Tampa isn’t exactly a major destination for Virgin Atlantic, so I was curious what lounge access they might offer Upper Class passengers. Turns out, Tampa has a small contract lounge, the International Club Lounge Tampa, which Virgin uses. Calling this a “lounge” is generous, though. It gives the notoriously bad Swissport Lounge at O’Hare a run for its money for worst lounge in America!
This post is a part of my trip report series covering my trip to Scotland in February, 2023. Click here for the trip report index and introductory post.
International Club Lounge Tampa
Location
Near gate F78, in the F concourse. Note that none of Tampa’s concourses are connected airside. Therefore, you can’t access this lounge if flying out of another concourse. Not that you’d want to.
Access
Honestly, I can’t find much information on who exactly has access to this lounge. Virgin Atlantic uses it for Upper Class and Flying Club Gold members. Besides that, I’m coming up blank. The International Club Lounge Tampa is NOT part of Priority Pass, so that’s not an option, either.
Best as I can tell, the lounge opens approximately four hours prior to the departure of the Virgin flight.
International Club Lounge Tampa – Review
Date of visit: February 1, 2023
The drab entry should have given the game away. But nonetheless, I headed inside. And found a dark, depressing, windowless room with furniture straight out of the 90s. Hey, it even looks like the Swissport Lounge inside! The front part of the lounge features some couches, with a few recliners towards the back.
Smack dab in the middle of the seating area is a small, staffed bar with both alcohol and soft drinks. The drink selection isn’t terrible, with a variety of mid-range spirits and drinkable house wine. Additionally, I found the bartender friendly and helpful enough.
Meanwhile, one side of the room features a work area with a long, communal work bench. If you can’t find a plug in the seating area (there aren’t many), there are at least plenty of plugs over here.
On the other side is a small buffet selection. It’s not much to write home about; some toasted club sandwiches, turnovers, cheese and crackers, and pastries/cookies. There’s also some raw vegetables, and a large bowl of shrimp cocktail. In fairness, the sandwiches and shrimp cocktail were decent enough.
At the very back of the lounge is self-service tea and coffee. It’s not powdered instant coffee, at least.
Also in this area is a small dining area, with both booth and table seating.
And that’s all, folks! Nothing else to see here. This lounge does at least have its own restroom and usable WiFi, good enough to run work applications and a FaceTime call. I got here early, and the lounge remained empty for a good while. It did start filling up as we got closer to Virgin’s departure, though.
Final Thoughts
If you hoped for something similar to Virgin Atlantic’s swanky Clubhouse…just wow. This certainly isn’t anything close to a Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse. At the end of the day, does this lounge beat the Swissport Lounge for worst lounge in America? No, but just barely. I’ll give the International Club Lounge Tampa some credit for a passable food selection and usable WiFi. Nevertheless, Virgin really needs to find a better solution for its Upper Class and elite flyers.