Trip Report: Turkish Airlines, Business Class - Houston to Lahore via Istanbul (February/April 2019)

Trip Report: Turkish Airlines - Business Class
Houston to Lahore via Istanbul
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I was flying from America to South Asia and for this trip there are many options – Emirates, Qatar, or Turkish.  My last couple of trips have been in business class and, since it is a long flight, I wanted to travel again in business class.  I have flown on Emirates business and really enjoyed both the lounge and in the air-experience, especially on the Airbus A380 (see review here), but in my last couple of flights with Emirates the service seemed to have dwindled a bit so this time I was looking to try other services.  I have flown Turkish many times, mostly in economy and once in business class – the business class was decent with lots of food and lie-flat beds, however it wasn’t the best product out there but good value for what you pay for.  When I was searching for this flight, Turkish kept coming up in terms of best product, best flight times, and overall better price for the service so I went ahead and booked Turkish Airlines Business Class. 

My first sector was on Turkish’s Boeing 777-300ER from Houston to Istanbul.  Turkish does provide complimentary pickup and dropoff to Business and First Class passengers within 30 miles of the airport – it’s a nice service that some of the competitors only offer at their home base.  Through Turkish’s updated website and app, I was easily able to manage my flight, my seat selection, meal preferences, as well as select my complimentary pickup.  Turkish leaves Houston at 8:55pm and that is a nice time as it is later than its competitors so there is not a lot of rush at the airport.  We got to the airport well ahead of schedule and went to the business class line were our bags were checked to the final destination.  After security we went to the lounge – Turkish does not have its own lounge but its passengers have access to their Star Alliance partner United’s Polaris lounge in Concourse D.  The lounge has recently been updated to the Polaris look and it is a THOUSAND times better than what is before – before the lounge was very sad and just looked like an upgraded waiting area, but now the lounge actually looks like a lounge with improvements to the seating, the overall look, the service, and the food.  It was really nice to spend time in the lounge, but the only problem is that United does not have flight times for any of their Star Alliance partner flights so it is up to the passenger to monitor their time and ensure they leave the lounge in time for their flight.  We left the lounge and made our way to the gate to board the plane.  Even though we were supposed to board around 8:15pm, Turkish always seems to have a flexible on-time schedule.  No flight I have ever taken with Turkish has ever left on time and this was the case with these flights. 

Boarding finally started and Business Class boarded in a separate line and through a separate entrance into the plane.  The plane was configured in a 2-3-2 layout which isn’t ideal especially if you are stuck in the middle seat for over 12+hours.  I was able to preselect my seat and I had chosen a window and an aisle seat.  The seat itself was very long but it was a bit narrow, especially if you were a bigger person.  On one side was the seat and on the other side was a console with a huge TV screen on top and a footrest on the bottom.  The footrest could be opened to allow storage during the flight (I appreciated this because some other airlines do not have this feature and it makes it inconvenient to constantly get up to get things from the upper storage).  The airline magazines as well as a shoe storage were also located in this console.  The seat itself was nice and comfortable, although as I said a bit narrow.  The seat was upright and could be maneuvered to be completely lie-flat.  The seat had a reading light, and adjustable footrests as well as other adjustable parts (however – this all depended on all the controls working on every seat, which not all did).  There was a massage function as well on the seats, but again not all the functions worked for every seat.  Below the armrest in a dark cubby hole was the plug-in for the headphones as well as a USB port.  While these amenities were very nice, it was very difficult to access given the narrowness of the seat, and it all got tangled when you lay the seat flat.  This cubby hole is also were the remote was for the PTV – the PTV was touchscreen but because it was so far away the remote was needed; however, again the functions of the remote sometimes worked and sometimes it was just easier and quicker to move to the touchscreen on the TV.  I have said this in other reviews and while traveling in economy, and it remained the same in business class – Turkish’s onboard entertainment has a decent selection of movies and TV shows but they are only enough to pass about 5 hours of flight time; if your flight is longer than that I would suggest downloading movies on your personal device.  The same was for this flight as the entertainment selection was decent for about 5 hours of viewing time, and then you had to improvise (in this category, no one can beat Emirates’ selection).

Before take-off, pre-drinks were served, newspapers were offered, noise-cancelling headphones were distributed (again, some headphones worked better than others), and amenity kits were also distributed.  While the amenity kits were nice, they looked more like a premium economy kit rather than a business class kit as the kits contained socks, eyeshades, toothbrush, toothpaste, earplugs, a small lip balm and small lotion.  I have received the same kit – in a less fancier package and without the lip balm and lotion – in economy class on other airlines.  I have also flown business class on other airlines – namely Emirates – where the business class amenity kit includes much more such as razors, shaving cream, and cologne.  Menus were also distributed prior to takeoff and this is one area where Turkish excels over its competitors.  Both the quality and quantity of food was very good and it was an extensive menu of offerings that the passenger gets to choose from. 

Once airborne, the inflight service started a hot towel service and then with drinks and nuts.  The tray table is in the middle console which is shared between the two seats but the positioning of the tray table makes the narrow seat feel even more narrow, especially for those who are larger.  Also, the tray table is supposed to move diagonally to let the passenger out of the seat but again some of these worked better than others.  The tray table was set with linens, a fake candle, and really interesting salt and pepper shakers.  After the nuts, the first course of appetizers were served, followed by another starter, then your selection of the main dish, then dessert, then cheese and fruit, and then coffee or tea.  Again, it was a lot of food and it took about 2.5 hours for the entire course of meals to be presented and consumed.  As I said, both the quality and quantity of food were good.  Once the meal service finished, the attendants came by to make up the bed.  The pillow was already on the seat, and it was an average size pillow.  The mattress padding was fitted onto the seat, and that was a bit thin in quality but the blanket provided was nice and of good thick quality.  You really felt the narrowness of the seat when you slept, as there was not a lot of room to move in the seat, although the seat did lie completely flat so that was nice. 

Turkish only provides two meal services – one after takeoff and then one right before landing.  In between, if you are hungry there are small snacks, fruit, crackers, and nuts available in the galley.  While these snacks are nice, they are definitely not filling if you decided to skip the meal and get hungry in the middle of the flight (I also do not believe Turkish has a ‘dine on demand’ product available); again comparing it to some of its competitors, Emirates does at least provide some more substantial snacks that are available in between the meal service upon request.  About an hour prior to landing, the lights came on and the tray tables were set for the second meal.  Again, there was a selection of breakfast items to choose from as well as some appetizers.  This meal selection was substantial but smaller than the first meal selection (both were definitely filling though).  The cabin was then readied for landing and we landed in Istanbul. 

On my outbound flight I transferred at the old Istanbul airport while on my return I transferred through the new airport.  I did have family members who were affected by the transfer from one airport to the other, and the communication and coordination between Turkish Airlines and its customers during that time was very poor.  Luckily I had booked through a travel agent and they were coordinating and rebooking everything, and he said that the information kept changing minute by minute as he had many customers who were being affected by the transfer and cancellation of flights.  I transferred to the new airport about 2 weeks after it opened, and it was still a mess.  Long walks, not helpful ground staff (although Turkish has never been known for helpful ground staff), still under construction security areas, many confused ground staff, and a lot of teething issues.  While waiting in the lounge for my flight, the gate for the flight changed, and I am not kidding, 5 times in a span of 1 hour.

While there was one HUGE business class lounge in the old airport, the new airport has multiple business class lounges and both are identical in terms of the offerings and look – this makes it very confusing if you are meeting someone at the business class lounge because the only difference between the two is the location.  The lounges are nice with good offering of food, drink, and spaces.  There are free massages available but those are only on a first-come, first-serve basis and the wait time for the massage was over 2 hours.    

My onward flight was on an Airbus A330-200.  On the outbound the plane was very old and so was on the onboard product while on the return both the plane and the product had been updated.  The service and onboard system was the same for both flights – the seat was similar to that of the Boeing 777 as it did lie flat, the space was narrow, and the same features were available on both seats.  Same amenity kits as well as same headphones were distributed along with menus.  The main difference for this flight is that only one meal service was offered, right after take-off, and the meal quality and quantity was smaller – it was more of a heavy snack/light meal rather than a full meal – and this was the only service offered during the entire flight.  This was another difference between Turkish and its competitors as other airlines, I believe, would have either offered a more substantial meal if they were doing one meal or would have offered two light meals.

Overall, the experience with Turkish Airlines in Business Class felt more like Premium Economy rather than a true Business Class.  The lie-flat seats, the access to the lounge, and the substantial food offered on the long-haul flights are characteristics of Business Class, but the quality of the seats, the narrowness of the seats, and the overall feel and experience of the on-board product made it feel more like Premium Economy.  The negative about this is that Turkish does not offer First Class, so the choice is between Economy or Business so if you are only offering one premium class, wouldn’t you make it more outstanding instead of having minor differences between the two?  In Turkish’s defense though, the price for Turkish was lower than its competitors so if you are paying less then I guess you would expect less as well.  If you are looking for an overall business experience, then Turkish is not the choice for you, but if all you are looking for is a lie-flat seat, good food, and a nice lounge then Turkish is your airline.

Stay Report: The Nishat Hotel, Gulberg (Lahore, Pakistan - April 2019)

Stay Report: The Nishat Hotel - Gulberg, Lahore

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I was scheduled to leave Lahore the next day, so I needed a hotel for one night.  Since I was only going to be there for a short-time, I was looking for something that was close to the airport, was reliable, was clean, and was affordable.  I have never stayed at a hotel in Lahore so I went around to some of the established places to check out their facilities, but when I stepped into The Nishat I knew my search was over.  The Nishat Hotel was started by The Nishat Group, which is a big textile and fabric company in Pakistan, and overall the hotel is modeled like a boutique hotel.  The rooms were nice and spacious (and clean), the hotel had good amenities for the guests, and the service was good and accommodating.

The hotel is located in Gulberg, Lahore and while it is not the best location - as its on the edge of the shopping area bordering a more residential area - it is surrounded by restaurants and shops so you can easily walk to get food or shopping.  As you pull up, there is a small circular driveway in which there are stairs that lead up to the lobby.  The outside of the hotel is in black and grey colors and the color pattern continues inside the hotel.  One you go past the security, you enter into the lobby.  On the left side is the restaurant while straight ahead is a mini seating area.  To the right is the concierge stand, the check-in desks, and the elevators.  The hotel staff recognized me from when I came to check the rooms, and they individually came up to say hello and that was a nice touch - overall the customer service was very nice.  

I did have two issues while checking in - 1) check-in time is at 2pm and the hotel calls you that day to confirm your checkin time, and if you do not pick up the phone or call back then they cancel the booking; they tried to call me but had my number incorrectly so even when I went to the hotel at 3pm they had apparently canceled my booking; 2) I had booked two rooms, one with one bed and the other room with two beds and I had asked for these rooms the day I inquired about the rooms and they day I came to book the rooms yet the day of check-in the request still needed to be processed.  While these are minor things, the minor things can build up and sometimes be indicative of major issues.

I checked-in, received my key, and went up to the 8th floor as one of my two rooms was ready - I was the other room would be ready within the hour.  The first room had the double bed and the layout was such that as you entered the room, there was a mini-hallway in which the bathroom was on the right and all along the left hand side was nice and large closets.  The closets contained a safe, shelves to store items, a hanging bar to hand your items, laundry bag, slippers as well as shoe polish (it was a really big closet with TONS of space).  The bathroom was also quite spacious and contained a sink with LOTS of counter space, a toilet and a stand-in shower.  The shower area was also spacious and contained both a hand-held as well as a 'rain shower' head.  The sink contained a plethora of amenities including shampoo, body wash, lotion, nail file, dental kit, sewing kit, etc --- really a lot of amenities and this touch was very nice.

Further into the room, the bed was the right side while on the left were two chairs with a table in the middle.  Both chairs were very comfortable and one faced the bed while the other faced the large window - the window was open enough to let in light but had some decorative sculpture outside thus blocking the outside from looking in.  In front of the bed, along the length of the wall, was a long desk which had a chair as well as outlet plugs as well.  The desk also contained the welcome fruit platter, two complimentary bottles of water, as well as the tea kettle.  The bed itself was very comfortable, the sheets were nice and the pillows new, and it provided a great nights sleep.  On either side of the bed was a nightstand and the entire place was electronic so you could control the lights and sounds from panels on either side of the bed).  The room with the two beds was laid out in a similar fashion as the one bed is just one mattress over two box springs so they can easily pull apart the box springs and make it two beds - I have seen this done in other hotels but the lack of space usually means not enough room between the two beds, however given the spaciousness of the room there was space in between the beds.    

The hotel has many facilities for the guests to enjoy including complimentary breakfast, complimentary wifi, a gym, an indoor pool, airport shuttle, parking, and others.  Given I was there for a short period, I could only try a few of the facilities: the airport shuttle was a large van that could accommodate many passengers and luggage, and would run on the hour.  It was very easy and convenient to book and access the shuttle.  The wifi was complimentary and strong enough for basic email and WhatsApp (streaming videos would be difficult). 

Overall, it was a great stay at The Nishat Hotel with comfortable, spacious, nice-smelling, and clean rooms along with good service, good facilities for the guests, and a nice location.  I would definitely recommend this hotel and this is a hotel that we intend to use in the future as well.  

Stay Report: Hyatt Place Houston North (Houston, Texas - February 2019)

Stay Report: Hyatt Place Houston North
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I had previously stayed at a Hyatt Place in Memphis (see review here) and while I was not overly impressed with the brand, I was also not deterred from trying the brand again.  I was traveling out of Houston Bush Airport and was looking for a nearby hotel that was good but also allowed for a late checkout, since my flight departed at 8pm.  The Hyatt Place had a good price, so I contacted them and asked multiple times regarding their late check-out policy.  Based on my conversations and discussions with various representatives at the hotel, I booked the hotel. 

Hyatt Place is Hyatt’s low to mid-budget option for travelers.  The rooms are mini-suites – with a bedroom, bathroom, and sitting area – and contain a mini kitchen as well.  Complimentary breakfast and parking are provided, and the brand competes with Hampton Inn and Courtyard.  The hotel is Houston is located on the service road, and while the access is from the service road the hotel is located a bit farther back so you do not hear the traffic noise.  The lobby looked modern and fresh and had an open lobby plan with a sitting area, an open check-in desks that connected to the bar, additional seating area, and the kitchen area where the complimentary breakfast was served in the mornings.  Across from the bar, right next to the kitchen area, was the business center with two computers and a printer (although the printer did not work).  When I went to check-in, I talked to the check-in agents regarding my late checkout and I was told ‘this is not something I am aware of’.  I told them I talked to various representatives at the hotel and based on that information I had made the booking, and then I was told that they would ‘look into it’ but that it shouldn’t be a problem.  I completed the check-in process, received my key, and proceeded to my room.

The room that I received was designed for those with a disability, so I am not sure why this room was given to me and not kept for those who it was intended for.  Because of the design, the layout of the room was different than the standard room.  As you entered into the room, on the right against the wall was a desk and opposite the desk was a little nook which contained a sink and a counter with a coffee machine on top.  In between the desk and the nook was the fridge against the wall in the middle of the room.  In a standard room, on the other side of the desk would be the sitting area but in this room it was different so the beds were situated in this section.  I had booked a room with two beds, so the beds were against the wall and there was a nightstand in the middle of the bed as well as one next to the partition.  Plugs and USB ports were available next to the bed.  The bed itself was comfortable and provided a decent sleep (much better than the sofa bed). 

Next to beds was the seating area which contained couches, one of which can turn into a sofa bed (a very uncomfortable one at that) as well as a table.  There is a ‘partition’ between the 'living room' and the bedroom, and I put it in quotes because it only extends half way while the remaining section is open so it does not provide a lot of privacy.  In between the ‘bedroom’ and the ‘sitting room’ was a chest with drawers on the bottom and the TV on top – the TV can be turned to face either the bedroom or living area. 

Generally, the bathroom is located in front of the bedroom area and is in a narrow space making everything tight; the arrangements for this room were a bit different.  The sink was outside the bedroom area but the toilet and the tub were in front of the sitting area – so you had to walk outside of the toilet area and go into the other part of the room to wash your hands.  It was an odd and unhygienic setup.  

picture courtesy of Hyatt Place

The Hyatt Place does offer free facilities for its guests to enjoy such as complimentary parking, complimentary wifi, and complimentary breakfast.  The hotel also provides a fitness center, an outdoor pool, a business center, and a local shuttle.  The complimentary breakfast was average, standard complimentary breakfast with eggs and bagels; the wifi had decent speeds; and the business center had 2 computers with free printing (which did not work) – so the facilities were nice and a good for customers. 

While the facilities were nice, the customer service was extremely poor.  There was a lack of communication amongst the staff, the management took a while to address issues, and the staff themselves did not seemed bothered about the guests wellbeing or overall comfort.  As I said, I have stayed in many Hyatt Places before and have decent experiences but the customer service experience here was horrendous.  The overall experience at Hyatt Place is average so if you add poor customer service then it makes me not want to stay at the brand in the future.