V-Flyer

Hi though I flew VA PE about 10 yrs ago I consider myself a newbie having switched my airmiles collecting and burning from BA. As result I have recently booked VA UC reward flights for Oct 17 for an Orlando family hol. Route being LHR-MIA then ATL-LHR (will change to MIA-LHR if availability opens up). Would appreciate any thoughts from experienced VA flyers:
1. At moment would appear that I'm on a Dreamliner out and 330 in. Any comparisons between both in UC I've picked up some cabins are or have been refurbished?
2. Will be staying at a Heathrow hotel night before flight and will probably use a cab or car to get to T3. Worth using the Wing thing or just get dropped off at the terminal?
3. ATL UC lounge (Delta) - any good? Do they do proper food or more snacks as would prefer to sleep on flight after decent food, as opposed to eating on plane.
4. Are headphones on UC good or shall I take my own?
5. LHR spa treatments. Availability/reservations etc, what's the scoop?

Ta!

1. The dreamliner is a newer version of the UCDS. The A330 seat is the generation before, and not really regarded as very good, although if you are a leisure traveller, you may not even notice! Its unlikely you will be on a retro fitted A330. You can tell if you are, as the seat map will show 1x1x1 on the refitted A330's rather than 1x2x1. I'm not sure if they will all be done before your travel date however. Keep an eye on the seat map.

2. Its always worth using the wing. I like it. If you pre-book a car in advance, get their registration plate and give it to Virgin to speed up the access, not a big deal if you just use an Uber or something though.

3. Not sure about the Sky Club. Others can offer advice there. Its not a Clubhouse like elsewhere. Virgins own Clubhouses had* menus online before the recent website changes. *They may be still there somewhere, but given the amount of broken links I doubt it.

4. Take your own headphones and be the judge yourself. I'm not a massive fan, but they're ok.

5. Get in early for spa reservations. Availability depends on how busy things are.

Ace thanks for that!

Adding to the above.

On the A330, the A and K seats are longer than the two (or one if you are on a refurb) middle seats. More important if you are coming home and need to sleep.

I too would opt for the wing if you can.

Sky clubs are more snacks than actual meals. Depending on time you might get a bagel for breakfast or a soup for lunch or dinner. Don't expect anything more substantial than that. The full menu is here: http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/ ... /menu.html
At least if you get bored you can amuse yourself by visiting the 9 (yes, 9) Sky clubs in Atl.
If you want to eat elsewhere and just use the Sky club to relax and have a drink (which is what I would do) then this guide is pretty useful http://atlanta.eater.com/2014/11/20/725 ... ernational Ignore the 2014 in the URL, it was updated only last month.

If you have a good pair of noise cancelling headphones then take those otherwise use the ones on board.

1 irrespective of aircraft, choose window seats, that avoids the risk of the middle seats on the 333 (aside from being slightly shorter, there's no overhead storage or air vents either)

2 the DTCI wing is more fun and will save you time, arrive early as you can to enjoy the clubhouse!

3 the ATL sky club in the international terminal is nothing special, it can be extremely busy at times, the only plus is an outside seating area, last time i was at ATL i didn't bother going in, went to one of the restaurants instead for a proper meal(i like the italian one upstairs)

4 and 5 as above, make any spa reservations as soon as you enter the CH

We did Lhr-Mia-Lhr in UC in October, both have trip reports. We did dtci which was fun, echo what others have said about getting to the clubhouse early to make the most of it

Sky Club = comfy seating, soup and snacks and drinks.
Not all drinks are free. Oddly you have to pay for Prosecco but not still wines.
Payment is by card only so it's worth having one that doesn't charge foreign fees.
I haven't been to ATL yet but we are coming home from there in March.
At MCO we enjoy a meal at the Outback so I'll be looking for that or something similar at ATL and will put it in a Trip Report after we get back.

Dick D

Hope you enjoy the experience of Upper and all the good information you get of very well informed and helpful V-Flyers

Thanks again some great info there. I am looking at DL flights from Florida up to ATL. Though a seperate ticket would I be able to check my hold luggage through to my ATL - LHR flight with VA later same day?