RE: aiport lounge

Hi Richard - yes I do know Andy, we are on the same course in portsmouth and have been sent a design brief from Virgin as part of a competition to redesign the upper class airport lounge. We are trying to establish what they lack and what they have that is popular. The idea is to come up with a concept for a revolutionary lounge that "as a folly" is a pleasant place to be. We are looking into the inclusion of gyms, showers, sleeping areas etc. as well as the possibility of pre-ordering food and sevices. The idea of using these posts is to gauge who uses these lounges and what they would like to have included so that the design would reflect what Virgin customers want.

Exclusivity is important in the profile of the lounge - is this already the case? do the lounges feel e xclusive, offering excellent service to travellers? Should the lounge be culturally neutral, or do people like to be aware of where they are in the world? Again, any advice or comments will be greatly appreciated and very useful.

Cheers, Dave

[RichardMannion]

Hi,

Thats a very intersting competition. Especially since Virgin are actively working on the renovation of the Flagship Clubhouse at London Heathrow.

This could get very detailed.....

The Current Heathrow Clubhouse is zoned up, there is the reception area which allows upto 6 (I think) agents to check your credentials for lounge entry. To the left is a caot/luggage storage room taht used to have lockers in it until recently.

Then there is the main area of the lounge (which all is then open plan - there is a wall/screen between the long reception area. There are a large number of tables both low level and normal height. Some fitted seats. There is then the bar that covers 2 sides of a rectangle shape, which you can sit at. There is a more normal restaurant/cafe dinign area, along with a few boothes. Above this dining area is a regular TV normally showing the news.

Then down a step to a slightly lower level is the library/lounging area that has a number of tables and chairs again, along with a few chaisse longues. There is a very large old antique table there that came from Sir Richard's country home, parallel to the fitted bookcases that hold a selection of reference/classic books, a range of newspapers and magazines. Fitted to the centre of the bookcases is one of the famous GeoChrons.

Adjacent to the library area and in front of the dining area is a raised floor that holds the Spiral Staircase and the area that is used for the various buffets. Up the staircase takes you to the large 'conservatory' that is a lot quieter than the main lounge. It has a few large tabels and some wicker furniture. It has great views out over the Terminal. There is a small bar up there, and the area near the left hand side windows is used by the Beauty team for some of the treaments.

Back downstairs to the left of the staircase area is a small 'hallway' section that houses some arcade machines/XBox. To the left of that is the old Music Room - which before that was the putting green. Its now used as a TV/Family room.

Behind the wall of the dining area/main lounge area to the right is a passageway that has two internet terminals, and also has the shoeshine facilty. To the otherside of the passageway is the Virgin Touch slaon that offers haircuts and other beauty treatments.

There are some pictures of the lounge to try and make sense of my dexcription above:
http://www.travelquality.com/flights/pi ... HR_VS.html

This is an example of the menu from the clubhouse:
http://www.airlinequality.com/catering/vs_lng-menu.htm
It changes 3 times aday if I remember, Breakfast, Brunch and Dinner.

Trying to answer your actual questions now!

Sleeping areas have been suggested before, Wireless Internet Access has. THe menu is not as diverse as it used to be, but thats getting better all the time. A key thing often missed is service - I've been in a high number of lounges including both BA Concorde rooms. None really offer the waiter/table service that Virgin does. Staff at Clubhouses are known for their attention and making sure the customer has everything - last years winner of the annual staff awards was one of the CLubhouse staff in San Francisco. I take friends and family with me into the CLubhouses,a nd they all go 'wow'.

Virign has tried to some degree to try and reflect the local culture of the current destination. I've not actually been tot he Johannesburg lounge, but my two work colleagues who have used the Hetahrow lounge too were very impressed by the Jo'burg lounge level of decor and elegance.

The quality of food is very good, many lounges just offer snacks such as biscuits/crisp etc. From the menu extract above you can see that VS offers more than this. Only lounges I've see like this are some of the BA lounges/Terraces.

The Virgin Touch facilities are standout points too - its not a cheap service to implement and run but it makes the difference.

Virgin invests heavily in its Clubhouses - £1m invested intiatlly with more spent on the renovations since then - take a look int he Press Kit on the main website which has more details.

Don't forget that the Clubhouse is just one important aspect of the Upper Class service.

I hope this answers some of your questions, please let me know if you need anymore detail.

Thanks,
Richard

Jo'burg is my favourite lounge. Mixed seating (tables for dining and lower chairs for relaxing), three or four internet terminals, spotless showers/washrooms with entertainment and the most attentive staff you'll find anywhere. Some great food (ostrich kebabs are my favourite) and home of the magic beer that refreshes itself every 20 mins or so. Reflective of the local culture to some extent, although you do end up feeling a tad strange (as a Londoner) when it finally dawns on you that the only non-white faces you'll usually see there are the waiting staff.

BC

There's no denying VS have some of the best lounges and the facilities/ service are second to none.

It would be great to improve the allocation of space for working -- desks with dividers so you can make a private phone call and network cables to log on and download mails before getting on-board.

I'm not convinced the arcade area in LHR isn't anything more than a gimmick. There must be a better use of space...

Also, I'm a bit gutted about the lockers disappearing. I understand the security issues, but I felt much more relaxed knowing my stuff was safe and I could freely move around the lounge without setting off a security alert thanks to unattended baggage.

Finally, I wonder if VS have thought about a Flying Club members desk that can deal with general enquiries and a concierge style service? Just a thought...

[RichardMannion]

quote:Originally posted by Buffers

Finally, I wonder if VS have thought about a Flying Club members desk that can deal with general enquiries and a concierge style service? Just a thought...

The reception area pod at the far end was designed to answer the Flying Club questions, hence the wall signage. Not that I have ever had the need to ask them a question! The pod gets used by the VTouch rep for appointments now.

As for Concierge, well yes it has been suggested many time for LHR as I and some of the others here have experienced the benefits of the VS 'Concierges' in the US. THe idea is still being looked into as obviously there is a lot of traffic through LHR for VS.

Thanks,
Richard