Melbourne Virgin Lounge using old "The Club" Space - Overcrowded!

[Ainslie Waldron]

Had the misfortune to spend a couple of hours in the Melbourne Virgin lounge yesterday. It is a temporary lounge and was so very disappointing. Table service only. Order via a QR code and have to go through the laborious QR system of ordering every time you want anything. So I tried ordering two glasses of wine but was told no go as they are only allowed to serve one at a time. The amount of wine served was ridiculously small. Much less than a standard glass. Then I tried ordering a whisky. I fancied their special Johnnie Walker black label. I like my whisky as it comes or on the rocks. They absolutely refused to serve it without a mixer. So I asked them to serve it with just a drip of soda. They served it full of soda which I actually couldn't drink as it was so fizzy. Thumbs down Virgin. Had worked a busy 5 days in a row and was looking forward to unwinding in the lounge.

 

[Virgin Bart]

There's spirits in the VA lounge?

 

[blackcat20]

There's spirits in the VA lounge?

Maybe while using The Club space?

 

[Maccaj73]

God VA are amateur..... I’ve been in the QF Business Lounge multiple times in the last few weeks and no sit down requirement, QR code rubbish and tightness you are scanned in at the door!....As a VA PLT the service and offering just gets worse and worse.....really not interested in going back.

 

[RickyT84]

There's spirits in the VA lounge?

Yes. Spirits (in those miniature bottles) were on offer at the SYD lounge a couple of weekends ago.

 

[Milefest]

Time to reboot the spirits in the VA lounge thread?

Anyway, I somehow doubt it'll become a permanent fixture. Surely it's remaining supply from when it was available in-flight?

 

[nathrek]

Not sure where there is so much hate for this. I much prefer getting comfy and have food/drinks come to me than having to get up and do it myself.

My bigger gripe with the change of lounge location is that the new space doesn't have any natural light. Much prefer the bright and airy feel of the "normal" lounge with the plate glass onto the tarmac.

 

[bcworld]

And then there's the DRRRRYYYYY sandwiches!

 

[Astro]

I spent a little bit of time in the lounge last week. It was very quiet which was lucky as it is a much smaller space than the main lounge.



I also got some screenshots of the menu for those interested:

 

[AIRwin]

I also got some screenshots of the menu for those interested:

Banana bread was already sold out before 8:30 in the morning...

 

[Gold Member]

Banana bread was already sold out before 8:30 in the morning...

Sold out? VA lounges now charging for food? That’s a new low... the disappointments just keep on comin with Team Jane.

 

[AIRwin]

Sold out? VA lounges now charging for food? That’s a new low... the disappointments just keep on comin with Team Jane.

If you look at the screenshot it shows "Sold out", but what I meant was unavailable for ordering...

 

[Must...Fly!]

The online ordering wasn't set up yet when I went through on Christmas Day. It looks quite straight forward and a good replacement to queuing up.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

If you look at the screenshot it shows "Sold out", but what I meant was unavailable for ordering...

My "haha" emoji was more so towards their choice of wording on the sign.





For Astro, the pics of the lounge looks good, interesting seeing that the food and drink are like a "cafe" sort of thing now, wonder if that is the way they are going to keep it, ie, less wastage, and lower costs over all.

 

[SeaWolf]

For Astro, the pics of the lounge looks good, interesting seeing that the food and drink are like a "cafe" sort of thing now, wonder if that is the way they are going to keep it, ie, less wastage, and lower costs over all.

When I was there a few weeks ago I quite liked this arrangement. I could just sit down and order what I wanted and it was promptly delivered to the table. I'm guessing it'll just be for the time that Melbourne is using The Club as a lounge though. Thinking back to how the Sydney lounge was during its heyday I just can't imagine table service working in that kind of situation.

 

[lewyVA]

(First world problem) but the Melbourne lounge situation is starting to get a bit silly. Friday morning at 9am, waited 15mins for a coffee which was still appreciated....BUT the lounge was clearly full with a line up to come in which appeared to cause the 10am SYD service getting called to board 15 minutes before any boarding actually occurred. Hard to imagine that it wasn’t a deliberate tactic to clear out some space in the lounge. If VA has to resort to that to manage lounge capacity then perhaps it’s time to re-open the full sized lounge....

 

[AFF Editor]

(First world problem) but the Melbourne lounge situation is starting to get a bit silly. Friday morning at 9am, waited 15mins for a coffee which was still appreciated....BUT the lounge was clearly full with a line up to come in which appeared to cause the 10am SYD service getting called to board 15 minutes before any boarding actually occurred. Hard to imagine that it wasn’t a deliberate tactic to clear out some space in the lounge. If VA has to resort to that to manage lounge capacity then perhaps it’s time to re-open the full sized lounge....

Another AFF member said they had a similar experience at the MEL lounge last weekend in a different thread.

I asked Virgin about this and their response is in this article: Opinion: Airlines Underprepared for Easter Surge in Passengers

"We have used the last few months to undertake maintenance work in our Melbourne Lounge. We are well progressed with this work and anticipate having the space reopened in coming months."

 

[jase05]

(First world problem) but the Melbourne lounge situation is starting to get a bit silly. Friday morning at 9am, waited 15mins for a coffee which was still appreciated....BUT the lounge was clearly full with a line up to come in which appeared to cause the 10am SYD service getting called to board 15 minutes before any boarding actually occurred. Hard to imagine that it wasn’t a deliberate tactic to clear out some space in the lounge. If VA has to resort to that to manage lounge capacity then perhaps it’s time to re-open the full sized lounge....

I don’t know if this has been answered but any chance the VA lounge is being currently renovated? I did read somewhere that all VA lounges would be upgraded to the same as ADL, perhaps MEL is next in queue?

 

[jakeseven7]

I don’t know if this has been answered but any chance the VA lounge is being currently renovated? I did read somewhere that all VA lounges would be upgraded to the same as ADL, perhaps MEL is next in queue?

Honestly I prefer the current MEL lounge look to the new ADL lounge in terms of aesthetic, but I get its a very subjective thing.

Think ADL looks cheap and nasty.

 

[twiningb]

I don’t know if this has been answered but any chance the VA lounge is being currently renovated? I did read somewhere that all VA lounges would be upgraded to the same as ADL, perhaps MEL is next in queue?

When I was in the temporary lounge in MEL a couple of weeks ago (the old Club), the desk agent indeed said they were renovating the main lounge in the same style as ADL.