Virgin Australia Lounge review – Sydney Domestic Airport

I’m quite a fan of airport lounges. I like the facilities, the quieter environment and I’m partial to the food too. Hubby travels frequently for work so he’s had access to Virgin Australia’s domestic lounges for a long time. Recently we travelled together to the Gold Coast, so I had the opportunity to join him in the lounge as his guest. I thought it would be interesting to see what the accessibility is like in the Virgin Australia domestic lounge and to see if it offers value for money. So, if you’ve always wondered if lounge membership is worth it and if you’re curious about accessibility, I’ve got all the details.

Virgin Australia Domestic Lounge

The Virgin Australia Domestic Lounge at Sydney Airport is on the right after you clear security. For step-free access, guests need to use the lift to the left of security and take it to the ground floor. Once there, you need to head back to the right to take another lift directly to the Virgin Lounge. It’s a long way round but hopefully worth it once inside.

Virgin Australia members can have one guest accompany them into the lounge. Virgin staff at reception scan your Virgin Australia boarding pass so you can’t be doing a cheeky flight on Jetstar and join a lounge member.

Hot and cold food options are available and appropriate to the time of day. We were flying on an afternoon flight so we took advantage of a quick lunch. The food was really good. In fact, the gnocchi was worthy of a second serving.

Wraps, sandwiches and salads are also on offer with vegetarian options available.

Tea, coffee, hot chocolates and cold drinks are also plentiful.

The bar opens at midday and a pre-flight bubbly was my choice of drink. It’s always a celebration to be flying somewhere and to have a weekend away with Hubby was doubly exciting.

The bar options are extensive.

 

Virgin Australia lounge Sydney Domestic Airport – accessibility

Accessibility within the Virgin Australia lounge is excellent. Ramp access is provided between the two levels within the lounge and relatively good spacing of seating makes circulating with a wheelchair good.

Various seating and table options are available so it should be easy to find a table to wheel up to. Delayed flights do see the lounges become crowded and that of course will affect the ease of getting around.

The Virgin Australia lounge offers a large unisex stand-alone accessible bathroom with shower, shower bench and the option of a shower stool.

The Virgin Australia lounge membership currently costs $399 per year.  I don’t fly regularly enough to make this worthwhile. I estimate that if you travel, or plan to travel domestically, a minimum of 8-10 times a year and are happy to be loyal to Virgin Australia, then I think the membership is worth it. It becomes even more economical if you regularly travel with another family member as they can enter as your guest so you’re essentially getting two for the price of one entry to the lounge.

We had a delayed flight returning from the Gold Coast and I appreciated the quieter environment of the lounge, the food and the good WIFI. The bathroom facilities are also much cleaner than the toilets dotted around the airport. The Virgin Australia Lounge in the Gold Coast Airport isn’t as big as the one at Sydney Domestic Airport, but it is equipped with all the same facilities, just on a smaller scale.

Hubby pays for his lounge access so this is not a sponsored post. I just thought others may be interested in taking a peek in the Virgin Australia Lounge like me!

You can find out more about the benefits of becoming a Virgin Australia Lounge member on the website.

If you’re travelling Virgin Australia, don’t forget to see if you are eligible for the Virgin Disability Assistant Concession Fare. I wrote all about it in this review. 

Have you considered travelling Virgin Australia’s Economy X for the extra leg room? We find it’s great with Braeden and shared our experience in this review.

If you are visiting Sydney Domestic Airport and need a Changing Places bathroom facility, you can read about where to find one in our review.