Virgin Holidays have opened a new £450k V-Room store in Intu Chapelfield Norwich, with a virtual reality roller coaster and a cocktail bar for customers to experience. The new V-Room is located on the ground floor of the shopping centre, and is designed to match the style of a luxurious airport lounge.
The VR roller coaster takes customers on a ride through the roof of Intu Chapelfield, the Las Vegas strip and a trip into space (passing a Virgin Galactic spacecraft.) The store uses two Oculus Rift headsets for the VR roller coaster, with some rather comfy bucket seats, giving customers a very satisfactory experience!
Joe Thompson, Managing Director of Virgin Holidays, says: “We’re proud to unveil our first v-room in East Anglia – representing a £450k investment in Norwich, and bringing the holiday experience alive for customers before they depart.
“Holidays are some of the most precious moments we share with loved ones, and we want to immerse customers in that feeling from the moment they set foot inside our v-room. Our new store helps inspire customers by bringing the sights, sounds and tastes of their holiday right here to Norwich.
“We know today’s customers expect much more than a package holiday – they want a unique experience. Our expert team in Norwich can tailor each trip by combining our worldwide network of hotels and flights with over 300 experiences including helicopter rides, personal shopping trips, surfing lessons, and safaris.”
Sheridan Smith, marketing manager at intu Chapelfield, said: “We’re very excited that Virgin Holidays have decided to locate their v-room store within intu Chapelfield and I’m particularly looking forward to trying out the virtual rollercoaster. We’re in constant dialogue with a range of national, local and international brands to ensure that we continue to offer the people of Norfolk a vibrant retail and leisure mix. The Virgin Holidays v-room store will provide our shoppers with a fabulous way to get into the holiday spirit; even before they’ve booked their trip.”
For customers wanting to try before they fly, there’s a selection of Virgin Atlantic’s aircraft seats in store to experience for themselves, along with a children’s play area. The new store has also created nine new jobs in the city.
For VR enthusiasts in Norwich, this is exciting news, since there aren’t many places to experience virtual reality in the city. Belong Norwich, Back of the Inns offers customers the chance to experience the HTC Vive and Playstation VR headsets in store for £2.00 (Single VR experience) and £5.00 (10 minute VR experience.) There are also 23 playable PC, Xbox One S and PS4 Pro stations to try out, and regularly hosts gaming tournaments. Other retailers such as Carphone Warehouse, have Samsung Galaxy VR and Google Daydream headsets in store to try before you buy.
For all of the latest in the VR industry, make sure to visit http://vr-now.co.uk/
Written by: Jordan Ewbank
Photo credit: Simon Finlay Photography for Virgin Holidays.