Well I have made it back to Australia in one piece from the UK and much of the advice found here at this site has been invaluable.
I guess I should start off..
QF10 LHR - SIN 19Feb
I arrived at check in brandishing my recently aquired AA PLat card and proceeded to the Business check-in desk at T4 Heathrow. I knew I was susbatinially overweight and was also brandishing CC just in case. I was told that my upgrade had not cleared and that the flight was seriously full. As a consolation prize she offered me seat 40A. Honestly in my racing around I hadn't actually looked to see what seat I could get and had not asked here before hand. So I took what was offered. I was suprised to find that she didn't charge me for my excess weight (I had 29 kilos). I was alos carrying a motorcycle helmet and had no issues with carrying it onboard along side my roll away.
I made way way through customs with no issue and went straight to the Terraces Lounge. It was realtively quiet when i got in there at 1830 but it soon filled up substantially.I noticed few people used the rear of the lounge however and when I returned from going back to security to check if I had left something behind, I heard people saying there was no seats and that it was full. I went back to my seat and noticed that the rear area was still mostly devoid of ppl.
It turned out my seat allocation was to be the very front row of Y and was forward of the lavs. I was quite happy as there was ample room.
The flight itself was uneventful however I noticed that calling for an attendant was like pulling teeth. I don't think I was responded to within 15 minutes of putting my attendant light on. The attendants themselves were helpful and friendly though so i just assumed that they were busy.
Singapore - Ibis Hotel, Bencoolen street
Arrival in SIN was easy and I hopped a $9 shuttle to my hotel.
The hotel was the new Ibis in Bencoolen Street. The hotel itself is a typical Ibis and for those who ahven't stayed I guess would be the equivalent of a Hampton Inn in the US or maybe a Premier Inn in the UK. not very flash but centrally located and (relatively) cheap. This one was clearly new from scratch. The building was brand spankers and it showed.
The lobby was open and spacious, somewhat sterile (but this is singapore) however this particular hotel was certainly better than a typical Ibis IMO.
The staff were attentive and courteous, the only glitch being with my reservation. I had booked using the A[Club site and this had not filtered down to the local system. The staff had to make a few phone calls to verify my stay.
The room was not large by any means however it was clean and tidy and was on par with a typical Ibis. The bed was confortable if not a bit hard. The rooms amenites are Tea and coffee pot, a safe, 17" flat screen monitor and free internet (wired and wireless). The is a "fridge" but it is one of those tiny litle things that maybe take two cans or something.
The bathroom was nice and tidy however my only real copmplain was the hot water. I like a hot shower and the hot water takes a full 5 minutes to reach the shower. The ironic thing being that they have strategic little signs about water usage and timed showers etc. A bit difficult when the hot water takes sooooo long to get to you.
I decided due to being tired and such that I would have dinner in tnhe restaurant in the hotel. The hotel Restaurant, named Taste, is an "Asian/Singaporean Tapas Restaurant". The food was good value and very tasty with a great deal of chilli being used. I love chilli so no probs there.
The idea is you pick a number of dishes for a set price. I took 3 dishes for $15 and they more than filled me up. Having never been to SIN before the price of a beer was what kicked me firmly in the teeth. $10 for a half pint (pot) of tiger. I had one and stuck to the water. The dessert was reasonable at $4 each. I had banana fritters and the were quite nice but could have done with some sugar or ice cream.
Breakfast was included in the price of my room however is normally priced at $15 and is a full American style buffet. they had everything and it was quite fresh.
The location is very central, right near the LIM SIM?? centre..(the 6 storey one that does computers and cameras and stuff), and is about a block from the bottom of Orchard rd.
I spent two nights at the Hotel and was quite happy with the location and the hotel in general. I forgot to book a return trip to the airport and the hotel staff took care of it for me wiht no hassles.
QF10 SIN-MEL 22FEB
I went on Checkmytrip.com first thing that morning to see if I had been put on waitlist only to find my upgrade had come through. I was quite excitied as this would be my first flight in business class. I arrived at the airport only to be directed to the "premium check in area" wher I sat down and was told that my upgrade had come through but it had not been linked up to my original ticket number. This took about 15 mintues to rectify and I was straight into customs with no further ado.
Upon clearing customs I met up with a friend who was catching same flight and we went into the QP. I was pleasantly suprised to see how spacious it was in there.
After a few drinks I made my way down to the flight. As luck would have it J was relatively unoccupied and I was offered virtually any aisle seat (windows were all full) I wanted. I took 16J (upstairs, exit row) and settled in for the flight. Having never flown business class I was excited (and it probably showed!). The seat was the older style I think (not lie flat) but was comfortable all the same. I was slightly taken at the noise on take off. My only (albeit monir) complaint was that they never fully switch the lights off in the upstairs cabin, and they rotated through blue and pink ambience. This I found harder to sleep, but i did sleep all the same. The flight again was uneventful and I slept much of the way. I must admit this was the best use of FF points IMHO as I have never gotten off a long haul flight feeling so relaxed. I am now most likely to splurge for them from now on.
Thanks again to all of you folks here that contributed to helping me make the most of my flight. I do have some photos of the hotel but honestly have no idea how to post them up here. I will add once I have figured it out.
Cheers
I guess I should start off..
QF10 LHR - SIN 19Feb
I arrived at check in brandishing my recently aquired AA PLat card and proceeded to the Business check-in desk at T4 Heathrow. I knew I was susbatinially overweight and was also brandishing CC just in case. I was told that my upgrade had not cleared and that the flight was seriously full. As a consolation prize she offered me seat 40A. Honestly in my racing around I hadn't actually looked to see what seat I could get and had not asked here before hand. So I took what was offered. I was suprised to find that she didn't charge me for my excess weight (I had 29 kilos). I was alos carrying a motorcycle helmet and had no issues with carrying it onboard along side my roll away.
I made way way through customs with no issue and went straight to the Terraces Lounge. It was realtively quiet when i got in there at 1830 but it soon filled up substantially.I noticed few people used the rear of the lounge however and when I returned from going back to security to check if I had left something behind, I heard people saying there was no seats and that it was full. I went back to my seat and noticed that the rear area was still mostly devoid of ppl.
It turned out my seat allocation was to be the very front row of Y and was forward of the lavs. I was quite happy as there was ample room.
The flight itself was uneventful however I noticed that calling for an attendant was like pulling teeth. I don't think I was responded to within 15 minutes of putting my attendant light on. The attendants themselves were helpful and friendly though so i just assumed that they were busy.
Singapore - Ibis Hotel, Bencoolen street
Arrival in SIN was easy and I hopped a $9 shuttle to my hotel.
The hotel was the new Ibis in Bencoolen Street. The hotel itself is a typical Ibis and for those who ahven't stayed I guess would be the equivalent of a Hampton Inn in the US or maybe a Premier Inn in the UK. not very flash but centrally located and (relatively) cheap. This one was clearly new from scratch. The building was brand spankers and it showed.
The lobby was open and spacious, somewhat sterile (but this is singapore) however this particular hotel was certainly better than a typical Ibis IMO.
The staff were attentive and courteous, the only glitch being with my reservation. I had booked using the A[Club site and this had not filtered down to the local system. The staff had to make a few phone calls to verify my stay.
The room was not large by any means however it was clean and tidy and was on par with a typical Ibis. The bed was confortable if not a bit hard. The rooms amenites are Tea and coffee pot, a safe, 17" flat screen monitor and free internet (wired and wireless). The is a "fridge" but it is one of those tiny litle things that maybe take two cans or something.
The bathroom was nice and tidy however my only real copmplain was the hot water. I like a hot shower and the hot water takes a full 5 minutes to reach the shower. The ironic thing being that they have strategic little signs about water usage and timed showers etc. A bit difficult when the hot water takes sooooo long to get to you.
I decided due to being tired and such that I would have dinner in tnhe restaurant in the hotel. The hotel Restaurant, named Taste, is an "Asian/Singaporean Tapas Restaurant". The food was good value and very tasty with a great deal of chilli being used. I love chilli so no probs there.
The idea is you pick a number of dishes for a set price. I took 3 dishes for $15 and they more than filled me up. Having never been to SIN before the price of a beer was what kicked me firmly in the teeth. $10 for a half pint (pot) of tiger. I had one and stuck to the water. The dessert was reasonable at $4 each. I had banana fritters and the were quite nice but could have done with some sugar or ice cream.
Breakfast was included in the price of my room however is normally priced at $15 and is a full American style buffet. they had everything and it was quite fresh.
The location is very central, right near the LIM SIM?? centre..(the 6 storey one that does computers and cameras and stuff), and is about a block from the bottom of Orchard rd.
I spent two nights at the Hotel and was quite happy with the location and the hotel in general. I forgot to book a return trip to the airport and the hotel staff took care of it for me wiht no hassles.
QF10 SIN-MEL 22FEB
I went on Checkmytrip.com first thing that morning to see if I had been put on waitlist only to find my upgrade had come through. I was quite excitied as this would be my first flight in business class. I arrived at the airport only to be directed to the "premium check in area" wher I sat down and was told that my upgrade had come through but it had not been linked up to my original ticket number. This took about 15 mintues to rectify and I was straight into customs with no further ado.
Upon clearing customs I met up with a friend who was catching same flight and we went into the QP. I was pleasantly suprised to see how spacious it was in there.
After a few drinks I made my way down to the flight. As luck would have it J was relatively unoccupied and I was offered virtually any aisle seat (windows were all full) I wanted. I took 16J (upstairs, exit row) and settled in for the flight. Having never flown business class I was excited (and it probably showed!). The seat was the older style I think (not lie flat) but was comfortable all the same. I was slightly taken at the noise on take off. My only (albeit monir) complaint was that they never fully switch the lights off in the upstairs cabin, and they rotated through blue and pink ambience. This I found harder to sleep, but i did sleep all the same. The flight again was uneventful and I slept much of the way. I must admit this was the best use of FF points IMHO as I have never gotten off a long haul flight feeling so relaxed. I am now most likely to splurge for them from now on.
Thanks again to all of you folks here that contributed to helping me make the most of my flight. I do have some photos of the hotel but honestly have no idea how to post them up here. I will add once I have figured it out.
Cheers
