Check in, drop off your bags, then spend the day around the beach club before being transported to board your plane
One of the more frustrating aspects of the last day of the holiday has to be the early checkout. Some hotels want you to check out as early as 10 am, which is notorious in the States. Here at Short Motivation we’ve stayed in South Beach, had a casual breakfast and realised check out is a ridiculously early 10 am. The hotel will usually allow you to leave your bags and spend the day around the pool, but after spending ours in the heat, you’re forced to freshen up in the hotel toilet, unless they have a free room they’ll lend guests, which is a rare commodity. Either way, it’s not ideal.
Launching May 2018, Virgin thinks it has the solution: a departure beach club. Virgin will pick you up after breakfast from your hotel, transport you the beach club at Carlisle Bay, where you can check in your bags and spend the entire day around the club, including lounging at the beach, drinking at the bar, eating in the club restaurant or, if you prefer, head to the air-conditioned games room. Once you’re finished for the day, there are private showers and changing rooms where you can freshen up before being transported, free of charge, to your Virgin flight.
The catch? Well, the first “Departure Beach” will launch in Barbados, so you’ll need to be vacationing on the island to take advantage of the club, but all the more reason for planning a trip to the sunshine island, right?
You’ll have to pay for entry, but we think it’s a fair rate at $25/£20 per adult and $15/£15 per child. You receive complimentary transfers from your hotel to the beach club, then to the airport. Free wifi through the day, a buffet lunch and soft drinks from the bar (alcoholic drinks are available at a charge). If you’re a Virgin customer staying at Savannah Beach or a Virgin Holiday’s cruise customer, you can obtain free entry to the club.
Take a look a the Virgin Holidays website for further information.
