Virgin Hotels vs Virgin Voyages - How do they compare?

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so after over 20 Virgin Voyages, I know by now all of the shows,
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all of the restaurants, every cocktail and every venue on each
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of the four Virgin Voyages ships.
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But I have to admit outside of Virgin Voyages, our experience with the other
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Virgin Group brands is pretty limited.
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We don't live next to an airport that's served by Virgin Atlantic,
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and even the trains that we get in our part of the UK are
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not served by Virgin Trains.
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So actually it was a real delight to be asked along by Virgin Hotels to
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come and see one of their properties.
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And we were really interested to see how the Virgin experience
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would translate from what we know at sea onto land and vice versa.
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And what we found actually grounded our understanding of
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the Virgin Group in general.
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And I want to tell you about those little touches that we notice that carry across
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from what we notice on Virgin Voyages
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and how that plays out in the hotels so let me show you what we found in Virgin
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Hotel Shoreditch and tell you whether we think a Virgin Hotel is a good place to
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stay before your Virgin Voyages cruise and how that might change your vacation.
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So let's take an inside look at Virgin Hotels London Shoreditch.
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For those that don't know much about Virgin Hotels, and we certainly
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didn't before we went along,
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is that Richard Branson himself was actually planning this brand from 2010.
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and it took five years from that point for them to open their first property.
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So what led to that delay before they opened their first property in Chicago?
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well, it's all down to Branson's refusal to launch the brand until
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they'd completely rediscovered what hotels are all about.
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and an area where this is really clear is the fact that they actually went to
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the effort to patent a lot of the designs and processes that went into the hotel,
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even down to their unique room design, something they call The Chamber.
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So on Virgin Voyages you have your cabin, and in the Virgin
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Hotels you have your Chamber.
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So when Virgin Hotels launched in Chicago, The Chamber was the first hotel room
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design that always included a privacy door between the dressing room and the bedroom.
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they also went into every pain point that travelers generally have.
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so things like slow wifi, hidden resort fees,
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overpriced mini bars and long lines at the check-in queue.
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So, although they took this painstaking amount of time to
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get the Chicago hotel right,
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it was obviously worth it
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because Condé Nast actually named the Virgin Hotel in Chicago, the
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best hotel for seven years in a row.
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So right now there are eight Virgin Hotels.
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The majority of them are in the USA,
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so they have locations in Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas,
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Nashville, new Orleans, and New York City,
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with a Miami location due to launch in 2026, and there are also two Virgin
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Hotels in the UK, one in Edinburgh, and of course the one that we visited,
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which is in London in Shoreditch.
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Now, the Shoreditch location itself has a bit of a fascinating past.
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The building itself was actually the Mondrian Shoreditch,
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which was a completely different hotel brand that couldn't quite find its
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identity in the location that I was in.
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that's when Virgin Hotels took it over and began transforming it,
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leading to Virgin Hotels.
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London opening its doors in August 2024.
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Here's an interesting part.
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The brand didn't actually consider it complete until April, 2025,
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which is when Richard Branson visited the property himself
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to open the on property bar called Hidden Grooves.
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Hidden Grooves is actually touted as London's only Hi-Fi listening bar.
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And so Richard Branson actually designed it himself.
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It's a 38 seat vinyl listening lounge
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that act as a love letter to Virgin Records 50 year history,
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but we will get onto that in just a moment.
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But why Shoreditch?
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Well, this neighborhood was actually London's industrial
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wasteland back in the eighties.
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from warehouses to print works and abandoned factories.
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It was a little bit down and out, and that's when artists
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started moving into the area.
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The artists moved in because rent was cheap and it was a place for
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them to start practicing their craft.
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And they started to open galleries and then the tech community
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started moving in as well
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until present day where it's East London's creative epicenter.
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The likes of Banksy does street art here,
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there are vintage markets every weekend,
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and it even has more independent coffee shops per square mile
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than anywhere else in London.
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It also means that Virgin Hotels at London Shoreditch is only 10
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minutes away from Liverpool Street.
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so that's a really quick walk to the Elizabeth line.
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So you can get to Heathrow Airport really, really quick,
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which is actually a boon for cruise passengers like us who might
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be flying down the day before.
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It won't take you too long to get to the hotel, and then you can go down to
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Portsmouth or Southampton the following day, which is exactly what we did.
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All right, so after 20 plus Virgin Voyages, we know the
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check-in experience off by heart.
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You go to the port, you drop off your bags, you check in, you get your
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Sailor band and you're ready to go.
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It's a really frictionless experience
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this is an ethos that Virgin Hotels have tried to keep as well.
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So instead of waiting at the reception for a long time, they have an app
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called the Lucy app, which is the name that's given to the in-room
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entertainment experience as well.
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And the idea here is that you download the Lucy app, but you can check in on there.
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So all you need to do is pick up your room key, which is a very nicely designed,
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and unfortunately I've lost mine, but it's a very nicely designed , red playing
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card that you use as your room key.
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Now, unfortunately, I could not get the Lucy app to work with our reservation.
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It could have been something to do with the way it was booked,
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but I'm not entirely sure.
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But according to the Virgin Hotels website, the idea here is that you
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can use the Lucy app to control the in-room entertainment and the
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in-room lighting, for example.
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And anyone who's been on Virgin Voyages will know that this is very similar to
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the experience that you get inside of your cabin because you're also able to
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change the lighting and the entertainment from the tablet inside your cabin.
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So the only difference here is that it will be on your phone on an app
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instead of the tablet in the cabin.
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Now, again, we couldn't get this to work, but in theory it
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sounds very similar to the Virgin Voyages experience if it worked.
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But of course we're quite familiar with the Virgin Voyages Sailor app
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and it appears that this is something that the Virgin Group and the Virgin
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brand in general are trying to make sure that a lot of these experiences
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and these interactions that you need to do are done digitally on the app.
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And of course this is a push that we've heard a lot of feedback about from sailors
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across the Virgin Voyages community.
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So let me know your thoughts and the comments about what you
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think about apps for hotels.
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If you are asked to download it as part of your experience and you have no
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choice, what do you think about that?
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Let me know in the comments, 'cause I know Virgin Voyages
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sailors have a big opinion on this.
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So after we checked in, we were able to have a look around at the lobby
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and the common areas in the hotel.
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And one thing I will say about the London Shoreditch location is
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the lobby was very, very small.
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It was very nicely designed, very pretty, and it was very comfortable, but it
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is very small, so it's not somewhere that you could just go and hang out in.
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but in a true Virgin way, they have explained this experience in this way
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where they call this a space that morphs throughout the day, and they tout this
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as like a coffee lounge in the morning, somewhere, to work in the afternoons,
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and then like a late night hangout spot.
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In theory, this just felt a little bit like a corridor.
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but there was a nice interlude off to the side, which was this mirrored room, which
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I guess was kind of like an Instagram selfie spot that had these red roses.
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That was fairly interesting and it did remind me of the
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Mana Corridor on the ship.
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if you've been on board Virgin Voyages, this is a very popular Instagram spot.
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So that was definitely something that we noticed that was shared across the Virgin
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Voyages and the Virgin Hotels experience.
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Something that we noticed in general when we were going around these common areas
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was, just about how well this suited the overall sort of Virgin look and feel.
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So if you've been on the ship, you know this style of interior decorating,
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the things like the indoor plants and the lighting and these sculptural
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mirrored elements, these are the kind of things that we saw in the London
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Virgin Hotel as well as some of the fixtures and fittings on the ship.
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So there was definitely some interplay there.
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Now when we were hunting around the common areas,
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We noticed on the lifts there was a sign that said The Manor and we were like,
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oh, well The Manor must be the nightclub because it's the nightclub on Virgin
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Voyages, so it must be the nightclub here.
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It turns out it was just a meeting room,
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but when we asked about this to this spa receptionist,
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she told us that actually The Manor is the name of Richard Branson's original
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recording studio for Virgin Records.
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I have to apologize 'cause I can't believe we got to this point in our
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Virgin journey without knowing that.
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But it seems a salient piece of information that a lot of people
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behind the Virgin brand know.
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If only somebody could have told us.
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now I will say we visited the Virgin Hotel on a Sunday night,
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which means that unfortunately the venues in the hotel weren't
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hosting any nighttime entertainment.
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but we were lucky enough to be given a little tour of those spaces that
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would've been available if we arrived on maybe a Friday or a Saturday night.
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And as you can see here, the design of these spaces for this nightclub
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style area is absolutely incredible
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with these really unique touches that really make it feel like
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a proper Virgin experience.
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And this even carried through to the gym as well, So the gym was actually
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made out of the old hotel's library room, and you can see the features and
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fixtures here were just reminiscent of this old fashioned library.
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It was a really interesting concept for a gym.
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and although I'm not a gym go-er myself, I'm sure there are worse places
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to be working out than this really cool and funky interior design space.
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So let's talk a little bit about the rooms, or should I say The
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Chambers at the Virgin Hotel.
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So we were lucky enough to get the keys to two different types of rooms.
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And a few notes about all the rooms before we get into these
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different types is that every single room comes with a steam shower.
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So every single Chamber and every single suite has a shower,
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which also acts as a steam room.
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So there is no steam room in the gym, but you are very welcome to
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use the one that comes in your room.
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So the idea here is that you activate the steam function and after 90 seconds.
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Steam will start to leave the outlets and you'll have this aromatherapy style
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steam room available in your room 24/7.
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This is definitely something that doesn't happen on board the ships.
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This is very much a Virgin Hotels thing.
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This might be something that is just hyperlocal to the London Shoreditch one,
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but is a really nice feature of the rooms.
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and if you are a fan of a steam room, having one available whenever you feel
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like it when you're staying in the hotel is such an incredible thing.
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It's also worth saying that in this Virgin Hotel in London, all
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of the rooms are pet friendly.
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And as much as we'd absolutely have loved to bring Cody along on this
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journey, unfortunately, we were stepping on board the ship the next day, so
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unfortunately had to stay at home.
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This time,
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All of the rooms as well have this iconic red SMEG mini bar fridge.
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The mini bar itself is not normally complimentary unless you have a suite,
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but the options available from the mini bar and the snacks available
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as well, were a huge selection.
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Every room comes with a Marshall Bluetooth speaker as well.
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If you wanna put your own tunes on.
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as well as a Lavazza pod coffee machine as well.
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So you can make fresh coffee whenever you want.
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There is, of course, all the features that you would normally expect.
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So you get an iron and an ironing board,
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you get an in-room safe, and the entertainment on the
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TV is all included as well.
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So the first room we were able to get a look at was called the Grand Chamber King.
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So this was 275 square foot and had a king bed.
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The bed itself is incredibly comfortable, from what I've read.
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Virgin Hotels have put a huge amount of work into selecting the perfect beds for
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their hotels, and it really pays off.
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These are really, really comfortable beds.
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There was also kind of an odd feature, but it came in pretty handy, at the
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edge of the bed in one of the corners.
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There's this almost seat style area.
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I think they call it the playpen, but actually it was really useful
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when we were just trying to sit with friends and enjoy a bit of a catch up.
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It was actually a nice place to just sit and have a nice conversation.
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So what looks like a really quirky bed design is actually quite practical.
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especially when that Chamber itself didn't have a huge amount of space to
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just sit and kick back with friends.
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So actually using the bed is just easy enough.
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So that is the standard room experience at the Virgin Hotel London Shoreditch.
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But we were actually really fortunate enough to get our eyes on one of the
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one bedroom suites also available.
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and all I can really compare this to on the Virgin Spectrum is a
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Mega Rockstar suite because this room was absolutely fantastic.
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So this room on the website says it was 575 square feet.
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I think the layout of our particular suite was even bigger than that.
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and what you get at this level is an entire separate living area
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with a sofa armchair space to work huge TV.
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You've got a whole section with a mini bar and a kitchenette.
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And then the bedroom itself is absolutely vast.
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vast enough for a roll top bath, which is actually inside of the bedroom itself
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With a whole host of luxury toiletries to use as well.
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an absolutely huge amount of storage.
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And then the bathroom was absolutely vast with two sinks.
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Now we've been lucky enough to sail in Mega Rockstar once
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before on Virgin Voyages.
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Although our Gorgeous Suite was nowhere near as huge and as luxurious
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as this suite at the London Hotel,
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we had an absolutely lovely night in this suite with our friends,
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and we were able to really enjoy all the space that it had to offer.
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Is this something that we would normally book?
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well, we're not quite in that tax bracket, but this was an incredible experience.
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And if we had the money, we absolutely would.
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Again, absolutely incredible place to stay in London.
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Our only complaints really with this room are very, very minor, but it
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always counts when you're traveling, and that's to do with the electric sockets.
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There was absolutely no electric sockets to use by the bed whatsoever.
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We had to charge all of our devices away from the bed, which if you are a traveler
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and you need to get up in the morning and you're setting alarms, it's a real pain.
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but other than that, it was an absolutely lovely stay, now, in terms of what
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you can get up to in the evening in the Virgin Hotel in Shoreditch,
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it's probably best for us to go down to the Hidden Grooves bar again.
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And I think really this is what sets apart the Virgin Hotel from everything
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else that you might see in Shoreditch.
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And as I mentioned before, this opened in April, 2025,
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and that was eight months after the hotel itself launched.
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And that was because Richard Branson wanted it to be absolutely perfect.
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And he said when he designed it, he actually decided exactly what records
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were gonna be inside of the bar.
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he wanted to design exactly how the listening stations were gonna work
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and exactly how the vibe would play out.
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The whole aesthetic is inspired by 1970s Hi-Fi
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with wavy patterns and high gloss finishes
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and vintage furniture.
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It's designed to feel like a cool uncle's living room.
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It's essentially nostalgia from Virgin Records Glory Days.
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The vinyl collection spans from Virgin Records entire record collection
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from the Sex Pistols, the Rolling Stones Culture Club,
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Janet Jackson to Phil Collins.
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and these aren't reproduction records.
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These are the real deal.
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So the idea is that you can take these records to listening stations
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that has Project Audio Hi-Fi equipment.
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You pick the records, you put your headphones on, and you experience
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the music just as Branson intended.
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with full fidelity, no compression, the full album experience.
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And the cocktails in the bar are even inspired by Virgin Records itself.
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So we saw on the menu one called "Never Mind", which was inspired
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by the Sex Pistols album.
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The idea is that the menu is dynamic,
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So the actual recipe of the menus change depending on the mixologist.
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We were told about their weekly events, that are hosted at Hidden Grooves,
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Including a weekly listening event with guest DJs,
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live music programming
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and something called discovery hours where the staff recommend deep
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cuts from the record collection.
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Now in terms of dining, unfortunately our schedules didn't align with
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the dining offered at the hotel,
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but we did enjoy a really delicious rooftop breakfast before we headed down
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to Portsmouth to join Brilliant Lady.
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And the food and coffee were really delicious.
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On the rooftop as well.
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There is a rooftop pool.
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The pool itself is very small, I will say.
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But if you come from Virgin Voyages, We are quite used to a
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small swimming pool, are we not?
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but you do get those rooftop views of cross Shoreditch
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and because this rooftop is operated by Blue Marlin Ibiza, In the evenings.
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Expect to see some live DJ sets
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where you can enjoy some cocktails under the stars.
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so after over 20+ Virgin Voyages under our belt, what do we think of
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the Virgin Hotels experience on land?
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Well, there was definitely a few things that we noticed that you
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can compare one for one with the Virgin Voyages experience, so
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there is no nickel-and-dimeing.
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So that's nice to see.
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They're not asking for tips or gratuities on top of anything, but
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that might be a London specific thing.
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But we were never pressured to give a service charge or gratuities at any point.
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We also noticed the tech forward design, so they want you to use the app
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for you to book experiences or make changes to things.
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so that's definitely some of that Virgin DNA being shared there.
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There's definitely that upscale, casual vibe.
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although we were suite guests, we never felt the need to dress up in
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shirt and trousers at any point.
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It was just cool-y and casually luxurious, just like we notice when
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we step on board the ship as well.
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Now, of course it's worth saying this is not Virgin Voyages on land.
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So it's not an all inclusive experience where you're getting food included.
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There isn't a number of restaurants that you can visit every single night.
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There is unfortunately no Happenings Cast, so there's not a huge number of
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events that you can go to all the time.
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But one thing that really does shine through in the Virgin Hotels
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experience is just that real Virgin ethos that you know from the ships.
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So if you love the design, if you love the vibes, And you simply want to take some
18:16
of that sparkle from the ship onto land.
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I would really recommend trying Virgin Hotels out.
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They're certainly not some of the cheapest hotels that you're gonna stay
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in, so it has to be worth your while.
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But if you're looking for something as a little bit of a
18:29
treat, I definitely recommend it.
18:31
The one thing I will say is that if you are trying to combine your
18:34
Virgin Voyages experience with your Virgin Hotels experience right now,
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there is no real way to do that.
18:41
We kind of had some proximity between London and Portsmouth.
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It's only an hour and a half on the train.
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There's not that many sailings from Portsmouth.
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Anyway, The one thing that we are looking out for is the launch of Virgin
18:52
Hotels Miami, which promises to just be about 10 minutes away from Terminal V.
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So if we're lucky enough to be invited along to the Virgin Hotels
19:00
experience in Miami, we can certainly give you an idea of what to expect
19:05
when you combine your Virgin Voyages experience with the Virgin Hotel.
19:09
experience I think that's where we're gonna really see
19:11
that brand synergy come in.
19:12
And when it comes to pricing, hotels are very different from cruise ships.
19:16
We all know this.
19:17
You are having to pay that London premium.
19:20
it's around about £300
19:21
a night.
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For that original room that I showed you, the King Chamber.
19:25
And for this suite that we were able to stay in, normally that runs
19:28
at around about £800-900 a night.
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So that's over $1000 US.
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But if you think even about the king Chamber room, what you are
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paying per night for the hotel is actually probably more than what
19:40
you would pay for a Virgin Voyage.
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And let's not forget, on a Virgin Voyage, you get your food and
19:45
entertainment all included as well.
19:47
So in terms of value for money, I think Virgin Voyages is
19:50
always gonna win in that regard.
19:52
But hotels are always gonna be a very different proposition to cruise ships.
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The one thing I will mention as well about Virgin Voyages and why we would
19:59
always choose a Virgin Voyages 7-night stay over a Virgin Hotel 7-night stay, is
20:05
that you do have that Sailor community.
20:07
Everyone is going through the same experience when you step
20:10
on board the cruise ship.
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So from sailaway to PJ Party, to Scarlet Night, and even the
20:16
final night and disembarkation,
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all of the sailors are going through all of that together, and that's where
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you can really meet some lifelong friends and you're really never
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gonna get that experience in a hotel.
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so maybe if you've watched this video from the hotel perspective, maybe I can win
20:30
you over on the Virgin Voyage experience.
20:33
And if I've done that, then VV Insider is the place for you to go to find out even
20:37
more about the Virgin Voyages experience.
20:40
And I do videos like this, telling you everything you need
20:43
to know about Virgin Voyages and how to make the most out of it.
20:46
So if you found any of this interesting from the cruise side than do follow
20:51
along, stay subscribed to vvinsider.com.
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So thanks for coming along on our little trip to Virgin
21:40
Hotels London Shoreditch today.
21:42
But until next time... happy sailing!

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