Yes, it sucks that bad.
The only thing I can suggest, is try positioning the hub facing the bedroom, away from other electrical devices as much as you can and not hiding the hub in a cabinet or behind other objects.
Its just another way of Virgin Media trying to milk its customers, give out sub par and inferior equipment so they have to pay an extra £5 or whatever it is these days, per extender per month.
A lot of people, buy there own 3rd party wifi equipment, as in the long run it is often cheaper and usually far superior in reliability and performance.
I agree people shouldn't have to, especially with the amount of money Virgin Media charge for their broadband.