Virgin Australia Lounge Brisbane
It should be noted that Brisbane Airport sucks. Yea, it sucks. Sorry for any Brisbane fans out there, but it’s a royal pain in the ass bum. When our flight landed at the international terminal, of course we passed through the checks at immigration and customs, but then we had to board a freaking bus to get to the domestic terminal. Don’t try and make any tight connections because the bus kind of operates on its own schedule.
Introduction
Alaska Airlines First Class from Seattle (SEA) to Los Angeles (LAX)
Star Alliance Lounge Los Angeles
Virgin Australia Business Class from Los Angeles (LAX) to Brisbane (BNE)
Virgin Australia Lounge Brisbane
Virgin Australia First Class from Brisbane (BNE) to Cairns (CNS)
Cairns, Great Barrier Reef, and Surrounding Areas
Virgin Australia Lounge Cairns
Virgin Australia First Class from Cairns (CNS) to Melbourne (MEL)
Westin Melbourne and the Press Club
Garuda Indonesia Business Class from Melbourne (MEL) to Denpasar, Bali (DPS)
Sheraton Kuta, Bali (Wow, Wow, Wow!!)
Korean Air Business Class from Denpasar (DPS) to Seoul (ICN)
Korean Air Lounge, Seoul
Free! Cultural Experience in Seoul
Korean Air Business Class from Seoul (ICN) to Seattle (SEA)
The driver looked like his shirt was last ironed in 2013 and had enough sweat stains to be confused for a Dalmatian. His language reminded me of a sailor and he seemed more interested in chatting with the young girls on the bus than actually driving it.
When we FINALLY made it to the domestic terminal, checkin was a mess. There was no priority line visible and everyone was lining up to check in their luggage. I found it really disorganized and not at all easy to navigate.
Our flight left at 9 in the morning, so by the time we got through all the mess, we had about 60 minutes to kill in the lounge, which was enough to get a quick nosh, head to the bathroom, and relax a bit before the flight.
Lounge Seating Area
The lounge was really busy for 8 in the morning, more than I had expected. It was really uncomfortable, and we ended up sitting at a random table in the middle of the room, with everyone walking around us the entire time.
Seated in the middle of it all
I will say that I enjoyed the art on the wall 🙂
Now You’re Flying!
Even though we just had breakfast on the plane, I was still a bit hungry peckish, so I gave a quick look to their selections. There was a pretty limited selection of fruits and cereals, and a coffee barista to make your coffee to order. I really like that they have a full-time barista on staff, as you can order anything from double espresso to a no whip double pump mochachino (which let’s be honest, after a 14 hour flight, that’s EXACTLY what you need)
Fruit and Cereals
Automated Coffee/Tea/Water, if you’re not feeling personable
My impression of the Virgin Lounge in Brisbane is that it’s marginally better than not having a lounge. Its free food and free coffee before your flight, and a nice place to use a less crowded bathroom. Other that that, the lounge was noisy and crowded and the wifi was slow, kinda like a run down generic lounge in the USA but with a full bar and food.
With that said, you’ll see in a later post in my trip report about the other Virgin lounge that was a complete 180 from this one. We left the lounge and the gate was a short 30 second walk away. Next – onto our flight to Cairns!
