Sydney Virgin Lounge

[civinod]

It's been a long tie since I have flown Virgin but in the lounge this morning.

Usually a QF customer.

Let me say I can see no reason to change so far. I know they are renovating at the moment but it is underwhelming to say the least.

Feels like an afterthought and small is not the wword. Hate to see what the place is like on a Friday night.

 

[Fruitcake]

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Feels like an afterthought and small is not the wword. Hate to see what the place is like on a Friday night.

Incredibly spacious, in my experience. They've been running at about 25% occupancy upstairs on the last couple of Friday nights that I have flown.

Having said that, upstairs at the moment is just a white room chocked with seats so the ambience is lacking. Hopefully that changes when the renovations are completed.

 

[serfty]

Down stairs, if you head towards the premium entry, to the right is a small area of about 30 seats that is often underutilised.

 

[Ausbt]

Usually a QF customer.

Let me say I can see no reason to change so far.

As a VA WP and QF SG who uses BNE, SYD, CBR & MEL lounges frequently (among others), I can tell you my opinion is completely different from yours. They all have a different feel. Personally, I dislike the MEL QP the most and would much rather be in the Lounge there. MEL QP is such a barn, it's busy in the peak times and the food choices are poor. MEL Lounge however is fresh, light, bright and with better food. I like the CBR QP the most but VA has a good product there now as well.

 

[moa999]

MEL VA Lounge is light, bright now...
I suspect this will change shortly when they start building the extension - the metal supports for it are pretty much all installed, although we will get windows back at the end.

Agree the SYD VA lounge looks average now, but the part with the double height windows, which is the nicest bit, is presently undergoing renovations - it will look a lot brighter when completed.
The old lounge whilst tired was quite nice.

 

[lovestotravel]

MEL QP is such a barn, it's busy in the peak times and the food choices are poor.

Oh and the Virgin food offerings are better ?

It's been a long tie since I have flown Virgin but in the lounge this morning.

Usually a QF customer.

Let me say I can see no reason to change so far. I know they are renovating at the moment but it is underwhelming to say the least.

Feels like an afterthought and small is not the wword. Hate to see what the place is like on a Friday night.

Virgin seems to be all style, no substance

Given you have access to the QF J lounges in MEL/SYD/CBR and to a far lesser extent BNE, there is no comparison to the Virgin lounges.

QF simply wins hands down

If you were to compare the standard QF lounges to the Virgin lounges then it's really a toss of the coin

 

[Ausbt]

Oh and the Virgin food offerings are better ?

Virgin seems to be all style, no substance

For us non-J flying Plebs in the QP/Lounge yeah, VA food is marginally better. I haven't seen the Macadamia slice out in the QP for a good while now, that was a solid-gold hit and sure I'm partial to the liquorice allsorts, but otherwise yeah. Toasties, falafel, tzatziki, glass noodles it's much better. Who's running Q again? Oh yeah, an Australian-of-Irish-heritage. Surprised the whole joint isn't filled with roasted spuds! And some of us like style over substance anyway, some of us are superficial

 

[oz_mark]

If you were to compare the standard QF lounges to the Virgin lounges then it's really a toss of the coin

This I agree with. Being Gold in each program, I don't get the QF J lounge experience , so I struggle a bit with the complaints about the Virgin Lounge against the Qantas Lounge, as to me they're much the same.

Maybe the complainants are mostly from those that use the QF J lounge....

 

[k3nnis]

Hmm and here I am thinking the QF J and QP is of similar standards at some places....

 

[bullerdude]

It's been a long tie since I have flown Virgin but in the lounge this morning.

Usually a QF customer.

Let me say I can see no reason to change so far. I know they are renovating at the moment but it is underwhelming to say the least.

Feels like an afterthought and small is not the wword. Hate to see what the place is like on a Friday night.

I was there this evening around 5 and it was very busy - ambiance upstairs was definitely average as its just on big open space full of people.

Unless they modify the upstairs areas into zones, I have a feeling that I will continue to like the Melbourne lounge more.

 

[Noob]

This I agree with. Being Gold in each program, I don't get the QF J lounge experience , so I struggle a bit with the complaints about the Virgin Lounge against the Qantas Lounge, as to me they're much the same.

Maybe the complainants are mostly from those that use the QF J lounge....

This appears to be the trend, but is fair enough.

QF Platinum members and Business pax have access to a lounge with better food & beverage - It's simple as that.

However, I'd argue the VA Lounges are of a much higher quality fit-out and design - and it's not like they have ever been marketed as something to match or better QF J Lounges.

 

[EuroFlyer]

Who's running Q again? Oh yeah, an Australian-of-Irish-heritage. Surprised the whole joint isn't filled with roasted spuds!

How refreshing, another potato joke !
dont suppose your a afl CEO aswell are ya

 

[Danp]

I do find the VA lounge in Sydney below average, the VA breakfast offering isn't the best compared to Qantas J lounge as well.

Have to say Melb VA lounge is a lot better than the Melb QF J Lounge though, that place is really basic, was in there on saturday and there was nothing in there at business class levels, only benefit was less crowding than the regular QP

 

[Justinf]

Was in the SYD Lounge yesterday, but there was plenty of room and didn't need to go upstairs. Didn't try the good. Had a couple of espressos though. Given that they are undergoing maintenance, I'd say they are doing a good job of keeping it comfortable.

 

[serfty]

Was in the SYD Lounge yesterday, but there was plenty of room and didn't need to go upstairs. ...

Try doing it Monday morning ...

 

[JKjnr]

Im going to chime in here on the Sydney Lounge. Both of us are Plat - been to all VA lounges and seen the re-fits over recent times. I am not pleased with a few points on Sydney. On Sunday arvo yesterday it was not a pleasant place to be. As is official policy - upstairs closed on Sunday. The F and B serving area was cluttered with seating and now has a "closed in" feeling (compared to the "open" feeling before). It was very busy with limited seating. The tables were not being cleared away. The pokey utra-white compartmenatlised sense of it was not so great - maybe because it was so busy. The design is too much like a 1970s TV show attempt at how the future will look (UFO and Commander Straker comes to mind). I assume when fully finished it may be better?

 

[777]

It is still under construction. Probably useful to retain some perspective on that. Agreed that upstairs should open on weekends - particularly during construction phase though.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Who's running Q again? Oh yeah, an Australian-of-Irish-heritage. Surprised the whole joint isn't filled with roasted spuds! And some of us like style over substance anyway, some of us are superficial

Who's running VA again? Oh yeah, and Australian-of-Italian heritage. Surprised the whole joint isn't filled with spaghetti and pizza!

 

[lovestotravel]

Spaghetti and pizza would be a step up from Hot Dogs!

 

[serfty]

... It was very busy with limited seating. The tables were not being cleared away. The pokey utra-white compartmenatlised sense of it was not so great - maybe because it was so busy. The design is too much like a 1970s TV show attempt at how the future will look (UFO and Commander Straker comes to mind). ...

As I indicated in post #3, there's an area of the older style furniture that not to many notice or are aware of.