Rohit

Location

Gold Coast is a single terminal airport, with both domestic and international flights departing from under the same roof. Virgin Australia lounge is located in the domestic section of the terminal near Gates 1 and 2.

Once you have cleared security, turn left and look for signs directing you to the lounge. It’s a quick 2 mins walk, past the mini food court, towards the Southern end of the terminal.

VA Lounge Directions
Follow the signs to VA Lounge, Gold Coast Airport

Entry

I entered the lounge through the partly frosted automatic doors and was greeted by the staff at the reception. They scanned my boarding pass and let me in.

VA Lounge
Entry to VA Lounge, Gold Coast Airport

The reception is on the ground lvl, while the actual lounge is located 1 lvl up and can be reached via the solitary lift or a short flight of stairs. I took the stairs.

Stairs to the Lounge
Stairs leading to the main lounge

As I came up, I noticed the male/female toilets and showers located on the right.

Toilet Signs

Lounge Bathroom
VA Lounge – Bathroom, Gold Coast Airport

There were 2 flight display boards on the adjacent wall. The lounge is a silent lounge, meaning they don’t make announcements, however, there are boards displaying all Virgin Australia flights throughout the lounge.

Toilets & Display Boards

Further down, there is a service desk and a magazine/newspaper shelf.

Magazine Stand

Seating

The lounge can seat a maximum of 170 passengers at a time, which is quite impressive, given that Gold Coast is supposedly just a regional port. Although, with the increasing number of international flights taking wings in recent times, that argument is now well & truly past its use by date.

There is end to end seating, partitioned by a thin strip of wall at 2 places and takes up much of the floor space.

Lounge Seating
VA Lounge Seating, Gold Coast Airport

Lounge Seating
VA Lounge Seating, Gold Coast Airport

Single travellers or couples will appreciate the window hugging seats, opening up great vistas of the runway. You literally are metres from the parked planes.

Lounge Seating
View from VA Lounge, Gold Coast Airport

Lounge Seating
View from VA Lounge, Gold Coast Airport

The lack of aerobridges at the airport means #AvGeeks are in for quite a treat, as they can sit n watch a steady stream of passengers disembarking from the plane, while new one’s get on.

People getting on the plane
View from VA Lounge, Gold Coast Airport

There are rows of long, communal work benches and chairs facing each other, with ample space to set up the laptops and tablets.

Communal Work Bench

Lounge Seating

For those without a personal computer, this section also features 4 desktop computers and a printer in the corner.

Desktops and Printer

Complimentary wifi is available throughout the lounge, although I forgot to test the speed. That said, slow internet speeds at most Virgin Australia lounges is my longtime pet-peeve, so I wouldn’t be surprised if that was an issue affecting Gold Coast too.

Dining & Drinks

The lounge features 2 boomerang shaped buffet stations, a design regular Virgin Australia flyers and Velocity members would be well familiar with, given it’s on show at all Virgin Australia lounges throughout the country.

Main Buffet Stand

Main Buffet Stand

On the day of my visit, the staff were just clearing out the lunch time menu and bringing out the afternoon snack, which was a selection of vegetarian and chicken pizza slices.

Hot Food
Afternoon Snack, Gold Coast Airport

If you wanted something light, you could pour yourself a bowl of quinoa and pumpkin soup.

Hot Soup
Hot Soup – VA Lounge, Gold Coast Airport

The remainder of the food offerings consisted of rice and tandoori chicken salad, fresh fruits, yogurt and jars stocked with popcorn, pretzels, crisps and mixed nuts.

Then there were cheese, cold cuts and salads to make your own toasties.

Salad & Cold Cuts

The bar opens at 11 am each morning and the drinks offering featured bottles of self-serve wines and sparkling champagne. The see-thru fridges behind the buffet stand were packed with a selection of beer, soft drinks and fruit juices.

Wine & Champagne
Wine & Bubbly – VA Lounge, Gold Coast Airport

Beer Fridges
Beer Fridge – VA Lounge, Gold Coast Airport

The lounge also offered a couple of tap beers.

Tap Beer
Beer on tap – VA Lounge, Gold Coast Airport

The 2nd, smaller buffet stand was set up cafe style, serving tea and barista made coffee. There were cookies to go with your choice of beverage.

Coffee Stand

I am a big fan of coffee served at all Virgin Lounges. I like it that they have desisted from taking the easier option of plonking a couple of coffee machines & leave the guests to deal with it. In appreciation, I order a cappuccino every time I pass through a Virgin Australia lounge 🙂

In Conclusion

The Virgin Australia Lounge at Gold Coast airport meets expectations. The food & drinks offering are acceptable, the facility receives plenty of natural light through the day and guests get to enjoy 180 degree views of the runway via the large glass windows.

The lounge was only 50% full during my visit, even so, I found the staff proactively clearing used plates and cutlery off the table. The toilets and shower seem adequate, if a little compact. There is nothing fancy here, so I wouldn’t arrive at the airport early to spend time at the lounge. Overall though, it’s a serene enough place to be in, away from the cacophony of the terminal, as you wait to board your flight.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

nineteen − fourteen =