Virgin Red Room at the O2 review: what 40,000 Virgin Points gets you

Most people collecting Virgin Points are saving them for a flight, and this is normally what we'd be doing, but in all honesty, I was bored one day and wanted to book us something to look forward to.

In that vein, did you know that Virgin Red has a private suite inside the O2 arena in London called the Virgin Red Room, and you can book it for almost any show there using points rather than money?

You book the whole thing through Virgin Red directly in about the time it takes to buy a normal ticket, and prices start at 10,000 Virgin Points for two.

We spent 40,000 of our Virgin Points on two tickets to see RÜFÜS DU SOL back in May, and in a moment that may shock you, there were no additional taxes or fees to pay! Here is my review of the Virgin Red Room at the O2 Arena.

Is 40,000 points worth it?

Lets start with value. Standard tickets for the show went for around £80 to £100 when they were first put on sale, which puts 20,000 Virgin Points a head at roughly half a penny per point. That is below what the same points are worth against a flight, for example 20,000 Virgin Points would also get you an economy return to New York, which sounds like the far better use until you remember that Virgin then asks for a few hundred pounds a head in taxes and fees (see the full list of taxes and fees here).

So if I was to use a spreadsheet to track the value I'm getting on all of my points (some people do actually do this), it would be frankly laughable.

But that's boring!

What really decides it is whether you could get tickets any other way. When a show sells out in minutes and the Red Room is the only thing still available, pence per point stops being the question you are actually asking. Likewise, and not to spoil it, but we had a great time, made much more memorable by the fact we were in the Red Room. Either of these scenarios are based on feelings, and I can't quantify that for you.

So at 40,000 points I think it is fair. As of 24th July, Virgin prices these between 10,000 and 90,000 depending on who is playing (I'll do an article in the coming days listing all the prices of the events) and how well the main arena is selling, and since the seats, drinks etc are the same whoever it is, the higher that number climbs the harder you should look at it.

Two things to know before you book. Your seats are allocated about a week beforehand rather than when you book. Seats S22 to S28 are high stools rather than proper seats, so if that matters to you either way it is worth emailing Virgin Red support. The other thing is the O2 app, which is one of the most infuriating, appalling excuses for a piece of software I have used in years, and its 1.7 rating on the Google Play Store would support that. Just getting our tickets to link to my account took days and eventually an email to Virgin support before they turned up, so give yourself time and don't leave it to the last minute.

The Amex Lounge, and the catch

Your Red Room ticket also gets you into the American Express Lounge downstairs, and we were sat in there by around five. But the important part is what it does not get you.

Normally with entry you'd have to have an Amex, and that comes with a complimentary drink for the cardholder. This benefit is unfortunately not extended to those who have tickets for one of the suites. We both hold an Amex each so we were able to get our free drink, but just a word of warning as the Amex Lounge is priced like a restaurant rather than a pub, so your bill mounts up quickly. We went through everything that Amex cardholders get at the O2 Arena here.

It is a pleasant enough way to spend an hour, but it is not the reason you booked.

The Red Room itself

How would I describe the Virgin Red Room? It's very Virgin, to a point.

The carpet is red and cream stripes, there is a long velvet seat down one side, low tub chairs and marble tables, and a bar at one end. At the other end is seating, three rows of conventional seating, and one row of bar seats. But it lacks that Virgin flair, perhaps some art showing Virgin's history in the music industry.

This is like if you said to AI "design a room based on Virgin the brand", and it just spaffed red everywhere. Maybe that's just me, it is the Virgin Red Room after all.

RED, ALL THE RED!

Everyone gets two complimentary drinks, from the same list the Amex Lounge uses for its free drink. There are eight wines on it, beers and ciders, soft drinks, juices and hot drinks. Tap water was consistently available in jugs left on top of the bar.

Complimentary drink list

The service was above what I expected. Members of staff were continually coming out to the seats during the gig to see whether anyone wanted anything. I had expected to have to fetch all of my own drinks, like the peasant I am. So this was a nice perk as if you were sat in the main arena the alternative, as you'll all know, if getting a drink is fifteen minutes queuing on the concourse and three songs missed.

The one thing I would change is the food, because there isn't any, not complimentary at least. There is a serving counter along the wall with hot plates built into it and they're left empty. You can order from a menu and pay for it, which is fine. We didn't eat ourselves, but looking at the food coming out for other people, this was just standard arena food. In comparison, Marriott Bonvoy runs a box in the O2, which you can pay for using your Bonvoy points, and that includes a hot buffet. So, a word of advice? Eat before you arrive.

The seats, and how far away they are

The seats are very comfortable, wider than you average seat, and with great legroom .

The view could be the more divisive part of this whole experience.

The Virgin Red Room is Suite 226, sitting basically centre stage. You are looking straight down the middle of the arena rather than at everything side on, and you can see the whole show at once. The less good half is the distance, as for a lot of the night I was watching the screens more than the bed. If seeing faces is what you go for, this is not where you want to be. The flip side is being this far back and central did allow me to fully enjoy the whole lighting setup.

Virgin Red Room review - verdict

So, no, not a bargain if you judge it purely on the numbers. What the points actually bought was an evening of music, fun, and comfort. We walked in without queuing, sat in a comfortable box while twenty thousand others funnelled through the concourse below, had our drinks brought to us rather than fetching them ourselves, and had a genuinely memorable night out.

That is what 40,000 Virgin Points buys you at the O2.

Sam

Points Well Made is a passion project from Sam and Helena. If you've enjoyed this and want to help us keep the lights on, please consider buying us a Ko-fi or subscribing monthly. You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok for more of the same. Thanks for reading.