The Virgin Atlantic Upper Class experience at Heathrow has historically been one of my favorite business class ground experiences in the world, and I was looking forward to seeing how it was holding up.
I’ll keep this review relatively brief, and won’t fully be reviewing the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse, since I’ve done so before, and not that much has changed. Rather I’ll focus on what stood out to me, and what has changed since my last visit.
Our flight from London to New York was departing at 12:30PM, and we decided to get to the airport at around 9AM, so we had time to have breakfast and work from the Clubhouse.
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Wing & Check-In
Virgin Atlantic operates out of Terminal 3 at Heathrow. When facing the terminal, their check-in is located to the left.
Heathrow Terminal 3 exterior
Heathrow Terminal 3 exterior
We hadn’t checked in online, so we had to go to a counter to collect our boarding passes. The agent who checked us in was incredibly friendly — I found this to be the case with every single Virgin Atlantic employee we interacted with the entire day, both on the ground and in the air.
It’s so refreshing and such a pleasure to fly with an airline where employees seem to not only care, but also seem to enjoy their jobs.
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class check-in Heathrow
We had our boarding passes in no time, and were invited to use the Upper Class Wing. There was an elevator (with a red carpet and velvet ropes) just to the side of the Upper Class check-in leading up to that.
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Wing Heathrow elevator
Once outside the elevator there was another door you had to go through to enter the Upper Class Wing. To enter you had to scan your boarding pass. The Upper Class Wing is available to Upper Class and Delta One passengers.
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Wing Heathrow entrance
The Upper Class Wing also has a dedicated check-in facility. You could just pull up directly there if arriving at Heathrow by car:
- Full fare Upper Class passengers get complimentary chauffeur service, so that would drop off there
- If you’re arriving by a car you arranged on your own you can also be dropped off there
Since we arrived by bus from a hotel near the airport, there was no practical way to be dropped off there.
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Wing Heathrow
The reason we even entered the Upper Class Wing is because it has a dedicated security channel. There are two lanes, though only one lane was open when we used it. We were through within about five minutes.
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Wing security
Unfortunately the Upper Class Wing doesn’t actually let out at the Clubhouse, as you still have to go through the duty free maze and terminal to get to the Clubhouse.
The Upper Class Wing is a nice feature, though in the meantime British Airways has caught up with their First Wing in Terminal 5. That’s arguably even a bit nicer, as it lets out directly in the lounge. In fairness to Virgin Atlantic, there’s no practical way they could let you out in the lounge, since it’s on the opposite side of the terminal.
The catch with the First Wing is that it’s only open to first class passengers and oneworld Emerald members, while this is open to all business class passengers.
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse London Heathrow
The Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse is located one floor up from the terminal, one level above the American Admirals Club.
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Heathrow stairs
We were welcomed by a friendly host, who informed us that we should head to our gate around 11:40AM.
I was expecting the lounge to be incredibly packed, as I had heard the lounge had gotten much busier in the past few years, particularly with Delta passengers. To my surprise, the lounge wasn’t crazy busy. I wouldn’t say it was quiet either, but we had no trouble finding seats.
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse seating
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse seating
The first order of business was having breakfast, so we headed to the dining area. There are several distinct sections to the dining area.
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse dining area
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse dining area
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse dining area
Something that people will either love or hate is that virtually nothing in the lounge is self serve. I quite like that, since the staff in the lounge constantly check on you, in my experience. No matter where you sit, you’ll constantly be offered drinks.
In the dining area there’s a small deli counter with food to choose from, and then everything else is a la carte. The deli counter had bread, pastries, muffins, cold cuts, cheese, salmon, yogurt, cereal, and more. You simply had to tell the person behind the counter what you wanted, and they prepared it for you.
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse deli counter
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse deli counter
We sat down at a table, and ordered off the a la carte menu, which read as follows:
To drink I had a cappuccino, which was really great.
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse breakfast
To eat I had the shakshuka, which I enjoyed immensely (and I literally just ordered shakshuka for lunch as I’m writing this… mmmm!).
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse breakfast
Tiffany had the avocado and poached egg.
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse breakfast
We decided to stay in the dining area for a while so we could work from the table, and the server constantly checked on us.
A couple of points of frustration, though:
- The Wi-Fi signal in the lounge was inconsistent and often slow, which seems like a very basic amenity they should get right
- They make constant boarding announcements in the lounge, which drives me bonkers, sometimes even announcing the same flight three times; I understand the priority is to make sure that everyone makes their flights, but this takes away from the ambiance so much (I really like that United has chosen not to make boarding announcements in Polaris Lounges, for example)
Beyond the dining area, I love how many different zones the Clubhouse has, from a relaxation/entertainment zone…
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse entertainment area
To an upper level area that feels like a loft…
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse seating area
To a beautiful terrace, with great plane views.
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse terrace
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse terrace view
For that matter, the entire lounge had great plane views.
Virgin Atlantic 787-9
One of the other popular features of the Clubhouse is that they have a spa. I’m not sure when the change was made, but they’ve definitely cut back on the range of services they offer for free. It used to be that you could get a 15 minute massage for free, while now massage treatments are chargeable.
I didn’t take pictures of the menu because it’s posted online and I figured that was up to date, but it appears that it’s not. So I ended up getting a hand treatment, which was one of the few remaining free treatments.
This included sitting in one of those face down massage chairs and basically having various creams massaged into my hands.
The treatment was nice, and mainly I was just happy that they had availability on short notice, which you’ll almost never find in British Airways’ lounge.
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Boarding
Our boarding passes indicated boarding was scheduled to start at 11:35AM, though it was only around that time that the departure gate assignment was posted. So we headed over to our departure gate, about a five minute walk from the lounge.
Virgin Atlantic departure gate
Each gate here is a sterile area, so they scan your boarding pass and check your passport, and then you’re already considered to be on the flight.
Virgin Atlantic departure gate
Ah, the beautiful A350-1000!
Virgin Atlantic A350-1000
Boarding started at 11:50AM, with Upper Class passengers being invited to board first.
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse London Heathrow Bottom Line
All things considered, the Virgin Atlantic Upper Class ground experience at Heathrow is excellent. Every employee we interacted with was genuinely friendly, and the Clubhouse is a great business class lounge with a good vibe.
I would say that we got lucky in the sense that the lounge wasn’t too crowded, as I’ve heard from others that it can be so crowded that there aren’t any available seats.
The only real feedback I have is that the Wi-Fi was slow and that I wish they wouldn’t make so many announcements, which take away from the relaxing ambiance. I’m also not thrilled that they cut back the range of spa treatments, though I can’t blame them too much.
All things considered I actually think I prefer the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse to the British Airways Concorde Room.
If you’ve visited the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse, what was your experience like?
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