My first ever transatlantic business class flight was in 2003 when I had to take a last minute trip to visit my grandmother in the hospital in the UK. I booked last minute and the best option I could find with my Delta SkyMiles was flying Upper Class on Virgin Atlantic. Even back then I visited the Virgin Clubhouse. It’s been around in some form or another for over 40 years.

The last time I was there was in 2017 when I was returning from one of my Liverpool trips in Delta One. Does it still hold up in 2026? Read on to find out.

We had our Blacklane car (thanks Citi Strata Elite for the semi-annual credits) drop us at the Upper Class Wing, a separate entrance to Terminal 3 just for Virgin Upper Class and Delta One passengers.

Check-in and security took just a couple of minutes and then we walked through the endless duty free stores to the Virgin Clubhouse entrance. They have a display of Virgin Atlantic crew uniforms near the entrance.

We showed our Upper Class boarding passes for entry and found some seats in the busy lounge. It was about 8:15 am when we arrived. There was a QR code menu on each table so we took a look at the options including a vast drink menu.

My wife ordered the croffle and I got the avocado toast with a poached egg. We also ordered tea and a flat white respectively and both got the green smoothie. While I waited for our order, I went up to the “deli” and grabbed some smoked trout (no salmon available) and ham.

Our breakfast arrived soon after delivered by a friendly server.

After we enjoyed breakfast, my wife stretched out and napped a bit while I went off to explore the lounge. The spa area was under construction, although I read that the week after we were there, they opened a temporary spa area. I remember getting a free haircut in this lounge a couple of times over the years (when I had hair). They have a couple of meditation chairs available for use near the old spa area. I then went upstairs to the room with a pool table, which was actually very quiet that morning.

I went out on to the roof deck to breathe in some morning jet fuel. It was actually a beautiful morning in London.

Before it was time to go, I decided to cap off our visit with some champagne. They had both LPGS and a British sparkling wine so I tried both and actually preferred the British one.

I didn’t take any pictures of the seating areas as they were mostly full at this busy time of the morning. There are lots of different seating arrangements such as dining tables for 2 or 4, lounge chairs, couch areas and groups of chairs scattered throughout the lounge. Even at a busy time, there was ample seating for all if you hunted around a bit.

After my first visit in 2003 and my last visit in 2016, I wasn’t sure if the lounge would still be as fun and relaxing as I remembered, but it definitely still holds up. Fortunately for us, our gate ended up being fairly close to the lounge so we got a bit more time there than I expected. If you have access to this lounge flying Virgin Atlantic or Delta, it’s definitely worth stopping by before your flight. Being able to use the Upper Class Wing is also a major perk at Terminal 3 to avoid the regular security lines.

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