Trip Report: InterCaribbean Airways, Providenciales to Grand Turk (July 2021)

 Stay Report: InterCaribbean Airways

Providenciales to Grand Turk

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I was planning a trip to Providenciales and wanted to see the other island of Grand Turk.  Grand Turk is mostly a cruise-ship driven city so when there are no cruise shops, and it is COVID, then there is nothing really to do there but I still wanted to check out.  Given the lack of economy in Grand Turk, the only option to get to the island was flying on InterCaribbean.  InterCaribbean is an airline based at Providenciales in Turks & Caicos and provides services to various Caribbean destinations.  I booked the flight online and booked the morning flight out to Grand Turk and the afternoon return.  I was very excited to try the product as I heard read a lot about the airline and the new management which was trying to build the airline into a better service provider to connect the Caribbean together.

My outbound and return flight operated very similarly.  Both were operated by an Embraer 120 with a2-2 seat configuration with about room for 30-40 passengers.  I think the plane was making the round back and forth because it was the same pilot and crew for both outbound and return.  The plane was definitely older as the quality of the seat and the plane had seen better days.  Flight time on both outbound and return is 30-minutes so given the short flight-time there was no inflight service but the views from the plane were plenty of entertainment.   Overall, the flight and plane were very basic.  It was a nice and short domestic flight - my only comment would the lack of friendliness by the flight attendant.  It was a short flight and the plane was very small so there was the opportunity for a more personalized and friendly interaction but the demeanor of the flight attendant was very strict and stoic.  There was definitely no island friendliness but that did not take away from the fantastic views from the plane.  

Stay Report: Novotel Istanbul Bosphorus (Istanbul, Turkey - November 2021)

 Stay Report: Novotel Istanbul Bosphorus
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I was meeting people in Istanbul and needed a hotel close to them.  They were staying in the Karakoy district of Istanbul so when I looked for nearby hotels I found the Novotel.  Novotels are part of Accorhotels and they are described as more upscale than ibis but less upscale than Sofitel.  I have stayed in Novotel before and thought it was a decent stay so decided to book the hotel again.  

The hotel is located in the back part of an entertainment section in this neighborhood where there are clubs and restaurants.  The back of the hotel faces this area while the front faces the river; there is still a lot of construction and renovations being done around the hotel so there are not a lot of services near the hotel.  The hotel is a 3-minute walk to the main street and from there you can access the tram, taxis, as well as walk another 5-7 minutes for more restaurants and services. 

As you enter the hotel, you pass the elevators to go towards the check-in desks on the right-side.  There are only two check-in desks and that was not sufficient for the size nor amount of people checking-in; it was a bit chaotic and there was a long wait depending on what time you checked in.  Further into the hotel is the bar and restaurant and on the left side is the small 'business' area with computer and printers (although the printer did not work for me so I had to send it to the front desk to print out - which a lot of people seemed to do).  I checked in, received my key and proceeded to my room.

The room was spacious and had all the amenities of a nice hotel.  You entered into the a hallway on

which the right-side of the hallway are closets that run along the hallway.  The closest consists both of a standard closet next to another closet with shelves; the closets provided a lot of storage places.  On the other side of the hallway was the bathroom which had the sink in the middle, the toilet on one side and the shower on the other (the shower had a window to the room and I do not know why so many hotels are doing this?!!).  As part of being a full-service hotel, the bathroom did have nice amenities including fair-trade products such as soap, shower gel, shampoo, and other products.  Additional bathroom amenities included very big and nice towels, which were good quality and very large towels. 

At the end of the hallway was the main section of the room which had two beds with nightstands on either side as well as reading lights.  The beds were bigger than a twin but definitely smaller than a full  so were both bit small in terms of length and width but they were comfortable enough and provided a comfortable sleep; the duvet on top was also comfortable as well.  Between the bed and the long window was a chair and a couch which was nice to sit and enjoy the view; in front of the bed was a desk to work on and a TV mounted on the wall.  In the bedroom section but connected to the closets was a section for the coffee maker, a fridge, and a safe in the room.  These were in the nook in the closets and provided a nice touch.

As a full-service hotel, there were many amenities that were provided. The hotel contains a bar, a restaurant, a pool, a fitness center,  a spa, free wifi, laundry services, room service, and a barber shop.  Most of these amenities were located on the basement level - I went during COVID so not all amenities were available.  The amenities I used were the free wifi, which was average and decent; and in the time of COVID a PCR test I booked through the hotel.  I needed a PCR test for arrival into my next country so I emailed the hotel and booked a PCR test through the hotel; if I had one in the morning I would have the results by the evening so I booked it for late morning.  The hotel got the timing wrong and I only found this out the night before when I went to confirm my appointment which turned out to be early morning and not late morning; all went well and I got my test done and the emailed the results to the front desk to print out (as the main printer was not working).  

In the end, it was an average stay at the Novotel.  The full service amenities provided by the hotel were nice, the location of the hotel was decent but this did not compensate for the poor customer service.  The hotel provided poor to minimal customer service.  The Novotel provides full service amenities, but not the full service customer service.

Stay Report: ibis budget Zurich Airport (Zurich - November 2021)

 Stay Report: ibis budget, Zurich Airport
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

I was going to be in Zurich for a couple of hours and mostly transiting from different travels so I was looking for a place to sleep near the airport.  I was going to be transiting twice so my criteria was it had to be near the airport; near access to transportation; and have availability to leave luggage.  During my research I came across the ibis budget, Zurich Airport.  I have stayed at ibis' before (all throughout Europe) and have stayed at the ibis budget Brisbane Airport.  With each brand, some items are complimentary while others need to be paid for.  The ibis budget brand provides the least complimentary items but they also have the lowest rates.  My experience with ibis is that they provide a basic room with wifi and luggage hold at an affordable rate; since I was only going to be sleeping these - and the hotel met all my criteria - I booked the hotel.  

I was arriving late from another part of Switzerland via train and my flight was early the next day.  The hotel is across the street from the tram station and is only 1-2 stops away from the airport station - both of these make it very convenient as a transit hotel.  I took the tram from the main station towards the airport and got off at the stop and walked to the hotel.  From the outside the hotel does not look like much but it looked nice and clean

As you enter, there is a small waiting area to the left and then the check-in desks.  To the right are the  elevators as well as a very large dining/cafeteria as well as more rooms.  In the back were also elevators down to the ground level where there were more rooms as well as luggage lockers.  I checked in, received my key, and proceeded up to my room.

As I entered my room I noticed 2 things: first that it was a standard ibis room and second it was verysmall room.  As you entered there was a door on right with the toilet and further inside the room, again on the right, was a small sink outside and then the shower door; the bathroom had a toilet, a sink and a shower.  Towels were provided but the quality wasn't great so I would recommend bringing your ownk and there was shower gel in the shower and a small bar of soap near the sink.   There as no real separation between bathroom and bedroom so next to the sink was the on the right-side of the room while on the left side was a TV and a desk.  There was a decent size window across one wall which faced the backside of the airport but it did provide natural light.  Overall it was a very basic room but then again ibis provides a basic room at a lower price so for me it was fine.  The room had the basic amenities that I wanted which were 1) a decent size bed that was comfortable; 2) free wifi; 3) an en-suite connected or in the room and this room provided all that.  

Ibis hotels usually do not provide many amenities other hotels usually provide, and the ibis budget provides even less amenities.  Even though they did provide breakfast in the morning (for a separate charge), there was no restaurant in the hotel so if you were hungry in the afternoon or evening then you had to get food from the vending machines provided.  I did not realize but my second night at the hotel I had booked a rate that included breakfast so I went down in the morning and got my breakfast.  I have had breakfast at ibis in other countries and the quality of breakfast is decent; not great but decent and average and I would say the quality of the food here was also average.  They had croissants, meats, cheeses, fruit and nutella spreads so while not a wide variety, a decent enough breakfast.

There is no gym and no pool but the main amenity is the wifi.  With all Accorhotels, the hotel provides free wifi – it is basic but decent enough to check and send emails.  You can pay for faster internet speeds if that is necessary, and you can also pay to access the computers downstairs if you do not have a smartphone or computer.  This ibis did provide luggage lockers which were accessed for a fee; not all ibis had luggage lockers and some kept luggage for a small time for free but the luggage lockers was a nice addition.  

Overall, the ibis budget provided a decent night’s sleep in an updated room at a low cost.  While the rooms were not lavish nor plush, they provided enough for a good transit hotel. You do not pay a lot and so low expectations are met by a basic and clean room at a low price.