Hi wonderful readers!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Special Review
Hotel Review - Park Hyatt Melbourne
Stay Length - 7 days
Program - Hyatt Gold Passport
Room - 138
Hyatt is one of my favourite hotel chains in the world as they have a very high standard of service and generally have very good room interiors that make you feel absolutely luxurious. Given that I had to be in Melbourne for almost 10 days for a conference, I separated my stay between the Grand Hyatt and the Park Hyatt.
The Park Hyatt is the top of the range luxury hotel for the Hyatt group - and the rooms show! wonderful decors, unbelievably comfortable bed and pillows, a mini-lounge, work desk, and marble bathroom with walk-in ensuite. It even has a spa bath!
The biggest gripe I have with the Park Hyatt in Melbourne is that it is a little out of the way from the CBD - about 10 minutes walk. But there is a tram stop 3 min walk away from the hotel so it's not entirely bad.
Overall an excellent experience in Melbourne Park Hyatt and highly recommended for all you luxury travellers out there!
Program - Hyatt Gold Passport
Room - 138
Hyatt is one of my favourite hotel chains in the world as they have a very high standard of service and generally have very good room interiors that make you feel absolutely luxurious. Given that I had to be in Melbourne for almost 10 days for a conference, I separated my stay between the Grand Hyatt and the Park Hyatt.
The Park Hyatt is the top of the range luxury hotel for the Hyatt group - and the rooms show! wonderful decors, unbelievably comfortable bed and pillows, a mini-lounge, work desk, and marble bathroom with walk-in ensuite. It even has a spa bath!
The biggest gripe I have with the Park Hyatt in Melbourne is that it is a little out of the way from the CBD - about 10 minutes walk. But there is a tram stop 3 min walk away from the hotel so it's not entirely bad.
Overall an excellent experience in Melbourne Park Hyatt and highly recommended for all you luxury travellers out there!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Seat Review - DJ958 BNE to SYD on Y
Flight - DJ958
Airline - Virgin Blue
Route - BNE to SYD
Flight Time - 1 hr 5 min
Cabin - Y
Equipment - ERJ-190 (E90)
Seat - 14D
Its my first time on this equipment - I was really excited because the plane is very new, the styling looks amazing, and I've heard alot about the comfort of the seats. The configuration is 2-2 so its very comfy compared to the 737's 3-3 configuration. The first thing I realised when I boarded, was that the plane doesn't have live2air installed! It didn't bother me that much really since it was a short trip but what about on longer trips??
The next interesting thing was the announcement by the Head FA about the 'showers' in the cabin. That's odd... what showers? then it dawned on me - the bloody Air Condensers for the AC was leaking! well so much for reading my magazine!
Ok i'll over look that and i'll get some shut eye. The seat is not bad and the pitch is decent. As I proceeded to lean back, I started looking to adjust my head rest. OH NO that's why I take Qantas! for the damn head rests! these seats are all leather bounded and fixed! there's no room on the seat to rest your head on an angle - its almost FLAT!
I woke up with a sore neck as I landed in SYD.
Now i'm very confused. Overall the plane is very comfy and spacious and the styling is amazing. But as for seat comfort.....
Airline - Virgin Blue
Route - BNE to SYD
Flight Time - 1 hr 5 min
Cabin - Y
Equipment - ERJ-190 (E90)
Seat - 14D
Its my first time on this equipment - I was really excited because the plane is very new, the styling looks amazing, and I've heard alot about the comfort of the seats. The configuration is 2-2 so its very comfy compared to the 737's 3-3 configuration. The first thing I realised when I boarded, was that the plane doesn't have live2air installed! It didn't bother me that much really since it was a short trip but what about on longer trips??
The next interesting thing was the announcement by the Head FA about the 'showers' in the cabin. That's odd... what showers? then it dawned on me - the bloody Air Condensers for the AC was leaking! well so much for reading my magazine!
Ok i'll over look that and i'll get some shut eye. The seat is not bad and the pitch is decent. As I proceeded to lean back, I started looking to adjust my head rest. OH NO that's why I take Qantas! for the damn head rests! these seats are all leather bounded and fixed! there's no room on the seat to rest your head on an angle - its almost FLAT!
I woke up with a sore neck as I landed in SYD.
Now i'm very confused. Overall the plane is very comfy and spacious and the styling is amazing. But as for seat comfort.....
Monday, January 31, 2011
Seat Review - CX881 LAX to HKG on J
Hi there!
I will be posting my reviews of any recent plane trips that I take under the title "Seat Review". Now i'm definitely not a frequent traveller - you can probably tell from my Airline status in my profile. But i'll do my best.
Flight - CX881
Airline - Cathay Pacific
Route - LAX to HKG
Flight Time - 15hrs
Cabin - J
Equipment - 777-300ER (77A)
Seat - 25K
I was actually booked under Y class for this trip and was originally allocated to 58C but I managed to use 40,000 Asia Miles to upgrade my flight to J class at the last minute. One of the many benefits of AMEX program on my path to Centurion - it helped me amass huge amounts of points.
If you want to do a points upgrade at the last minute, remember do NOT do online check-in and go to the ticket sales counter when you arrive at the airport!
Remember CX only allows for points upgrade to J class if you are carrying a Y,B,H or K ticket.
Thank god too - 15 hours in a Y seat would've killed my back. 25K is close to Economy but after take-off its closed off with a curtain. 25K is also just over the wing so it gets abit noisy. But CX provides you with a fairly decent noise cancelling headphone - decent enough that I can hardly hear a word the FA's were saying to me during the meal service!
The 77A J cabin uses the Herringbone configuration. Many people don't like it as it feels claustrophobic but I find it quite comforting. The mood-lighting and foot rest is perfect. The lie-flat bed is very comfy and there is more than enough cushion and back support but due to the flight angle you are effectively sleeping 'upside-down' head first with blood flowing to your head. My previous trip was on a 74A J cabin upper deck and the seats on that equipment and deck were definitely abit longer. Upper deck on the 74A was also alot quieter.
The meal service was excellent - since it was a pretty long flight there were two main meals served - supper and breakfast. Anytime between that you could order snacks like noddle soups, ice creams and fruit platters. The entertainment system on CX is always good but it was my 2nd flight in January already so the movie selection was starting to get alittle thin.
Overall another rewarding J class experience on CX. Highly recommended for all travellers!
I will be posting my reviews of any recent plane trips that I take under the title "Seat Review". Now i'm definitely not a frequent traveller - you can probably tell from my Airline status in my profile. But i'll do my best.
Flight - CX881
Airline - Cathay Pacific
Route - LAX to HKG
Flight Time - 15hrs
Cabin - J
Equipment - 777-300ER (77A)
Seat - 25K
I was actually booked under Y class for this trip and was originally allocated to 58C but I managed to use 40,000 Asia Miles to upgrade my flight to J class at the last minute. One of the many benefits of AMEX program on my path to Centurion - it helped me amass huge amounts of points.
If you want to do a points upgrade at the last minute, remember do NOT do online check-in and go to the ticket sales counter when you arrive at the airport!
Remember CX only allows for points upgrade to J class if you are carrying a Y,B,H or K ticket.
Thank god too - 15 hours in a Y seat would've killed my back. 25K is close to Economy but after take-off its closed off with a curtain. 25K is also just over the wing so it gets abit noisy. But CX provides you with a fairly decent noise cancelling headphone - decent enough that I can hardly hear a word the FA's were saying to me during the meal service!
The 77A J cabin uses the Herringbone configuration. Many people don't like it as it feels claustrophobic but I find it quite comforting. The mood-lighting and foot rest is perfect. The lie-flat bed is very comfy and there is more than enough cushion and back support but due to the flight angle you are effectively sleeping 'upside-down' head first with blood flowing to your head. My previous trip was on a 74A J cabin upper deck and the seats on that equipment and deck were definitely abit longer. Upper deck on the 74A was also alot quieter.
The meal service was excellent - since it was a pretty long flight there were two main meals served - supper and breakfast. Anytime between that you could order snacks like noddle soups, ice creams and fruit platters. The entertainment system on CX is always good but it was my 2nd flight in January already so the movie selection was starting to get alittle thin.
Overall another rewarding J class experience on CX. Highly recommended for all travellers!
In the beginning
The quest started in 2007 - just a humble 25 year old working away and graduated from University only 2 years previously. One day I heard of this wonderful card that has all these amazing super powers that only the rich and famous has - getting that last minute table reservation - jumping through the line at the big clubs - and all these super powers came from this single card - the American Express Black Card.
No its called Centurion you big ape. Silly VISA and their silly Black Card - there's just no comparison.
I've now been a Centurion holder for 4 months. Lets just say the road to Centurion has been hard - but not impossible. And what about the card's magic powers?
It's why I've got this blog. Well in addition to the other thing I do - being a network consultant and all - I'm going to be very honest with my experiences now that I'm in the "Black Card Club". I've had some good times, some bad times, and there's been some "What The FUCK" moments.
For the moment, the statement "The moment you go Black, you never go back!" is still ringing true for me. Well... don't take that statement in the wrong way. But the Centurion is just 1 of many elite products out there. But given it is invite only, its not leaving my wallet anytime soon!
My AMEX card journey
No its called Centurion you big ape. Silly VISA and their silly Black Card - there's just no comparison.
I've now been a Centurion holder for 4 months. Lets just say the road to Centurion has been hard - but not impossible. And what about the card's magic powers?
It's why I've got this blog. Well in addition to the other thing I do - being a network consultant and all - I'm going to be very honest with my experiences now that I'm in the "Black Card Club". I've had some good times, some bad times, and there's been some "What The FUCK" moments.
For the moment, the statement "The moment you go Black, you never go back!" is still ringing true for me. Well... don't take that statement in the wrong way. But the Centurion is just 1 of many elite products out there. But given it is invite only, its not leaving my wallet anytime soon!
My AMEX card journey
American Express Qantas Premium Credit Card (2 Years)
Platinum Credit Card (1 Year)
Platinum Charge Card (1 Year)
Centurion (4 months)
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