Review: Singapore Airlines First Class 777-300ER Singapore to Hong Kong

Introduction
Planning & Booking
American Express Centurion Lounge DFW
Emirates A380 First Class Dallas to Dubai
Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa Dubai
Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai
Emirates 777-300ER First Class Dubai to Male
Transfer to Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Resort & Park Villa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Water Villa
Transfer to Male
Singapore Airlines 777-200ER Business Class Male to Singapore
Grand Hyatt Singapore
Singapore Airlines The Private Room Singapore
Singapore Changi Airport 
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Singapore to Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Hong Kong to San Francisco

We made our way over to the gate and through security (done at individual gates) around 5 minutes prior to the scheduled boarding time.  Boarding was delayed maybe 10 minutes so we had a 15 minute wait in the gate area.  Not the worst thing in the world but because the airport and lounge are so awesome, you want to delay getting to the cramped (with no services) gate area as much as possible.

Boarding was called and we were the first people on the plane.  We had both been expecting Singapore's "old" 777 first class as we thought they had been flying the "new" 777 first class solely to London.  We were pleasantly surprised to find the new version of the seat upon entering the aircraft!  To make it even more exciting, this flight is tagged SQ2 which to complement the SQ1 tag  we flew to Hong Kong last year.  Pretty awesome to have flown flight 1 and 2!!!

Singapore Airlines 777-300ER "New" first class

We were warmly welcomed by the crew and very impressed by the new cabin.  Quilted leather is so hot right now. 

Booking Marriott PointSavers

After our trip to London and Abu Dhabi, we're going to spend a couple of days in New York.  Both of us have stayed all over NYC and haven't really found a favorite hotel.  The W Union Square is great but a pricey points redemption.  The Andaz Fifth Avenue is another favorite but we're blowing 85,000 Hyatt points in London and Abu Dhabi so we were looking for something in one of our "other" programs...meaning Hilton, IHG, or Marriott.

Fairfield Inn or New York EDITION?

I loved my stay at the New York EDITION and the London EDITION is one of our joint favorites...anywhere in the world.  We are hoping to check out the Miami EDITION as somepoint in 2016.  I had 65,000 Marriott points in my account so figured that wouldn't be sufficient.  The hotel is a category 8/Tier 3 hotel meaning it would normally cost 50,000 points per night.  Thanks to Marriott's PointSavers, (a program I didn't even know existed) the hotel is actually discounted for the dates we were looking at to 40,000 points per night.  So 80,000 points gets you a $500 per night hotel room for 2 nights - that's basically 1.25 cents per Marriott point - WAY higher than a typical redemption.  You can see that the Fairfield Inn is also pricing at 80,000 points for 2 nights yet the cash rate is 50% of the New York EDITION.

I bet you can guess which property we picked.  Marriott will even let you book an award stay without sufficient points in your account.  In this case I was 15,000 points short but knew I had points coming.  More on this in a future post.

Thanks to Marriott for saving us 20,000 points on this awesome redemption!

Booking Etihad Chauffeur Service

One of the great perks of flying Etihad's premium cabin service is the Etihad chauffeur service.  There are other airlines (i.e. Emirates) that provide complimentary chauffeur service on premium cabin bookings but not on certain award tickets.  Good news is that Etihad does provide complimentary chauffeur service on award tickets.  The service is even available to business class guests.  Here are the rules from Etihad's website:

1. Guests holding tickets with confirmed reservations in Business Saver, Business Freedom and First Freedom.
2. Etihad Chauffeur is available to Etihad Guest members redeeming their miles on First and Business class.
3. Guests travelling on Etihad Airways operated flights (although holding other airline tickets), are eligible for the  Etihad Chauffeur service.

We'll be flying two qualifying Etihad segments on our upcoming trip to London and Abu Dhabi.  That means we'll get complimentary car service four times:

1)  From the Andaz London to LHR
2)  From AUH to the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi
3)  From the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi to AUH
4)  From JFK to the New York EDITION

Review: Grand Hyatt Singapore

Introduction
Planning & Booking
American Express Centurion Lounge DFW
Emirates A380 First Class Dallas to Dubai
Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa Dubai
Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai
Emirates 777-300ER First Class Dubai to Male
Transfer to Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Resort & Park Villa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Water Villa
Transfer to Male
Singapore Airlines 777-200ER Business Class Male to Singapore
Grand Hyatt Singapore
Singapore Airlines The Private Room Singapore
Singapore Changi Airport 
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Singapore to Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Hong Kong to San Francisco

The cab from Singapore's Changi Airport took around 20 minutes with just light traffic.  We arrived at the Grand Hyatt just before 8AM.  We've previously been to Singapore a couple of times staying at the Conrad near Marina Bay both times.  We were eager to check out a different part of the city and the Grand Hyatt fit the bill.  Located on Orchard Road, there's amazing shopping right out the front door.  And the Singapore Botanical Gardens are about a 20 minute walk from the hotel so the location is ideal.

Grand Hyatt Singapore

I had booked the room using Hyatt Gold Passport points and booked us into a club room for some added comfort.  At 8AM, I figured we'd be dropping our bags and head out to get some fresh air and food until our room was ready.  We were both pleasantly surprised to learn that we had been upgraded to a club level suite and our room was ready!  We've had good luck checking in extremely early to Grand Hyatt's in Asia.

Grand Hyatt Singapore in the spirit

We made our way up to the 30th floor and entered the room.  While the hotel is in need of a renovation, the room was extremely spacious and nicely appointed.

Entrance to Grand Hyatt Singapore

Upon entering the main room, there was a weird wet bar type setup on the right, a working desk, couch, and television.

Grand Hyatt Singapore Suite

The bedroom was pretty standard.

Bedroom

The bathroom was decked out in green stone which we both thought was pretty unique.  There was both a bathtub and a standup shower.

After unpacking and cleaning up from the redeye, we headed up to the club (on the 31st floor) for some breakfast.  

While there were some decent food on offer in the mornings and evenings, bar service was only available between 6 and 8pm and the lounge essentially closed after that.  In addition, the club tended to get a bit crowded at peak times so go early if you want a quieter experience.  So the extra 7,000 points per night likely wasn't worth it although we did get upgraded to a suite...which likely wouldn't have happened had we not upgraded.

We didn't spend a ton of time in the hotel in places other than our room or the club lounge.  I hear there's a nice outdoor pool and that the hotel's restaurant (Straits Kitchen) is actually very good.  We spent our days walking around the city, shopping, and of course eating.  We had an excellent Thanksgiving dinner at FOC (Spanish tapas) which I would highly recommend.

Almost December - ready for Christmas!

The two days flew by and soon enough, it was time to head home.  We checked out of the hotel early Sunday morning with no charges on our bill.  One of the perks of the miles and points game. We grabbed a cab to Changi and arrived at the First Class check-in facility well before our flight.  I'm going to add a bonus trip report segment on Changi since there is so much fun stuff to see/do. I'll cover that after the Private Room segment.

Final Thoughts:

Singapore is a somewhat tricky hotel market.  Many of the upper upscale brands (i.e. Grand Hyatt, Conrad) are tired and in need of renovation.  We both enjoyed the location of the Grand Hyatt and would definitely return if the price (either cash or points) was right.  

St. Regis Singapore

We walked by the St. Regis which I would like to check out as it's in a bit quieter location still close to Orchard Road.  The Grand Hyatt's location is spot on though - right on Orchard Road and a 3 minute walk from the MRT.

First Class Birthday: Introduction

Introduction
Planning & Booking
Sheraton Gateway Hotel Toronto
Air Canada 767-300 Business Class Toronto To London (LHR)
Andaz Liverpool
Etihad Airways Lounge London
Etihad A380 Business Class London (LHR) to Abu Dhabi
Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi
Etihad Airways First Class Lounge Abu Dhabi
Etihad A380 First Class Apartments Abu Dhabi to New York (JFK)
The New York EDITION

I realize I still have a few trip report segments to finish for our last trip to Singapore but I'm so excited about this trip, I wanted to get the Introduction post out.

I've already posted about booking Etihad's First Class Apartment and will probably be posting about the experience several times before/after the trip.

Since the timing worked out, we decided to make this a trip to celebrate my birthday.  Emily's excited as this is a step up from last year's flying east to get west adventure.

Trip route - courtesy of the Great Circle Mapper

We'll leave after work Friday evening taking United's direct service to Toronto.  The flight arrives late and we have another flight the next morning to London so we'll spend the night at the Sheraton Gateway which is connected to the airport.

The next morning, we'll take Air Canada's day flight (often called the CEO flight) from Toronto to London.  The flight leaves around 8AM and arrives around 8PM.  Pretty perfectly timed to be able to minimize jet lag and get to sleep upon arrival.  I'm still hoping we'll be able to upgrade to a Lufthansa First Class flight (connecting through Frankfurt or Munich) but that would be a last minute change if at all.  If not, we'll be perfectly fine in AC business class and I'm excited to review an option that is widely available on points in advance.

We are both really excited to check out the Andaz Liverpool in London which is located in London's East Side.  We both loved the Andaz in Amsterdam and it will be great to check out another Andaz property in Europe.

After a few nights in London, we're off to Abu Dhabi via Etihad's A380 business class.  Again, I'm hopeful that a couple of First Class Apartment seats open up (only 10,000 more miles each) but it will be cool to review both the business and first class apartment cabins on the A380.  

In Abu Dhabi, we'll spend a couple of nights at the Park Hyatt before heading to the airport for 14 hours in our first class apartments!  We're mixing it up a bit - staying a couple nights in New York before returning home to Denver.

Nearly 17,000 miles of flying

All in, this will be nearly 17,000 miles of flying and a couple of new airlines to review!  I'll post the Planning & Booking segment prior to our departure as well as a couple other posts about Etihad.  Stay tuned for another great trip report!

Review: Singapore Airlines 777-200ER Business Class Male to Singapore

Introduction
Planning & Booking
American Express Centurion Lounge DFW
Emirates A380 First Class Dallas to Dubai
Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa Dubai
Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai
Emirates 777-300ER First Class Dubai to Male
Transfer to Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Resort & Park Villa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Water Villa
Transfer to Male
Singapore Airlines 777-200ER Business Class Male to Singapore
Grand Hyatt Singapore
Singapore Airlines The Private Room Singapore
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Singapore to Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Hong Kong to San Francisco

I've reviewed Singapore Airlines a number of times over the past couple of years.  Before flying Emirates, they were my favorite airline and this was my 9th segment flying with them in a premium cabin.  Given the late departure (nearly 11:30 PM) and the fact that we were depressed tired after leaving the Park Hyatt, I didn't take a ton of pictures.  I had looked long and hard for a review of this flight to no avail.  So hopefully this review is helpful to some.

We arrived at the gate a few minutes before the scheduled boarding time.  We went through security again (like our 5th checkpoint of the day) just as boarding was called.  We made our way down the stairs to the waiting bus to take us to plane.

The bus ride was short and we were able to get up close and personal with the one of the giant Rolls-Royce Trent 892's.

Rolls-Royce Trent 892 behind the stairs

Singapore Airlines 777-200ER

10,000 Mile AA Rebate Posted

I recently picked up the Citi American Airlines Advantage card for Emily after she received a sweet targeted offer in the mail.  The card offers a 10% (up to 10,000 miles) annual rebate on award tickets booked with American Airlines miles.  While the card hasn't even arrived yet, the 10,000 mile bonus for 2015 already posted!

10,000 Mile Rebate from AA

I booked our award on Etihad using miles from Emily's account and the rebate posted the same day!  I suspect that we'll be able to earn the rebate again in 2016 when we book our next award.  I didn't expect the rebate to trigger so fast - in the past it has definitely taken more like a week to post.  This is turning about to be quite the deal - 60,000 miles for meeting the minimum spend + a 10,000 mile rebate in both 2015 and 2016 with no annual fee for the first year!

Review: Park Hyatt Maldives Water Villa

Introduction
Planning & Booking
American Express Centurion Lounge DFW
Emirates A380 First Class Dallas to Dubai
Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa Dubai
Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai
Emirates 777-300ER First Class Dubai to Male
Transfer to Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Resort & Park Villa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Water Villa
Transfer to Male
Singapore Airlines 777-200ER Business Class Male to Singapore
Grand Hyatt Singapore
Singapore Airlines The Private Room Singapore
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Singapore to Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Hong Kong to San Francisco

We made our way through the interior of the island to the jetty that contains the overwater villas.  The further the villa, the better the view.  So I just smiled and crossed my fingers that we'd keep on driving.  We eventually pulled over at villa 43 which is about half way down the curving jetty (6th of 14 to be exact).

Villa 43

Villa 43 ladder to reef

Ladder shot

Review: Park Hyatt Maldives

Introduction
Planning & Booking
American Express Centurion Lounge DFW
Emirates A380 First Class Dallas to Dubai
Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa Dubai
Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai
Emirates 777-300ER First Class Dubai to Male
Transfer to Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Resort & Park Villa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Water Villa
Transfer to Male
Singapore Airlines 777-200ER Business Class Male to Singapore
Grand Hyatt Singapore
Singapore Airlines The Private Room Singapore
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Singapore to Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Hong Kong to San Francisco

Let me start off by saying the Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa is absolutely paradise.  Getting there isn't easy (but can be a lot of fun) but it is/was absolutely worth it.  We will 100% be back.

Welcome to Hadahaa!

I'm going to break the trip report up into a couple of parts.  We stayed in the base park villa for the first three nights and then moved to a water villa for our last night.  In this post, I'll cover the resort the park villa.  Next up will be a bit more about the resort and my water villa review.  Here we go...

The Dhoni during the day

Review: Emirates First Class 777-300ER Dubai to Male

Introduction
Planning & Booking
American Express Centurion Lounge DFW
Emirates A380 First Class Dallas to Dubai
Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa Dubai
Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai
Emirates 777-300ER First Class Dubai to Male
Transfer to Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Resort & Park Villa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Water Villa
Transfer to Male
Singapore Airlines 777-200ER Business Class Male to Singapore
Grand Hyatt Singapore
Singapore Airlines The Private Room Singapore
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Singapore to Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Hong Kong to San Francisco

We boarded from the Emirates First Class lounge which basically means you get your boarded pass scanned at the "gate" in the lounge, talk an elevator down to the concourse and walk straight to the jet bridge (cursory boarding pass glance on the way).  The boarding area had already been cleared out so when we stepped on the plane, we were amongst the last passengers to board.

This flight was scheduled to be operated by an older version of Emirates' First Class Suite.  The flight to Male is under 4 hours during the day so that didn't matter much to us.  We were pleasantly surprised when we stepped onto the plane to see Emirates' "new" first class.  The seat is essentially the same as the A380 seat - just a little bit narrower.

Emirates 777-300ER First Class

Mini bar in the air

Since we flying into Male, we both selected window seats (1K/2K) so we could enjoy the views.

Dom, Date,  Arabic Coffee

Review: Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai

Introduction
Planning & Booking
American Express Centurion Lounge DFW
Emirates A380 First Class Dallas to Dubai
Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa Dubai
Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai
Emirates 777-300 First Class Dubai to Male
Transfer to Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Resort & Park Villa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Water Villa
Transfer to Male
Singapore Airlines 777-200ER Business Class Male to Singapore
Grand Hyatt Singapore
Singapore Airlines The Private Room Singapore
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Singapore to Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Hong Kong to San Francisco

The drive from Al Maha to DXB took around 40 minutes in light traffic.  It was early on Saturday morning when we pulled up to Emirates premium check-in at DXB's massive (and awesome) Terminal 3.  The premium check-in experience isn't really that in my opinion.  It's massive in scale, there's an enclosed porte-cochere with exhaust from idle engines and tons of people running around.  Nothing like the Singapore Airlines First Class check-in at Changi or Lufthansa's First Class Terminal in Frankfurt.  Definitely an area where Emirates can/should step up their game.

Emirates First Class Lounge DXB Entrance

We were happy to get inside and quickly made our way to the first class check-in desks where we were assisted with very little words and zero smile.  Perhaps due to the fact that it was early on a Saturday.  Bags checked to Male and boarding passes issued, we walked down the corridor to the dedicated first/business immigration and security.  I missed taking a picture of the business class check-in section...there must have been 100 desks.  Emirates really does "connect the world."  Unbelievable.

Which flight is Jennifer Aniston on?

Review: Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa Dubai (2015)

Introduction
Planning & Booking
American Express Centurion Lounge DFW
Emirates A380 First Class Dallas to Dubai
Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa Dubai
Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai
Emirates 777-300 First Class Dubai to Male
Transfer to Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Resort & Park Villa
Park Hyatt Maldives - Water Villa
Transfer to Male
Singapore Airlines 777-200ER Business Class Male to Singapore
Grand Hyatt Singapore
Singapore Airlines The Private Room Singapore
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Singapore to Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines 777-300ER First Class Hong Kong to San Francisco

After a phenomenal flight on Emirates we were first off the A380 and through immigration in a matter of minutes.  We hit the ATM and duty free to grab a bottle of scotch given that liquor is about the only thing not included at Al Maha.

Since we didn't check bags we were outside of customs 30 minutes after exiting the plane.  It was a sunny and warm day in Dubai as we met our driver in the arrivals hall.  I had pre-booked transportation (our driver was waiting for us with a name placard) through the hotel which I would highly recommend.  Round trip transport cost around $150.  The resort is a 45 minute drive from the airport.  The last 15 minutes you're driving through conservation park over dirt roads with little light.  Our return trip was going to be very early in the morning so we were glad to have someone that was used to navigating the route.

Welcome to Al Maha

Before I get into the review, a little background on Al Maha.  The resort is situated in the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve which is essentially a protected park owned by the government.  While others can use the park, Al Maha is the only hotel located within the boundaries.  The park is pretty massive - encompassing 225 square kilometers which is nearly 5% of Dubai.  The resort plays a pivotal role in managing the park's ecosystem and sharing all that the park has to offer with others.