How The West Was Flown To (Virgin Style)

[anat0l]

On a clear day, I can see the end of my thesis in sight. Hopefully...​

With another milestone of my thesis journey set to be behind me, the lure of getting away after it was too attractive. Besides, I still had that $100 meal voucher from Priority Privilege to burn up, and I didn't think hard about not deciding to blow it at the Brisbane local haunt MJ's (Holiday Inn). I also thought about trying Virgin's new Business product on their coast-to-coast service. Hey, at 6,900 points + a bit less than an Economy sale fare, even if it earns nothing it was a bit too tempting to pass up.

And that is how you piece a bunch of objectives together to form a weekend getaway.

If you're looking for a review of many things Virgin, here's a report that will offer a view. Normally I'm a QFFer, but seeing as I had a comped VFF status and a new Virgin shoring up, I thought it was really only right to give them another go. This time it was some of the best they had to offer.

 

[anat0l]

Fri 14 Oct

Friday 14 October


Today was the day of my last thesis milestone. Pass this one, then the next milestone was submission of my thesis. They always have these milestones to make sure you're on track; in this case, it was a test to see whether it was possible for me to finish my thesis in six months.

I had booked the flights and planned my day almost to a T. In the morning - finish preparing the milestone seminar. In the afternoon - deliver seminar. Then face the review panel (including one panel member via Skype). As soon as review panel was finished, rush home. Pack bags. Get to airport. Then the last flight out to Sydney.

Well the day went pretty well overall. I survived my seminar and reasonably fended off a barrage of testy questions. The review panel was critical but they eventually conferred the advice that finishing my thesis in six months was possible, albeit would require "hard work" (what else is new?). I barely had time to soak in the panel's comments and do a "celebration dance" with my colleagues before I had to split to drive home.

Packing was fairly easy - I already had the empty rollaboard open on my bed, so in went a few days of clothes, a couple of amenities (because hotels won't provide all of them) and slapped on top my work bag sans any work files (mainly carrying my trusty laptop). Cleaned up around the house, then called a taxi.

Part of me panicked when I realised that I was calling a taxi to pickup during the peak of around 6.00pm - 7.00pm. Fortunately, a taxi not too far away picked up my job and made my way to my house in a timely fashion. Another quick check around the house that all was secure, then out the front door, a twist of the key in the lock and I was on my way to the airport.


On arrival at BNE D, I asked the cabbie to drive a little further as I was flying Virgin tonight, not my usual Qantas. Into the terminal with my already printed A4 boarding pass in hand, I headed for Priority Security. Well, it wasn't really Priority Security - anyone waltzed into any line (including the "Priority" line) and no one cared. Guess it wasn't a big deal - lines were only about 3 deep when I got there, which was enough to grab trays to get prepared. As always, skilful timing by the savvy traveller will always reward one with escaping the explosives test. I then proceeded up the escalators and to the right to the VA lounge. Bundy Bear, also heading down to SYD on the last flight for the night, was already in the lounge and ahead of me in the alcohol derby.

The lounge wasn't too full, which is what you'd probably expect at that time of the evening. There were quite a few clumps of people and definitely those that didn't look like the business type (or had "beach casual" as their normal business attire). Certainly no shortage of people who had no hesitation in trying to make a dent in the lounge's beer fridge.

Now as the savvy AFFer will know, a flight that departs BNE at 2000h should arrive in SYD at 2230h when DST is on, which is precisely 30 minutes before SYD closes due to the sadis_ curfew. So it comes to no wonder that I was scratching my head nervously when our scheduled departure time of 2000h suddenly passed by, with no signs yet that the flight was boarding. A few concerned suits approached the service counter voicing firmly their concerns of getting out of BNE on time. It's times like these when every minute literally counts. I couldn't really afford to reschedule to tomorrow and catch the first service to SYD, as my connecting flight's departure would only give me a margin of 30 minutes - not workable nor legal. The Gods must be playing high-stakes poker as by some divine stroke of luck, within some minutes after 8pm we were called upon to board our flight.


Flight: Virgin Australia DJ992 Brisbane (BNE D) - Sydney (SYD T2)
Depart: 2000h Sched; 2015h Actual
Distance: 467 mi (752 km)
Aircraft: VH-VBK "Lady Victoria" Boeing 737-700
Class: Premium Economy
Seat: 2C


Once we got to the gate, Bundy Bear and I stepped to the right side to use the Priority Boarding. For a flight which became time critical to board quickly, I was very surprised by Virgin's decision to only have one attendant boarding the entire aircraft at the gate. Priority Boarding simply meant that if we were there, we got tended to first by the gate agent. Whilst we definitely got on the aircraft earlier than a large number of people, I really wonder if Virgin would've shaved some minutes off boarding if they had two agents boarding passengers.

On board, we got an old Virgin Blue aircraft, with rows 1 and 2 set up for PE. Row 3 was a red row but set up for Economy; probably reserved for Golds and higher, which explains why Bundy Bear managed to finagle a seat there.

Row of red Premium Economy seats

Seat backs with integrated mini-screen

I got seated fairly quickly as I hoped everyone else getting on board did too. Would be a definite bummer if we all got on but not fast enough for SYD ATC's liking. PE loading was rather light as I ended up with 2A free and 2DF were also empty. Row 1 had 3 people sitting in it, including 1 self-righteous suit who was making a sadis_ bet that we wouldn't take off in time. The FA opposite him kept on confirming in a rather naive tone that "we had plenty of time".

Finally, the Captain spoke, "Folks, this is a curfew flight. We'd really appreciate if you could quickly stow your bags and be seated as quickly as possible, as we have to push back within 5 minutes or no one is going to Sydney."

Just what the doctor should've prescribed. The Captain's words must've done the trick, for within a shave of five minutes later we shut the doors and were pushing back. Thank bl**dy God for that! As you can see above, FlightStats had us "departing" at 2015h, but I had a feeling that we were at least 5-10 minutes later than that before we pushed back.

Reach up!

Every customer in PE was supplied with a bottle of water at the start of the flight, along with mono earbuds to listen to the entertainment system. Yep, you heard me right (no pun intended) - mono earbuds. Rather too rattly for my liking, they met the bottom of a rubbish bin not too long after I gave them a go. Still, if you need one, you got something.

Bottle of water and mono earbuds

When time is of critical importance and you don't want to play Overhead Gridlock, empty seats provide a source of much needed space

 

[anat0l]

Fri 14 Oct

As soon as we were airborne and the seat belt signs were switched off, the cabin service began. As everyone is familiar with Virgin Australia's service, it is buy on board for all, except for Flexi ticket customers who get some free stuff, and for PE customers everything is free. The full selection was available tonight except for the much touted pies - damn. I settled for the enticing New Yorker sandwich, a cookie and a white wine. The FA methodically placed my order on my tray table as if she were lining up a plate and utensils for a fancy party.

New Yorker sandwich, white choc and berry cookie and mini-bottle of white wine

The food in itself was satisfying enough, though it definitely felt like a raid on a 7-Eleven. The cookie was somewhere between a Byron Bay cookie and a Subway one (I prefer Byron Bay cookies myself). The New Yorker had a good set of ingredients, though a little light on the coleslaw and definitely too much butter.

New Yorker sandwich close up. That's not mayonnaise at the edge of the bread - that's butter. A thick layer of butter.

The rest of the flight proceeded without a hitch and we landed in SYD luckily in time to beat curfew with just minutes to spare. Having hand luggage only meant that we were out of T2 in minutes, but our time advantage kind of evaporated as we hopelessly tried to locate the stop for hotel shuttle buses. I suppose we could've walked all the way to the Holiday Inn Sydney Airport, but we were both quite tired as it is.

No thanks to the poor area signage by Sydney Airports, we found a few other lost souls who were looking for shuttle buses and congregated at an area which we eventually worked out was where the hotel shuttle bus pickup point was. Turns out that hotel shuttling has been outsourced since I last used the service, which is fine if it wasn't just a bit confusing.

We had to drop off a few other passengers to other airport hotels before we arrived at the Holiday Inn. Thankfully, the front desk had Bundy Bear's room all ready to go so literally within a minute we had checked in, key in hand and were heading to the lifts.

Ever have that feeling where you were so buggered before but once you get to your room you suddenly find a reason to stay awake a bit longer? Well, that's what happened to us. Although I did end up giving thewinchester a courtesy call about tomorrow's meetup as well as the general chitchat, which broadened out to include Bundy Bear once I had thewinchester put on speakerphone. Finally at around 0100h SYD time, I had my clothes for the next day laid out as I finally hit the sack. With a flight departing at 0800h, I could probably use as much sleep as I could...

 

[anat0l]

Sat 15 Oct

Saturday 15 October


Getting up at around 0600h on a Saturday morning is probably an anti-thesis for some people. Not me - I had a flight to catch.

A quick shower and change and I was out the door as Bundy Bear was barely aroused from his sleep (he needed it, though - we know how strenuous those F Lounge runs can get :mrgreen.

I wanted to sample the Premium Lounge Entry at SYD T2, so I decided to stump up the funds for a taxi ride to SYD T2. Unfortunately, it probably would've helped if I did a little bit of research in advance. I didn't know where the Premium Lounge Entry was located, but I thought, "Eh, it'll probably be signed somehow."

Well, that assumption backfired. With no directions as to where the Premium Entry was and the taxi driver just as clueless as I was, I pulled up normally at the kerb of SYD T2 departures and went inside to find the Information Desk. Eventually, the lady at the counter told me where to find the Premium Entry, which was located just past the end of the normal drop-off area. Lesson learned. I went outside again and walked to the end of the drop-off area, then up the ramp to the Premium Entry.

The Virgin Australia sign denotes the entry to Sydney Premium Entry at T2, which is also a premium valet area

Premium Entry had only just changed timing to be open on weekends. I'm not sure whether they have a greeter outside to meet cars normally, but there wasn't one there that morning. Note that you can't use Premium Entry if you have bags to check-in, as there are no such facilities inside. You have to use the normal terminal facilities if you need to drop bags. I suppose what you could do is drop bags using the regular desks then head back outside and into Premium Entry to use their much faster security processing.

Inside the SYD T2 Premium Lounge Entry area

There was no one else using the Premium Entry facility when I was inside. Basically the small facility consists of a couple of desks and a single security screening point. I presented myself at the desk and was easily checked in and presented with my shop-a-docket boarding pass. Security is always quick when you're the only one using it, though a bit slower when it means you're automatically selected for explosives testing :-|. After security, you go through a set of glass doors which deposits you at the back of the SYD T2 VA lounge.

The back of the SYD T2 VA lounge, just as you enter from the Premium Entry facility

A different view of the SYD T2 VA lounge, showing a classy side

A relaxation area, complete with couches and a TV

Bar area

 

[medhead]

They didn't give you the PE [-]headset[/-] buds? These are white from memory and come in a semi-hard case exactly like this:

View attachment 4495


Sent from my iPhone using Aust Freq Fly app so please excuse the lack of links.

 

[TonyHancock]

I do like the New Yorker sandwich!

 

[anat0l]

They didn't give you the PE headset? These are white from memory and come in a semi-hard case exactly like this:

View attachment 4495


Sent from my iPhone using Aust Freq Fly app so please excuse the lack of links.

Nope, didn't get one of those. Just a set of buds, as I said, in a plastic packet.

 

[anat0l]

I do like the New Yorker sandwich!

It was fine; this one just had way too much butter on it.

Could be better if the butter were substituted for another condiment, like mayo or aioli. Can put it on the side for condiment-free purists.

 

[markis10]

DJ have been out of stock of PE headsets for some time.

 

[medhead]

I just realised that the PE ones are ear buds as well, not sure if they are stereo or mono, my senses aren't that highly developed.

DJ have been out of stock of PE headsets for some time.

Really? I thought I'd seen them in the last couple of weeks. But if they are moving to a new IFE system for the refitted aircraft it's logical to run down stock.


Sent from my iPhone using Aust Freq Fly app so please excuse the lack of links.

 

[anat0l]

Sat 15 Oct

For those of you after a refreshing shower in the SYD T2 VA lounge, you'll be pleased with the large shower rooms complete with Grown amenities. At least VA got the size right for here compared to the BNE lounge (except for the disabled facility).

Large shower room in SYD T2 VA lounge

Amenities by Grown in the shower rooms. Rather more pleasant than using QF's industrial grade soap.

Like the SYD T3 QP, the VA lounge has a raised timber floored area likened to a terrace. This was nice and near the food servery and provided a decent view of the tarmac (once you could see over the building tops in the way).

Seating area near the food servery. You can see the raised "terrace" area in the background.

Seating area on the "terrace".

View of the tarmac from the terrace.

Breakfast was naturally being served on the servery this morning with all the usual bits and bobs of the continental selection. A few key differences to those accustomed to the Qantas selection were crumpets, sliced cheese (Swiss or Jarlsberg - can't tell) and ham. There was no other hot food like eggs or so on. Unlike the BNE lounge, there was no press toaster available - only a conveyor toaster. Barista coffee is always available at the bar, and yes they do pack soy milk.

Fairly soon the announcement was made in the lounge that my flight was boarding. It's not a bad idea to start hoofing it to the gate if you have an A330 service, because the gate is always the same - Gate 40 located at the farthest end of the pier.


Flight: Virgin Australia DJ553 Sydney (SYD T2) - Perth (PER T3)
Depart: 0800h Sched; 0809h Actual
Distance: 2,039 mi (3,281 km)
Aircraft: VH-XFA "Cottesloe Beach" Airbus A330-200
Class: Business
Seat: 3K

VH-XFA as attempted to be photographed from the terminal.

Once I arrived at Gate 40, the boarding line had already started forming a very large snake. As I attempted to move around the huge line, I barely saw the priority boarding sign, but no one was in it and there was once again only one gate agent handling the boarding. Not knowing whether the Priority line was active or not, I tentatively approached on the right hand side until the gate agent saw me and asked, "Priority Boarding?" I nodded and approached, whilst subsequently avoiding the bombardment of the line by about 40% of the pax waiting in the other line. Hopefully they were eligible too....

Once on board I was greeted by the CSM David as I proceeded to my seat. The colour scheme of the Business cabin was very simple consisting of only grey and white. The seats look a bit "clam shell" shaped and reminded me a lot of TG's international J seat and a little bit of QF's Skybed I (except more rounded than the latter and lacking the lie flat bed of both). Definitely had the plastic-y look that the TG seats had, except in a shiny white colour rather than TG's purple. The seats are upholstered in a smooth, sturdy leather which actually isn't too bad to sit in - unlike other leather (cheap) seats, these don't sweat around you when you sit down. The leather on a couple of seats were starting to show some wear and tear marks and the white sides of the aisle seats were showing the scuff marks of unsuccessful aisle traversals by luggage-carrying pax, but otherwise most of the cabin was still in mint condition.

VA A332 Business Cabin.

 

[TonyHancock]

I'm making a SYD-PER trip in J in two weeks. The J section looks good. I'm undecided on seat selection though.

 

[anat0l]

Sat 15 Oct

There's no argument about legroom in this cabin - plenty of it. Even a basketballer should have little trouble getting comfortable. As a shorty of a mere 175cm tall, I couldn't reach the seat in front of me once I was strapped into my seat.

My seat, 3K

You want legroom? We got legroom!

A pillow and blanket were present on each seat before arrival, as was a seat of plane-specific noise cancelling headphones.

Noise cancelling headphones

The load was very light in J on today's flight, with the number of passengers countable on one hand and all passengers choosing the far flung sections of the cabin and avoiding the middle section (where the seats were in sets of 3 rather than 2, except for row 1). Soon enough, one of the FAs servicing J today - Craig - approached me and offered to hang up my jacket. Jackets are placed in a VA sleeve before being placed in the closet. The sleeve is complimentary for the taking upon return.

A jacket in the VA jacket sleeve (photo taken after the flight)

Craig then reappeared to offer a welcome drink of juice or water.

Welcome juice

We seemed a bit late on closing out the flight but at least we weren't trying to beat a hard deadline this time. We did manage to pushback within the on-time buffer so on a rainy morning in SYD the ground crew carefully helped us push out of gate, then we had a short taxi before being on our way West.

Just as QF has Neil Perry as a cuisine consultant, VA has Luke Mangan. Luke, like his QF counterpart, has the distinguishing hallmarks of a respected chef including a number of restaurants around the world and a handful back home, including glass located at the Hilton Sydney. Neil Perry has his fondness for Asian infusion, whereas Luke's calling is French. Despite this, the meals on both flights that I experienced showcased simple foods without tremendous invention. Sometimes, that is good enough so as long as the food tastes good.

Coast-to-Coast Menu

Once at cruising altitude the crew distributed amenity kits to each J pax. The amenity kits are by Bvlgari and are simple, consisting of a toothbrush, moisturiser, lip balm, eye shade and ear plugs. Just enough to keep one's self comfortable during and near the end of the flight. Hand moisturiser by Grown was also available in the J cabin toilet.

Amenity kit by Bvlgari and contents

IFE in J consists of a small screen which has a handful of TV programs on continuous play as well as music channels. There are no games to play and video is not "on demand", so you can't fast forward or what not through a program. Within the TV channels there were also three info channels: map, pilot's view camera and down-view camera. The screens can be rocked back and forth via the hinge at the top of the screen in order to compensate for the seat in front reclining. Not sure whether the screen quality needed a bit of improvement or simply the video feed seemed a bit grainy, but either way it didn't really bother me as I don't often watch TV and certainly nothing in the program selection appealed to me at the time.

IFE screen

The meal service on this flight was breakfast. Firstly, hot towels were offered, followed by a pre-meal drink. Full bar selection is certainly available this time of the morning, and VA's bar does include Champagne Lanson. Taking this on board, I asked for a bit of Champagne topped up with orange juice. Craig, who took my order, piped up at identifying that I was having a Mimosa. Nice to see some people who dabble lightly in the coughtail realm.

Mimosa

The VA glass selection does not include wine glasses of any sort, nor flutes. As you can see, my Mimosa was served in what appeared to be a narrow highball. Sort of. Later, my red wine was served in a large tumbler similar to a goblet (not as big or grandeur) except without a stem. This may upset the purists, but practically served just as well.

One thing I noted about the tables was that to get them out of their holder, you need to flip up a cover to access them. Trouble is that when the seat is reclined to any degree, the way the seat reclines interferes with this cover being able to be raised. You have to pull hard to force the cover up so you can pull out your table. Also, the table is quite loosely hinged in the middle and positioned rather low. If you're carrying a bit more mass around the thighs like I am, you'll probably have the table rest on top of your lap. If you're much fitter, your legs probably won't meet the bottom of the table, though there might be a little depression in your table. Once again, overall not a big deal unless you're playing marbles on the table, or, if you're the mass carrier like me, you probably wouldn't want to make any sudden jerking motions whilst tucking into a meal.

This is not an ad for StableTable.

 

[Bundy Bear]

Nice trip report so far, I should put in my version, but it will be short and quick.

 

[Major]

It will be interesting to see the comparison.

 

[anat0l]

Sat 15 Oct

The table was set and a white table cloth was laid down before the meal tray was presented. The meal tray is a simple purple plastic transparent tray with a piece of purple paper laid on top. A simple setup, although perhaps a preferential change to QF's slate gray trays which some people have dubbed "prison trays". Unlike the QF trays, the VA ones are not non-slip. The VA utensils were designed by avantgarde.

VA utensils by avantgarde

The first course for breakfast was a fruit bowl, which was served in lychee juice and garnished with shredded mint. The lychee juice was definitely a nice touch. Also accompanying the fruit bowl was plain Greek yoghurt and a stick of honey for garnish. Bread basket was offered with the fruit bowl, and yes it was a basket (albeit a metal one) unlike QF's which is just a tray. Small rolls of sourdough or wholemeal were on offer, as were small croissants. As the QF contingent knows well, this contrasts quite a bit with QF's offering of slice toast and croissants.

Meal tray for breakfast, with fruit bowl and yoghurt.

Bread basket

The fruit bowl course was followed up by the main. The choices were either a traditional hot breakfast of a frittata with the usual sides to hot eggs, or lemon and ricotta pancakes. Having had a bad run with frittatas prepared for onboard meals, I opted for the pancakes instead. The pancakes were presented with whipped cream, pineapple pieces and shredded mint. The menu item definitely had me intrigued and I liked the idea of the dish, but the taste didn't quite live up to expectations. The lemon and ricotta was way too subtle to appreciate the taste, so it tasted almost like regular pancakes. The cream tried to keep things moist but otherwise the dish was quite dry overall. It was edible, but probably not the most enjoyable dish.

Just like on the ground, VA serve up barista coffee in the sky, and once again there was soy milk available.

Lemon and ricotta pancakes, and a soy latte

Once I finished breakfast, I mentioned to Craig as he was clearing the tray that I'd probably be taking a nap. So I went to the bathroom to freshen up and by the time I got back, Craig had thoughtfully laid out the pillow and blanket, as well as drawn all the window shades near my seat.

VA Business seat in seated position (slightly reclined)....

...and in maximum recline

Before I nodded off, I asked Craig to wake me up about an hour before landing. He said that should be enough time to enjoy a pre-landing snack in time for touchdown. I managed to get a good rest in the seat, which works out just fine if you can sleep almost anywhere and don't toss and turn a lot. The seat is obviously not a bed but it was not too uncomfortable at all to relax in.

It was almost time for descent so FA Whitney gave me a gentle nudge as I awoke from slumber. Normally there is no pre-landing snack but basically if you're feeling peckish in Business then the crew will be happy to provide food from the regular Economy menu, free of charge of course. I asked for a pie and a glass of the GSM. They were unfortunately out of meat pies so I had to settle for the vegetarian pie instead, which was served with tomato relish. The spinach and mushroom pie wasn't bad at all, though the tomato relish wasn't strong enough to complement the savoury pie - this is where the unhealthier and more bogan tomato sauce would do a better job.

Luke Mangan vegetarian gourmet pie, accompanied with a glass of GSM

I finished off the snack with another soy latte before we started descent in earnest. I would've had a glass of the dessert wine as well but Whitney unfortunately informed me that the dessert wine was out of stock. Soon enough the cabin was secured for landing as we passed over the 'scarp heading into Perth. A non-eventful landing and a long taxi back to the terminal and that marked the end of my first Virgin Business flight.

As Perth Airports was doing repairs and upgrades to the terminal, we had to use stairs to disembark the aircraft. As we waited (impatiently!) for the ground crew to slowly get the stairs into position, I had a bit of a chat with the crew. Their shift was over for the day and they had a spare in Perth before flying back. Naturally I questioned further and it was then we realised that we would all be on the same flight back to SYD the next day!

A note about the crew. The VA crew were very good. They were kind and understanding, and displayed good professionalism, the latter of which I have great difficulty finding in Virgin crew both in the air and on the ground. You could obviously tell that they were new to this whole experience, but they managed to bring it in their stride and delivered the product very well. The crew were remarkably inquisitive about how customers were experiencing the Business product, which I suppose is only natural since it is fairly new and they were trying to garner as much feedback as possible.

Anyway, back to the story. The ground crew finally got the stairs into position at door 2L and I was handed back my suit in the VA sleeve. Down the stairs and a big loop-de-loop back into the terminal before I passed the baggage claim and went straight for the Transperth buses into the city.

 

[anat0l]

Menu: DJ553 SYD-PER 15 Oct 2011 J

Virgin Australia Business Class Coast-to-Coast Westbound


Breakfast Flights (scheduled departure 0401 - 0930)

Juice

Fresh orange juice

Bakery

Croissant, wholemeal roll or sourdough roll served with a selection of preserves or Vegemite

Fruit

Seasonal fruit selection served with Greek yoghurt and honey (healthier choice, vegetarian, gluten free)

Mains

Classic hot breakfast - pork sausage, bacon, spinach and goat's cheese frittata with roasted trussed cherry tomatoes (gluten free)

Lemon and ricotta pancakes with pineapple, maple syrup and mint (vegetarian)

Hot Drinks Selection

Coffee - filter, espresso, cappuccino or latte

Tea - Madame Flavour range: special blend black tea, Earl Grey twist, green tea with jasmine and pear, Mint Tisane tea

Hot chocolate


Lunch and Dinner Flights (scheduled departure 0931 - 2229)

Bakery

Your choice of warmed bread served with Luke Mangan's extra virgin olive oil and dukkah

Starters

King smoked salmon with creme fraiche, salmon caviar dressing and grissini

Rich mushroom soup with chives (vegetarian, gluten free)

Salads

Mesclun salad with mustard dressing (vegetarian, healthier choice)

Mains

Fillet of beef with parmesan polenta, Swiss brown mushrooms and French beans (healthier choice, gluten free)

Basque style barramundi fillet with braised calamari, saffron potatoes and capsicum (gluten free)

Vegetarian tartlet of mushrooms, zucchini, parmesan, basil and cauliflower puree (vegetarian)

Cheese

King Island Triple Cream (King Island, Tasmania)

Cobram Vintage Cheddar (Cobram, Victoria) (gluten free)

Roaring 40's Blue (King Island, Tasmania)

Served with dried apricots, walnuts and crackers. Gluten free crackers available on request.

Dessert

Orange and cointreau cheesecake, with almond and lemon biscotti

Hot Drinks Selection

Coffee - filter, espresso, cappuccino or latte

Tea - Madame Flavour range: special blend black tea, Earl Grey twist, green tea with jasmine and pear, Mint Tisane tea

Hot chocolate


From The Bar

Aperitif

Campari

'The Australian' coughtail by Luke Mangan

A blend of white spirits, cognac and cranberry juice, freshened with ginger and lime syrup

Spirits

Absolut Vodka

Bundaberg UP Rum

Bombay Sapphire Gin

Hennessy VS Cognac

Grant's Family Reserve Scotch

Jim Beam

Liqueurs

Bailey's Irish Cream

Cointreau

Guest Beer

Burragum Billy Organic Lager (4% alc/vol)

Soft Drinks

Still Water

Sparkling Water

Pepsi

Diet Pepsi

Lemonade

Tonic Water

Soda Water

Ginger Ale

Juices

Orange

Apple

Tomato


Wine Selection

Champagne

Lanson Gold Label Brut 1999
Reims, France

White Wine

Patina Wines Riesling 2008
Orange, NSW

Chalkers Crossing Sauvignon Blanc 2009
Tumbarumba, NSW

Caledonia Australis Chardonnay 2008
Gippsland, VIC

Arrowfield Show Reserve Chardonnay 2007
Hunter Valley, NSW

Nugan Estate Vision Chardonnay 2007
Riverina, NSW

Red Wine

O'Leary Walker Pinot Noir 2008
Adelaide Hills, SA

Ninth Island Pinot Noir 2007
TAS

Amadio Pinot Noir 2008
Adelaide Hills, SA

Kalleske Clarry's GSM (Grenach/Shiraz/Mourvedre) 2009
Barossa Valley, SA

Step Rd Sangiovese 2006
Langhorne Creek, SA

Zonte's Footstep Shiraz/Voignier 2007
Langhorne Creek, SA

Penley Estate Phoenix Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
Coonawarra, SA

Dessert Wine

Juniper Estate Cane Cut Riesling 2009
Margaret River, WA

Australian Fortified Wine

Morris Wines Classic Tawny
Rutherglen, NE VIC

 

[Homer]

Very nice, thorough and useful trip report. Thanks for sharing.

 

[anat0l]

Sat 15 Oct

Whilst I could've walked out towards the highway and caught a faster bus into the city, I was feeling too lazy and decided to take the longer routing via the 37 bus. After all, I only had to wait about 6 minutes for the next bus to arrive. My SmartRider which I had purchased in 2007 came in handy when paying for the fare, then I did a double take as the reader beeped that my card had expired :shock:. The driver just told me to get on.

As we weaved in and out of the suburbs towards the city, I got a call from cove welcoming me to Perth. We had a nice chat about frequent flying and points, which filled in time on the long bus journey. I eventually alighted near the top of Adelaide Tce and found myself at least able enough to work out where the Crowne Plaza was near the Esplanade.

The frontage of the Crowne Plaza is interesting. It blends in almost too well with the adjoining apartments which line the street, and there is no grand entrance which would suggest that there's a hotel there. The only entrance was a small driveway which then leads to a modest entrance to the lobby.

Once I was inside, I fronted up to Priority Check-in and was attended not long after another customer was checked out. My room was all ready to go, but there was a hitch (there's always one, isn't there!) The desk clerk had a look at my room allocation on my prepared key card packet and looked disappointed. She then did a bit of tapping away, "Let's see if we can get a better room for you" . Soon enough, I had been upgraded 3 floors further up into a room with a nice view of the park and the Swan.

The Crowne Plaza Perth was certainly showing a bit of age in its decor but was quite comfortable and, especially with my 25% off voucher, was very reasonably priced (especially for Perth!). My room had a balcony which looked out to the adjoining park and the Swan River. As it happened, there was a small exhibition being held at the said park. A line up of various small flying machines were on display, and part of the park was marked off as a makeshift airstrip.

My room at the Crowne Plaza Perth

Panorama shot of the view from my room's balcony

All sorts of flying machines at this fair

Still a bit tired from my early start and trip from SYD, I got unpacked and drew the curtains for a brief lie-down. There's no free internet at the Crowne Plaza Perth, with rates being charged at the usual backbreaking hourly-and-bandwidth structure common to many of the IHG properties around Australia. Thank goodness mobile hotspots are easy to carry with you, and are a nicer alternative to price-gouging internet rates. A bit of a rest and a few messages checked later, I got freshened up to start the trek down to Perth city centre. I firstly had to resolve the mystery of my expired SmartRider, then catch the train from Perth central to Claremont to meet thewinchester at Koko Black.

Weather in Perth that day was reasonably warm - a jacket was definitely not recommended! It's funny how there are no major hotels right in the centre of Perth, but plenty all on the periphery, anywhere between 3 and 7 blocks away. Crowne Plaza Perth was one of the most furthest ones, along with the Hyatt Perth. One mighty walk down Adelaide Tce later, I found the Transperth information centre near the Perth Underground on the Murray Street Mall. Turns out my SmartRider was "deactivated" after not having used it for a year, so I had to put some charge on it to activate it again (although I still had all my existing credit on the card). $10 lighter later, I had my active SmartRider in hand and hoofed it down to Perth central station. There were extensive works being done on Perth station which made access to areas rather interesting, and even more interesting when the train I had to catch was only minutes from departing (but not yet at the platform).

As the two car train pulled up to the platform, I had a look around and really wondered how it was possible that two cars would be enough to carry all the passengers wanting to board this service. By some non-trivial means, everyone managed to fit on the train, of which the insides resembled light peak hour in Brisbane. At this point, I gave thewinchester a quick call to touch base. As it turns out by coincidence, he was on the same service! Sure enough, a lightly-bearded sandgroper groping....err, I mean, carrying...an iPad began to maneuver his way through the lightly packed cabin to where I was standing.

If there's anything which can make a packed train ride go faster (or easier), it's a good conversation with a friend or colleague.

Once we arrived at Claremont, we made our way to Koko Black, another premier chocolatier up there with the likes of Sprungli, Neuhaus and Haighs. thewinchester and I found a table and perused the cafe menu abounding with all sorts of wonderful sweet treats of both the chocolate and non-chocolate kind. We had a great discussion about many things, including the recent audience with QFF that thewinchester had been invited to attend, as well as our mutual distaste of governmental and bureaucratic incompetence at all various levels.

I should've added a disclaimer to this trip report stating that I'm not responsible if the following or any of the pictures in this report cause you to gain weight, intentionally or unintentionally. Oh well....

A hot chocolate and a Belgian slice cake...

...and an iced chocolate and a pannacotta

We stayed quite a while after finishing our afternoon tea chatting before we thought it'd be best to start moving, since both of us had other things to do that evening. But I could hardly leave without thinking about buying some chocolates, could I?

As well as a sweet cafe, Koko Black also sells what it does best - chocolates of all sorts

Although the chocolates of this kind definitely burn a hole in your wallet, they were decadent and I wanted to bring something back to share with the colleagues in Brisbane. I took the plunge and bought a box of assorted chocolates, which I can confirm were received very well by all in the office! We both headed back to Perth central and thewinchester took great pleasure in showing me around all the latest developments in bustling Perth as we took the scenic route back to the Crowne Plaza.

When I arrived back at my room at the Crowne Plaza, I noticed that the manager had left a welcome note as well as putting two complimentary Crown Lager beers in the fridge. Whilst I'm definitely not a fan of Crown Lager, it was still a very nice gesture. thewinchester and I sat out on the balcony chatting for a bit longer before he had to head back home. By this time it was around 1800h, so there was plenty of time for me to get ready for dinner at 1930h.

 

[docjames]

View of the tarmac from the terrace

Nice shot of the raised pod, couldnt help but think if only it's been about a metre higher there would have been a much better view of the tarmac (but would have required significantly more work to achieve).