Is the v-room worth it?

[Alfiegeorgina]

It sounds good, and child friendly, but have never actually seen it so would welcome opinions from anyone who has please!

 

[pickers1982]

Used it February 2014 and really liked it and was great for kids. With flight timing etc didn't get to use it for too long but we certainly would recommend it. Would have liked to use it next month but are do self planned trip!

Once you factor in breakfast cost elsewhere it's pretty good

 

[LiquidSunshine]

We like it last year. Great place to sit, the food & drinks (complimentary) was a good selection. We would definitely use it again.

 

[disneyfreak4]

Yes absolutely. Lovely to be away from the craziness of the airport. Lovely food. Highly recommended

 

[Jon84]

Note that the V-Room @Gatwick will be shut for a few months next year. around Sept to Nov time if I remember rightly.

 

[Tony Bush]

Is there a link to the closure dates - it may affect DD on her honeymoon trip ?

 

[Jon84]

Longer than I thought, I knew is was closed when we booked our Nov trip.

Please note: The v-room at Gatwick will be closed between 5th February 2016 and 30th November 2016.

Found this via Google: http://www.virginholidays.co.uk/travel-extras/airport-lounges/vroom

We were told that if we booked PE, they'd give us the Clubhouse (Upper Lounge) for free. I am sure if your agent is nice and it's explained it's a Honeymoon, they'll do something.

The Clubhouse is a bit stuffy, they have a dress code, lots of business guys reading papers etc, no holiday excitement building in there!

Personally, I'd rather pay OOP for the No1 Lounge, that is a very good lounge too

 

[RossK]

The Clubhouse is a bit stuffy, they have a dress code, lots of business guys reading papers etc, no holiday excitement building in there!

Personally, I'd rather pay OOP for the No1 Lounge, that is a very good lounge too

It really isn't stuffy at all. I fly with Virgin Upper Class for business a lot and will be flying UC in October for my holiday. There is absolutely no dress code for the clubhouse; that's not Virgin Atlantic's style at all - they're informal and fun. All you need to do is lookup the photos of the clubhouse to see it isn't formal at all. I have even seen people in the lounge wearing the black pajamas they give you on-board. I quite often fly in shorts and t-shirts (I dress for the destination). The clubhouse even has a jacuzzi and they can provide you with disposable swimwear. Yes, there are lots of people in suits, because Upper Class is Virgin Atlantic's business class (it isn't First class), so you have many people travelling straight in to meetings. But there are many different areas of the Clubhouse to enjoy. The central bar is great fun - Virgin have proper mixologists who will make sure you get your holiday off the right start. One time I was at the bar with a colleague and we were slowly working our way through the cocktail menu. Our flight was called just as the barman came over to offer us another round. We said to him our flight has just been called, so we've got to go... The guy said "oh yeah, don't worry about that - you've got plenty of time to board. Let me make you one for the runway". The Virgin staff are always great fun. If you had said the Concorde lounge (BA's first class lounge) was stuffy, I would totally agree with you - but that's the main USP that Virgin market towards - being different and fun.

EDIT: Funnily enough, while Virgin have no dresscode, No1 Lounge does! No 1 Traveller at Gatwick states that the following should not be worn in their lounges: "tracksuits, onesies, any clothing with rips or tears, sports colours, camouflage clothing, items which expose midriffs for women or shoulders for men, and themed or fancy dress clothing".

 

[Jon84]

It really isn't stuffy at all. I fly with Virgin Upper Class for business a lot and will be flying UC in October for my holiday. There is absolutely no dress code for the clubhouse; that's not Virgin Atlantic's style at all - they're informal and fun. All you need to do is lookup the photos of the clubhouse to see it isn't formal at all. I have even seen people in the lounge wearing the black pajamas they give you on-board. I quite often fly in shorts and t-shirts (I dress for the destination). The clubhouse even has a jacuzzi and they can provide you with disposable swimwear. Yes, there are lots of people in suits, because Upper Class is Virgin Atlantic's business class (it isn't First class), so you have many people travelling straight in to meetings. But there are many different areas of the Clubhouse to enjoy. The central bar is great fun - Virgin have proper mixologists who will make sure you get your holiday off the right start. One time I was at the bar with a colleague and we were slowly working our way through the cocktail menu. Our flight was called just as the barman came over to offer us another round. We said to him our flight has just been called, so we've got to go... The guy said "oh yeah, don't worry about that - you've got plenty of time to board. Let me make you one for the runway". The Virgin staff are always great fun. If you had said the Concorde lounge (BA's first class lounge) was stuffy, I would totally agree with you - but that's the main USP that Virgin market towards - being different and fun.

I've been lied to by my local VH Sales person!! I apologise of mis-info! Thankyou!

 

[Claireywalsh]

We used the v room at Manchester last year. It was a great place for my then 6 year old to blow off some steam and there was a great selection of food items. We would have spent the same in the terminal anyway so it was a win win for us. Booked again for our Christmas trip next year

 

[RossK]

I've been lied to by my local VH Sales person!! I apologise of mis-info! Thankyou!

No problem. In my experience, Virgin Holidays appear to have a real lack of understanding about Virgin Atlantic(!), so I'm not surprised they gave out this info. They may even be trying to dissuade access to the Clubhouse for non-UC passengers.

If you get offered access to the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse, you should absolutely bite their hand off. The one at Heathrow, for example, is renowned for being one of the best airport lounges in the world (particularly in the business class category). The one at Gatwick, although a lot less impressive, is still very good. As all of VA's departures at Gatwick are generally in the morning, the Clubhouse is geared towards breakfast offerings with a much more limited selection of alcohol/cocktails. But they still offer a long list of hot and cold breakfast options, cocktails, free flowing champagne, spa treatments, etc (all complimentary, of course).

 

[Jon84]

No problem. In my experience, Virgin Holidays appear to have a real lack of understanding about Virgin Atlantic(!), so I'm not surprised they gave out this info. They may even be trying to dissuade access to the Clubhouse for non-UC passengers.

They really do, they have no idea what is changing with the airline.

And considering Florida is the majority of their Holiday sales, you'd think they'd know how things work, like when your hotel will link to MDE, and that you can do all of your dining reservations for length of stay at 180 days.

 

[Claireywalsh]

They really do, they have no idea what is changing with the airline.

And considering Florida is the majority of their Holiday sales, you'd think they'd know how things work, like when your hotel will link to MDE, and that you can do all of your dining reservations for length of stay at 180 days.

Second that! Still cannot link my reservation in MDE and no one could answer my query. It's so far out im not stressing yet but if it was getting close to the 180 day mark I would not be impressed

 

[Jon84]

Second that! Still cannot link my reservation in MDE and no one could answer my query. It's so far out im not stressing yet but if it was getting close to the 180 day mark I would not be impressed

See the thread I created the other day, I'm trying to get a VH FAQ together, if you find out anything that's not covered feel free to add

http://www.disboards.com/threads/th...t-know-anything-thread.3439581/#post-54264801

 

[WestYorkshireUK]

Just to add another v room user opinion, I could not drag my children away from the automatic pancake maker

The food selection was good, we were on the 11am flight so it was breakfast. There was a hot food station with the usual bacon, eggs, sausages, beans etc, plus cereals, fruit, pastries, porridge, and juice.

There are complimentary newspapers and a bar if you wish to buy an alcoholic drink.

The games room is great to keep your children entertained and contained. It has an X box connect and table football enabling a few children to play at once.

The added benefit of the room is that the toilets are inside the v room meaning it is only those customers who use them.

There is a tv on the wall displaying the flight times and they announce when it is time to go to the gate. Also we had the customs cards given to us in there meaning I filled them out at the table.

I cannot fault it and it beats killing time in Manchester airport with everyone else.

 

[Tash87]

I've been lied to by my local VH Sales person!! I apologise of mis-info! Thankyou!

No surprise there Jon eh!