-ray with no line at all. Heathrow regular security is B-U-S-Y, so this is a great benefit, and gives a real VIP feeling.

The lounge? Yes its wonderful. I weep with laughter when I see what US airlines give their business pax, and how much people struggle anxiously to get into a lounge for a coffee and some stale crackers. wow.

@Michael, yes its all free - all the food you want to and all the drink, and phones and internet and newspapers and haircuts and showers and...

Just please remember to leave the staff a tip on your free meal. they did wait on you after all. its the right thing to do.

The upstairs area where the private security channel is located is actually part of the Drive Through Check In area of the new Upper Class Wing. http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/gb/whatsonboard/upperclass/newupperclasswing/index.jsp

Your fare class must be either be J,D, R or you can use more miles to use the service. I booked it for my mother when it first opened a couple of years ago. It made her arrival stress free, a car picked her up, arrived at the special check in area where a porter and check in agent was waiting for her.

@narikin, are you sure you are supposed to tip the wait staff? I thought they were properly paid and didn't work for tips. What other VS staff members should I tip?

@curious george: "are you sure you are supposed to tip the wait staff? I thought they were properly paid and didn’t work for tips. What other VS staff members should I tip?"

OF course you should tip. You are flying upper/business/first class and getting free food and drink, with someone much worse off than you waiting on your whims, and you can't find a couple of $ in your heart to give them? come on. It's just the decent way to behave.

I can't believe anyone doesn't tip, quite frankly. Though I do see it happen.

ps: I am talking about lounge ground staff, where you are dining in a restaurant. Seems obvious to me, but I guess others have different attitudes.

@ narikin -- I'm curious, are you American? Americans seem to apply their standards to tipping to the rest of the world, be it Japan (where it's offensive), France, or somewhere else. And there's nothing "free" about the food, you paid for it through your ticket price. Using your reasoning, I see no reason flight attendants shouldn't be tipped as well...

I dont think tipping is the norm in the clubhouse.
You have already paid thousands for a flight ticket which entitles you to clubhouse access and all that it entails
The only place I do tip is in the spa if having a treatment, certainly not for receiving the food/drink on offer

If flying from LAX to Heathrow, in Prem. Econ. class, can I use the Clubhouse at Heathrow? May I pay with my Credit card or even use miles reward points?

Looks fabulous? Someone on the VS Cust. Call line told me that if there was room, then we could pay something to go in. True?

@ Rose -- A premium economy ticket doesn't get you Clubhouse access, and as far as I know there's no way to pay for access to the lounge unfortunately.

Actually, if travelling in PE, you can pay £60 for clubhouse access. I was told this by LHR staff on Friday.

This depends on capacity and whether they like the look of you. So by no means guaranteed. Worth a shot though.

I wonder how early I can check in if my flight is at 17:30?

@ B Hendrick -- Anytime the same day should be fine, so you can spend all day in the lounge if you'd like.

Thank you so much for sharing this awesome insightful story. I will be visiting the Clubhouse myself next month and you get me really excited! So nice to see that no one had any problem with phototaking inside the lounge as I love to do that during my travel.