UKDEB
Moderator Emeritus
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2000
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Preamble
Sunday, 2nd November
The aim is to leave the Sofitel around 7am and at 7.10am we're heading up through the tunnel which links it to the North Terminal. As checking in is the part of the pre-journey process which I find most stressful, it’s always good to get it out of the way the previous evening. I feel completely chilled as we make our way to upstairs security in the South Terminal knowing we don’t have that ordeal to contend with. There are no queues at all here, so we sail through. They’re not even interested in Matt’s camera bag, which is a first.
This trip is going to see less spending than usual, so it’s just a quick stop at Duty Free for some Marc Jacobs Daisy and Vera Wang for Men. We both end up buying gift sets as they’re exactly the same price as the fragrance alone (£39.95 and £46.40 respectively). We figure we can dump the enormous boxes if we don’t have room for them on the homebound journey. Normally I’ll stock up on make-up, Matt will get a few cigars and we’ll buy some spirits and champagne for the holiday, so we’re feeling quite judicious, even if we have parted with nigh on £200 even before leaving the UK.
We each pick up some magazines in WH Smith (for the avoidance of doubt, we then also pay for them
) before heading for the V-Room. [This is a first for us. We normally use the Virgin Clubhouse, but it was fully booked. The nice man at the Frequent Virgin Club kindly suggested we might like to try the V-Room. We were a tad surprised given that it’s advertised as being solely for the use of Virgin Holidays’ customers (we’ve booked flights only with Virgin Atlantic), but we weren’t going to argue.]
First impressions are good. We’re greeted at the podium by a cheerful and welcoming young lady who offers us some kind of edible treat (I think it may have been a Halloween cookie). Passing through the entrance, the first area you encounter is a Virgin Holidays sales area. Beyond this (to the left as you face it) are the toilets, a kids' playroom and an area equipped with computers, a pinball machine and back-to-back TVs linked to gaming consoles. There may be an air hockey table or something similar, but I can’t be certain. The remainder is open plan and comprises several help-yourself food stations (smoothies, juice, fresh fruit, cereals, facilities for making toast and hot drinks), a manned hot food station (pre-made sausage and bacon rolls, beans on toast), cafeteria style seating, a bar and an adults only area (complete with its own internet stations).
Virgin Holidays sales area. You can just see the entrance from the corridor, together with the podium, to the right.
This additional promotional area is perpendicular to the first. It's just about possible to make out the sign for the toilets. Immediately behind this wall is the kids' play area and, beyond that, the computer area.
Kids' play area
Computer area
In the opposite direction are the hot and cold food stations. To the right of this picture is the cafe seating. The bar and adults only area are at the far end.
The same area taken from the opposite end.
Cold food stations
The bar.
Internet stations in adults only area.
I didn't get any good shots of the cafe area, but you can get an idea from this.
This tickled Matt. It's hard to make out, but it reads: STAFF ONLY - caution - swings both ways. Knowing Virgin, I wouldn't be surprised to learn it's a deliberate faux pas.
We take up position in the adults area next to the bar (well, come on, what did you expect?). The staff here are every bit as friendly and helpful as those in the Clubhouse, but the significant difference is that they don’t come to take your order. The Clubhouse staff are exceptionally attentive and I do miss that. As the alcoholic beverages aren’t free, I forego my usual Champagne in favour of Cava. The drinks are reasonably priced (something like £2 for Matt’s Guinness and £2.50 for my glass of bubbly) and I end up getting two for the price of one as “the bottle’s nearly empty” *wink, wink* (I told you these staff were friendly).
We both opt for a bacon roll. Even the best prepared bacon roll on the planet wouldn’t normally be my top choice of breakfast item and, in a league of “Top 1000 Best Prepared Bacon Rolls On The Planet”, this would struggle to come in at 1000th. The fat isn’t at all crispy and the bread is soggy. It seems almost as if the whole thing has been assembled and then heated in the microwave. I suspect that the bread has probably become soggy due to having been wrapped in cellophane and kept warm on a hotplate. The sausage option would undoubtedly have been better. Or beans on toast. Or cereal. Or fruit. Anything other than the bacon roll. On the plus side, the man charged with the important job of keeping the rolls at an optimum level of sogginess is friendliness personified (did you spot him waving in one of the shots above?)
The design elements are quirky and that, together with its newness, makes for a very pleasant environment to while away a couple of hours. It isn’t up to the standard of the Clubhouse, but at £15 per head as opposed to £35 it’s certainly comparable in terms of value. All in all, a positive experience and one I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.
Our flight is called just before 10:10am. We wait around 20 minutes before making our way to Gate 13 and by-pass the queue using the separate UC/PE line. (I always squirm slightly, but it is one of the benefits for which we pay extra, so it’s silly to get too hung up about it.) We’re sitting in our seats, Champagne in hand, by 10.45am (or, if you prefer to believe the camera time-stamp, 10.53am).
Continued below.
Sunday, 2nd November
The aim is to leave the Sofitel around 7am and at 7.10am we're heading up through the tunnel which links it to the North Terminal. As checking in is the part of the pre-journey process which I find most stressful, it’s always good to get it out of the way the previous evening. I feel completely chilled as we make our way to upstairs security in the South Terminal knowing we don’t have that ordeal to contend with. There are no queues at all here, so we sail through. They’re not even interested in Matt’s camera bag, which is a first.
This trip is going to see less spending than usual, so it’s just a quick stop at Duty Free for some Marc Jacobs Daisy and Vera Wang for Men. We both end up buying gift sets as they’re exactly the same price as the fragrance alone (£39.95 and £46.40 respectively). We figure we can dump the enormous boxes if we don’t have room for them on the homebound journey. Normally I’ll stock up on make-up, Matt will get a few cigars and we’ll buy some spirits and champagne for the holiday, so we’re feeling quite judicious, even if we have parted with nigh on £200 even before leaving the UK.
We each pick up some magazines in WH Smith (for the avoidance of doubt, we then also pay for them
) before heading for the V-Room. [This is a first for us. We normally use the Virgin Clubhouse, but it was fully booked. The nice man at the Frequent Virgin Club kindly suggested we might like to try the V-Room. We were a tad surprised given that it’s advertised as being solely for the use of Virgin Holidays’ customers (we’ve booked flights only with Virgin Atlantic), but we weren’t going to argue.]First impressions are good. We’re greeted at the podium by a cheerful and welcoming young lady who offers us some kind of edible treat (I think it may have been a Halloween cookie). Passing through the entrance, the first area you encounter is a Virgin Holidays sales area. Beyond this (to the left as you face it) are the toilets, a kids' playroom and an area equipped with computers, a pinball machine and back-to-back TVs linked to gaming consoles. There may be an air hockey table or something similar, but I can’t be certain. The remainder is open plan and comprises several help-yourself food stations (smoothies, juice, fresh fruit, cereals, facilities for making toast and hot drinks), a manned hot food station (pre-made sausage and bacon rolls, beans on toast), cafeteria style seating, a bar and an adults only area (complete with its own internet stations).
Virgin Holidays sales area. You can just see the entrance from the corridor, together with the podium, to the right.
This additional promotional area is perpendicular to the first. It's just about possible to make out the sign for the toilets. Immediately behind this wall is the kids' play area and, beyond that, the computer area.
Kids' play area
Computer area
In the opposite direction are the hot and cold food stations. To the right of this picture is the cafe seating. The bar and adults only area are at the far end.
The same area taken from the opposite end.
Cold food stations
The bar.
Internet stations in adults only area.
I didn't get any good shots of the cafe area, but you can get an idea from this.
This tickled Matt. It's hard to make out, but it reads: STAFF ONLY - caution - swings both ways. Knowing Virgin, I wouldn't be surprised to learn it's a deliberate faux pas.
We take up position in the adults area next to the bar (well, come on, what did you expect?). The staff here are every bit as friendly and helpful as those in the Clubhouse, but the significant difference is that they don’t come to take your order. The Clubhouse staff are exceptionally attentive and I do miss that. As the alcoholic beverages aren’t free, I forego my usual Champagne in favour of Cava. The drinks are reasonably priced (something like £2 for Matt’s Guinness and £2.50 for my glass of bubbly) and I end up getting two for the price of one as “the bottle’s nearly empty” *wink, wink* (I told you these staff were friendly).
We both opt for a bacon roll. Even the best prepared bacon roll on the planet wouldn’t normally be my top choice of breakfast item and, in a league of “Top 1000 Best Prepared Bacon Rolls On The Planet”, this would struggle to come in at 1000th. The fat isn’t at all crispy and the bread is soggy. It seems almost as if the whole thing has been assembled and then heated in the microwave. I suspect that the bread has probably become soggy due to having been wrapped in cellophane and kept warm on a hotplate. The sausage option would undoubtedly have been better. Or beans on toast. Or cereal. Or fruit. Anything other than the bacon roll. On the plus side, the man charged with the important job of keeping the rolls at an optimum level of sogginess is friendliness personified (did you spot him waving in one of the shots above?)
The design elements are quirky and that, together with its newness, makes for a very pleasant environment to while away a couple of hours. It isn’t up to the standard of the Clubhouse, but at £15 per head as opposed to £35 it’s certainly comparable in terms of value. All in all, a positive experience and one I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.
Our flight is called just before 10:10am. We wait around 20 minutes before making our way to Gate 13 and by-pass the queue using the separate UC/PE line. (I always squirm slightly, but it is one of the benefits for which we pay extra, so it’s silly to get too hung up about it.) We’re sitting in our seats, Champagne in hand, by 10.45am (or, if you prefer to believe the camera time-stamp, 10.53am).
Continued below.
love the virgin sign and no i didn't spot the guy waving ( i went back to check tho 
