Today’s reader review, American Express Centurion Club New York, is by my friend, M. You can follow him on @alwaysturnleft on Instagram.

The Centurion Club in Manhattan is located in the heart of New York City at 1 Vanderbilt. This exclusive lounge offers its members a wide range of luxury services and amenities. The Centurion Club in Manhattan has personalized service, private meeting rooms, and a luxurious atmosphere. The lounge also features a curated selection of food and beverages, including premium wines and spirits, as well as access to private showers and restrooms. The Club is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Centurion Card holders have access to priority dining reservations, private dining and lounges, an onsite concierge, and member-only events. Centurion Card holders are welcome to walk in and can bring guests, subject to capacity, but reservations are recommended. You’ll need to bring your government-issued photo ID to enter the building and complete registration.

But if you are not a Centurion Cardholder you can still visit by booking a table via Resy (at this link), or by calling 212-597-9070 between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. New York time on weekdays. You can only book a month in advance online. You do not even need to be an Amex cardholder.

Visiting the Centurion Club

There is a welcome sign on 55th floor of 1 Vanderbilt. The entrance is through Madison Avenue, and you’re then given an ID badge (to check you’re actually the cardholder), before being escorted to a lift & greeted once the doors open

The space is split into 2 bars (one more informal and loud), and 2 restaurants – along with 2 private spaces.

Bars

This is the view from the formal bar, which is small and quiet. You look out over the Chrysler building. The spirits are reasonably priced, but not a massive selection of gins.

The more informal bar (below) has nice views too. It’s a bit of a thoroughfare though, because it leads into the restaurant spaces. 

Dining

There is then a large restaurant space which felt very Amex Airport lounge – I didn’t take photos due to the number of people. The views are amazing though, especially at sunset.

The formal dining room, The Gallery, is chefed by Daniel Boulud. It’s a very pretty space with staff galore.

I had the pea salad, the midai, and the lobster. The flavour was good, the portions very European (which I was pleased about!), and the service was pretty smooth.

My green tea served as dessert for me, and came with a spectacular view

The smaller of the private rooms is The Wine Cellar with views of Central Park in the distance.

The larger room, Carbon, is adjacent to the Chrysler bar, and because someone was in there I didn’t take a photo of the room. However, it’s a big rectangle and can host around 20-25 for a table dinner

The views are of the Chrysler building and at night, very nice

I’d use the space regularly if I lived in NYC. The midtown location of American Express Centurion Club New York is excellent, and the staff very engaging.

There’s a team of concierge staff who helped me find a birthday cake at 10pm, and I was grateful!

Interested to read more about lounges? You can read more lounge reviews here. 

The post READER REVIEW: American Express Centurion Club New York appeared first on Turning left for less.

This is a reader review by Bernie. 

Kuala Lumpur has some of the best rates for 5* luxury hotels in Asia, such as Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur and Park Royal collection and the city is buzzing with new 5* hotel openings, fabulous restaurants and some of the finest luxury shopping malls.

Having recently stayed at one of the oldest 5* hotels in Kuala Lumpur The Shangri La, and one of the newest 5*, The Park Royal collection, here are my reviews.

The Shangri La is ideally placed equidistant to the Pavillion central shopping areas and the Twin Tower attractions. It is walkable, a good 15 minutes in either direction or a short taxi ride by Grab, which is fast, cheap and highly recommended. You can easily download the app and pre-pay or pay cash to your driver.

The Shangri La is the Grand Dame of Kuala Lumpur, very traditional, built-in 1984.  However, do not let that detract you, the entrance is opulent and luxurious, and the old-school service overcompensates for the lack of high tech in the rooms. 

Check-in was smooth and relaxing, and we stayed in one of Horizon Club Rooms. Highly recommended to pay the extra for inclusive sumptuous breakfasts, afternoon teas and evening canapes and cocktails. 

The staff are wonderful, the hotel has a small gym and spa and a wonderful outdoor pool, and overall although it may lack modern-day technology, it has a traditional and luxurious feel and provides exemplary guest service, almost like staying at an older Orient Express style property, remembering the bygone days of the 90s and 00s.  With fabulous restaurants on-site and a piano player in the lobby, you almost don’t have to leave the hotel.

The rooms are large and traditionally furnished, luxurious with L’Occitane toiletries, sumptuous towels, lots of amenities and fabulous, comfortable beds, some have large window views over the KL skyline, and soundproofing is excellent.

My next stay was at the newly opened Park Royal Collection. It feels new, has a youthful vibe and is in the heart of the shopping area, Bukit Bintang. You can just walk out of the hotel, and you are surrounded by restaurants and shops. No need for taxis. 

The rooms are modern but a bit modular, large and functional, and they have the most amazing beds, so comfortable.  I would not say the rooms are super luxurious after staying in the Shangri La, but they are very contemporary, comfortable and functional. There is a fresh drinking water tap in the bathrooms, and they are large and have all the amenities.  We stayed in a Collection Club Room, which gave us access to the club lounge on the 6th floor, dedicated check-in, welcoming drinks, amazing breakfasts, and beautiful food in the evenings, highly recommend upgrading for this extra as the food was excellent.  

There is also a spa and gym on the executive lounge level, a fantastic pool area, with a lovely bar, somewhere you could linger all day on the lovely day beds and sun loungers and forget you are in the heart of a city. 

Overall it depends on your taste. If you want old-school luxury, opt for the Shangri La. If, however, you are into contemporary and want to be at the very beating heart of KL, The Park Royal Collection ticks all the boxes.

Like our Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur and Park Royal collection review? You can read more hotel reviews here. 

You may want to read Take A Chance On Sri Lanka Inc Reviews Of Shangri-la, Marriott And Anantara, which is also written by the same author.

The post READER REVIEW: Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur and 5* Park Royal collection review, ‘A Vintage Cru v Nouveau’ appeared first on Turning left for less.

Today’s reader review, LOT Polish Airlines Business Class, is from Adam.

LOT – Polish Airlines. Trip report Stockholm – Warsaw – New York Jan 2023.

The original journey was booked in 2020 for a Jan 2021 event. Due to my catching Covid, the trip was rebooked. I eventually moved it twice. No problem with LOT about that. This was a paid, full-fare work trip. It’s possible to use miles to book this sector as well.

The Stockholm-Waw leg is a standard “European” biz class in an Embrarier. Same seats as in economy, but nice service. Please note. The LOT check-in is NOT done with the other Star Alliance airlines. It opens 2hrs prior. Same basic lounge as SAS. But departure gates aren’t in T-5. It’s a little walkway away from the lounge to the old domestic terminal via an airside tunnel.

Lounge

Transfer in WAW is smooth. While the “Elite” section of the Schengen side LOT lounge is nice, and the shopping is better there, the non-EU side lounge has a better shower facility. The lounge offers ground views of the tarmac and planes. Same food and beverage offerings as the other LOT lounges. All in all, WAW airport is very handy because of its one-roof concept. The downfall of having a tiny airport is that the lounges tend to be rammed, and a lot of fo flights are served via remote (bus) gates.

Warsaw Boarding

Standard sector by sector, BUT, since we got bussed to the plane, it didn’t matter.

Cabin

(Boeing 787 Dreamliner) It looks clean and fresh but is, by 2023 standards, considered to be “old school” due to the 2-2-2 configuration.

Lavatories

Nice touch: Flowers in the bathrooms. Clean and tidy, but basic amenities. Just like LOT’s non-existent amenity kit, with poor-quality slumber shades, and charter/economy class basic content, the bathrooms don’t offer nice lotions or such.

LOT Polish Airlines Business Class Seat

The seat is fairly wide and spacious and comes with a medium fluffy pillow, nice quality thin duvet style “blanket”, a sheet to cover your seat with, slippers and an “amenity kit”. Not much storage space for your bits and bobs used during the flight. A water bottle is provided at each seat.

Service

The service starts with champagne and an amuse-bouche before take-off. It’s rather nice to get a little something to snack on before take-off.

To a degree, I was pleasantly surprised by the high level of quality in terms of the food offering and service. It’s just as good, if not better, than Lufthansa or SAS. It’s not Qatar-style consistency, nor is it dine-on-demand, but no European Airlines deliver that.

The product feels very Polish, with added details to give some sort of identity to the dinner, from the Polish Pierogi option to the cherry liquor shots after dinner. I also tried the braised beef, and root fruit mash potato was delicious. The wines are good.

There was an excellent Polish white wine served. It felt unexpected. I tried all the wines on the menu, and none let me down.

The treat trolley with cheeses and cakes, presented cafe style on a two-tier cake stand, was fun and inviting.

Little chocolate-dipped plums are handed out as well. Despite the entrees being served on a tray, the mains come on a plate separately, all nicely presented on crips linen with nicely branded china and cutlery.

Between meal services, there’s a well-stocked snack and sandwich station in the galley.
There is no problem with getting drinks between services.

Talking of drinks, the refill offers at dinner are a tad too slow, and plates remain on the table a little bit too long after dinner service. But this was a busy cabin, and I’ve got similar remarks towards Lufthansa and SAS during similar flights.

On the way to NYC, I slept a few hours, and on the way back, I solid 5 hours.

You get, surprisingly enough, a 2nd hot meal just before touchdown in NYC.
This is not an obvious thing, judging by my other transcontinental flights with SAS/Lufthansa over the past 12 months.

Arrival in NYC

Small terminal, nearly no q’s. Luggage came fast, and I was on my way to the Citizen M Bowery in no time.

SHOULD BE IMPROVED: Aside from updating the hard product to a 1-2-1 config?

Amenity Kit

For an AV geek and a collector of inflight paraphernalia, the sad fabric “amenity kit” pocket with subpar products was a huge letdown. Poland has a wealth of brands and cosmetics manufacturing, so why not showcase them in the premium cabin?

I always take note of what’s promoted in the amenity kits. From Etihads’s Italian high-end cosmetics to The White Company by British Airways. So much so that I now have bedding in my bedroom from the company and only use their aroma therapy diffusers and essential oils. My old amenity kits are used for years to come as tech charger/cable bag kits. Sometimes I bring my mum biz class kits. She loves these things. It’s a missed marketing opportunity.

LOT Polish Airlines Business Class IFE

I watched Top Gun on the IFE system, and that’s definitely showing its age. Mostly used it for the inflight map, resorting to my iPad for entertainment. The choice is below average.

Ground Service

Return flight: If you plan, like I like to, to have a shower before the flight, there are NO showers in the NYC lounge LOT uses. It’s a small terminal they depart from, and it’s the old BA Galleries lounge used.

USA Catering

Also, as is the case with many airlines, the catering out of NYC was significantly less polish(ed) than prior. Some items on the menu are missing. The dish that the cabin crew recommended to me what not very nice. I ended up having a 2nd option (chicken). That’s a sharp contrast to the WAW-NYC flight, as that beef-based meal was heaven. The 2nd meal was a hot or cold breakfast. I picked the hot options.

Arrival In WAW

After getting off the NYC flight, with several hours to spare in transit and with no shower before the flight, I really wanted to freshen up. The Schengen lounge in WAW had such a small shower that a larger guy like me, with a suitcase, won’t fit comfortably to change clothing and or dry after the shower. There is only ONE shower booth for ALL male passengers.

Conclusion 

All in all, LOT Polish Airlines Business Class delivers a solid product that’s particularly suited for couples, as the seats aren’t optimal for solo travellers. I was lucky to be one of the few people on both flights to and from NYC with no one by my side. I had the window seat 2A on the way out and the 2C aisle seat from the middle section on the way home.

Would I fly LOT again? I would. Do I think that there are better airlines out there? For sure. If you get a good deal on a flight, try it out! Especially as the flights also boost your Miles / More or whatever your Star Alliance airline FF program is called.

If you like to see this “IRL”, This is an Insta reel from the WAW-NYC segment:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnZFYX6otm0/?igshid=ZjE2NGZiNDQ=

Thank you!

Like our LOT Polish Airlines Business Class review? You can read more flight reviews here. 

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This reader review, The House of Astor, is from Grumpytotheleft. You may remember his somewhat controversial review of the St Regis in New York. This review sees him revisit the hotel. 

If you’d like to submit a reader review for consideration, please contact admin@turningleftforless.com. 

The House of Astor Revisited

Following a surprisingly poor experience at the St. Regis NYC in October 2022, chronicled here, we thought we had left behind an illusion, and our dealings with that family were over.

However, having read the review, the hotel’s general manager called to apologize and offered to have us back. A VP from the corporate side had reached out as well. In need of an NYC fix and still in disbelief over a frequent traveller icon falling so short, we recently took the St. Regis up on the offer.

Jumping on the nowadays rare opportunity to confirm American Airlines transcon business class upgrades at the time of booking, we opted for an overnight flight arriving at JFK before 8 am. Stated check-in times are stated check-in times, and in order to be certain of an early check-in, one needs to either stay at a property that allows customers to select a specific check-in time, such as Peninsula hotels with their Peninsula Time offering, book a room for the night prior to one’s arrival, or have the property commit to early check-in ahead of time.

St. Regis did not offer anything similar to Peninsula Time and was non-committal, with a representative indicating instead that she would monitor availability on the day of our arrival and email us. Given the 9 am start time of her workday and our time of arrival, that was not ideal. However, at 11:45 PM hotel time on the day prior to our arrival, marriott.com showed at least three rooms available in nearly every category for that day. Emboldened by this knowledge and esperessi from the Chelsea lounge at JFK Terminal 8, we decided to roll the early check-in dice.

With the help of the newly opened Long Island Railroad Eastside extension, we beat rush hour traffic taking the train from Jamaica to Grand Central. Following the 21-minute train ride, the hotel is just a short walk from the 48^th Street Madison Ave elevator exit.

Thankfully, the House of Astor was ready, and so was our room. Check-in was swift and preceded by an offer of a complimentary bottle of water. After check-in, the newly (re-) hired, Lausanne-trained front office manager escorted us to our floor. Once outside the elevator, he “handed us off” to the waiting butler. More on the butler service below.

Shortly after the butler left the room, a welcome amenity consisting of a bottle of wine as well as a fruit and cheese plate arrived. Something to look forward to. This is typical for travel agent bookings at Marriot Stars properties, but this was no such booking. (TLFL’s partner GTC offer this service) It is also worth noting that the card accompanying the amenity was handwritten and signed in the general manager’s name. Many properties these days save time, or rather cut corners, by resorting to pre-printed cards in the name of non-GM team members.

The Room

As mentioned in the previous review, even the entry-level rooms at the St. Regis are large; particularly by NYC standards, and the high ceilings make them feel even larger. NYC real estate agents might use attributes such as outsized and oversized. Linguistics aside, they feel more like a typical junior suite providing a meaningful sitting area consisting of a sofa and armchair, a usable desk, and a large closet.

In line with five-star standards, the bathroom features a separate tub and shower, a separate toilet (a bidet seat would be an exciting addition), his and her sinks with a bathmat even the germophobic Grumpies were comfortable stepping on, and a no-fog mirror with in-mirror TV. A scale was spotted as well, but we stayed well clear of it. Importantly, the rooms are very quiet, which in New York City is a rarity.

A few points of note:

• The desk drawer contains a tray with traditional basics such as writing paper, envelopes, St. Regis NYC postcards, a mending kit, and a nail file (interesting location for the file). In addition to that, the tray holds what must be one of the neatest sets of office essentials provided by any hotel. Certainly, a much-appreciated first for the Grumpies.
• The bathrobes, one St. Regis branded, the other plain, had the strap looped in before being tied.
• Bath products could be an area of improvement. Mrs. Grumpy, a known expert in the field, confirmed that St. Regis opted for a no-name brand. No-name or not, the hand and body lotion especially could benefit from an upgrade.

Butler Service

Following the hallway hand-off, the butler customarily offered French press coffee or tea, provided newspapers, unpacked our luggage and took shoes and clothes for the evening for shining and pressing/ steaming.

We were off to a good start and ventured out into the wintery streets of Manhattan. A stop at Eric Ripert’s L’Ami Pierre bakery/ café joint venture can save an airfare to Paris. The jambon beurre and plain croissant were highlights. To ensure proper crunch, baguettes are baked throughout the day.

When we returned, by chance, we met the butler in the hallway, and he informed us that he had already placed our clothes in the room. He also had, sua sponte, cleared the coffee tray, and moved the suitcase valet stand with Mr. Grumpy’s carry-on from the hallway, where he had placed it when unpacking, to a more discrete location in the room.

Attention to detail to a degree rarely seen at Western properties, seems to be the name of the game at the House of Astor. From the handwritten welcome note to housekeeping (more on that below). Additional highlights worth mentioning include the way the hotel carries out shirt pressing: French cuffs are folded up and held in place with plastic clips. Shirts are hung on plastic rather than wire hangers and protected with paper before being wrapped in foil.

The one pair of shoes that was sent for shining without Grumpy provided shoe trees was returned with a St. Regis issue.

Butler service is a key differentiator for the St. Regis brand and is seemingly unique to St. Regis, at least in Western markets and non-suite accommodation. The Peninsula website mentions a 24-hour valet service. But after speaking about it with several team members at the Peninsula NYC, it describes the hotel’s garment pressing service and does not entail packing and unpacking or complimentary coffee service.

This time around, this key differentiator worked as advertised and was better than expected. In addition to the arrival assistance described above, we used the butler service

• for morning coffee and newspaper delivery twice
• once for coffee in the afternoon
• for shoeshines and garment pressing on two nights
• for help with packing on departure

On each occasion, a butler phoned within approximately one minute or less after paging the butler service. Coffee requests were carried out in less than ten minutes. Clothes and shoes are returned the following morning unless otherwise specified. Upon arrival, for example, items were prepared in under two hours, well ahead of our dinner time. The butler who packed our luggage on departure arrived 17 minutes after the request was made.

Packing and unpacking assistance is provided lovingly. The butler checked every drawer and cabinet and encouraged us to look in the safe.

Special Shout Out: Housekeeping

Especially when staying at a luxury property, twice-daily housekeeping is an important and often overlooked component of a stay.

Many brands cut costs in this regard, trying to entice guests to forego housekeeping with offers that make Tony Soprano and his crew look like a charity (i.e. 250 to 500 points or 5$ food and beverage credits.)

St. Regis seems to take a different approach, and the St. Regis NYC housekeeping team shone with attention to detail.

Clothes left on the bed were neatly folded and placed on the nightstand. Charging cords were carefully tied together. Slippers tugged into each other and placed inside the closet. Newspapers are placed under the coffee table. Items placed near the sink were placed on a towel, and a toothbrush left by the sink was put on a coaster. Robes hung next to the shower were re-tied, placed on a hanger, and put behind the bathroom door.

In addition to this, turn-down service is traditional and involves the placement of towels by the bedside with slippers on top. Bottles of water are set on the nightstand together with glasses on coasters. Curtains are drawn, lights dimmed, and the in-room speaker is set to classical music. A tray is placed on the bed holding a shoeshine and laundry bags together with a reminder of the hotel’s complimentary garment pressing service.

A pillow mist would be a nice touch, as would a pillow chocolate. But a dish with constantly replenished milk and dark chocolate is available in the sitting area as an alternative.

House Car

House cars are a hot commodity at many properties, with availability typically as rare as frequent flier award tickets post-covid or dependent on guests ingratiating themselves to bell staff through tips.

The hotel currently provides a Mercedes Benz S-Class. More importantly, it sports the words “St Regis” as a license plate. Thus there is no funny business as to whether the house car is available. Luckily, we found it parked in front of 2 E 55^th St both nights of our stay and were shuttled to dinner saving Mrs. Grumpy a shoe change.

Cynics might point out that the nature of the stay may have resulted in special treatment, but staff briefings and notes can only go so far; especially when a stay exceeds 24 hours. While the property’s pricing remains aspirational, we look forward to revisiting the newly rekindled romance with the House of Astor sometime soon.

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After a somewhat controversial review recently, here is another TLFL readers’ experience with Qatar. Today’s Reader Review, Qatar Airways QSuites Business Class,  is written by David. 

Qatar Airways QSuites Business Class Experience

This flight saw QR at the top of its game once the aircraft doors were closed. The personalised welcome both from the cabin crew member who would look after me, and from Ting, the Taiwanese Purser who introduced herself shortly after I boarded, were effusive and seemed sincere, even from behind a mask.

The QSuite is such a civilised environment, as those readers who’ve experienced it will agree, I hope. I like the fact that you can hang a jacket alongside your seat, that the mini-ottoman lifts up to reveal a decent amount of storage space and a bottle of water, that there’s an almost hidden shelf under the ledge that leads to the window (in the foreword facing seats), and that you’re permitted to keep a bag in the footwell for take-off and landing.

Boarding was somewhat chaotic, in that my pre-printed boarding pass needed to be re-printed by the staff at the gate. By that stage – there was an issue with the technology – the queue to board was lengthy, and not realising that QR had a separate air bridge to Business Class, I sat down to wait until the last minute. A QR staff member found me, and insisted on escorting me immediately to my seat, as the dedicated air bridge was about to be closed. A ‘classy’ airline, QR, but we sort of know that . . .

Having said which, QR performed very poorly a couple of months ago when my flight from CPT was diverted via JNB, CPT being ‘short’ of aviation fuel, and thus I missed my connection in Doha. They had too few staff to deal with an aircraft arriving at DOH in which almost every passenger had missed their onward flight, they put me in a very mediocre 3* hotel and were strangely uncooperative about re-routing me, but all that’s another story.

Back to my AMS-DOH flight. I was offered the usual signature lime and mint welcome drink – super-refreshing, for those of you who don’t know it – and then got down to the serious matter of studying the menu. The flight departed Amsterdam at 15:15, arriving in Doha shortly before midnight, so eating can very much be part of the five hours+ airborne experience.

I’m not so keen on the current World Cup amenity kit, but I guess they have considerable quantities of them to use up. It was explained to me that it is designed to be worn over the shoulder and has an elongated strap for this purpose. Very ‘alternative’, and the nod to the LGBT sisterhood is perhaps a tad unexpected. The slightly too shiny faux leather feel of the thing does it no favours, however, I thought.

I asked to see the ladies’ amenity kit and was brought one, which the Purser insisted I keep. Much better, in my view, rather like a clutch bag, again designed to be worn over the shoulder if appropriate, with a much more elegant strap. And a softer, more nuanced textured leather-like finish. Great for the Diptyque mini-toiletries.

Although not technically an overnight flight, a sleeper suit was offered and accepted. The loos were kept spotless throughout the flight, with ‘proper’ toothbrushes and toothpaste available in a drawer to the side of the basin. Compare and contrast with BA’s puny offering in this regard . . .  the toothpaste tube that QR provides is not, however – for those who monitor these things as nerdishly as I do – as generous as EK’s.

Service was excellent throughout. We landed on time, and, as nearly always on a Qatar Airways aircraft, I didn’t really want to get off.

Here are photos of some of my food choices.

If you are looking for a cheap way to experience Qatar, Oslo to Dubai is one of the best value flights. You can find availability and prices here.

Like our Qatar Airways QSuites Business Class from Amsterdam to Doha review? You can read more flight reviews here, or you can read other Qatar flight reviews such as Qatar Airways Qsuites B777-200lr Business Class Review Doha To Oslo or A Guide To Qatar Airways Business Class Seats – Which Are The Best?

The post READER REVIEW: Qatar Airways QSuites Business Class from Amsterdam to Doha appeared first on Turning left for less.

This is the second part of the Qatar/British Airways Codeshare – London To Melbourne Via Doha by reader Carole. You can read the first part of the review here. 

I’ll keep this to the actual outgoing flights.

As I said previously, my aim was to have Qsuites throughout the journey, hence booking through Qatar rather than BA.

As it turned out, we ended up on a codeshare with BA to Doha and Qatar to Melbourne.

As I was booked in Club and my granddaughter was in Economy, we went to the Club check-in at T5 where I discussed the various options as to how I could ensure that my granddaughter was able to disembark quickly as we had a short connection.

Subsequently, I upgraded myself to First and her to Business in the first sector. This meant we were both able to check in at the First Wing with a delightful and helpful BA rep, who advised that all our luggage be checked in under my name as being First it would have priority (see previous review). It also meant that I could guest her into the Concorde Room (which apparently I could still have done if she had remained in Economy)

Security was empty and we cleared it with no hassle or need to remove our shoes – a bugbear of mine   

Once through we headed straight to the Concorde Room through the small door just after security – on a side note, I am always frustrated when visiting Galleries at having to hike through the terminal, down an escalator, walk all the way back and then go up two escalators just to access the lounge.

We opted to sit at a high table in the main body of the lounge and of course, I ordered a glass of LP Grand Siecle and my granddaughter a Pawnstar Martini initially followed by a Mojito.  I opted out of the Marmite Martini as I have had it before, and although I love Marmite, it just didn’t do it for me!

 I started with a quenelle of salmon, Layla ordered sandwiches and was somewhat amused by their delicate nature, so she ordered more.

I had the burger but left the bun as I was looking forward to the delights of the four (at least) impending airline meals

Unable to resist we shared a ‘mango’ sorbet (definitely not Mango but quite delicious) and a selection of cheeses.

Sadly we had to leave as our plane was due to board – or so we thought. We sat at the gate for an hour being told that the delay was due to a cleaning issue. 

Eventually, we boarded, and I was offered a glass of champagne. I asked for the LP Rose Siecle to be told that she wasn’t supposed to open it until after takeoff. However, she had done so.  Sadly none of the crew introduced themselves otherwise, I would have names for reference.

There were already Temperley Pyjamas, Slippers, Day Cushion, headphones and a Temperley Vanity Bag with a really good array of toiletries, socks, mask, pen, toothbrush & toothpaste and earplugs.

The menu was offered and orders are taken pretty quickly, probably because the crew wanted ‘lights out’ as soon as possible, even though it was a day flight!

I chose the chilled (well, freezing) Beef Wellington and for some inexplicable reason my second course was the lamb (I like red meat) 

I rarely eat dessert, so opted for the Cheeses. I was really looking forward to trying some of the wines, but after copious amounts of champagne, I can only recall having the Marlborough Pinot Noir (which was very good, I think)

and then the lights were turned down and a post-luncheon nap was very much needed. The bed was too comfortable and I slept through the whole flight.

No idea regarding the IFE – I didn’t even turn it on.

Breakfast was offered about an hour before landing. I would have thought it should be afternoon tea. It nevertheless I just had fruit and tea.

What I found interesting was that the first cabin did not have the ‘closing door’ whilst business did, although the doors are so low, there is little privacy. When I checked on my granddaughter though she didn’t appear to have a problem with it!

AND THEN THE FUN STARTED!

We touched down about five minutes before our Qatar flight was due to leave for Melbourne. My granddaughter got off before me, and as there was a Qatar Rep there to meet me, she told her which gate to go to.  I was escorted by her to C7. It was a mad dash and quite a way from the A gate where we had landed

I waited just inside the door of the aircraft to make sure Layla had made the flight.  Thankfully I witnessed her sprinting to the door.  I took my seat and was offered a glass of Qatar’s infamous Rose Champagne together with a dish of warm nuts.  This turned into two or three as the flight took off an hour late.  Unfortunately, the seat I had reserved for Layla had been re-allocated and whilst she had a bulkhead seat it was a middle row with her luggage having to be stored in the business cabin (can I really be bothered to ask for a refund, I think not – the same with the $10 paid internet that didn’t work at all throughout the flight

My table was set for dinner with the often commented about, candle & holder. An amuse bouche preceded the ‘must have’ Trio of Arabic Mezze which was as expected with warm pita bread. 

I see in my photos I had a glass of red wine (no idea what it was but I was very impressed with the selection of wines.  I had pre-ordered a middle-eastern spicy chicken dish which was delicious.  I skipped desert.  I also remembered reading from a previous reader review about the lemon dipping oil which was exceptional!

The Steward made up my bed with a fairly thin mattress topper and a fairly substantial pillow. There was no duvet, just the cosy blanket that was on my seat when I arrived.

Then it was ‘lights out’ until about an hour before landing. I think I slept at least ten hours though I found the seat to be very hard with various uncomfortable spots.  I did close my cabin door and turn on the DND but the crew still leaned over with no warning to put down hot towels and the cute box of two chocolates.

I had been looking forward to the Arabic Breakfast which sadly had sold out so I had the omelette with a couple of veggie sausages and spinach mornay.  I just love the mini bottles of Tabasco even though they are hard to open.

I asked for tea with milk and no sugar. It was not drinkable. More like hot milk with a tea bag shown on it.  I had the same crew member on my return flight so remembered to ask for milk on the side on that flight

All in all, I was not super impressed. I felt that the crew were ‘cold’. Efficient but not proactive and at no point were any drinks offered. The BA crew were more engaging, though as I said earlier they did not introduce themselves and there was hardly any dialogue.

My previous review then tells the sad tale of the baggage that didn’t make it and the total disinterest of Qatar in solving the problem

Would I fly with them again?  NEVER!  

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Today’s reader review, Qatar/British Airways Codeshare, is written by Carole. 

I had heard and read so much about Qatar QSuite that I felt I should branch away from BA and experience it myself.

Therefore, I booked with Qatar for the whole trip, including my return journey.  As I was going to the Gold Coast, it would have made much more sense to fly to Brisbane, but I couldn’t find QSuite on the Brisbane flight, so opted to fly to Melbourne and take a local flight to Coolangatta – first mistake!

I was travelling with my 18-year-old granddaughter and booked myself into business and her into economy – felt somewhat guilty about this.

I received my itinerary from Qatar with my first flight to Doha showing a QR code, leaving from Heathrow T4.

Several weeks later, I noticed that my flight was going from T5.  I had not been informed, so checked with Qatar, initially by phone, to be told that it was a Codeshare and that it would go from T5.  I didn’t receive an updated itinerary, so it was somewhat confusing.

Eventually, I managed to do an online chat with Qatar, who confirmed that there had been a change (no QSuite to Doha) and that I would be flying BA on the first sector.  I was then emailed the new itinerary – one wonders whether I would ever have received it had I not investigated.

The connection time in Doha was originally 45 minutes, but I was assured that this was plenty of time to change planes.  Subsequently, the time was extended to 60 minutes.

Because of such a short connection, I was worried about how my granddaughter and I would both make the flight as it would have been difficult for her to disembark quickly, given that she was quite a few rows back in Economy.

We met at T5 and talked about upgrades.  I was offered an upgrade to First for about £350 and told that I could ‘guest’ her into the Concorde Room.  This did not solve the issue of her getting off the plane in time for the connection, so I upgraded her to Business on the first flight for about £850.

We had plenty of time and as usual, the Concorde Room did not disappoint.

We made our way to the gate and were told that the flight was delayed due to the plane having to be cleaned.  Subsequently, we took off an hour late, so panic had already set in as if we missed the connection, we wouldn’t be able to fly to Melbourne until the following day with a hotel in Melbourne booked and an internal flight also booked, we would have missed both.

Our flight made up some time, but a lot of people were advised that they should go and re-book, but the flight to Melbourne was still okay.

Fortunately, I had booked assistance, and there was a Qatar rep waiting who escorted me to the new gate.  It was quite a distance, but she assured me that I would make the flight – two security and boarding pass checks later, I managed to get onto the flight and ensured that my granddaughter was onboard.

I had checked with the CSD that our luggage would make the flight to be told that it would definitely be there, probably before us, as the baggage is held in containers that get transferred immediately upon arrival.

Needless to say that when we arrived in Melbourne, I checked my AirTag, and it was showing that our cases were still in Doha.

Rather than wait for the non-arrival of our bags at the carousel, I went straight to Baggage Services, who said they had already been advised that the cases were still in Doha.

I filled out a ‘mishandled baggage form’ and was told that the luggage would be delivered to me in the Gold Coast within three days.  They questioned how far from the airport I was staying and advised that the cases may be sent to Brisbane.

Many tweets and phone calls later, my AirTag was showing that the baggage was in T2 Arrivals at Melbourne, and there they stayed for five days along with the hundreds of bags that I saw at the Desk.

Qatar kept advising that they were escalating the delivery and I should be patient and understanding!!  That they would offer compensation and I should go and buy essentials – how long is a piece of string?  How many items should I buy?  How many days would it be until I saw my luggage?

I bought essentials, toiletries, underwear, swimwear, flip-flops, a hat etc, and the total cost was around $A1500.  I kept requesting information as to what the compensation was likely to be and was told that I should be patient and that I would hear from Qatar Baggage Services regarding this.

Six weeks later, I received an email advising that the maximum payable under international law was $250 and that I needed to complete a compensation form giving all bank details (IBAN, Swift, Bank Address, Reference Numbers, flight numbers, and enclose receipts showing proof of purchase!

I have done this, but goodness knows when, if ever, I will receive the money.  I felt that the airline made it so complicated and protracted that most people would just give up!

My communication with Qatar was abysmal.  I found that by tweeting, I had more responses than by email, but they insisted on DM’s, obviously because they didn’t want the Twitter community to see how inefficient they are.

My other grown-up children came for a short while, so I decided to send one of my cases home with them – and true to form, the bag was stuck in Doha on the return trip.  It did get delivered to my daughter two days later with one of the wheels on my Level 8 case missing – can I really be bothered to try and get compensation for this – the answer is no.  It is too exhausting.  Thank goodness Level 8 came up with trumps and is sending me a new wheel and have sent a video on how to fit it.

I will write a further review on all four flights, but my feeling is that I will never fly to Qatar again as their customer service is dreadful, and the QSuite did not live up to my expectation.

Since writing this, I notice that Qatar has paid the measly sum of £182 into my bank account, which gives a pretty rubbish exchange rate.

You can read the second part of the review here. 

Like our Part 1 of Qatar/British Airways Codeshare review? You can read more flight reviews here. 

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Today’s Reader review is from Craig. 

A review of Turkish Airlines flights in Business Class.

Our routing was on both inbound and outbound flights from Amsterdam-Istanbul-Ho Chi Minh City.
The Amsterdam-Istanbul sectors were operated by their A330 aircraft, which featured a 2-2-2 configuration. Not really much to add that’s not known about this configuration it’s pretty dated but does offer exceptional legroom and feeling of space. The food offered was more than adequate for the length of the flight.

Check-in 

Stopover in Istanbul Turkish Airlines Business Class lounge was first class. The space and the food were outstanding. I guess the exception to this was the alcoholic drinks selection, which was very underwhelming, to say the least, there was no champagne or Cava, only a couple of mediocre Red & White Wine and a lack of spirits or cocktails, but having said that it didn’t really spoil our extended visit. My partner even managed a shower which was booked at reception, and you were given a bleeper when a shower room was available, my partner said it was very plush- all marble with plenty of toiletries and towels, slippers, and a dressing gown.

Turkish Airlines flights in Business Class Flight

The main point of writing this email was to comment on the long-haul experience we had; both outbound and inbound sectors were operated by their A350-900 aircraft. However, we had the Turkish Specification aircraft to Ho Chi Minh City, but the Aeroflot Specification on the return journey both feature all isle access. The Aeroflot specification was a full suite with sliding doors which felt much more private; even with the sliding door open whilst sitting down, I was unable to see any other passengers.

Suffice it to say the hard product of both these configurations is excellent, which can’t, unfortunately, be said for the soft side of the service, which was very disappointing, having expected so much more.

Turkish Airlines flights in Business Class Menu

Firstly on checking the Turkish Airlines website, we thought that we would be able to select a main meal from an extensive range displayed up to 48 hours prior to departure, however, this didn’t happen, all you actually got to choose from was actually only the three choices that would be offered on the actual flight and in our opinion hardly fine dining ( Grilled Chicken Brochette, Grilled Swordfish Brochette or Pan Fried Pumpkin.)

For us, though, right from boarding, the cabin crew service and attention to detail were lacking and this was consistent across both flights, why, for instance, having got settled in your seat, they then proceeded to get you to stand up and move away from your seat while they fitted the seat topper (for sleeping) and putting a pillowcase on your pillow, surely due to both departure times it would have made sense to do this before passengers board the aircraft? Perhaps this cannot be done before you are airborne, so I may be doing them a disservice.

The only time we actually got asked what we would like to drink was the first pre-dinner drink service which was served with nuts, after which starters were served without an offer of a drink, you had hardly had time to eat your starters before they were whipped away and the main course was served, presentation to say they had a chef on board was not at all up to restaurant standard again.

No drinks were offered, and as soon as you had finished your dinner, that was quickly whipped away and replaced with your sweet, at which stage we just had to ask if we could actually get a drink! Sweets were eaten and taken away, and no offer of an after-dinner drink or even a coffee, even though the menu had them listed. Even when I did get my drinks, one of them wasn’t what I had asked for, so had to ask again to get it changed.

Turkish Airlines flights in Business Class Conclusion

Not sure if it’s a cultural thing relating to the serving of alcohol, but it left us very disappointed in the level of customer service or the lack of it. It certainly felt that all the crew wanted to do was to serve the meal in double quick time and get the cabin light turned down so that they could themselves rest. All in all, it is a very disappointing level of service on the soft side of the product, when we had been led to believe that the food was one of Turkish Airlines’ strong points but alas it wasn’t in our experience and would say it was only worthy of a 1 out of 5

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This reader review, United Airlines B787-9 Business Class, is from regular contributor Ben. You can read about how he booked almost the entire first class cabin with miles for a milestone birthday in this article. 

I was booked to fly on BA280 in Club World on 3rd March, however, in the morning I found this flight had been cancelled and rebooked on BA269 in World Traveller (economy). Given this was a two-class downgrade, owing to other flights being full on BA/AA I asked to be rerouted on another carrier in a similar class and United was offered – UA923 with the equipment being a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

Check-in

I used the United App to check in for the flight, and this was a pretty efficient offering using features you’d expect, including seat section. It was pretty easy to navigate to add my Global Entry Known Traveller number, for TSA Pre-check, and also you’re able to upload a scan or photograph of the passport to avoid having to have this scanned at the airport – usual document checks took place otherwise.

Airport and Lounge

United uses Terminal 7 at LAX and I arrived about 2.5 hours before the flight. The check-in desks looked quiet, but with travelling hand luggage only I headed directly to the security and with TSAPre was through pretty quickly.

United has two lounges at Terminal 7 – United Club located by Gate 71A and Polaris Lounge located between Gates 73 and 75A, with the later lounge being the one my ticket permitted access too.

Had a warm greeting as I entered the lounge, with a bar in front, much seating to the left with views of the airport tarmac and buffet and dining area to the right. The lounge was busy, so limited photos of the seating area to respect the privacy of the people enjoying the lounge.

I decided to dine for a late lunch, and was quickly seated and presented menus for food and drink.

Polaris Lounge Menu: 

I started with a glass of champagne, which was Lanson and selected the chicken from the menu.

This was tasty and served quickly – if not feeling the same quality as the Qantas First lounge over in TBIT but was still enjoyable – the chicken had light spice and wasn’t dry.

After lunch, I did some work at the bar and had a Manhattan that was well made – there was a good liquor selection on the bar, with the bar being staffed, so no self-pour.

Boarding the United Airlines B787-9 Business Class

I headed to the gate about 10 minutes before boarding time and there were already two long queues formed for Group 1 and Group 2. I joined the Group 1 queue. Boarding started with Pre Boarding for young children and people who needed extra time, along with United 1K.

United Airlines B787-9 Business Class Seat and Cabin

A 787-9 Dreamliner was operating the flight, and in the United configuration there are 48 Polaris Business seats, 21 Premium Plus, 39 Economy Plus and 149 Economy Seats. The flight was pretty full, and so booking late meant my seat choices were limited and so selected 10F.

On arriving at the seat, the menu, water and bedding had already been left out for me, so I stowed my bag and took my seat. Whilst this felt comfortable, it did feel smaller than Club Suite and exposed to the aisle – but this may be down to the seat I chose. There was a good divider between the other middle seats and positioning meant this felt reasonably private. The seat goes fully flat, and with the bedding out, I was able to get a decent 6 hours sleep.

I’ve not flown United long haul before, so don’t have other experiences but know there are a number of different cabin layouts and seat types, so would recommend checking in advance of booking.

United Airlines B787-9 Business Class Food and Drink

With the menu being at my seat for when I sat down, I was ready to order. 1st and 2nd choice main orders were taken, which for me was the beef dish and Spaghetti Squash Noodles.

The starter and the main course came out on a tray together, something which didn’t bother me for a night flight where I wanted to eat quickly and then focus on getting to sleep. The food was well presented, and the beef was still pretty tender, as you’d expect for a short rib dish.

As has been reported recently, United uses a Sundae cart for the desserts, and I selected the Sundae with all the toppings, and like the American Sundaes, was definitely an indulgence enjoyed.

Potentially controversial, I passed on breakfast as I had lunch planned in London – from what I saw around the cabin both options looked pretty tasty.

United Airlines B787-9 Business Class Entertainment and Wifi

There was a good sized screen installed in the seat and a good varied selection of content including recent films and a selection of TV shows.

United offer free basic messaging wifi service (no pictures), which I always think is a good feature and gives a balance of product offering against the cost and wish other airlines would offer this.

Conclusion for United Airlines B787-9 Business Class

Overall, enjoyed the flight and nothing significant to fault. The seat did feel a little exposed for me compared to other seats, but this didn’t really cause me any issues (no one knocked into it, for example).

United does have an arrivals Lounge at LHR Terminal 2, but owing to time, I didn’t get to make use of this. This flight was also my first of flying into Terminal 2, and I definitely felt spoiled in Heathrow Terminal 5 on how close the train and underground stations are.

Like our United Airlines B787-9 Business Class review? You can read more flight reviews here. 

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Today’s reader review, Santiago to Heathrow in BA Club World, is written by Sarah.

This is a review of the return leg of my trip from Heathrow to Santiago in BA First class, booked using Avios and an American Express companion voucher. This time I flew Club World.

Check-in and lounge

First, let me offer a word of caution to anyone who is planning a trip to Chile. If you’re flying out of Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, Santiago (SCL), I would strongly recommend getting to the airport at least three hours before your departure. Despite checking in online and having no baggage to check, on arrival at the airport, I joined a long queue for passport control before getting to security, which took me nearly an hour to get through.

By the time I arrived at the lounge, I only had half an hour to spend there before boarding the plane. Even if you’re flying in a premium cabin and have the option for priority check-in and fast-track security, all passengers must go through the same long passport control queue, so make sure you allow ample time to enjoy the lounge before your flight. You have been warned! 

As a British Airways Club World passenger, I had access to the LATAM lounge, which was spacious, with a good selection of hot and cold food (buffet-style), and a well-stocked bar. The bar had Chilean sparkling wine, beer, and spirits, including the national drink, pisco. I couldn’t see a drinks list, but I noticed they had a variety of fruits, garnishes, and cocktail accoutrements behind the bar, so I presume they could mix you a pisco sour or another cocktail of your choice upon request.  

There is a variety of seating in the lounge, including armchairs and seats at tables, and despite being busy, there was sufficient space for everyone. Most seats had access to wireless charging and USB charging points. The lounge also had showers available, and the bathrooms were smart and well-maintained – much nicer than in the Galleries First lounge at Heathrow! 

The flight

The flight was operated by a Boeing 787-9. There are two Club World cabins on the aircraft: a small sixteen-seat Club World cabin directly behind the First cabin, a galley, then a much larger Club World cabin. It was the older “dormitory-style” yin yang Club World seating, and I picked the rear-facing window seat 6K, located at the front of the smaller cabin. My husband was seated next to me in the forward-facing seat 6J. 

As both a Gold Executive Club member and a Club World passenger, I was in group one and boarded first. The bedding, amenity kit, and headphones were waiting for me on my seat, so I stowed them and settled in, ready for take-off. The seat had a small foot-level drawer for storing essentials like the amenity kit and headphones, and everything else had to be stored in the overhead locker. Despite the limited in-seat storage, I had plenty of space for all my things, but it would have been convenient to have my handbag within reach when stowed. During the flight, I kept my smaller carry-on bag underneath the ottoman. Next to my seat, there was a USB socket and multi-country plug socket for charging my devices in flight. 

Once we had boarded, we were brought a welcome glass of champagne – controversially, I quite like the Castelnau, though I dare say many will disagree with me on this!  

The crew was friendly and attentive, bringing around the menu shortly after take-off and taking our dinner orders. Before the meal service, they offered us hot towels, and the in-flight lead took the time to give me a Gold welcome, greeting me by name and taking her time to chat about my trip to Chile, which was a nice touch. 

For dinner, I ordered the salad starter, followed by the seared beef tenderloin, with a glass of Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine was full-bodied and well-balanced, but the salad was a little bland and underwhelming. Sadly, the beef was served far from seared, and I found it dry, overcooked, and a bit tough. The sauce that came with it was gloopy and too thick, ‘piled’ on top of the beef, and the potato au gratin was more like a Spanish omelette – it was very strange – and I regret not ordering the chicken! For dessert, I chose the cheese plate with a glass of ruby port, which was good overall, but I could have done with more than two oat cakes for my three pieces of cheese. 

After dinner, I decided to watch some of the inflight entertainment. I ended up binge-watching the “House of the Dragon”, a Game of Thrones spin-off, and it kept me entertained on the ultra-long-haul flight. The TV screen flips out from the side of the adjacent seat and could be controlled either through a touch screen or a remote. The controls were responsive, and not too laggy, which can sometimes be the case. 

The headphones provided by British Airways were adequate for TV viewing, though it was annoying that my Bose noise-cancelling headphones didn’t fit the socket despite coming with an airline adaptor. The only disappointment was that I couldn’t finish the final fifteen minutes of the last episode of the series because the screens had to be stowed for landing. While the IFE was not switched off until after landing, the fact that the screens needed to be stowed meant that I couldn’t continue watching due to the angle of the screen relative to the seat. Luckily my husband was a few minutes ahead of me and was able to fill me in on the ending! 

During the flight I opted for the basic Wi-Fi messaging package, which cost me £4.99. The ordering process was easy and I was able to stay connected throughout the flight. As advertised, the messaging worked fine for text-only, but the bandwidth wasn’t enough to send a picture message or to download pictures in emails, which suited me perfectly. 

At around 5:30 PM Chilean time (8:30 PM in the UK), the cabin lights were turned off, which I felt was a bit early for such a long flight, and considering it wasn’t close to bedtime in the UK. However, the crew was still available to top up drinks and I was happy to continue watching TV from the comfort of my seat, albeit in the dark.  I found the Club World seat to be very comfortable and I liked that I could adjust the recline without having to go into full bed-mode or ask the crew for assistance.  

After the dinner service, and throughout the night, there was a snack basket in the galley, available to Club World passengers, but it only contained packets of shortbread. It would have been nice to have a bit more variety in the snack selection, including some healthier options. 

Breakfast was served about two hours before landing, again, a bit early given the ungodly hour in the UK! Most people were still asleep when the crew began the meal service, so they kept the cabin lights off to avoid waking anyone up. In the interest of something to do, and for the purpose of this review, I decided to have breakfast, which included a plate of fresh fruit, bircher muesli, and a croissant, followed by a hot option – I went for the omelette. The food was okay, but a bit bland, not helped by the fact that I had little appetite that early in the morning. 

Arrivals lounge

The return flight was an hour shorter than the outbound flight, which was appreciated on such a long route, but still very long, with a flight time of just under fourteen hours. On arrival into Heathrow at 6.30am, I headed straight for the to freshen up and wait out the worst of rush hour before tackling the long journey home on the tube.  

It was my first time in the arrivals lounge, which boasts a surprising number of showers (94 to be exact), though they are showing their age and are in need of some refurbishment.  Unfortunately, the kitchen in the lounge had no power, so breakfast options were limited to fruit, yoghurt, and cereal, but the coffee machines were at least working. However, having eaten on the flight, I didn’t mind skipping a second breakfast. 

Conclusion

Overall, I had an enjoyable experience on my BA Club World flight. Since the flight wasn’t fully booked, the crew was able to give passengers a little more attention, and it meant I didn’t have to climb over anyone’s legs to get out of my seat, as is the case when sitting in the window seat in a busy Club World cabin with the yin-yang seating layout.  

Without a doubt, I am looking forward to all aircraft being fitted with the new Club Suites, but in the meantime, I find the yin-yang layout to be familiar and comfortable – it works well if you’re travelling as a couple and want to chat during the flight, and if you’re a solo traveller in a window seat, there’s plenty of privacy with the divider up. While there may be more luxurious business class products available, I have no major complaints, especially when considering the excellent value offered through booking with an American Express 2-4-1 voucher.  

Like this Santiago to Heathrow in BA Club World reader review? You can read more flight reviews here. 

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