Re: Dubai & Jordan by EK/QF First; from Moses to Lawrence of Arabia and lots in betwe
The three hour trip in Y back to Dubai was quite a contrast to the one over. Exact same seat for me, but quite different service. I got exactly what I paid for this time
. No special welcomes, no offer of champers from J. Just standard service and Y dinner - which wasn't bad. I can see what people have said before about EK service either being tops or not-so-good. This was OK, but the lady serving dinner kept calling it lunch (bit of language confusion there) and in spite of the people around me asking twice for coffee, it never arrived.
On departure taxi, there were 5 people within my sight blatantly using mobile phones, including the guy 1 row in front of me on the other side of the aisle, making calls, with the FA standing right in front of him. That annoys me more than the phone usage - either enforce the rule or don't have the rule! Eventually I couldn't stand it and lent forward and asked the guy to hang up (he did, but the phone didn't go off, of course).
At Dubai airport I parted company with my friends and travelling companions, who were going on to Europe (they were originally staying on in Dubai with me, but changed plans). I stayed on for another 2 nights in Dubai, at the Le Meridien Dubai Airport, in a pre paid Royal Club room. I wasn't planning to do much in the final day in Dubai, intending just to schmooze around the hotel.
Le Meridien got of to a really good start. Royal Club guests get airport transfers, so after arriving at the desk immediately to the left airside I was escorted to the car which was immediately outside. Two people - the driver and a young lady who checked all my details, offered a cold towel (wonderful) and phoned ahead with my arrival drink order (it was about 9:30pm at this time).
On arrival I was taken straight to my room, (past the Club 'check in desk') and checked in there. That was a bit strange, and awkward, as she had to take my passport away to copy it (which I normally don't allow, but relented under the circumstances). The fresh OJ arrived, and I was left in my room.
Room was very nice, comp Wi-Fi with the Royal Club. Its low rise, so I was on the first (and top) floor in the club wing, on a corner. Through the curtains in the LH pic isn't a window, I found the next morning when I opened them, but a second bathroom, with a bath! ... and then the windows.
It was at that point that I realized that I had been told nothing about the hotel. I wanted a drink and somewhere to check e-mails, so I went down to the club desk and asked to be pointed to the nearest bar. This is when the weird kicked in. I was then led through the Club Lounge to the outside terrace; past the Club pool, down a garden path (so to speak); then through a glass door at the end of the Club garden area at which point the lady pointed down another path 'through there'. Growing annoyed at the ridiculousness of being taken outside and pointed 'down there', and being told repeatedly that there was NO bar open inside (it was 10pm), I rebelled and went back to my room to have an expensive G&T and some nuts from the mini bar.
I really hate drinking alone in hotel rooms! So went for an explore by myself, back past the Club desk and to the lobby. Where I found, naturally, the lobby bar open and doing business. Boy, that was annoying. So I sat and had a much cheaper G&T and free nuts and finished my e-mails.
The Club Lounge was very nice. On the ground floor, done in padded lounges and easy chairs, with Champagne on ice at breakfast time. Afternoons there is very nice 'high tea' with scones, cream etc.
Only grumble about the lounge was that if you wanted to sit outside in the shade on the terrace, you had to put up with second hand smoke.
There is a pool for Club members (small, but that's expected - a bit bigger as in the pic below) but they never seemed to come and take drinks orders. Everyone I saw there (and me) had to go over and peer into the lounge to get some-one's attention. The RH pic below is the lobby of Le Meridien.
I really shouldn't use this space to grumble about the hotel, as its First World problems, but it was a never ending series of individually small, but coughulatively pretty annoying service lapses and glitches from start to finish. The Duty Manager made the mistake of asking me how my stay was when I left, so I handed him my feedback form. He opened and read it there and then (good) and we then had a 5 minute conversation about the shortcomings I found. I got a follow-up e-mail with an upgrade offer for my next stay, which was nice, but for the price it wasn't a good stay at all. Given the choice in Dubai, I won't be going back. I think the hotel must suffer from 'airport overnight stay' syndrome - where they are used to guests just checking in at night and out the next morning and can't do the proper service for longer stays - although there must have been 12 people or so in and around the pool when I was there in the afternoon.
Anyway, I had to do something, I nipped into Diera and visited the gold souq, the Creek area again, then got on the metro and went back to Dubai Mall to buy a few things that I found the first time I was there.
Next morning Qantas Chauffer Drive picked me up on time and without a problem and deposited me to the Emirates J /F terminal.
Check in was a bit odd. Qantas F counter had no-one there (2.5 hrs before departure), so I moved across to the J counter. Handed the Emirates-uniformed lady my passport and named QF2 as my flight, please. After a bit of tapping she mentioned "This is Qantas check-in, you know." I assured her that I did know that and I was hoping to be on QF 2. "You aren't flying Emirates, then?" I looked about. Yes, this
was the Qantas check-in counter. Anyway, she must have found me as the BP popped out and I was on my way.
Memo to Qantas - might want to get some of your own agents at your check-in counters AND have some-one at the F counter from, say T-2.5 at least.
Onwards to the EK F lounge for a second look, and breakfast. Nice fresh orange juice and some champagne. Followed by some light chicken pancakes. Not too much, but just to take the edge off.
I've posted elsewhere about our departure procedure that day. You catch an elevator from the lounge to the air bridge. After a boarding call we all heard (at the time stated on my BP), about a dozen passengers wandered over to the elevator area, and were effectively shooed back, being told that that was a Y departure call - we should wait for the F call. After another 5 or so mins there were maybe 20 F lounge pax milling about. 5 mins more and a boarding call, this time actually in the lounge and we queued, with very slow PB scan and then a thorough carry-on bag check. At one stage I counted 30 people in this queue.
Anyway, no great deal and I was soon in 3A on QF2 for the ride home.
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