V-Flyer

So after managing to grab a reward flight in upper class to Orlando in July (which I was very surprised about!), it was off to Gatwick the night before for a stay at the Hilton. I’m not sure if Hilton have changed their check in process for Hhonors members, but I was able to check in for my stay the day before and choose my room. This was quite a nice touch and made it very quick when I arrived at the hotel. I find the Hilton to be very convenient when flying out of the South terminal and once again had a comfortable stay.

It was off to the upper class check in desk first thing the next morning and there was no queue at all. I was grateful for this considering the massive queues at both the economy and premium economy check in desks. The Virgin staff were very polite and helpful, providing instructions on how to get to the clubhouse since it had been a couple of years since my last visit.

As always, the clubhouse was a welcome retreat from the extremely busy South terminal and I was soon settled in with a pot of tea, glass of champagne and eggs florentine. I was pleased to see they are still serving Lanson champagne in the clubhouse and I hope this doesn’t change anytime soon. The clubhouse was busy but the advantage of being on the later flight was that I could still book a treatment slot, so I went for the express hand treatment. This was lovely as always and I managed to fit in another glass or two of champagne before heading off to the gate.

Boarding was prompt and I was soon seated in 10A and swiftly offered a drink. I decided to try the new Gardet champagne but regretted it. It is nowhere near as nice as the Lanson and I didn’t finish my glass. I think I’ll stick to the wine onboard in future. Pushback was almost on time and we were in the air soon afterwards.

I have to note that on this particular flight there were 6 empty seats in the upper class cabin. I’m not sure if these were ever offered as reward seat or miles upgrade options, but all of these were subsequently filled after take off by off duty cabin crew members. There were about 12 off duty cabin crew on our flight in total and I think they were all travelling out to work on the following days return flights. One thing I noticed was that their meal orders were taken last and I wonder if that is usual in upper class to allow the paying passengers to have their first choice. Anyway, most people slept for the entire flight out, so it was very quiet in the cabin. The bar was also empty most of the time, which seemed quite unusual!

Lunch was served promptly after take off and was delicious. I was particularly impressed that the cabin crew served the potato skins from the graze menu as a starter on request. I followed this with the tomato and mozzarella gnocchi, the panna cotta for dessert and some cheese and biscuits. This was all washed down with a very tasty glass of Chablis. I won’t write out the entire menu again as this has already been given a previous trip report, but I can safely say that all the food was delicious and there was plenty of choice.

This was my second trip in upper class and I found it to be a far better experience than the first one. It might be because the cabin is so much smaller than on the Heathrow flights, but I thought all the crew were excellent and attentive throughout. The only disappointment was afternoon tea, which came with a weird selection of sandwiches that were supposed to have an American theme. The cakes and scones were lovely as usual though.

We arrived in Orlando almost on time, though a thunderstorm delayed the baggage delivery slightly. Overall, this was one of the best experiences I’ve had flying with Virgin and I would definitely fly upper class again if I could get another reward seat or a miles upgrade.

Thanks for reading

Thanks for a great TR. Good to hear you had a better experience than last time.

Thanks for a super TR

You are able to confirm what i have experienced - namely being able to get a G on a flight to Orlando (even at a peak time!!)

Glad the Clubhouse was up to scratch and apart from the Garden rubbish, on board too

Have a lovely time in Florida (which by all accounts is not as sunny as usual

buns

Thank you for an interesting TR.
I have chosen my room by online check in on the last 3 occasions of staying at the Hilton - only to discover on arrival that it has been changed ( shades of BA - I'm beginning to think it must be me. ).

So pleased you had a good flight and well done on getting that G

Thanks for posting, good tip about the HHhonors I didn't know that will look out in future.
Weather in Orlando has been terrible but is getting better!

Nice TR, thanks for that! I've never flown UC from Gatwick but my Heathrow experiences have always been top notch !

Thank you for your TR, pleased you had a good experience at both the Hilton & with VS