3 continents in 3 week - F adventure

[drron]

Am I the only person on the planet that is left cold by Dubai? The ostentatiousness (so can't be a word) turns me off completely. Saying that, I'd happily close my eyes while on the ground to be up in the air in the bling of EY and EK F!

You are definitely not alone.

 

[mitti]

Am I the only person on the planet that is left cold by Dubai? The ostentatiousness (so can't be a word) turns me off completely.

I completely agree. Aus to Europe I would much rather transit through almost any other location. I find Dubai Airport to be a stomach turning and migraine inducing place to do a transfer, even with the EK F lounge. The sights, sounds and smells do not agree with me. Too many shiny surfaces and odious perfume shops.

 

[JohnM]

Puff, puff - late aboard but now settled in.

 

[craven morehead]

EK have been very good to us travelling as SG and WP - upgrades on almost every flight - from Y - J, and J - F. F is truly memorable. I had been drinking Moet in their lounge and was pleased to realise that I would be able to continue on the plane. Got that delightful red light as I went to board - from J to F. I asked for Moet on the plane - "Ah sorry Madam, we serve Dom Perignon here". Oh, well, just this once I will slum it.

Dom P 2006 a most reasonable drop

 

[TomVexille]

Just catching up to this excellent report.

And your planning thought process sounds rather familiar

 

[craven morehead]

Am I the only person on the planet that is left cold by Dubai? The ostentatiousness (so can't be a word) turns me off completely. Saying that, I'd happily close my eyes while on the ground to be up in the air in the bling of EY and EK F!

Most definitely over the top bling. Service was top notch however.

 

[mmchow]

Love these two pictures.

We never made it to the first mall - which of the 2 did you prefer?

Agree re the cost of alcohol there which makes the Club rooms very worthwhile.

Prefer Dubai Mall, purely because it is close to Khalifa and the fountain show. Other than that, all Mall is same to me

 

[mmchow]

Just catching up to this excellent report.

And your planning thought process sounds rather familiar

I'm catching up myself too. NYC has kept me busy. Time to catch up on my write up tomorrow on my 21hrs flight

 

[mmchow]

For our last day in Dubai, we decided to head back to the Spice souk to pick up some goodies. We took the abra across the creek again - something special with this abra and I really enjoyed the short journey.

Decided to pick up some scarf for my colleagues and we bargained our way in from AED150/ piece to AED115 for 2 pieces. Felt happy with the outcome.

We had a booking made for the observation deck in Burj Khalifa at 4 so we headed to Dubai Mall. We were admitted at 3:30 and it took 40 minutes to get to Level 124, including security screening, waiting etc.

20 minutes later, we were bored so decided to head back down. Again, another 20 minutes wait. Our ticket includes a coffee and a pastries at the ATT Cafe. The zaatar croissant is good. Final look at the tallest building of the world before we head back to the hotel for our flight out of Dubai.

 

[mmchow]

We requested a pick up 5 hours before the flight given we had checked out of the hotel at 4pm. We had 2 hours to kill so decided to head over to the Astor Bar for a Bloody Mary but got turned down due to +1 shoes is not dressy enough for the venue (smart casual sneaker not dressy enough? FINE!!) We headed back to Westin for a drink before the chauffeur arrived to whisk us to Dubai Airport.

We arrived at the First/ Business check in area and the place is sterile; empty, quiet and no one to be seen (was told they were very busy an hour ago).

Check in was painless apart from the SSSS on my boarding pass (2nd in a row).
Our departure gate is at concourse B but we decided to check out concourse A first. A quick train ride later, we are at the first class lounge. First up, a massage at Timeless Spa.

Next, the lounge. Where do I even begin? Its long, with heaps of seating all around. Felt a sudden coldness when i saw the lounge.

Food wise, buffet and a la carte style food is available but was advised that a la carte may take longer as they'll have to bring the food over from Concourse B. Checked out the sleeping area and the cigar bar - like the decor of the cigar bar better

 

[mmchow]

More souls to be seen at Concourse B lounge and the layout was somewhat similar. Suppose the presence of people make the lounge a little lively. Also felt this Lounge has a little warmth compare to A.

Not long after, boarding calls and we headed to the gate from the lounge.

I needed the extra screening so I was escorted to the lower level for the extra screening - just a few swabs on the body and bag and I'm on my way back up to level 2. I was expecting a thorough pat down like I had in Hong Kong 11 months ago but this was painless and easy.
A familiar look awaits.

 

[mmchow]

We were seated 3C and 3D. With 8 suites free, we requested to have the bed made in the window seat.

2006 Dom Perignon was served followed by amenity kit, pyjamas and slippers. I was also given a female kit after requesting to swap my male kit to a female one. Arabic coffee and dates were served before takeoff.

Right after takeoff, we went straight to sleep and woke up 5 hours later. Bedding and duvet was good but +1 find it hard to sleep (stomach sleeper).

Headed back to the back of the bar to stretch out and have a few drinks. The crew took a few bottles from the first class menu to the bar. The crews were friendly and we chatted, talking about NY, life as an air steward/es etc. The Emirates bar is a fun place to hang out. There are a few selection of finger foods available at the bar.

Come food time, first up, trio of appertiser with a glass of Dom, followed by caviar with a shot of Grey Goose vodka, a starter of Arabic mezza and an apple tart tartin to finish off the meal.

I was dominated by the end of the feast.

 

[andy2015]

That has to be the largest serving of caviar I have seen on a EK F review .

 

[Pushka]

That has to be the largest serving of caviar I have seen on a EK F review .

You are right. I guess with a few pax they open the can ? and use it all up. I'd find that amount too much and would feel bad about the waste.

 

[mmchow]

You are right. I guess with a few pax they open the can ? and use it all up. I'd find that amount too much and would feel bad about the waste.

Haven't come across a full F EK cabin before but they are quite generous with the serving size. Compare to other airlines, they serve it in a single serve tin.

 

[Pushka]

Haven't come across a full F EK cabin before but they are quite generous with the serving size. Compare to other airlines, they serve it in a single serve tin.

Flights from Adelaide are usually chockers to Dubai so all cabins are usually full. I am keeping my fingers crossed for MrP tomorrow night who is flying Y because the client booked the seats! Merde. He is WP and on a paid flight so fingers crossed.

 

[mmchow]

Flights from Adelaide are usually chockers to Dubai so all cabins are usually full. I am keeping my fingers crossed for MrP tomorrow night who is flying Y because the client booked the seats! Merde. He is WP and on a paid flight so fingers crossed.

Hope MrP chances are good in getting an upgrade tomorrow. My track record with EK in upgrades are poor as a WP. My success was better as a bronze

 

[craven morehead]

That has to be the largest serving of caviar I have seen on a EK F review .

I was lucky a couple of weeks back as well

 

[mmchow]

On board shower - heated floor, larger bathroom compared to EY and 5 minutes shower time. Couldn't ask for more.


The new bath products (Voya) they have onboard was significantly better than the timeless spa products.

I complimented on the new range and a few minutes later, they brought me a bag full of the products to go. Now that's a service. A cup of tea and a plate of fruits were served after the shower (no photo as I ate/drink em only to realise I've forgotten to take a photo )
Not long after, we arrived into JFK. The taxing took 15 minutes and soon after, a goodbye to the Emirates crew. The crew were fantastic on this flight and I couldn't ask for more.

 

[mmchow]

Our hotel stay in NY was somewhat interesting - for the 7 nights, we have 5 reservations over 3 hotels. The first night was in Aloft Manhattan ($120/night). I have yet to stay in an Aloft and SPG is running the Big Brand Bonus promotion so a stay in Aloft will check me into 10 properties this year. Room was somewhat small but functional. Complimentary coffee and tea all day in the lobby area.

2nd reservation was into W Downtown under the Luxury Privileges. Daily rate was $220 inclusive of breakfast and $100 F&B credit. Upgraded to corner room with World Trade centre view. Breakfast was limited to a few selections due to renovation of the restaurant. Drinks in the evening at Living Room bar was good but the food was bad - chef must be having a bad day. Complementary tea/ coffee is only limited in the morning, up till 9am.

3rd, 4th and 5th reservation was into W New York, first being a Luxury Privileges booking. Daily rate for all 3 bookings were reasonable ($220/ night) and I've applied my suite upgrade request, which was approved. The suite has a separate living area and a slightly larger bathroom. For breakfast, we were given a selection of one item out of the three (SPG platinum). We were given full breakfast for the 5 nights thanks to the lovely check in agent. Complimentary coffee is limited from 7-8am weekdays and 7-8:30am weekend. Warm apple cider is available from 9am-9pm daily.