Tag Archives: breakfast

Singapore Airlines First Class: The Private Room

Posted on March 13, 2013 | 10 Comments

Fiji Trip Report Index
Introduction: Belgium to Fiji in 13 flights (26561 miles, 42746km)
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Kuala Lumpur
Grand Suite at Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur
Singapore Airlines First Class: The Private Room @ Changi Airport
Singapore Airlines First Class: SQ211 Singapore to Sydney B777-300A
Opera King room at Park Hyatt Sydney
Beachfront View room at InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa
Singapore Airlines Business Class: SQ232 Sydney to Singapore
Thai Airways First Class: Royal Orchid Spa, TG920 Bangkok to Frankfurt A380

Pic: Singapore Airlines First Class Lounge at Changi Airport (Jan 2013)
When flying Singapore Airlines First Class from Changi Airport, you’re in for an extraordinary lounge treatment: The Private Room.  No guests, no Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Elite Members flying business or coach, no Star Alliance First Class passengers.  This lounge is reserved exclusively for passengers holding Singapore Airlines First Class boarding passes.  In exchange you get personalized and highly attentive service away from the crowds.

Pic: Invitation ‘The Private Room’ by Singapore Airlines First Class (Jan 2013)
My flight SQ211 from Singapore to Sydney was leaving at 9:40am, so I had to wake-up early to experience the Private Room.  Fortunately, I was staying at the Crowne Plaza Changi Aiport which is connected to Terminal 3 and walking distance from the Singapore Airlines First Class Check-in Reception.  The First Class Reception has a separate driveway for limos to pull-up.  As I wanted the full experience, I exited Terminal 3 and walked up the First Class Check-in Reception.  A porter took care of my luggage and a polite ”Passenger Relations Officer” escorted me to a marble desk where I was seated while my check-in formalities were taking care of.  Next was a dedicated immigration line where I was the only passenger present.  After immigration, a Singapore Airlines lounge agent escorted me to The Private Room which is connected to the SQ T3 First Class lounge.
Pic: Seating Area at The Private Room, Changi Airport Singapore (Jan 2013)
The Private Room has its own restaurant where you can order “A la Carte” or serve yourself at a buffet.  Here’s a picture of the Breakfast Menu.  I went for Egg Benedict and a fresh orange juice, tasty!
Pic: Bart Lapers at The Private Room Singapore Airlines First Class (Jan 2013)
 
Pic: Dining Area at The Private Room, T3 Changi Airport Singapore (Jan 2013)
After breakfast, I relaxed a bit in one of the comfortable leather sofa’s before heading to the gate for my first Singapore Airlines First Class flight.

Pic: Leather Seats The Private Room, Singapore Airlines First Class (Jan 2013)

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Grand Suite at Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur

Posted on February 25, 2013 | 9 Comments

Fiji Trip Report Index
Introduction: Belgium to Fiji in 13 flights (26561 miles, 42746km)
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Kuala Lumpur
Grand Suite at Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur
Singapore Airlines First Class: The Private Room @ Changi Airport
Singapore Airlines First Class: SQ211 Singapore to Sydney B777-300A
Opera King room at Park Hyatt Sydney
Beachfront View room at InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa
Singapore Airlines Business Class: SQ232 Sydney to Singapore
Thai Airways First Class: Royal Orchid Spa, TG920 Bangkok to Frankfurt A380

Pic: Bedroom Grand Suite 3109 at Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur (Jan 2013)
Ever since my expat assignment in Kuala Lumpur (’07-’08) I’ve visited the capital of Malaysia on regular basis.  Back in May 2010, I spotted the construction site of the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur and promised myself to stay at the property as soon as it opened.  Located adjacent to the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, the Grand Hyatt offers amazing views on the Petronas Twin Towers…at least if your room faces the KLCC park.  The rate for my one night stay was quite steep at MYR678 (€171) compared to other KL Hotels, but as Gold Passport Diamond member I could use one of my Suite Upgrade Certificates to exchange a Grand King room (47-sqm) for a massive Grand Corner Suite (105-sqm).

Pic: Bathroom Grand Suite at Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur (Jan 2013)
At check-in around noon, I was originally assigned Grand Suite 3321 which was not facing the Petronas Twin Towers.  After contacting the font desk, I was able to move to Grand Suite 3109 facing the towers.

Pic: Bathroom Grand Suite at Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur (Jan 2013)

Pic: Bathroom Amenities June Jacobs Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur (Jan 2013)

Pic: Grand Suite King Bed at Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur (Jan 2013)

Pic: Living Room Grand Suite at Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur (Jan 2013)

Pic: Diamond Welcome Amenity Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur (Jan 2013)
One of the highlights of my short stay was lunch at Grand Hyatt’s signature restaurant THIRTY8 located on the, you guessed it right, 38th floor.  The service, the food and the view… just amazing!  Similar experience at breakfast at the Grand Club on the 37th floor and again what a view! 

Pic: Giant Prawns at Thirty8 Resto Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur (Jan 2013)

Straight from the Oven Chocolate Cake at Thirty8 restaurant (Jan 2013)

Pic: View from Grand Suite 3109 at Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur (Jan 2013)
Video: Grand Suite 3109 at Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Jan 2013)

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InterContinental Resort Tahiti, French Polynesia

Posted on October 4, 2012 | 8 Comments

French Polynesia Trip Report Index
Tahiti and Bora Bora – Flights & Airfares
Hilton Frankfurt Airport
Lufthansa Senator Lounge Frankfurt Airport (Terminal 1, Departure Area B)
InterContinental Resort Tahiti
InterContinental Bora Bora Resort and Thalasso Spa
The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort (site inspection)
InterContinental Resort and Spa Moorea

Pic: InterContinental Tahiti – View on Main Pool & Lagoonarium (Sep 2012)
There are four InterContinental properties in French Polynesia: Tahiti, Moorea, Le Moana Bora Bora and Thalasso Bora Bora.  All are managed by the same owner.  Detailed information on each of these resorts is available in PDF format:  Resort Specifications, Rooms, Bungalows and Villas & Transfers

Pic: InterContinental Resort Tahiti – Wooden Hotel Sign (Sep 2012)
With InterContinental Resort Tahiti only being 5 min drive from the airport and my Air Tahiti flight TN101 arriving at 05:20am at Papeete airport (PPT), Belgian Air Tahiti Nui Captain Jan Ottenbourg dropped me off at the hotel around 6.30am.  My room wasn’t ready yet, but breakfast was being served at the main restaurant Tiare.  Around 8am, I was driven by golf cart to my Bungalow.  I had used 60K Priority Club points to book a King Garden View room for 2 nights as a paid stay would have set my back XPF45,712 (EUR383).  Thanks to my InterContinental Royal Ambassdor status, I was upgraded to an Overwater Lagoon Bungalow Junior Suite (515) facing Marina Taina and Sofitel Tahiti Maeva Beach Resort.  
Pic: IC Tahiti – Exterior Overwater Lagoon Bungalow Junior Suite 515

Pic: IC Tahiti – Bedroom Overwater Lagoon Bungalow Junior Suite 515

Pic: IC Tahiti – Bathroom Overwater Lagoon Bungalow Junior Suite 515

Pic: InterContinental Tahiti – Bathroom Amenities (Sep 2012)

Pic: IC Tahiti – Terrace Overwater Lagoon Bungalow Junior Suite 515
Not bad for an ‘airport’ hotel! :)   There was no Ambassador welcome letter/amenity in the room and the minibar was empty, but I didn’t bother as I was so exhausted from the long trip from BRU to PPT.  After a refreshing shower and a few hours of sleep I was woken-up by phone call from housekeeping who wanted to fill-up my minibar.  I declined as I wanted some more sleep, but unfortunately this resulted in an empty minibar for the duration of my stay.  Not sure if it would have been complimentary, but internet access was free of charge for Royal Ambassadors, even on a points stay.  For breakfast there were three options at Tiare restaurant: American XPF3702 (EUR31), Continental XPF3036 (€25) and Express XPF1480 (EUR12) with a fourth option on Sunday: Tahitian Brunch XPF4900 (€41)  The buffet was very colorful, but definitely not as extensive as in Asia.  In general, food is much more expensive in French Polynesia compared to other vacation destinations.  I uploaded the IC Tahiti restaurant menu’s for your reference: Tiare, Le Lotus and In-Room Dining.  Cheaper dining can be found at the Papeete Roulottes.  If you’re looking for supermarkets, exit the hotel and walk to the street level.  Take a right and walk for 5 min, at the roundabout keep right.  You’ll see a Geant Casino market at the left and a bit futher down the road there’s a Carrefour.  Great to fill-up your suitcases before heading to Bora Bora where food and drinks are outrageously expensive!

Pic: InterContinental Tahiti – Lagoonarium with Moorea in the background

Pic: InterContinental Tahiti – Lagoonarium Traditional Tahitian Decoration

Pic: InterContinental Tahiti – Main Pool Shop (Sep 2012)

Pic: InterContinental Tahiti – Main Pool Sunbeds (Sep 2012)

Pic: InterContinental Tahiti – Le Lotus Infinity Pool (Sep 2012)

Pic: InterContinental Tahiti – Overwater Motu Bungalows 49x (Sep 2012)

Pic: InterContinental Tahiti – Terrace View Overwater Motu Bungalows 49x

Pic: Bart Lapers and the Ottenbourg Family at Papeete Roulottes (Sep 2012)
On Saturday night (the day of my arrival), the Ottenbourg family (Belgians living in Papeete) invited me for dinner at the outdoor Papeete Roulottes.  We ate a local delicacy called Tartare de Thon Rouge (raw tuna) at La Roulotte Vaiete. I also bumped into fellow American travel bloggers Daraius & Emily of MillionMilesSecrets.com It’s a small World!
Pic: Bart Lapers at Teahupoo, Tahiti, French Polynesia (Sep 2012)
On Sunday, I visited Salon du Tourisme, a tourism fair for French Polynesia followed by a complete tour of the Tahiti island including a stop at the World famous surf spot Teahupoo (video).  A big thank you goes out to the Ottenbourg family for their great hospitality! Video: Tahiti – Ocean Voyage – French Polynesia

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Ocean View Pool Villa at Conrad Koh Samui

Posted on July 19, 2012 | 11 Comments


Pic: Conrad Koh Samui entrance on top of the hill (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Private Pool at Oceanview villa (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui One Bedroom Oceanview Pool Villa (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Breathtaking Sea View from Villa 311 (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Pool Villa 311 Oceanview (July 2012)
Each year in the April/May time frame, the U.S. Travel Association organizes a five week sale of (mainly) hotel loyalty points called “Daily Getaways”. The aim of the Daily Getaways campaign is to encourage domestic US summer travel and thus intended for US citizens, nevertheless both in 2011 and 2012, I managed to buy several point packages. As these points are being sold at steep discounts, the sale has become incredibly popular and the better offers tend to sell-out in seconds. My best ‘catch’ in 2011 was a package of 24,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points for $250 (€175,43) This year, I scored two great offers: I bought 98,000 Wyndham Rewards points for $308 (€237,85) and 150,000 Hilton HHonors points for $825 (€633,46) I had never heard of Wyndham hotels before and wasn’t planning to stay at any of their properties either. Still, buying those 98K points was an incredible deal as you could convert them to a lot of partner airline miles. In my case, I converted the 98K Wyndham Rewards points to a whopping 39,200 United MileagePlus miles. The icing on the cake came two weeks ago, when Singapore Airlines accidentally released all reward inventory to Star Alliance partners. An ideal opportunity to convert those cheap United miles into something very valuable… Yes, I booked a Singapore Airlines First Class flight for Jan 2013! :) More on that later.

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Villa Keycard (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Bedroom of Oceanview Pool Villa 311 (July 2012)
Back to the subject of this post, Conrad Koh Samui in Thailand. A property with 66 villa’s located on a west facing hill in the Southern tip of the Koh Samui island. Opened in September 2011, with an average room rate well above THB20,000 (€500) per night, not particularly fitting the average travel budget. Except if you collected and/or bought Hilton HHonors points. The hotel is ranked Category 7 in the HHonors program, meaning 50K points are required for a free night. HHonors Elite Members (Silver, Gold and Diamond) get discounts on the number of points required for extended stays. As I obtained HHonors Gold status for free last year, I was eligible for a 15% points discount on a four night stay: 42500 points per night (4 nights = 170K) instead of 50,000 (4 nights = 200K). Before my 150K points purchase, I had 16,565 HHonors points in my account. The missing 3435 points to total the 170K were offered during the booking process for $34,35 (€28). That brought the total for 4 nights at Conrad Koh Samui to €661,46 (€633,46 (150K) + €28 (3K) +16K points which were in my account) A paid stay at my one bedroom Oceanview Pool Villa using the cheapest non-refundable rate would have cost me THB78,523 (€2020)!

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Bathroom Oceanview Pool Villa 311 (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Hilton HHonors Gold Welcome Amenity (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui HHonors Gold Welcome Amenity (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Zest Restaurant Entrance (July 2012)
The downside of exclusive resorts like Conrad Koh Samui is their remote location. Without own transportation means, it’s quite hard to leave the resort and the nearest restaurants and shops are not at walking distance. This works in the advantage of the resorts who tend to charge much higher prices for food and drinks compared to the local market value. Fortunately, my free Hilton HHonors Gold status comes with complimentary breakfast for up to two room guests. This allowed us to take an extensive daily ‘brunch’ covering both breakfast and lunch. As HHonors Gold, we could order anything from the menu (except the Sparkling Breakfast option) and/or we could serve ourselves at the buffet.

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Zest Restaurant Interior (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Breakfast Meat Selection (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Breakfast Freshly Baked Pastries Selection (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Breakfast Fresh Honey (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Breakfast Fresh Juices (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Breakfast with a view at Zest (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Breakfast Freshly Baked Pastries (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Breakfast Egg Royal (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Breakfast French Toast (July 2012)
 For in depth reviews of the resort, I would like to refer to colleague bloggers Garry Leff (View From The Wing, part 1, part 2) John Ollila (LoyaltyLobby.com) and the thread on Flyertalk. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comment section below. Thanks!

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Main Pool (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Main Pool Infinity Edge (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Main Pool Underwater View (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Beach Hammock and Chairs (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Beach Lounge Chairs (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Azure Pool Bar and Gril Restaurant (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Azure Delicious Pizza (July 2012)

Pic: Travel blogger Bart Lapers at Conrad Koh Samui (July 2012)
 Video: One Bedroom Ocean View Villa at Conrad Koh Samui

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Sky View room at IC New York Times Square

Posted on June 3, 2012 | 1 Comment


Pic: InterContinental New York Times Square entrance (Jun 2012)

Pic: InterContinental New York Times Square building (Jun 2012)
My two night weekend stay in Manhattan was the ideal opportunity to burn an InterContinental “Free weekend night” voucher.  Every time you renew your InterContinental Ambassador status, you receive a complimentary weekend night voucher.  It’s valid for weekend stays at all IC hotels worldwide and uses the BOGO (Buy One, Get One) principle:  you pay for the first night, the second night is free.  If you’re staying more than once a year at InterContinental hotels, I can highly recommend the Ambassador program.  The initial membership fee is $200 for the first year, $150 for every renewal.  It comes with some great perks:
• Guaranteed room upgrade
• Guaranteed late check-out (4 pm)
• Free movie – One complimentary Pay-TV film per stay
• Fresh fruit and mineral water – in your room upon arrival
• Guaranteed room availability with 24-hour advance reservation
• Complimentary newspaper each morning
• Complimentary use of health club facilities (fitness gym, swimming pool, jacuzzi etc most hotels)
• Welcome gift upon arrival (often something reflecting the local culture at participating Hotels)
• Complimentary weekend night voucher

Pic: King Bed Sky View room at IC New York Times Square (Jun 2012)

Pic: King Bed Sky View room at IC New York Times Square (Jun 2012)
Using the complimentary weekend night voucher, I paid $347 for two nights (vs $693 regular rate) at InterContinental New York Times Square.  Yes, hotels in Manhattan are expensive!  My Deluxe room booking was upgrade to a Sky View room on the 35th floor offering me amazing views of the city.
Pic: Ambassador welcome amenity at IC Times Square NYC (Jun 2012)

Pic: Bathroom amenities at InterContinental Times Square (Jun 2012)

Pic: In-Room Dining Breakfast at InterContinental Times Square NYC

Pic: Sky View at InterContinental Times Square New York (Jun 2012)

Pic: Sky View at InterContinental Times Square New York (Jun 2012)

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King Executive room at Millennium Hilton Bangkok

Posted on June 2, 2012 | 2 Comments


Pic: King Executive room at Millennium Hilton Bangkok (May 2012)

Pic: King Executive room at Millennium Hilton Bangkok (May 2012)
For my first night in Bangkok (Thailand trip May 17 – May 27) I used The Great Getaway Hilton promo (valid till July 23 for stays until September 30, 2012).  Unlike some of the other ‘promotions’, this one really offers steep discounts on Hilton room rates.  I paid THB3469 (EUR89) for a King Hilton Deluxe room which was upgraded to a King Executive room upon arrival.  I enjoyed a free upgrade + free executive lounge access (breakfast, cocktails, dinner snacks, …) + free internet because of my HHonors Gold status.  How I got this status?  Normally you only get this status after staying 16 times or 36 nights at Hilton hotels during one calendar year… but myself (and many of my twitter followers) got it for free.  In the past months several links were posted on my twitter account which allowed you to obtain HHonors Gold status for free.  You just had to sign-up using the link and got instant HHonors Gold status!  Make sure to follow me on twitter so you don’t miss future deals.  I post several “Great Deal Alerts” a week.

Pic: Executive Lounge Breakfast at Millennium Hilton Bangkok (May 2012)

Pic: Lounge chairs at The Beach – Millennium Hilton Bangkok (May 2012)

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