My new favorite lounge at New York (JFK) is the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse. The lounge may not be what it was prior to the pandemic, but it remains a top notch lounge with superb staff, food, and drinks.
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse New York JFK Review
Access + Hours + Location
This lounge is located in JFK Terminal 4. After clearing security, head downstairs and walk down the A-Concourse toward gates A4 and A5. There, you’ll find stairs or an elevator going upstairs. The lounge is next to lounges from Emirates and Air India.
Currently, the Clubhouse is open from 5:00am to 10:30am and 2:00pm to 10:30pm daily. The website indicates an 8:30am closing time, but the lounge is open later because it is used by EL-AL for its 11:00am departure to Tel Aviv.
It then closes and re-opens promptly at 2:00pm.
Access is reserved for:
- Passengers travelling in Virgin Atlantic Upper Class
- Flying Club Gold members traveling with Virgin Atlantic
- Passengers traveling in Delta One (longhaul business class)
- Delta SkyMiles Diamond Medallion card holders*
- Delta SkyMiles Platinum Medallion card holders*
- Delta SkyMiles Gold Medallion card holders*
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Elite Gold members and PPS card holders*
- Flying Blue Platinum card holders*
- Flying Blue Gold card holders*
- Virgin Australia Velocity Club Gold card holders*
- Virgin Australia Velocity Club Platinum card holders*
- Virgin Australia Velocity The Club card holders*
- American Express Platinum or Centurion credit card holders
- Capital One Venture X credit card holders
*when traveling on a Virgin Atlantic flight
The lounge is now managed by Plaza Premium, hence the access for AMEX and Capital One cardholders. Simply present your card and scan your boarding pass.
Seating
This is large and stylish lounge with a swanky seating area in the center of the lounge with a mix of chairs and end tables…plus a pool table.
Behind the bar is a dining area and then dozens of tables and chairs which line the windows.
On the other side is more seating, including chairs with small round tables and couches.
I spent a lot of time in this lounge and the most crowded it got was about 3:30pm, as passenger arrived for the evening services on Delta and Virgin Atlantic.
Food + Drink
The Virgin Clubhouse at JFK lounge offers an extensive a la carte menu for breakfast and for lunch/dinner. Paper menus are available and you can order via a lounge staff member, or you can use a QR code menu and order from your phone. In either case, I found the meal service to be prompt and the food worth eating.
Here’s the breakfast menu:
I ordered eggs Benedict and a bowl of fruit for breakfast, with a flat white.
The lounge offers a nice selection of coffee drinks made by a barista.
During my stay, I enjoyed several flat whites…
I had a long day of work and returned in the afternoon to see if the lounge experience was any different in the afternoon. It wasn’t. Here’s the lunch menu and drink menu:
I skipped the alcohol and stuck to coffee and water, but did enjoy a multi-course lunch, including a beet salad, pea and mint soup, and Mediterranean cod. All food was superb (I was skeptical when the cod arrived breaded, but it was a nice piece of fish).
I finished lunch with a cheese plate.
Note, there is no buffet in this lounge at JFK and even drinks are not self-serve, with the exception of small self-serve coffee and tea station near the lounge entrance.
Restrooms + Showers
Restrooms and showers are available in the rear of the lounge. Just look for the hallway with mood lighting which changes every few seconds to a new color.
Shower suites include body wash from Ren and shampoo plus conditioner from Aveda. Ask a shower attendant for a towel. While the showers were empty in the morning, there was a waiting list later in the day.
Spa
This lounge once offered a full-service spa with services ranging from massages to manicures to haircuts. Those days are probably over. That part of the lounge was closed off during the pandemic and I was told by one staff member that it is very likely to ever re-open. Currently, the area is just blocked off.
Service
I found the service in this lounge outstanding in the morning…and less so in the afternoon. In the morning, Devina took care of me. What a pleasure she was to interact with. Kind, witty, and attentive, we had a nice conversation and I greatly appreciated her excellent service. Every time she noticed my coffee was getting low, she would make me another one!
In the afternoon, the lounge staff member who delivered food (I ordered off the app) really just put the food down without a word…no smile, no checking back to see how the food was or if she could bring anything else (as Devina had done).
Luggage Storage
If you’re staying for awhile, you can leave your luggage in a baggage storage area just past the lounge entrance.
CONCLUSION
In terms of clubhouse lounges, the Virgin lounge in London Heathrow is still my favorite. But the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse JFK remains a top notch airport lounge and I’m happy to report that the Plaza Premium management may have cut back some amenities, but it is still one of the few lounges worth showing up early for. I look forward to returning.
Food looks good but a lot of the furniture looks uncomfortable as hell..
Reminds me of a W.
Really wanted to check this lounge out a few weeks ago when I was on a rare connection through JFK & I really enjoy the IAD clubhouse. Sadly, it was during their mid-morning closure so no dice. The menu looks close or the same as IAD & amenities as well. Furniture may look uncomfortable but isn’t, at least in IAD.
Thanks Matthew
That’s funny — I’m not crazy about the IAD clubhouse — it is usually extremely crowded before the VS flights, the food isn’t great, and to my knowledge there are no showers. Much prefer UA polaris or the BA lounge next door when going transatlantic from IAD
Used to love it before pandemic but nowadays it’s too crowded (my flights have always been in the evening to LHR.)
There’s no way this lounge maintains this level of quality in the long run if Amex Plan gets you in.
Did not realize that about Amex Plat. Is that access limited to certain hours?
Singapore Airlines passengers flying in Suites class to FRA or beyond also granted access to the Clubhouse
Or even those flying J. Visited this lounge before our JFK-FRA flight in July – nice to be able to grab a shower and decent bite.
This lounge was being used by Etihad, while their lounge was closed. Is that still the case?
I did not see any signs indicating this, but it would make sense.
Just confirmed with their help desk. Still using this lounge for the time being. I’m not sure I want it to change back prior to my flight next month?
It’s a real solid lounge. I prefer it to even AMEX lounge.
Interesting, was there last week in the evening, and it was very crowded and dirty/sticky. Tables weren’t cleared, and there were many flies. I chose to leave and sit near the gate. As I was flying Virgin, I was disappointed they outsourced the lounge and opened it up to tons of folks. I found the food great.
You make a good point – Virgin flyers see the biggest downgrade not only in the closure of the spa, but in the crowding.
I have a flight on Delta One from JFK to Bogota. Do you know if it classifies to access the lounge?
Yes, if marketed as Delta One.
Hi, very nice review, but I have a doubt.
This lounge is accessible with domestic flights?
I have a Delta JFK-DEN usually departing from T4 gates B something.
If you could asnwer me I will be very pleased.
Thanks.
You can use the lounge if you have an AMEX Plat card or a Capital One Venture X card.