Johannesburg Airport's First-Class Cycad Lounge

During our lengthy layover in Johannesburg between our South African Airways flights from Dar es Salaam and New York, SAA gave us a chance to try out the Cycad lounge in the O.R. Tambo International Airport, which is normally reserved for first class customers (SAA uses a two-class system on most of its flights, but recognizes connecting passengers flying first class on codeshare flights), Voyager Lifetime Platinum and Platinum members.

Unlike the business-class Baobab lounge, which is long and very spacious, the smaller Cycad lounge is smaller and much more intimate. Most of the spaces are circular, and the curved walls offer a sense of privacy—it’s hard to see an awful lot of space at once, so there’s no overwhelming sense of being in a huge, cavernous room. Also, as the space is designed for fewer people, the lounge seems much quieter than Baobab, though that could also be due to the walls enclosing more of the space.

The Baobab lounge has cold snack bar with wraps and sandwiches, but Cycad has a full restaurant where guests can have a multi-course meal (or several) throughout the day. While we got work done in the business center (flat-screen computers on a circular table against the wall, with two small meeting rooms off to the side), the staff kept coming by to see if we wanted them to bring us any drinks or snacks. When we did get a pre-flight light meal, the seafood soup and grilled cheese (and ham and tomato) sandwich got high marks. (They were out of the lamb shank, alas, or I’m sure one of us would have tried that.)

In addition to showers (which seem to be much like those in Baobab), the lounge also has “snooze rooms” for those who need a nap before their flight.

If your clients have any kind of layover in Johannesburg, see if you can book them into Cycad. There's nothing wrong with Baobab, of course, but those extra little touches can make a world of difference.

Take Off To a Vacation

Over the years, I have come to believe that my vacation truly begins only the moment I touch down at a destination. Driving to the airport, parking, waiting for my flight and sitting on the plane were nothing more than a necessary evil. Sometimes painful and sometimes uneventful, it just wasn’t something I looked forward to. Even when I was lucky enough to get a business or first-class seat, I never reveled in my time onboard…until I found the promised land in Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class.

On a recent familiarization trip to South Africa with Virgin Limited Edition, I had the opportunity to try out the Upper Class Service. Sir Richard Branson, Virgin’s founder, is known for creating “over the top” experiences and I had to find out if he had once again lived up to his reputation . I boarded my 18-plus-hour flight from New York to Johannesburg with a seven-and-a-half-hour layover at London’s Heathrow. “What could possibly be enjoyable about this 24-hour enduro-flight,” I wondered, but knowing that my ultimate destination was Ulusaba in South Africa, I knew I could endure. 

Now, I know I sound dramatic but when you have only six days on the ground, almost 48 hours of total travel time is somewhat scary for even the most traveled road warriors. But the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at JFK was quite comfortable and the food amazing.  

Boarding the flight, I was a bit surprised by the seat configuration. Rather than facing completely forward, as you would on any other airline, the seats were angled with half-wall dividers between them. Gary and I realized quickly that having seats one in front of the other was actually a nice thing for a couple traveling together, since we could easily converse back and forth over the wall rather than across the aisle. The flight attendant came over and offering a nice glass of champagne, asked what size we would like for our “sleeper suits.” Initially I was a bit wary of the black pajamas she was giving us but as I glanced around the cabin I realized that I wouldn’t be the only ninja-looking passenger. I changed into my “jammies” and gave my clothes to the flight attendant to hang in the closet.

As we lifted off from JFK and I had a chance to admire my surroundings, I began to appreciate the thought that had gone into my individual seat environment. The storage space, TV and music system, and lighting and movie selection were amazing. As the flight attendant set up my space for dinner, my footrest was converted into a seat for Gary, so we could have dinner facing one another instead of side by side. This was so civilized, and once we added the linens, china, fine wine and gourmet food, we felt as though we were having our first romantic vacation dinner.
 
After a nightcap at the bar and turndown service by the flight attendant, I retired to my seat which had been transformed into a sleep environment. My seat, slash dining room, slash movie theater was now a sleep catacomb. It was private and comfortable on the lie-flat bed with a feather duvet and down comforter. As I lay in my bed, the half walls took away the fear that I would snore too loud, drool too much or lean into the seat next to me. So as I drifted off to sleep, I savored the comfort of my flying hotel.
 
As we descended into London, we quickly had our breakfast and changed from our sleeper suits back into our fresh, clean, well-pressed clothes. I could not believe that I felt so good. This was truly enjoyable and one of the best flights I have ever had in my 20-plus years in travel.
 
On arriving in Heathrow, we ventured out to a local pub with my favorite local driver/guide. This was a nice break in a long journey and left enough time to enjoy the benefits of the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse, including a massage for Gary and a haircut for me. After a hot shower in a private spa suite and a few games of billiards, we once again boarded our flight to “repeat step one” on my way to Johannesburg. I was amazed how quickly time passed in London with a short pub-crawl and the luxuries of the Clubhouse, which was included in the cost of our Upper Class ticket.


A month after returning from my trip to South Africa, I recommended Virgin’s Upper Class service to a client who raved about the experience following their trip.


And, so, my philosophy of my vacation starting only once I land has changed forever, for as my South African safari came to an end, I was actually looking forward to my journey home.