[trip style = luxe]
Simply put, because Trip Styler is a fan of traveling in style---whether budget or luxe---we heart Virgin. Living glam from top-to-toe and nose-to-tail, they are THE MOST swish airline, proving it doesn't have to be 1960 to fly in style.
Trip Styler Tip :: As we mentioned late in 2011, Virgin's birds are flying west this summer. Starting May 14th, a seasonal service takes flight from Vancouver to London {return}. Yay!
If you follow Trip Styler on social media, it was probably ridiculously obvious I was just in London attending Virgin Atlantic's Grooming School at the airline's training centre, aka "the base". More on the red-hot tips I picked up in the coming weeks, but until then, I wanted to lift the veil on Virgin to give you a look into their airport Clubhouses and Upper Class.
Virgin Atlantic's San Francisco Clubhouse
{Welcome to the Clubhouse. From the moment I walked in, every staff member welcomed me to their swish space; I was sold in seconds.}
{A woodsy-chic work area.}
{Dressed in the airline's signature red and purple, the SFO Clubhouse features multicolored panels that slide along the window to shade the space from the SF sun.}
{The business centre sports custom Virgin Atlantic stationary and red letter-writing wares.}
{Every guest is offered a bowl of 'crisps' before ordering their meal. After two bowls---yikes (they're petite, ok?!)---I opted for a fruit smoothie and a walnut pear salad.}
Virgin Atlantic's London Heathrow Clubhouse
{The size of a football field---yet still somehow intimate---the Virgin Atlantic flagship Clubhouse at Heathrow trumped any other lounge I'd visited both in design and services. Where else can you sit in a hanging chair, walk 10 steps to the spa, another 10 steps to the bakery/boulangerie/cheese shop and a final 10 steps to the bar?}
{Where I lounged and spent most of my time working before my flight.}
{The swanky bar.}
{Every guest in the flagship Virgin Clubhouse has access to a complimentary mini-treatment: mani, facial or massage. Here I'm about to get a 10-minute manicure before my flight.}
{The steamy-dreamy spa featuring this co-ed jacuzzi, relaxation area and sauna. For the record, I'm bringing my bathing suit next time.}
{My breakfast choice in the Clubhouse: eggs benny, which just so happened to match my surroundings.}
Sky-High Aboard Virgin Atlantic
{Seat 25K, aka my fully lie-flat perch at 30,000ft, was equipped with a down pillow and duvet, as well as a custom foam mattress. I don't sleep well on planes, but I slept very well---to the point of dreaming---on this 747.}
{At the end of North America-bound flights, afternoon tea is served. This time-treasured Brit tradition was enhanced by an in-flight copy of Wallpaper* Magazine.}
[photos by @tripstyler]