Living the dream and remembering the Bagman COMPLETED IN THIS FORUM About This Page:

[chezp]

Originally Posted by disney_duke

That's the downfall for those of us who plan ahead - we forget such things as "oh yeah, we got a new car in the meantime!" Glad they figured it out though. You're such good customers!

Well, in fairness, we do use different valet parking operators - it's whoever's the cheapest for the dates we want....

[chezp]

Originally Posted by cubfancolleen

That sunrise seemed to have been the reward for such a rude early awakening.
Glad they finally found you at the airport, even if you were somewhat in disguise!

That's a good way of putting it!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by pamcarey

What a rude awakening! You'd think they'd look into the problem since it keeps happening.

You'd hope so, wouldn't you?

[Colexis Mom]

Sorry for the rude awakening! Great pictures!!

[SuperDave]

Very strange with the fire alarm going off and didn't seem to be handled all that well by the hotel staff! Not that pleasant with the disco and the pounding bass, when you were trying to sleep. This happened to me once when I was staying at a hotel in Montmartre. You breakfast looked quite good and especially the "house made" smoked salmon!

[chezp]

Saturday 10 September – part two: can I book a massage?

I was so glad we were flying Upper Class, as the lines to check in for economy were insane, they were pretty bad for Premium Economy, and there was even a line at Upper Class, the first time I think I’ve ever seen that. We waited about five minutes to be seen, and then there was a query, as we had no return flight on our e-ticket, but I explained that was because I’d booked each leg using points from one of our accounts, as we each only had enough to book two Upper Class flights. Once I explained that, it was all fine.



We headed up in the elevator towards the Clubhouse, but it was very confusing. We finally worked out you had to scan your boarding pass to access the fast track security, but we weren’t the only ones, as the people behind us didn’t appreciate that either, so we felt a bit less foolish.

After Mark had checked to see if the bookshop had any books he wanted (they didn’t), we swiped our boarding passes, and headed through to security. This is the first time I’ve ever known a line for security for Upper Class, and it was then I had the feeling that perhaps it might be a busy day today…

We were through in about five minutes or so, then we made our way through the duty free shop, attempting to keep our mouths shut as much as we could, given the scents from the perfumes were overwhelming. I feel like I say this every time we fly, but why on earth do this to people, as they may have allergies to some of these overpowering scents?

We made our way over to the lounge, and instead of taking these…




… we decided to take the lift, and inside we were amazed at what we found!



They really do think of everything! We were swiped in, and my goodness, it was packed in the Clubhouse, worse than we’ve ever seen it before. At first I was worried we might not find somewhere to sit, but Mark quickly scoped somewhere out, while I got in line to enquire about massages. I think if you were on an earlier flight than we were, basically you were out of luck, as I know the woman in front of me got put on the waiting list, but I was in luck, as they had space at 11:00am for a half hour back massage, so I took that. You can get a couple of treatments free of charge, but this one wasn’t one of those, so I paid my money, and we settled down.

I wandered around and got some photos of the Clubhouse…



… and then we ordered some drinks. Mark stayed with a soft drink, but I was admiring the cocktail list, and asked for something relatively sweet. The woman came up with something called “Brown Bear”, I think. I’m not sure, given it wasn’t on the menu. I know it had gin, blackcurrant liquor and something else in it, which I can’t remember now but she said it was quite the presentation. Just as I got back from using the shredder to get rid of the papers I no longer needed (I had to get a member of staff to help me work it ), it was waiting for me, and it was very impressive!



I was told to drink it quickly, as the ice bowl on top would collapse, so I think I drank it a little quickly. While it was very nice and easy to drink, it certainly had a kick to it, let’s just say that. I only made it halfway through it, which was a shame, but I was glad I got to see what it looked like and to try it…

We surfed the Internet for a while, and the time literally flew by. Before I knew it, it was time for my massage. I honestly don’t know where the previous hour and a half went. Trust me, this is the place to hang out – of course, if you can afford to pay for Upper Class. I thanked our Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles on more than one occasion during this stay.

The massage was lovely, and better than the one I’d had here last year. During that, I’d felt a bit rushed, as I remember the woman coming in before I was ready, and that didn’t exactly relax me. However, this time I had a lot more time, and I liked the fact the woman talked more to me, checking whether the pressure was too much (it wasn’t, it was fine), and talking to me about my chronic fatigue, and saying she’d specially chosen the massage oils based on that.

We did have a discussion about how tight my neck was, and she asked if I swam breaststroke, after I mentioned it shouldn’t be, as I’d been swimming. I told her not to go there as a consultant I’d seen about the numbness in my hands (it turned out to be scoliosis of the spine pinching a nerve) had suggested I stop breaststroke, as he thought that’s what the problem might be. I stopped for months, and no improvement, and eventually my doctor told me to go back to it.

By the end of the half hour, my back, neck (she particularly worked on that) and shoulders felt a lot better, and I struggled to get up and bend down. I know that sounds funny, but I know it means I’ve had a good workout.

I headed back to Mark and we spent a final half hour chilling where we were, with him getting some cold meats, salmon and bread, and me getting some cheese. Eventually, our gate number came up, although there was no call. I figured that they’d call us when they were ready for us, but we thought we’d make our way down. We were amongst the first when we got to the gate, despite the gate having been showing for about five minutes on the screen. In fact, we were so early, the crew were still waiting there.

We settled down to wait near them, and when they got up, we followed them to grab their seats. One of them turned around, and asked if we were joining them!

I got up and grabbed a couple of photos as we waited…



Next: the best photobomb ever?

[Tara O'Hara]

That clubhouse is beautiful, your drink is gorgeous and I'm glad you got a great massage!! What a great way to start your adventures!!

[jenseib]

Joining in. Great start!

Thats a really nice looking hotel.
they give you any reimbursement for the fire alarm though?

[zettarooski]

That's a great lounge! They're not very relaxing when they're busy though, huh? Glad you were able to get a massage in (that's a great service!)

[cubfancolleen]

Sounds like such a civilized way to pass the time at an airport. Ahhhhhh

[Disneybine]

A massage sounds perfect right before a long-distance flight!

[disney_duke]

That lounge looks like something from a James Bond movie. Ultra sleek! Glad you got your drink and massage. Every trip should start like that. Thank goodness for those miles!

[lindawdw]

What a wonderful start to your adventure! I love your Club Lounges and it's just the perfect beginning to a long flight with a massage to relax! Looking forward to hearing all about your Upper First Class experience.

[pamcarey]

A drink and a massage sounds perfect before a long flight!

[KMB733]

Hanging out in the lounge and getting a massage sounds like the perfect thing to do before a long flight!