Trip Reports

A collection of 41 posts

SnowSand2020

Review: Emirates EK317 A380 First Class Osaka to Dubai

After the lack-lustre experience in the lounge we got to the gate a few minutes before boarding, it was the usual A380 gate chaos with people everywhere. The gate had a fantastic view of our A380 waiting on the tarmac, something about the shape and size of A380's is just

SnowSand2020

Review: Osaka Kansai JAL Sakura Lounge

We ended up with more time in Osaka Kansai international airport than I initially thought we would have thanks to a very helpful check-in agent in Sapporo who insisted that she could check our luggage all the way through to Dubai, despite our domestic Sapporo to Osaka JAL ticket being

SnowSand2020

Review: Niseko Village Hilton

We have visited Niseko several times before, but always with a large group of friends and hence we have always rented a house when there. This time it was just the two of us, so we looked for hotel options instead. Niseko is becoming quite a popular skiing destination, and

SnowSand2020

Review: ANA NH880 787 Business Class Sydney to Tokyo

I booked this flight with 50,000 Lifemiles that were purchased during a Lifemiles promotion at ~1.3c per mile (USD), so all up the flight cost ~$1,100 AUD including taxes, which I thought was a pretty good deal. I have never flown ANA internationally before and haven't flown

SnowSand2020

Review: New Sydney AMEX Lounge

We arrived at Sydney airport and made our way to the check in counter. Check in went smoothly, thankfully I had the details of our flight departing Japan as apparently Japan require you to prove you have a booked flight departing the country if you are entering on a one-way

SnowSand2020

Snow, Sand and Refundable Bookings

It's no secret that I have a habit of booking holiday's around Miles & Points, and this trip is no different. We were keen to kick the new year off with a holiday and get away before things got too busy. However, we couldn't decide what we wanted to do and

Europe2018

Review: Etihad EY454 A380 Apartments Abu Dhabi to Sydney

After a quick break in the Abu Dhabi first-class lounge, We made our way to the gate and began boarding EY454 to Sydney. Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of the lounge, but you can see my previous review here. I have now written about Etihad Apartments a few times

Europe2018

Review: Etihad EY32 A380 Apartments Paris to Abu Dhabi

I firmly believe that Etihad Apartments is one of the best uses of Velocity points and to date it has been our favourite way to fly so we were looking forward to coming home on the EY A380. As mentioned in my intro post to this Trip Report, this flight

Europe2018

Review: Etihad First/Business Lounge Paris Airport

Our flight was scheduled to depart from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport at 10:35 am, so we got to the airport around 8 am. Check-in was a breeze with a dedicated desk for first-class passengers. After making our way through security and border control, we popped out in the

Europe2018

Review: Drawing Hotel Paris

During the Paris part of our trip, we ended up staying at a great little hotel called 'The Drawing' in the 1st Arrondissement. My original plan was to stay at the Hilton and try our luck on an upgrade again, but the rates were crazy, the cheapest room started at

Europe2018

Travel: Exploring Paris

We took the high-speed train from Amsterdam to Paris, which was a 3.5-hour journey. I really can't speak highly enough of the high-speed rail network in Europe. It is by far the most convenient way to get around and much more comfortable than flying. As I bought the tickets

Europe2018

Review: Hilton Amsterdam

The Hilton Amsterdam is an interesting hotel with quite a history, best known for the John Lennon and Yoko 1969 'bed-in for peace'. The Hotel even has a dedicated John and Yoko suite. This hotel probably wouldn't have been my first pick of places in Amsterdam, but it was reasonably

Europe2018

Review: Emirates A380 First Class Dubai to Amsterdam

After a lacklustre experience in the concourse B First Class lounge, I was eager to get aboard again and settle into the comfortable Emirates First Class Suite. We made our way to gate lounge 32 and proceed to board our A380. As we were at concourse B we boarded via

Europe2018

Review: Emirates Concourse B First Class Lounge Dubai

We landed at what seemed to be the furthest possible gate in the terminal and started our walk to transfer and to find the lounge. We were flying out of gate B32 so just kept following signs to concourse B. We finally arrived at the escalators up to the Business

Europe2018

Review: Emirates 777 First Class Hong Kong to Dubai

This was a flight of many firsts, my first time trying Emirates First Class, my first time flying a three class 777 and my first time being the only passengers in the First Class cabin. I think I have mentioned a few times now, but I had high hopes for

Europe2018

Review: Emirates Business / First Lounge Hong Kong

Our flight to Dubai departed Hong Kong at 7:50 am, so I had arranged to be picked up from the Conrad Hotel at 5:15 am. With our 4:30 am wake-up call, we packed up and made our way downstairs to check out. By the time we finished

Europe2018

Review: Conrad Hong Kong Junior Suite

I had made a deliberate choice this holiday to book into a few Hilton properties to test the Hilton HHonors Diamond upgrade benefit and see if we could score an upgrade or two. As we were only planning to stay in Hong Kong for a few nights, I splashed out

Europe2018

Review: Qantas A330 Business Suites Sydney to Hong Kong

We arrived at Gate 30 five minutes before boarding was due to start and were second in the priority boarding queue. I always like to try and board early as it makes taking photos much easier. Shortly after we arrived, they announced a 15-20min delay in boarding as, thanks to

Europe2018

Review: Qantas International Business Lounge Sydney

To be honest I didn’t have high hopes for the Qantas International Business lounge (not to be confused with the Qantas International First Class Lounge - which I do have high hopes for). Admittedly it has been many years since I have visited the Qantas International lounge and I

Europe2018

Escaping Winter to Europe With a Quick Stopover in Hong Kong

The last six months have been quite a busy time for us, so this holiday couldn’t have come sooner! But we are off, in fact, I am writing this at 38,000 feet somewhere near Manila on the first of five flights in this holiday.

Japan-2018

Review: Thai Airways 747 Business Class Bangkok to Sydney

As I have already reviewed Thai Airways 747 Business class a few times now, the focus of this review will be on the sleeping experience of the angled lie-flat seat.

Japan-2018

Review: Thai Airways Business Class Sapporo to Bangkok

After the disappointment of the Sapporo Royal Lounge, we headed to gate 65 early at 9:10 am. Boarding was scheduled for 9:20 am, however shortly after arrival boarding was delayed to 9:40 am.

Japan-2018

Review: Sapporo New Chitose Royal Lounge

We arrived at New Chitose International airport crazy early thanks to a fast private transfer and reasonable road conditions. But unfortunately, check-in hadn't even opened yet and to make matters worse none of the shops in the airport had opened either.

Japan-2018

Travel: Exploring Niseko

Niseko is about 2-3 hours drive from Sapporo airport depending on traffic and road conditions. The best way to get there is via a shuttle transfer directly from the Airport. This was my third trip to Niseko and I can safely say it is by far my favourite skiing destination.

Japan-2018

Review: Japan Airlines $10 Class J Upgrade

JAL's domestic Business class is branded class J and if purchased in advance will only cost you ~$10 above a normal Economy ticket. The domestic 777's also offer First class but it was a significant step up in cost. So I decided to fork out the extra $10 and give it a try.