Review: Vale Virgin Australia Lounge, Adelaide

• Trip Report: Sydney to Adelaide return in Virgin Australia business class
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• Review: B737-800 Virgin Australia VA436 Sydney to Adelaide
• Review: Vale Virgin Australia Lounge, Adelaide

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This post is a little late, as in the late Virgin Australia lounge, Adelaide, since this lounge closed yesterday.

I pass through Adelaide Airport very regularly, but mostly travel on Qantas, so this was my first encounter with the Virgin Australia Lounge.

Let me put it this way – its a good thing that it is closing this week, to be replaced by a temporary lounge for around 6 weeks, and then to be totally replaced with a new lounge from April.

Location

Once you pass security – especially through their new premium line which has the latest screening technology, meaning that you don’t need to unpack and expose your computer.

The premium queue can be short, and even though the screening process takes longer, it is more efficient. Note, that sometimes you get inexperienced flyers coming through the premium lane (it’s the first thing they get to once checked in for flights other than Qantas and Jetstar) – which makes the process very long and tedious as they are baffled by the new system.

Once through security, you enter the main concourse and turn left. You will see the lounge sign and entrance slightly jutting out from the nearby shops.

On entry, you are greeted by a Virgin attendant behind a counter who checks your eligibility to enter the lounge (in my case a Business Class points redemption ticket). The actual entry is to the right of the counter and straight ahead.

This is a pretty old and tired lounge, with bucket chairs that almost place it back in the Virgin Blue era.

You can see the construction outside the window that is part of the Airport extension. I placed myself in one of these chairs for the duration of my short stay in the lounge.

Design

Other than the curving room separator, this looks like a hodge-podge collection of furniture rather than a designed space.

It does have several areas, including bucket chairs by the window, small tables in the ‘cafe’ and these high top chairs along one wall.

Overall the room is quite small, and was fairly full and busy during my stay.

The positives about the design was the profussion of powerpoints with USB plugs as well as conventional outlets.

Food and Drink

Food and drink are very limited. The bar area has good coffee making facilities and a barista who was very pleasant to chat with and who, more importantly, made a good flat white.

Food offering consisted of some salads, and a sort of make-your-own sandwich bar, along with some fresh fruit. I didn’t sample any of the food.

Bathrooms

The bathroom facilities were relatively clean and tidy, although limited. two urinals and one stall, and a couple of basins.

I rather like the retro-esque red tiling.

WiFi

Untested. I was only in the lounge for a short time and chose to read rather than work.

Departure

I left to board my flight a few minutes before the flight was called. Gate 16 was the first one you hit after walking down this curved corridor.

The gates on the Virgin Australia side, are almost indestinguishable from the gates on the Qantas side. The only thing that really changes are the airline boarding queue signs.

2PAXfly Takeout

OK, can we talk? The Virgin Australia lounge in Adelaide – ‘What a dump!’. It’s not the worst, but it is definitely sub-par for a capital city Airport Lounge. As a regular commuter between Sydney and Adelaide, I would shudder to use this lounge. Other than the wifi access I’d probably prefer to spend my time in one of the public areas.

The whole of Adelaide Airport is undergoing an expansion at the moment, so lots of facilities are closed or temporary, making it a less than wonderful experience.

I will really be glad to see what they do when the renovations are complete and there is a new Virgin Lounge in April.

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