New Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse LAX: A Combo of Wellness and Glamour

As an alternative of leaning right into a beachy, laidback California aesthetic, Virgin Atlantic embraces outdated Hollywood glamour and the town’s rock ‘n’ roll historical past with its plush, velvety new Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at Los Angeles Worldwide Airport (LAX). It’s the fourth U.S. location and the sixth Virgin Atlantic lounge on the earth.

The lounge’s glitzy design, native meals and concentrate on wellness make it extra genuine to the town. And much like the L.A. meals and exercise class scene, there’s additionally a contact of star energy. It is like a neon-lit Barry’s Bootcamp class the place you would possibly bump elbows with a minor actuality TV star. So it appears proper on model that Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson himself filmed a video to welcome lounge visitors to the Virgin Clubhouse’s Zen Room or that actor Alan Cumming recorded a “bedtime story” within the lounge’s Ruby Room.

I used to be invited to take a look at the lounge simply earlier than it opened to the general public on March 28, 2025. Right here’s what it’s essential to find out about it.

The Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse is open to:

•  Virgin’s Higher Class passengers, plus one visitor touring with Virgin Atlantic or Delta Air Strains. Higher Class is the airline’s model of enterprise class.

• Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership Gold members, plus one visitor touring internationally with Virgin Atlantic or Delta Air Strains.

• Delta One prospects on a Delta Air Strains worldwide flight.

• SkyTeam Elite Plus members touring on Virgin Atlantic or Delta and one visitor touring on a global flight operated by a SkyTeam provider.

The Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at LAX is on the sixth flooring of the Tom Bradley Worldwide terminal, subsequent to the Star Alliance lounge. You must go up two escalators to get to it from the purchasing space on the primary flooring of the terminal. When you’re having hassle, attempt to discover the P.F. Chang’s restaurant within the Tom Bradley terminal and take the escalator up a flooring.

The Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse is open from 11:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. every day.

The lounge is small at solely 4,400 sq. toes and has room for about 70 seated visitors. However as a result of entry is proscribed to solely Higher Class passengers, it shouldn’t have the identical crowding points as Precedence Move or bank card issuer lounges.

While you stroll in, the primary attraction is the lighting over the bar, which has a beautiful ombre impact that’s mesmerizing to look at change regularly. Ultimately, this gentle will probably be timed with L.A.’s precise sundown to assist regulate visitors’ circadian rhythm and provides them a connection to pure gentle, though this lounge lacks home windows.

The designers of this lounge know that is the hero function, in order that they’ve prolonged the bar seating to the suitable to permit extra individuals to bask underneath this soothing gentle.

Below the bar, there are handy bag hooks and charging shops.

To the suitable of the bar is the aptly named Ruby Room, which has a crimson carpet inviting visitors to move by the area. The crimson and gold coloration scheme provides this space a glitzy vibe.

There’s a TV on the wall for leisure and visitors can use their very own Bluetooth headphones to listen to the soundtrack of what’s enjoying on the TV.

Reverse the TV is a set of cabinets, the place visitors can peruse (and purchase) Virgin Atlantic merchandise. There’s a related retail show on the flagship Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse on the London-Heathrow airport.

And in case you observe the crimson carpet, you’ll discover a non-public sales space with wall-to-wall crimson. That is known as the Royal Field, and it’s reserved for VIPs and visitors celebrating a special day.

The Royal Field additionally comes with a secret menu. When you sit in right here, you’ll be able to order chocolate-covered strawberries and a cocktail known as The Drama Queen, which comes served with an enormous bubble that offers off a “combined berry” scent if you pop it.

To the left of the bar is an alley known as The Wing. There’s extra cocoon-like seating and three telephone cubicles for taking calls or getting work finished.

In fact, because it’s Virgin, the cubicles are known as Studios as a result of they’re designed to seem like music recording studios. Actually, each is called for well-known Virgin Data studios: The Manor, Olympic Studios and Sundown Sound.

As an audio lover (I co-host NerdWallet’s Good Journey podcast), I used to be impressed with the design and performance. It actually did seem like I may pull again the curtain and see a band enjoying on the opposite aspect of the glass. The soundproofing was authentic, the chairs had been comfier and cooler than your common workstation, and there have been extra controls for air-con and lighting. Actual Virgin Data memorabilia hangs above the desk.

Wellness or meditation rooms are standard facilities in newer airport lounges, however I’ve by no means seen one like this. This small slender room has an arrogance on one aspect and simply sufficient room for one particular person to put down.

Virgin Atlantic lined the far aspect in mirrors and turned it right into a mini health club.

There’s a customized Forme full-length mirror with a display screen constructed into it. While you begin the expertise, you’ll see a welcome video from Branson. Then, you’ll have a menu of quick lessons from Forme Studio associated to thoughts, physique and spirit. On the left, an tools rack has all the things you would possibly want to your class, together with weights, a yoga mat and extra.

The area is small, however a fan retains it from feeling too stuffy. And it felt like such a deal with to be current and alone for just some minutes, particularly if you’re about to hop on a ten.5-hour flight to London.

For now, the Zen Room will probably be first come, first served, so no want to order it earlier than your flight.

The bogs are on both aspect of the Zen Room. There are 4 lavatory stalls in complete, together with one giant accessible bathroom on the finish that additionally has a bathe.

The lavatory merchandise are from L.A.-based Flamingo Property.

Many of the meals is served to you at your desk. You may scan the QR code on the tables and order. The menu is a mixture of wholesome, California-inspired meals and British classics: rooster tikka masala, a tuna poke bowl, a venison smash burger, fish and chips, tofu pho, Korean rooster wings, a fish taco and a California roll.

You may also seize another snacks, like greens and hummus, fruit cups, and path combine, on the brasserie to the left of the bar. It’s self-service.

For dessert, you’ll be able to order dishes like miso donuts, the Clubhouse cookie (darkish chocolate, pistachio and sea salt) or a British summer season trifle, which is a layered cake with fruit and cream. The menu adjustments each six months to maintain issues contemporary for lounge guests.

For drinks, the bar serves an array of non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks. A number of the wellness-related drinks embody Journey Conscious Blends, a glowing water with components like magnesium to advertise rest.

Virgin is the hip, cool model in journey, and seeing how the corporate does lounges in another way is totally price arriving on the airport just a few hours early. It gained’t take you lengthy to see the Clubhouse because it’s not very huge, however you’ll need time to attempt all the things on the menu, work together with the Zen Room and possibly simply marvel at that sky-like gentle atop the bar.

When you’re a Delta One buyer, you get entry to each the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse and the Delta One lounge at LAX. The Delta One lounge is far larger, has extra pure gentle (and even a Sky Deck), and the meals was higher, so it has a slight edge over the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse.

Nonetheless, the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse is a superb addition to the lounge scene at LAX, and I’m attempting to determine my subsequent alternative to work from these Virgin Clubhouse telephone cubicles.