Virgin lounge - LHR T3

[Yesimmoaningaboutbenefits]

Is it worth paying for the virgin lounge?
Family of 5. 2 teens and a younger one.
Won't be over a mealtime so I'm not bothered about food. Last time we flew from T3 it was a struggle to find anywhere to sit. But that was peak summer holidays so presumably busier than normal.

Hi Op Are you flying virgin? I presume so! Only Upper Class gets you into the lounge. Unless one of your party holds a Virgin Gold card, in which case they can take one guest with them regardless of which class you’re flying.
The Virgin lounge isn’t one you can easily buy/pay your way into. We flew in August - I went in with DH and his Gold Card, leaving DD (25, not little!) and friend outside; the lounge was busy and even a GC holder wasn’t able to “buy” passes for the rest of our party.

So unless you’re travelling UC or hold a Virgin Gold card, it’s nigh on impossible for you to get into the Virgin Lounge

When I went to add passport details there was an option to buy lounge entry. For any class of seating. It would cost £163 for the 5 of us.

Isn't that the No.1 Lounge as opposed to the Virgin Clubhouse (which I also remember as being only open to Virgin frequent flyers or higher class ticket holders)

Not that it makes a difference. It's your choice really. If you'll be at the airport for long enough before your flight and want to relax and eat, and the money isn't an issue then book.

Just logged back on to check, yes it is the general Heathrow lounge. Id assumed it was the virgin lounge as I was on my virgin flying club account.

Still, same question. Is booking any lounge worth it? In summer at T3 there wasn't a lot of seating but it's obviously peak season. We are unlikely to eat at the airport but would have drinks if on offer. It's long haul so should have time to kill.

I wpyld just go for a meal instead. Airplane food is grim so best to feed everyone before the flight and plenty of choices at Heathrow. You could all eat for less than £163 and have somewhere to sit for an hour.

Again, if 163 quid is fine for you then book it as a nice little perk to start the holiday with. It's not thousands.

Bit shit though if for some reason security takes ages or you're delayed on the way to the airport, and you only have a short time to make use of the lounge.

Security is probably the reason for my hesitation. I'm travelling with something in hand luggage that requires official paperwork/documentation so I am worried we'll be ages with security while they go through everything with a fine-tooth comb.

But then again, if the flights delayed we'll be gutted if we don't book!

I just can't decide if it's worth it or not.

The price I think is fair as we'd spend over £100 even on a high-street nandos for 5. So I wouldn't anticipate spending much less on an airport meal.

I think you could probably get an offer / a bit cheaper if you shop around. Lounges are fine, we use the T5 BA one a lot as transfer through that terminal, but not anything amazing - for example the seats aren't very comfy and they have no reclining seats. Its alway busy too. Showers are the best bit.

I maybe a bit odd though in that i quite like airline food and eating on the plane on a long haul so I'm never that fussed about eating in airports and don't like to drink booze during the day - so not really their target customer.

We use No1 lounges if you have a Barclays account you get 6 passes a year if you add in their travel plus pack as well as travel and breakdown insurance. They also include prosecco in their lounge offerings which other lounges don’t.