VS400 LHR-DXB 19 JUL 18 (Upper Class)

This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin

Ground Staff

Food & Drink

Entertainment

Seat

Cabin Crew

So this was all a bit unplanned. I have had a mental two months, let's just say my employer has not been out of the news since May, and as a result my work load went from insane but manageable to beyond the wit of man in the blink of an eye, in among living out of hotels in Gatwick and 17 hour days, my Dad passed away in the middle of June. Having already cancelled a weeks leave at the end of June due to work and with personal stuff going on, I decided I needed some much needed time in my happy place, the VS Clubhouse at Heathrow and to get away for some serious relaxation.

I literally sat with the VS app and searched every destination to see which was the cheapest for the date range I wanted and sure enough, three weeks out found a fantastic Z fare to DXB and a hotel deal with some Hilton points that was just too good to be true.

Flash forward, out of office on and I was at the T5 Hilton, a wonderful property that has now become my go-to hotel for staying around Heathrow, despite it being a bit of a pain in the arse to get to/from unless you taxi. (I despise with intensity the Hotel Hoppa prices and concept and would actually rather get a taxi than use their service)

Limo was booked to pick me up at 10:30 from the hotel and as always with London Heathrow Cars, they were prompt and the driver was as usual fantastic.

DTCI now no longer need you to register in advance, so 15 mins on the phone after getting the car details, I had a wasted call. DTCI was prompt and the girls couldn't quite believe that I was there 12 hours before my flight.

Private security was okay, but I was really annoyed by a member of the security staff who told me to join the queue at a certain point ahead of others, I found it odd but since I was ready to go through I didn't question it and still don't understand why she told me to do it, for whatever reason it then totally pissed off two DL Medallion's who rather than take it up with her, took it OUT on me! I give as good as I got, talk about reinforcing a stereotype! The rest of security went smoothly and I was cleared airside by 10:45.

I have recently got a Free Dragon Pass and fancy myself as an amateur YouTuber, so I spend some time in both the Number 1 lounge and the Club Aspire lounge getting footage to make some review videos on YouTube. I will save the analysis for later, but Number 1...good but busy, Aspire...yeah just don't bother!

Shopping and Duty Free done, new sunglasses obtained and it was time for the Clubhouse! I went in about 12:45...for 22:30 flight.

I came across many of the staff I encountered in December, and was warmly welcomed back, I remember the days when I thought my Clubhouse visit was a one time thing, never that I would be there often enough to be remembered. Treatments booked for 18:30 and I had the same therapist I had in December. Now myself and a few friends have been taking about doing a Vegas trip, and things seemed to be coming to a head with it and the two friends I was going with had their leave approved in the afternoon, so whilst I was in the Clubhouse I booked all of our flights (me in Premium, them in Y) and sorted out our hotels. A VS 747 was my first ever flight so getting to go back on one has been a big thing for a while and I loved the novelty of booking a flight whilst in the Clubhouse!

As discussed elsewhere, the HVAC was still dodgy, but they had industrial AC units dotted around, so as long as you were close to them you were okay. I was a little annoyed by one of the staff in the brasserie having an argument with a member of the waiting staff, it just seamed unprofessional and unneeded in-front of pax. I got the impression her fellow teammates weren't impressed with her behavior either!

Boarding onto G-VGEM was on time, I went down a little early, so glad to see a Jet bridge attached to L1 door, I do love having my own jet bridge for J! FSM was welcoming and the new J cabin on the 330 is stunning on a level with the 787 and nice to see such consistency.

Welcome drink offered, no refill though! Little bit of a ground delay as LHR was busy, but we were soon in the air. Personalised welcome from the FSM and acknowledged status (only Silver!). Seemed to take a while to sort out the cabin and get those who wanted to sleep into bed. Menu has been shown elsewhere so I won't reiterate it for this cycle, but I had the Pea and Mint Soup, and the Vegetable curry. Both were tasting and filling. As usual I took a seat at the bar for dessert and cheese and a chinwag with the crew.

I must state that the FSM, and the two main crew working Upper, including a northerner, a lass from Leeds were incredible, heavily personalized service delivered all around and it didn't go unnoticed. The FSM was always active in the cabin.

I got about 2 hours sleep and woke to my breakky, scrambled eggs and hashbrowns with a lovely side of porridge. Immigration at DXB was quick and my limo met me at arrivals and I was in my hotel room at the Conrad within an hour of stepping off the plane!

One of my favorite flights with VS thanks to an absolutely amazing crew!

Thanks for the trip report ColOrd, its always great to hear about good crew - especially the northerners

Sorry to hear about the circumstances of your trip. I hope you get the R&R you seem to need!

Great report and glad you got some respite from T********k problems!

Have you tried the T4 Hilton? Much easier to get to than the T5 one, whether by tube, train or TfL bus. No rip-off Hoppa required! And a very nice hotel.

Thank you very much ColOrd! I shall be making the same trip in five weeks or so. How is the temperature out there? In any way bearable?

Wow! 12 hours in the Clubhouse. Pleased you had a good flight.

Thank you for your TR.

Sorry to hear your sad personal news but so pleased you had a great flight. Yes, a jet bridge to the J cabin is the icing on the cake isn’t it !

Hope you had a relaxing time in Dubai and a good flight back.

Thanks for your kind replies guys.

Thank you very much ColOrd! I shall be making the same trip in five weeks or so. How is the temperature out there? In any way bearable?

I have to be honest, I don't really have much interest in seeing that much of Dubai, so I only have had one day, yesterday sightseeing, which was a Citysightseeing bus, a trip out over the Palm on the Monorail ad heading up to the top of the Burj Khalifa. For doing all of that it was totally acceptable hopping in and out of air conditioned environments. Sat outside for an hour with a drink waiting for my 17:30 slot on the Burj, and that was fine. Don't get me wrong I wouldn't go for a march through the city and my next few days are just serious R&R now in the hotel, but the heat hasn't upset me or been an issue whatsoever!

Thanks for the report.

I am glad to see that they weren’t concerned about your lengthy Clubhouse stay. We are flying to HKG in March (UC) and are likely to be getting to DTCI (so excited to finally try it) by 12.30 -1pm for our 9pm flight. Last time we did this, same flight, same hotel, they passed comment and we felt uncomfortable, but didn’t stop us staying for so long.

We have to travel from S.W.Wales so feel happier travelling up the day before, especially in late February, so really have no choice as we have to be out of the hotel. We found the time passed quickly enough anyway.

Glad to hear that you're having a good time after what must have been a torrid period for you.

Have to say that getting the train direct from Blackfriars to Huntingdon as we did yesterday morning gets the from us...

Really enjoyable trip report, thanks for posting