First time UC from Heathrow. Question about Upper Class Wing

Hi

After flying from Manchester over many years, at last we are flying from Heathrow to Miami. Not excited about the Miami arrival part, but happy to at last be seeing the Clubhouse after years of the Escape Lounge and maybe using the Upper Class wing, or whatever it is called now. I have tried searching for answers but not got too far I'm afraid.

We are staying the night before at the Premier Inn Bath Road and will need to book 6 weeks car parking, probably with Purple Parking.

Now, how is the best way to get to the check in wing in the morning? Do we park the the park the night before and take a taxi in the morning to the wing? Can you get Purple Parking to collect the car at the wing? How do things work there?

In the end, is it easier to just go the the normal check in desks in the terminal?

Also, any tips about getting the most from the clubhouse? Most likely our only time here, back to flying from Manchester in September!

Thanks for all your help.

Hi Maz

Normally when have used DTCI in the past we have been driven directly from home so have been able to provide VS with reg number of vehicle in advance. We are doing the Heathrow - Miami route next month & due to early flight time are staying at an airport hotel the night before & will just jump in a cab, booked our DTCI slot today no problem. On one occasion in the past we met up with Purple Parking & got them to drive us to DTCI, I found the whole process a little cumbersome. My advice would be to get rid of your car the night prior to departure & hop in a cab for the short journey to DTCI.

With regard to the CH just enjoy, I guess we will arrive around 7.00/7.30 am for our 09.30 flight so plenty of time for breakfast & a glass of fizz or two prior to boarding.

Have a great trip.

oldboy

Have you booked the Park, Stay, Fly package at the Premier Inn? We used it is December. £111 for one night stay, overnight parking at the hotel and then Purple Parking Meet and Greet for up to 15 days (not sure if you can extend this to 6 weeks with the package or not). If we are arriving late at LHR, crashing and getting up early it is ideal and an absolute bargain.

The Purple Parking drop off is in the T3 short stay car park, Level 3. It is so close to the Virgin desks I can not be bothered to then arrange a car to drive us around to the Wing. I am sure it is a lovely experience but for us, not worth the bother. You can just stroll in to the terminal, check-in and be in the CH in minutes.

The other PP option is to park at the PP depot next to the Premier Inn and then get a car around to the Wing (or main T3 Departures).

If you have not got the Park, Stay, Fly package you can also drive around to the Wing where I believe Purple Parking will meet you and drive your car away. This is arranged via Virgin but the costs are significantly more than standard PP pricing.

So it depends how much you value walking through the Wing doors, having you bags taken off you and your boarading passes/ luggage receipts handed to you. After that security and the CH is no different than if you enetered via the other side via UC check-in.

We are heading to Miami in April and have opted for the Premier Inn again. If you like watching aircraft landing then you can not beat the view from their car park which is right on the edge of the final approach before touch down.

Have a great trip.

And as for the Clubhouse. Well we have only been once so far (and very much looking forward to visiting again this year). What we did was arrive 4 hours pre-flight. On arrival book any spa treatments. We then ordered a cocktail or two and some tapas to eat. This was followed by our spa visits and then a tour around the different araes of the CH, sampling a different coktail in each area

Then we went to the restaurant and had a meal, had our shoes cleaned by the lovely shoeshine man and then it was time to go. 4 hours soon flies by.

Best tip, get there early!

We got there 4 hours before our flight was called which flew by..... we then had a further five hours in there due to a delay..... i don't remember much of the flight at all and slept like a baby.

6 weeks parking!
You know what... I would be tempted to hire a car one way... twice!

Thank you all for your help. With the 6 week car parking, you would be surprised. Purple Parking thought VA website is about £119 for meet & greet for the 6 weeks. Not sure of the extra cost for them taking the car through the UC wing as that is a phone call. We have used them before for a long trip and couldn't believe the price. Then we left it at a remote location and shuttled in and back, due to finances back then, but the meet & greet sounds more convenient.

As far as Premier Inn parking package, usually hotels charge a daily rate for parking after the 15 night package, making it a very expensive way to park for 6 weeks sadly. But I will go and check. Also I didn't realise Purple Parking might be next door, so leaving it there the night before could be an option. Off to check on that.

Honestly? I am quite stressed about it all, but will get there one way or another.

Our flight is 1pm, so thought arriving soon after 10am would give us a nice time in the Clubhouse.

We are returning from San Francisco, so can enjoy the clubhouse there too, rather than the usual apology for a lounge at Orlando Airport

With the LHR CH get there early and enjoy it. I'd quite happily spend all day there! Take advantage of the steam showers, sets you up nicely for the long flight.

We did DTCI a couple of months ago (taxied in) - more of a novelty for us than functional but was fun, wife was impressed anyway!

[honey lamb]

Our flight is 1pm, so thought arriving soon after 10am would give us a nice time in the Clubhouse.

We are returning from San Francisco, so can enjoy the clubhouse there too, rather than the usual apology for a lounge at Orlando Airport

If I were you, I'd arrive much earlier. Don't bother with breakfast in the hotel but make straight for the Clubhouse and have breakfast there and enjoy the rest of your time there. On arrival, go to the Spa and book a treatment before heading for brekkie and after that explore while sampling the various beverages. The Virgin Redhead is to be highly recommended. Remember that the flight is called approximately 50 minutes before the scheduled departure time and the perceived wisdom is that one orders another drink then, leaving only on the second call! By that time the queues for boarding will have dissipated and you should be able to walk straight on board.

Aaah, the SFO Clubhouse! My favourite after the LHR one (I've only used the LGW one twice)! In the days when there were V-Flyer awards and before the current LHR CH was built, it topped the poll consistently! Enjoy!

Our flight is 1pm, so thought arriving soon after 10am would give us a nice time in the Clubhouse.

We are returning from San Francisco, so can enjoy the clubhouse there too, rather than the usual apology for a lounge at Orlando Airport

If I were you, I'd arrive much earlier. Don't bother with breakfast in the hotel but make straight for the Clubhouse and have breakfast there and enjoy the rest of your time there. On arrival, go to the Spa and book a treatment before heading for brekkie and after that explore while sampling the various beverages. The Virgin Redhead is to be highly recommended. Remember that the flight is called approximately 50 minutes before the scheduled departure time and the perceived wisdom is that one orders another drink then, leaving only on the second call! By that time the queues for boarding will have dissipated and you should be able to walk straight on board.

Aaah, the SFO Clubhouse! My favourite after the LHR one (I've only used the LGW one twice)! In the days when there were V-Flyer awards and before the current LHR CH was built, it topped the poll consistently! Enjoy!

Thank you, we will certainly try and get to the clubhouse much earlier. Sadly, though I never drank much, I can't drink alcohol at all any more due to illness, and my husband doesn't bother, so no sampling of the beverages. But breakfast and other snacks will be enjoyed. What is recommended at the Spa?

The SF Clubhouse will be a treat before the long flight home. I remember our last flight from the West coast, from LA, as being long and tedious with noisy crew chatting all night at the front of the plane(close to us) and marching up and down the aisle, often bumping the end of my 'bed'. It seemed a never ending torture. This time we have booked seats closer to the exit so hoping it isn't as bad.

Hi

Order a local cab, I used Kabbee when I stayed at PI in Bath rd. I pre-booked him for 11am, he came to the hotel car park on time and about 5-10mins later I was at the barrier giving my details to the lady on the intercom. Think I paid £9. Dont forget you need to inform them before hand what time you will roughly be arriving, at least that is what I did.

Hi

Order a local cab, I used Kabbee when I stayed at PI in Bath rd. I pre-booked him for 11am, he came to the hotel car park on time and about 5-10mins later I was at the barrier giving my details to the lady on the intercom. Think I paid £9. Dont forget you need to inform them before hand what time you will roughly be arriving, at least that is what I did.

I think we have decided to do this. Parking at the Premier Inn is £10 for the night so we decided to drop the car off next door at Purple Parking the night before after dropping off our bags at the hotel, and get a cab next morning. How convenient is that, Purple Parking next to the hotel? Thank you Maximus for mentioning that as we wouldn't have known until we drove up to the hotel!

Thank you for the suggestion of a cab company.

Since the rules changed a while ago, you can just rock up to DTCI without pre-booking, but I prefer to book. The difference being that your boarding cards etc will all be ready on arrival, whereas if you don't book then you'll have to go through the full checkin process, which I think negates the point of DTCI. If you don't know the reg of the car you'll arrive in when you book that's fine, you can phone enroute and it helps at the barrier.

Enjoy your trip.

Thank you Maximus for mentioning that as we wouldn't have known until we drove up to the hotel!

You are welcome

Have a great trip!

Since the rules changed a while ago, you can just rock up to DTCI without pre-booking, but I prefer to book. The difference being that your boarding cards etc will all be ready on arrival, whereas if you don't book then you'll have to go through the full checkin process, which I think negates the point of DTCI. If you don't know the reg of the car you'll arrive in when you book that's fine, you can phone enroute and it helps at the barrier.

Enjoy your trip.

That is a problem with it being a taxi I guess, not knowing the car number till the taxi arrives. You would think most people would be arriving by taxi. Yes, we can try phoning en route if there is time to connect anyway.

Book Uber from PP and you will be given car reg before it arrives

Since the rules changed a while ago, you can just rock up to DTCI without pre-booking, but I prefer to book. The difference being that your boarding cards etc will all be ready on arrival, whereas if you don't book then you'll have to go through the full checkin process, which I think negates the point of DTCI. If you don't know the reg of the car you'll arrive in when you book that's fine, you can phone enroute and it helps at the barrier.

Enjoy your trip.

That is a problem with it being a taxi I guess, not knowing the car number till the taxi arrives. You would think most people would be arriving by taxi. Yes, we can try phoning en route if there is time to connect anyway.

Book your arrival slot and phone on the day with the license number of the car. I use a local taxi company that has occasionally had to switch cars on the day and calling on the day has never been an issue.

Book Uber from PP and you will be given car reg before it arrives

Good idea, thanks.

Book your arrival slot and phone on the day with the license number of the car. I use a local taxi company that has occasionally had to switch cars on the day and calling on the day has never been an issue.[/quote]


Thank you, good to know.