Stay Report: InterContinental Miami (Miami - January 2016)

Stay Report: InterContinental Miami 
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

In planning a vacation in Miami, the place to stay is on or near South Beach.  In looking for a hotel near South Beach, I found a good deal at the Intercontinental Miami.  The hotel is located across the bay from South Beach thus provided great views.  Overall, it’s a very nice hotel with lots of amenities and is always crowded; and being that crowded seems to sometimes overwhelm the hotel.

The hotel itself is very large and sits at the edge of the water.  The hotel is connected to a pedestrian park and walkway that stretches along the waterfront and leads to a shopping mall.  The downtown location of the hotel makes it very convenient to access shops and services.  The entrance to the hotel is to on the side street, so that makes the entrance very crowded.  Additionally, all the parking is valet-parking as self-parking at the hotel is not available.  Given that valet is the only option, the hotel should be a bit better at the parking situation; there were delays on both the drop-off and pick up of the car.  Once you drop off your car, you walk up the steps into the lobby.

The lobby of the hotel is very grandiose and large, and is a cross between lobby and a lounge.  As you enter into the lobby, straight ahead are chairs and couches to lounge and relax.  The chairs are part of the lobby as well as part of the bar which is behind the chairs, and the bar has a DJ playing live music in the lobby.  On the left hand side down the hall is the concierge desk, the check-in desks, the ‘business center’, as well as the guest elevators.  On the right hand side down the hall is the coffee shop (in-house Starbucks), a FedEx center, the hotel restaurants, as well as access to the meeting rooms.  Because of all the services, the lobby is a hub of activity for the hotel and constantly seemed full of people. 

At the check-in desks, there were long lines for both checking-in as well as checking-out.  Even though check-in time is at 2pm, when we arrived at 3pm our room was not ready.  This apparently happened to a lot of people as I noticed many instances of this occurring in my short stay.  The hotel was nice and provided some nice compensation, but it took almost 3.5 hours after check-in for us to receive our room.  The hotel acts like a resort, and similar to a resort they have a mandatory resort fee.  The fee covers the following: internet access, access to the sauna, the fitness center, the pool, and many other amenities.  While the amenities were nice and really large, I am not sure the fee was justified as internationally these amenities are provided without the fee. 

After finally receiving our key we went to our room and this is where the hotel excels.  The room was massive and EXTREMELY spacious.  As you entered into the room, you went down a long hallway to get into the room.  The entrance to the bathroom was in this hallway, and at the end of the hallway was a nook for the coffee maker.  The room itself was very spacious with 2 double beds, a night stand in between, a TV stand with drawers underneath, a desk, plus a chair next to the window.  Even with all the items, the room felt very open and large and there was plenty of room to move around.  The beds were also spacious and comfortable and provided a nice and relaxing sleep.  There were plenty of outlets all around the room to charge all the electronic devices.   Right next to the bed were switches which would automatically bring down the shades to make the room darker, as there were windows which stretched along the wall and provided a nice view of the sea and the city.

The bathroom was equally large and spacious.  As you entered into the bathroom, straight ahead was the sink while to the right, along the wall, was the closet and a shelf that housed towels and other bathroom items.  The sink itself was also very big, and next to the sink was the toilet and next to that was the tub.  The bathtub had a shower hooked onto it that seemed like two individual showerheads put together – so they provided an alright shower; and again the water pressure was not that good.

Given I was only there for a short time, I was not able to experience all of the hotel’s facilities.  The facilities I did experience were the wifi and the business center.  The wifi was decent and provided good speed for basic internet browsing (considering it was part of the ‘resort fee’, I expected faster speeds).  The business center was located across from the check-in desks, and were basically two rooms each with a Mac computer and a printer (there was a FedEx shop located on the other side of the lobby).  The hotel had other facilities which I was not able to experience, including the outdoor pool, the fitness center, the sauna or the spa.

Overall, the Intercontinental is a nice hotel that is conveniently located downtown and provides a nice spacious room.  The parking rate is a bit high, and chaotic; not sure if the resort fee is worth it; and the check-in seems a bit chaotic as well.  The hotel does provide a lot of amenities and great views.

Stay Report: Hyatt Regency Montreal (May 2015)

Stay Report: Hyatt Regency Montreal
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

I was traveling to Montreal and was looking for a nice hotel that was centrally located with access to sights and restaurants.  The Hyatt Regency Montreal is located in downtown Montreal and is centrally located to everything and is connected to the Reso.  Overall, it was a nice stay at the hotel as the rooms are comfortable and they provide really good customer service.  There were only two negatives to this hotel - one is that the elevators are really slow (even though there are four, they are all really slow) and two is that the spacious room was at a cost of a small bathroom. Other than these two minor things, it was a really nice stay at the Hyatt Regency.

The ground floor of the hotel has the entrance for the taxi cab, connection to the mall, as well as street-level entrance. From this, you take one set of elevators to reach the lobby of the hotel; two sets of elevators can take you to the lobby, one that is connected to the mall while the other is connected to the street-level.  The lobby is spacious and has plenty of space to lounge around.  If you enter from the street-level, you walk through a hallway towards the check-in desks which are straight ahead.  To left of the check-in desks are the elevators plus a sitting area for guests.  Behind the check-in desks are the restaurant, bar, business center, as well as access to the mall.  Check-in was smooth and they were very accommodating to all changes and requests that were made.  Once we received our key, there are 4 elevators that take you up to the guest rooms and these are the slowest elevators.  While waiting for the elevators we were able to talk to a lot of guests and they all had the same issue; talking with the guests was the only positive thing about waiting for the elevators.

As I was traveling with a group I had booked two rooms, but the rooms were laid out in a similar fashion with the only difference between them was the view from the window.  The rooms themselves were very spacious and provided a lot of room.  As you entered the room, on the left-hand side was the closet which contained area for storage as well as an ironing board and iron.  The right-hand side contained the bathroom, and while the room was very spacious, the bathroom was not.  It was very tiny and compact and contained a sink, a toilet, and a tub along with the Hyatt toiletries.  In my opinion, some of the space in the room could have been better utilized in creating a bigger bathroom.

Further into the room, on the left-hand side was a chest with drawers on the bottom and the TV on top and next to that was a desk.  The beds were located across on the other side of the wall.  The beds were very comfortable and provide enough room and a good night’s sleep.  There was a night stand in between the beds, and around the room there were plenty of electrical and USB outlets so you can charge all your electronics.  There were very large windows in the room which provided nice views as well as sunlight into the room.  Between the windows and the beds were either couches or chairs to sit and enjoy the view.  On the other side of the beds, in the shared wall with the bathroom, was a nook which contained additional storage space, a nook for coffee, a safe, and a fridge.  This nook was a very nice addition and provided some good amenities, but I would forgo the nook for additional bathroom space.

The hotel is a full-service so there were many facilities available for the guests to enjoy.  These include a restaurant and bar (which are sometimes closed for private events); complimentary in-room wifi; a business center behind the lobby with extremely slow computers and a printer; as well as pool and fitness center.  The pool and fitness center were located below the lobby.  Both the pool and fitness center were medium in size, not too grand but not small either.  The pool was mostly used by families and children while the fitness center was pretty full (on the weekend).  The hotel also offers massages and has a massage room near the fitness center.

Overall it was a great stay at the Hyatt Regency.  The hotel provides a spacious room that is centrally located and easy access to many sights and restaurants along with good customer service.  The only negatives were the small bathroom and the slow elevators, but despite those I would definitely recommend this hotel.

Stay Report: AC Hotel by Marriott Malaga Palacio (Malaga, Spain - December 2011)

Stay Report: AC Hotel by Marriott Malaga Palacio
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

photo courtesy of Marriott

I was going to be in Southern Spain for a couple of days, and was looking for a hotel that was nice and that I could also use as a base while I traveling around Southern Spain.  The AC Hotel brand is part of Marriott’s brand and it was my first time experiencing the brand, but I choose the hotel because of the Marriott connection as well as because of the location of the hotel.  The hotel is centrally located within the center of Malaga so it is walking distance to many sights and amenities.  Overall, the hotel provided great customer service, good rooms, and allowed us to store luggage at the hotel.

As AC Hotels are part of the Marriott brand, it was very easy to book the hotel through Marriott’s website.  Since I was traveling in a group, I needed to book two rooms as most European hotel rooms are small and can only 2-3 people; one room had a King bed while the other had 2 beds.  The hotel does not provide transportation to/from the airport so this has to be arranged personally; we took taxis which were efficient since the hotel is well-known.

photo courtesy of Marriott

The main entrance to the hotel is on the corner between the side street and a pedestrian-only walkway, so the taxis have to park on the side street close to the entrance.  It makes transportation of your luggage a bit difficult, but it does provide more of the ‘live like a local’ feel.  To access the lobby, at the street level you go through the main door and then go up a couple of steps to enter into the lobby.

The lobby of the hotel was stylishly decorated but was a bit compact.  Straight ahead were the check-in desks and to the right were the elevators, a sitting area, as well as the restaurant/bar.  Check-in was efficient, we received our key, and proceeded to our rooms with the bellman coming later with our luggage.

The hotel itself was modern and stylishly decorated, and this décor continued into the rooms.  I had booked two rooms, but both rooms had the same basic layout.  As you entered the room, on the left-hand side was the bathroom.  The bathroom was spacious, bigger than most European hotels and was as big as American hotels.  The bathroom was clean and modern and contained a toilet, a sink, and a tub.  Underneath the clear sink was a little stand that contained the towels plus a lot of complimentary toiletries such as combs, toothbrushes, tissue packs, and shoe polish along with shampoos and lotions.  The plethora of toiletries was a very nice customer service touch and was appreciated. 

photo courtesy of Marriott

The bathroom and the main part of the room shared a wall.  In the room, this is where the closets and storage were located.  The closets were very big and tall and provided a lot of storage, along with the shelves.  The closets were opaque so the light was showing through but you could not see in; another stylish detail.  The main part of the main had the beds, either two single or one queen/king bed, and nightstands on either side.  Each side also had individual lamps mounted on the headboard, which itself was mounted to the wall.  The beds were comfortable, a bit low to the ground, but they provided a good night’s sleep.

Across from the beds was a chest with drawers on the bottom and a TV on top of it as well as a desk.  Next to the bed were two chairs and a small table which faced the window.  Each room had a window and a balcony, and this was one of the best parts of the room.  The balconies were big enough that you could go outside, sit, and enjoy a cup of tea while enjoying the sights.  One room’s balcony faced the pedestrian walkway and the sea, while the other room faced the side street and the surrounding city and architecture. 

You could also see some great views of the city from the hotel’s rooftop pool.  This is one of the facilities that the hotel provided, along with a restaurant, a bar, complimentary wifi in the lobby, a fitness center, meeting rooms, and luggage storage.  We spent most of our time exploring the city so did not have time to experience all the facilities.  I did use the luggage storage, which was a nice convenience and the complimentary wifi, which was only available in the lobby at the time but was a decent speed.  

Overall, it was a really nice stay at the AC Hotel Malaga Palacio by Marriott.  The hotel provides a nice, clean, and modern room near the heart of Malaga.  From this hotel, you are within walking distance to all of Malaga’s city center (and the hotel is well-known by all taxi drivers and local restaurants).  I used this hotel as a base to go and explore Southern Spain, and it provided a great stay so I would definitely recommend this hotel!

Stay Report: Holiday Inn Paris - CDG Airport (Paris, December 2011)

Stay Report: Holiday Inn Paris - CDG Airport
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

photo courtesy of IHG

I had a day layover between two flights so I was looking for a hotel that was near CDG airport and also had access to the train to go into the city.  There were many options that met these criteria, but since I was only going to be there for a little while I did not want to spend a lot.  The Holiday Inn Paris CDG Airport provided nice accommodation in a comfortable setting at a low cost.

It is very easy to book the hotel through the IHG website.  The hotel is located in the Roissy village, which is the town/village located right next to the airport and where most of the hotels are located.  The hotel is not connected to the train station, but there is a free bus that goes from the train station and makes a loop to the surrounding hotels in the area (it runs about every 10-15 minutes).  From the train station to the hotel was about a 5-10 minutes bus ride (the Holiday Inn is part of the later stops).  As the bus runs a loop, you can take the bus from the hotel to the train station but it does take some time so factor this in.  Even though the hotel is located towards the back of the ‘hotel’ village, it is actually closer to the real village so you can walk (about 5-7 minutes) to the village town center to access restaurants, coffee shops, ATM and bank, as well as a convenience store/market. 

From the road, you walk up a nice covered walkway to enter into the hotel.  There are benches on either side of the walkway so it provides a nice place to sit outside and wait for the bus.  As you enter in the hotel, straight ahead is the check-in desks.  To the left of the check-in desks is the restaurant and bar as well as little sitting area.  To the right of the check-in desks is access to the first floor rooms as well as the elevators.  There is also a monitor that provides live information on your flights.  Check-in was quick and efficient, I received my key for my room on the first floor, and proceeded to my room.

The room itself was comfortable, nice and updated, but it was not the biggest room.  I had booked a

photo courtesy of IHG

room with 1 queen bed so as I opened the door, on the left was the entrance to the bathroom while on the right was the closet.  The bathroom was clean but very small; it reminded me of a standard European bathroom.  The bathroom had a toilet, a bidet, a shower, and a sink but it was all right next to each other with very little room to move.  The shower was also very small and tight.  The interesting and nice thing about the hotel was that they had dispensers for shampoo, body wash, and lotion instead of individual, travel-size containers – a nice eco-touch.  The bathroom shared a wall with the main area of the room. 

The main area had a queen size bed against the right-hand wall and across from the bed was a desk along with a chest with drawers on the bottom and TV mounted against the wall.  Next to the bed was a small chair and table that faced the windows – there wasn't much to look at but the curtains were thick so they could block out most of the sun (if you wanted to sleep during the day – again a nice touch since passengers are coming in from all over the world).  The bed was a standard Queen-size bed that you would fine in America and it provided a really comfortable sleep.  (I was surprised at the size of the bed as I was expecting the smaller, European-style beds).  Overall, the room looked and smelled clean and comfortable. 

photo courtesy of IHG

The hotel has many facilities, but since I was there for a short while I did not experience them all.  The hotel has a business center, fitness center, restaurant, bar, wifi, and complimentary shuttle.  I did experience the wifi, which was complimentary and had good speeds.  I was also able to print out my boarding pass from the business center.  As previously stated, I also used the complimentary shuttle which, although took some time, provided good access to the trains and to the city.

Overall, it was a nice stay at the hotel.  The hotel looked modern, the lobby smelled really nice, and the service was really good.  The hotel had access to the bus for transportation (the hotel was in contact with the bus so you could wait inside the warm hotel until the bus alerted the hotel that it was on its way) as well as was in walking distance to the Roissy village to access restaurant, shops, and ATMs.  The only negative was the ‘small-ish’ bathroom and the transportation via bus, but both of those were small negatives as overall it was a pleasant stay.

Stay Report: InterContinental Tokyo Bay (Tokyo, September 2015)

Stay Report: InterContinental Tokyo Bay
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

When I was looking for hotels in Tokyo, IHG was providing discounts for their hotels in Aasia so I found a good deal at the InterContinental Hotel Tokyo Bay.  Overall, the hotel is decent with nice rooms and good customer service.  The rooms are a bit small and the additional hotel services are there but not great.  The hotel is on the outskirts of the city so it was not my first choice, but the hotel is near a transit station and has amenities near it.    

As I said, the hotel is located somewhat on the outskirts of the city, right on Tokyo Bay so it provides great views from the room.  The hotel is about a 5-10 minute walk from the train station, depending on your walking speed, and they do have shuttles available.  The entrance to the hotel is very nice and from the outside the hotel looks grand.  Upon entering into the hotel, straight ahead is the check-in counter, to the left is the restaurant and sitting area, and to the right are the elevators to the rooms.  

As I entered, I went to the desk to check-in but since I had booked a Club Room, I was sent to the Club Lounge on the 20th floor where check-in took place.  The service in the Club Lounge was very good and check-in was quick and efficient; I sat and enjoyed a nice snack while the check-in processing was taking place.  Once everything was done, I received the key and proceeded to the 23^rd floor to my room.    

The rooms themselves are small - and I know Tokyo rooms are generally smaller - but these small rooms had large furniture in them making them feel small and cramped.  Upon entrance, on the left hand side was the bathroom while on the right hand side was the closet with an ironing board and safe (along with slippers and a robe).  The bathroom itself felt a bit more spacious and had a sink, a European-style shower, a tub, and a Japanese-style toilet.  There were also plenty of bathroom toiletries available on the sink and in the tub. 

Proceeding further into the room, on the left hand side, were the beds.  I had requested a room with 2 beds and these two beds were placed right next to each other (literally no room in between the beds).  While the beds were comfortable, the spacing of the beds meant that there was no room or separation between you and your sleeping partner.  On either side of the bed were nightstands and reading lights. 

Across from the beds, next to the closet, was a place to put your suitcase.  Next to that was a chest with drawers on the bottom and a TV mounted on the wall followed by a desk.  There was a very large window which provided some nice views of the bay, and in front of the window were a large couch or two large chairs.  While the additional furniture was nice, the largeness of the furniture contrasted with the smallness of the room so I am not sure why these were needed.  Also, the chairs faced the room and not the window.  What made the room also feel smaller was the décor of the room.  The room was decorated very differently than to other InterContinental hotels I have stayed at; this décor was ostentatious and dark and made the room feel even smaller.

As InterContinental hotels are full service, there were a lot of hotel amenities.  The hotel offered a 'business center' and a fitness center.  The 'business center' is located in the hallway leading towards the lobby restrooms in which two computers are placed were the phone booths used to be (not very convenient) and a login is required (which can be received from the front desk).  The 'fitness center' is located on the 8th floor next to other rooms and is two rooms combined (828 and 829) with treadmills and basic equipment.  It is not large fitness center and the room decorations are kept the same as all the other rooms, but basic fitness equipment is available.  The hotel also has a spa, but I did not have time to access it. 

Other amenities include the Club Lounge and Club Floors.  The Club Lounge is very good and

provides really nice breakfast, cocktails, and light dinner.  The service in the lounge is also very good.  The hotel also has a concierge service which was also decent.  They were able to provide good information and answered all the questions, but did not expand beyond the questions with any suggestions.  The hotel does provide wifi, complimentary to guests and with decent speeds.  The only amenity the hotel does not have on site is an ATM machine

Overall, it was a decent stay at the InterContinental.  While the rooms were smaller and, in my opinion, poorly decorated, they were comfortable and provided a good night’s sleep.  The service in the Club Lounge was very good but the Concierge service could have been better.  It’s a bit further away from the city, but the easy access to transportation plus nice views of the bay make it a nice stay. 

Stay Report: Crowne Plaza Changi Airport (Singapore, August 2015)

Stay Report: Crowne Plaza Changi Airport 
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

I needed a transit hotel in Singapore, and given the arrival and departure of our flight times I could not go into the city, so we decided to book Crowne Plaza Changi Airport.  The hotel has been ranked as one of the best airport hotels and thus has a very good reputation, so was looking forward to the stay.  The hotel is located in Terminal 3 and is easily accessible from the terminal.   

From the terminal, there is a huge entranceway which leads to the hotel.  You enter the hotel on the upper floor and then go down to the 1st floor for the lobby and check-in.  Check-in was quick and efficient and I received my key and went back upstairs for our room.  This is the only negative, that there should be a check-in desk on the same floor as the entrance from the airport.  I had booked a room with two double beds so headed to the 3rd floor for our room.  I had asked for a room facing the runway, but I was told those rooms only have king beds and fill up early

The hotel is designed very nicely with a lot of open spaces.  When walking from the elevator to the room, it does not feel as if you are in an airport as the hallway is open so you can feel the open air and there are gardens and streams next to the hallway.  These design features provide a nice tranquil feel to the hotel.   On the way to my room, I passed a fitness center, a spa (operated by a 3rd party), the lounge, as well as crew lounge.

The room itself is a nice size and is very comfortable.  As you enter, on the right side is a closet with a safe and the left side is the bathroom.  The bathroom was a nice size and had both a shower and a tub, a large sink, and a toilet.  There were nice bathroom toiletries provided as well as complimentary water.  The bathroom and the bedroom shared a wall, and this wall was clear so either side could see in; however, there is a switch to make the window darker to provide some privacy.

 

Inside the bedroom area, the two beds are on the left hand side with the TV stand and chest on the right hand side.  Each bed had its own nightstand and reading light on either side, but there was very little room in between the bed (so again, you got to know your bedmate quite well).  The beds were very comfortable and wide so it provided a nice sleep.  In between the beds and the TV were two chairs and a small coffee table. 

 

There was also a desk in the room that faced the window.  As I said, I wanted a view of the runway but that was not available so our view was facing away from the airport.  The window did have thick curtains which kept out the light, but I am not sure if we were next to the train or not but you could hear the train that runs between the terminal.  

As I was only there for basically 12hours, I could not enjoy all the amenities provided by the hotel.  The only amenity I did try was the complimentary wifi, which was a decent speed.  Overall, it was a great airport hotel that provided a good night’s sleep and easy access to the terminal.    

Stay Report: Novotel Suites, Dubai Mall of the Emirates (Dubai, UAE - April 2016)

Stay Report: Novotel Suites, Dubai Mall of the Emirates
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

We were looking for a hotel near the Mall of the Emirates and decided on the Novotel Suites for a couple of reasons:  1) There were three of us travelling and it is difficult to get 3 people in one room in Dubai so I needed 2 rooms and I had points from a previous Accorhotels stay that I could use for a free room; 2) the hotel described itself as a suite which meant bigger rooms; and 3) I had previously tried ibis by Accor so wanted to try a different brand from the same group.  Overall, it was a nice stay but the room is definitely not a suite.  

The hotel is located near the Mall of the Emirates, meaning to say it’s a quick 3-4 minute drive.  I am not sure if you could walk to the Mall as I did not see many people walking nor a clear/direct path from the hotel area to the Mall.  We pulled up to the hotel but there is no real entrance/drive-way to the hotel from the street.  The entrance to the hotel is on the sidewalk so you have to park your car in a 10-minute parking (and Dubai does monitor and ticket) while you are checking in.  As you enter into the lobby, you enter into a spacious lounge area with lots of chairs and couches to lounge on.  It seemed very relaxed.  To the right of the lounge was the restaurant as well as the indoor and outdoor dining area (this is where breakfast is served in the morning).  The indoor dining area is shared with the ibis hotel, as both the Novotel and Ibis are located in the same building - just on opposite sides.

 

As you enter further into the lobby you encounter the check-in desk.  We were a bit early than the scheduled check-in time, but I had communicated this information to the hotel prior to arrival so they accommodated our early arrival and checked us in.  After receiving our keys, we headed to the elevators which were located behind the check-in desks.  While the elevators are tiny, they are very quick so no long waits.  Our room was located at the end of the hallway, for the Novotel, but the hallway continued through the door into the ibis.  Both hotels were connected and only divided on the floor rooms by a door which was not locked - so anyone from the ibis side could come to the Novotel and vice versa.  

Even though we had requested two rooms next to each other, those were not available so we received two rooms that were near each other.  Both rooms looked similar in terms of layout and the only difference was that one room had one bed while the other room had two beds. 

As you entered into the room, you entered into a mini-hallway that lead into the bedroom.  As you walked towards the bedroom, on the right-hand side was a door that led to a small area for the toilet.  The area for the toilet it was very narrow as you had to step to the side to close the door because it was very cramped; this was the only toilet in the room.  As you progressed further into the room, on the left hand was a shelf with the TV and menus.  In front of the TV was a couch and a desk - the desk could be moved.  The couch doubled as a sofa bed so potentially someone could sleep here (although given the size of the room not sure how).  

                       

In between the couch area and the bedroom was a curtain which could be pulled for privacy - so I am guessing that is how it is justified as a suite - but given the size and narrowness of the room I would definitely not count it as a suite.  

As you progressed further into the room, on the right side was a curved closet plus a nook area that held the coffee maker on top and fridge on the bottom.  The curved closets were huge and provided a lot of space, frankly more space than was need (in my opinion they could have used some of the closet space for the toilet).  The closets were big and provided a lot of storage and had a safe, slippers, and laundry bags available.  

 

Following the closets led you to the other bathroom door, and this was the shower/tub area.  Again, this area was somewhat narrow and cramped.  As you entered, on the left hand side was a tub while on the right hand side was a small shower.  Against the wall was a sink that had little to no counter space to hold anything.  There was a shelf for the shower and this housed the amenities for the shower including a shampoo, a bath gel, mouthwash, soap, and lotion.  The amenities were a nice touch.  

The beds were located against the back wall, and between the bed and the bathroom was a night stand.  Additional storage space was provided by a stack of small shelves on the wall next to the bathroom door.  The night stand had plugs next to it as well as light switches to control the room - again a nice touch.  We had two rooms - one with one big bed and the other with two beds.  The two beds were put right next to each other with no room in the middle.  The big bed basically was one mattress on top of the two small box springs on the bottom.  Both provided a decent nights rest, but the two beds being so close together meant that there was no space between you and your bedmate; you got really comfortable with your sleeping partner.  The pillows were also decent and thus it provided a decent night’s sleep.  

The hotel did have provide amenities such as a pool, gym, massage room, free parking, and free wifi.  The wifi speed was decent and you stayed connected so that was a good amenity.  The parking garage was free but it was extremely tight and the spaces limited, but we managed to get a parking spot.  The gym was decent and had the basic equipment for a decent workout.  The pool was outside and looked to be a decent size - not grand but not small either.  

 

The other amenity that we tried was the restaurant, as we could add breakfast to the room.  If you added breakfast prior to the reservation, then you received the discounted rate but if you added breakfast the day of then it was the regular rate.  The breakfast was a buffet and overall it was decent, it provided the basic items needed for breakfast.   Given the selection and the quality of the food, the cost was a bit pricey so am not sure if I would choose this option again.

Overall, the hotel was decent if you know what you are getting.  If you go expecting a suite with a lot of amenities, then you will be disappointed.  If you go in expecting a decent room and a decent night’s sleep at a low cost, then you will enjoy the Suites Novotel Dubai Mall of the Emirates.

Trip Report: Turkish Airlines - Dublin to Athens via Istanbul (July 2017)

Trip Report: Turkish Airlines - Dublin to Athens via Istanbul

         comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

I was flying from Dublin to Athens and decided to fly with Turkish Airlines for 2 reasons: 1) it was an economical price and 2) I was meeting a friend in Istanbul as we were both flying to Athens together.  I have previously flown with Turkish Airlines and my previous experience was alright; it was not great but it was not bad that I wanted to avoid the airline. 

In trying to book the flight, I previous have had issues with the airline’s website.  While the website does provide good deals and options pre-booking and during booking, it is not good post booking or managing your flight.  For these various reasons, I had purchased my ticket through a travel agency and received the airline reservation code.  Using that code, I had to call the reservation system to request seat assignments, special meal requests, and adding of my frequent flyer number (note: if you book too far in advance, the airplane has not been confirmed for your flight so you may not able to book your seat).  I was able to check-in online and receive my boarding pass, which made the airport experience easier as the airline has a separate ‘online check-in’ line. 

My first flight was from Dublin to Athens.  The scheduled flight time is 4h30min and the flight is   The plane was scheduled to depart at 10:50a and arrive Istanbul at 5:10p.  I arrived at the gate around 9:30a but the gate was empty; the flight arrives from Istanbul at 10:10a and the crew have 40 minutes to deplane, clean, and reload passengers for the return flight.  In my experience, Turkish has not been the most efficient airline so I was not expecting an on-time departure (also, according to the boarding pass we were supposed to board the aircraft at 10:10a).  The crew did a good job of turning the aircraft around, but we did board late.  

The operating aircraft was a Boeing 737 with a 3-3 seat layout in economy, and a 2-2 seat layout in business.  The interior looked updated and the color scheme of Turkish with black and red seats are very nice.  Each seat had a pillow as well as a headphones on the seat, and each seat had a PTV with a USB port and headphone jack.  Beneath the PTV was space which held the safety card, the airline magazine, and the sickness bag.  Below that was the tray table, the remote for the PTV, and then another pocket for your personal belongings.  There were a lot of amenities on the seat, but the location of the tray table and the remote was problematic, especially for a tall person like myself, as your knees keep hitting the tray table.  The position of the tray table also cut into the seat pitch, which was already narrow to start with; there was definitely not a lot of leg room.  The seat comfort was average, it wasn’t bad during the beginning of the flight but towards to the end you did start feeling the somewhat lack of cushion.

Once everyone was on board, the doors closed, the safety video was shown, and we took off for   Turkish is a full-service airline, which means that complimentary luggage is provided as well as complimentary meal and drinks.  The meal service start a bit later than normal, and regular meals as well as special request meals were served at the same time.  Along with meals, complimentary drinks were provided.  Turkish has advertised ‘chef on board’ for the business class and has promoted their airline meals, and while the meal wasn’t great it was definitely better and more substantial than I have had on other airlines.  After the meal service, tea and coffee were served before the meal trays were cleared.  For the remaining flight, passengers were able to pass the time with the PTV which had a decent selection of movies and television shows.  In my previous experience, which was on a long-haul flight, the PTV selection was good for short-haul flights but there was not enough content for the long-haul flights; it was the same experience now.  The selection was good and decent for the short-haul, but was a bit limited for the long-haul flight. 

Istanbul.

We started out decent into Istanbul, and after a long time of roaming around the airport and waiting   Each time I have transferred through Istanbul, it has been very crowded and very long – there are long walks between gates and when transferring from one gate to another.  Additionally you have to go through security even when transferring as well as go through a boarding pass check.  Given the immense crowds, seating space is a commodity especially since the gates are only announced about 1.5 hour prior to the flight; the airport capacity has not kept up with the growth of the airline. 

I made my way to the gate for my next flight, and when I got there I saw a very big plane for a short flight.  My next flight was from Athens to Istanbul and the operating aircraft was a Boeing 777-300ER, which is a very big aircraft for a flight time of 1h30min.  We were scheduled to depart at 7:15p and arrive Athens at 8:45p which meant we were scheduled to board at 6:15p.  Boarding started late and, due to the size of the plane and the number of passengers, boarding took a while so we were delayed in our departure.  The boarding doors finally closed, the safety video was shown, and we departed for Athens.

The plane is laid out in a 3-3-3 seat layout.  I have previously flown this aircraft with Turkish on a long-haul flight and during that time, the seat pitch was very tight given the long flight duration.  Given that, for this flight I requested a bulkhead seat which had lots of legroom.  The seat itself was comfortable, especially because it was a very short flight.  Usually the seats contain a pillow and headphones, but those were not available during this flight (again, I am assuming due to the short flight time).  Each seat did have its own PTV which had a variety of TV shows and movies; however, the selection was limited as there weren’t as many options as my previous flight.  Each seat also contained a seat pocket which contained the airlines magazine, duty free magazine, safety card, and an air sickness bag.  As I was in a bulkhead seat, the PTV did not have USB ports but rather underneath the seat, next to the holder for the PTV screens, there were USB ports and a universal plug. 

Once we passed 10,000ft, the inflight service started.  Turkish is a full-airline which means they  I knew this, but given the short flight distance I did not expect much.  The attendants came around and handed out cheese sandwiches and offered a choice of beverage.  The service was quick and rushed, I think the attendants themselves were overwhelmed in providing the service to the large number of passengers in the short flight time.  Once the service was done, and the trash collected, most passengers watched the inflight entertainment until it was time to land.  We landed in Athens a little after the scheduled arrival time, taxied to the gate, and deplaned.

provide complimentary meals and drinks of each flight.

My return flight was also operated by Turkish and the experience was very similar (including the chaotic transfer in Istanbul).  Overall, the experience with Turkish Airlines was decent; I neither had a positive nor negative experience on Turkish.  They provided a decent onboard product, with nice amenities such as USB ports and PTVS as well as complimentary meals and drinks, but nothing was outstanding.  The seat pitch on the Boeing 737 was a bit tight (even for the 4+hr flight time) and the chaotic transfer in Istanbul (on both the outbound and return) was not enjoyable.  Given all this, would I fly Turkish again?  They usually have good promotions going which makes the costs more affordable, so given that I would fly them again but mostly for short-haul; I think other airlines provide a better and more comprehensive long-haul service.