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#923053 by selbyk
23 Jun 2016, 10:56
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
Well here we go, this was the start of a 3 week trip for OH big 50 birthday. This took in 1 night in San Francisco,4 nights in Vegas, 8 nights in Orlando and 7 nights to chill out at St Pete's beach to finish.

This was my first time in Virgin UC but I have been fortunate enough to travel business on many occasions, mainly to the Far East so my comparisons are based on EVA, Emirates, Thai etc.

Used reward points to book these flights into SFO and out of MCO (It seems reward seats are difficult to get hold of into Vegas but flying into SFO, staying a night there and driving across to Vegas is no real hardship)

As we were flying out of LHR and back into LGW we stayed at Stanhill court hotel, near Gatwick, to make the return journey easier (great price for room and 3 weeks parking). We left the car there and taxi took us to LHR drive through check in for 8am arrival.

DTCI was a real plus, and along with the priority security we arrived in the Clubhouse quickly and comfortably.
After booking hair wash and the Bumble thing for OH and a hair cut for me it was time to partake in a cooked breakfast, and after treatments the legendary `Redheads'. All went down very well thanks! ;-) .
Although I do like the lounge at Istanbul for size and variety I now have a new favourite and i don't think i will beat the Clubhouse experience anywhere.

Priority boarding was a breeze and, after following posts on here (Thanks ;-) ) we had selected 3A/4D for the journey.
Champagne in hand, hot towels soon after and ready to go!

The meal was fine, and the steak was better than I had expected (OH also enjoyed the chicken), so, after watching the Jonny Depp movie I decided to try the `bar' experience for a couple of hours, partook in a few glasses of wine and had a nice jovial chat with another couple celebrating their anniversary with a holiday to SFO. Despite the wine I made my bed successfully and had a nice nap, waking in time for descent into SFO.

The crew were, in the main good, although we did not meet the FSM that does not bother me in the slightest. The young man serving at the bar was chatty and personable as was the CC who served our meals etc.

My only gripe, although trivial, was that I politely asked if we could have one of the coffee mugs to take (for OH birthday flight memory), the CC said yes, no problem, and despite reminding him before landing this was not forthcoming and I did not want to ask again. Its not that important and did not mar my memories of a good flight out.

To summarise:
DTCI - Brilliant and nothing comparable
CH - Again brilliant, the best lounge I've visited
Crew - Very pleasant on this flight, just feel a little more pampered with Asian airlines
Seat - Not the most comfortable bed, EVA much better (and more storage in seat area)
Overall - I'll be back for US flights

I will try and post return trip later, just to add we did get a great deal with AA (First) from Vegas to Orlando, via Dallas, and despite poor experiences with them in the past these flights were good for internal. (AA price First only marginally dearer than South West economy, I think primarily due to the OH being unable to travel without at least 2 x 32 kilo cases :-D )

Thanks also to all of you that post on this forum which gave me a lot of hints and tips before travellling.
#923064 by marshy11
23 Jun 2016, 15:03
Thank you for posting. I'm glad you enjoyed the CH, it's probably my favourite place indoors anywhere! The crew sounded like they were efficient but it's a shame you didn't get the mug. A belated Happy 50th to the OH.
#923088 by tomthumb
24 Jun 2016, 20:14
Thanks for the TR - it is a good CH at Heathrow - shame about the mug
#923094 by jfenney
25 Jun 2016, 07:45
Thanks for the TR ,have an amazing holiday visiting so many places really prolongs the holiday I feel and happy birthday to your OH :-D

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