Review: The Hyatt Regency Dar Es Salaam – The Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Posted on February 27, 2022 By World Traveller 73 in Hotels + Hyatt Regency + Tanzania and Seychelles via Air Canada and Turkish Airlines Business Class + Trip Report

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It’s a little challenging to get around middle Africa as flight times from international flights don’t always align with regional flights. As a result, we needed a central and secure base of operations in order to overnight prior to our regional flights around the region. We opted for the Hyatt Regency Dar Es Salaam “The Kilimanjaro” as a reliable base of operations for our trips around the region. Did the Hyatt Regency hotel stand up to compound living that is often needed amongst African hotels?

This post is one chapter on our trip to the Republic of Tanzania and the Islands of the Seychelles. This trip was redeemed through Air Canada’s Aeroplan and enhanced through World of Hyatt and Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.

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Review: The Hyatt Regency Dar Es Salaam – The Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

After arriving off of Turkish Airlines Business Class Istanbul – Dar Es Salaam, we couldn’t get to our end destination on the island of Zanzibar, Tanzania without a night at a hotel in Dar Es Salaam. Hanging out at an African airport between 3 AM and 8 AM after arriving off two international flights didn’t appeal so much, so we opted for a hotel. There aren’t many reasonable options in Dar Es Salaam. At the time of writing, there were none next to the airport so this meant transferring into Dar Es Salaam inner Central Business District. While there were two Marriott Protea options, they didn’t look all to appealing. By default, that left us with the Hyatt Regency Dar Es Salaam which is located on the water in downtown Dar Es Salaam.

We would end up staying twice at this property. One stay was in a regular room and our second stay was in a Regency Suite. We’ve combined both stays into one post.

Booking the Hyatt Regency Dar Es Salaam:

The cash rates at the Hyatt Regency were quite expensive and over $350 USD per night. We ended up using a little trick were we paid for a top up of World of Hyatt Points and redeeming Cash and Points rate.

This brought our Cash and Points rate to points + $75 USD. It was a bit cheaper to use the points versus paying a high US dollar rate for our stay here.

Getting to the Hyatt Regency Dar Es Salaam:

Given that we arrived at 2:30 AM, I pre-booked a hotel car to transfer us from the Julius Nyerere Dar Es Salaam International Airport to the Hyatt Regency Dar Es Salaam. The cost of the hotel car was a reasonable $40 USD and approximately twenty minutes of car travel.

The Hyatt Regency Dar Es Salaam hotel is located right on the waterfront of the Dar Es Salaam harbour, which makes for interesting views and a nice setting overall.

The lobby was fully attended by staff and security. The lobby featured a nice water feature which was luxurious, considering most of Africa faces drought conditions where water is a luxury.

A Relaxing Lobby Water Feature in Africa

On arrival, our bags and hand articles went through an x-ray and we passed through a security check in the immediate foyer. At about 3 AM, the hotel lobby was and our check in was handled by two alert and professional staff the front counter. Our Cash and Points rate was honoured and the front desk even indicated that breakfast was included. I didn’t think it was available with the rate but I wasn’t about to point that out at the prices hotel breakfasts were (laughing). I suspected that it was a hotel policy but it turned out to be consistent with our Hyatt stays throughout Tanzania. The Wi-Fi policy and breakfast hours of 6 AM – 10:30 AM were also explained. As a World of Hyatt base level member, I also asked for a 2 PM check out and it was offered without any problem.

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The Room: One King – City Garden View Room

We were led up to the room by the bell man who set up the bags. The room was freshly appointed and clean looking. I certainly was surprised to see a room of this cleanliness and modern fit and fixtures for our stay.

The room itself was a standard sized room. It was a little compact, but perfectly adequate for a short stay.

A Flat Screen Television and an Open Armoire with a Safe

There was an in room safe and small fridge. These were accompanied by the usual in room laundry items.

A Laundry Bag, Shoe Mitt and Dry Cleaning Services

The bathroom was well appointed and with modern fit and fixtures. The in room toiletries were of the Pharmacopia variety.

A Single Vanity Sink with Luxurious Soaker Tub

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The Room: A Regency Suite

We also stayed at this property on our way out of Tanzania prior to our Air Kenya Dar Es Salaam – Nairobi flight onwards to the Seychelles.

On our second arrival to the hotel, we had another baggage X-ray. We had a friendly and prompt check in. Despite booking on World of Hyatt Cash and Points rate, we were fortunately upgraded to a Regency Suite facing the city side.

We were led up to our room by friendly staff. The arrival hallway had all the appeal of a North Korean hotel; austere and institutional.

A Bright Red Carpet leading to a Regency Suite

The Regency Suite itself was an older suite; in much older generation than our earlier room. Access to the room was immediately though a short hallway that led to the sitting area.

The Regency Suite entry had you arriving into a sitting area and a table. There was a small desk with stationary supplies.

The Regency Suite Living Area and Working Desk

I couldn’t help but wonder how many meetings and shady African business transactions had taken place in this room.

It had a compact fold down desk in the Regency Suite…

…along with some old school office supplies included with the room.

Off the suite portion, there was a tiny outdoor balcony. This suite appeared to be one of the few rooms in the hotel that had an outside balcony. It offered a view of some relic buildings that you can only find in Africa.

City Views of the Seventies Towers in Africa Across the Rear Staff Compound

Also off the suite entrance, was a tiny second bathroom. There was also an institutional kitchen that was sparsely decorated.

A Second Powder Room and Institutional Kitchen

The Regency Suite had a comfy king size bed in a separate bedroom. The bedroom also featured a convenient long bench seat which we used for our bags.

Behind the bedroom, there was a very spacious bathroom with separate vanities on opposite sides of the room. The main bathroom was in great condition and had likely been upgraded.

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On the Hotel Property:

There is a lot on the hotel property to keep a traveler occupied. Consistent with stays at African hotels’, it’s usually compound living after dark due to security reasons. As a result, it’s worth staying in a property that offers some entertainment and amenities that don’t require you to leave the property.

An Outdoor Pool

The hotel offers a great outdoor pool area on the first floor or the third floor above ground with a peek a boo view over to the bay. The temperatures were a little cool at the mid twenties Celcius on our visit, and we didn’t see anyone lounging out here during our time.

The pool area is not anywhere that I would budget time to spend in if you were looking for some sun, but it’s a reasonable place to stay if you had an hour or two to kill before a flight. It was nice to take in a little bit of the outdoor view prior to the next leg of our adventure.

Views Towards the Harbour over the Porte Cochere

Hotel Gym:

The hotel offered a gym with day light windows. The gym offered distant views over the water. The gym had a full range of equipment needed for a full workout.

The hotel gym was attended by a gym attendant on our pass through. It had outdoor views but the views of anything weren’t too exciting.

There were reasonable views of the harbour from the hotel as well.

Harbour Views from the Hyatt Regency Dar Es Salaam

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Level 8 Rooftop Dining:

Level 8 is the roof top lounge and bar at the hotel. The place was advertised in the elevator directory, but the button didn’t work on the last visit and I never bothered to ask about it. It turned out it is only open certain hours and is locked off otherwise. In all forms somewhat African, the hours aren’t posted, so you need to ask about it or use the “guess and check” method.

The Level 8 bar was quite a surprise and welcome part of our stay. As I’ve described earlier, its often compound living when we stay over in Africa. We don’t usually leave the hotel after dark for safety reasons. Level 8 was a beautiful space right at sunset. The lounge had both indoor and outdoor seating on the hotel’s rooftop.

We located ourselves a spot outside in the sunset. There was a large patio area that seemed to be filling up as we arrived.

Outdoor Dining at Level 8 Hyatt Regency Dar Es Salaam

The sun set behind us against the buildings and lit up the harbour with a nice glow. The skyline at sunset reminded me of Miami with some of the buildings lit up close to the waterfront.

We were able to see some of the passenger ferries to and from Zanzibar disembarking, from the roof top.

We enjoyed a glass of wine along with some “forty minute” French fries to take off the edge of the bite. They took something like that amount of time to arrive…

The Level 8 bar was a great way to wind down after a day of waiting and traveling “African style”. It’s actually one of the nicer African Hotel bars. Although similar to the roof top bar at the Hilton Windhoek Namibia, Hyatt has done a nicer job with this space thanks to upgraded fittings and furniture and a spacious area.

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The Palm Brasserie:

Our included breakfasts were in the Palm Brasserie restaurant located just off the lobby. The breakfast featured an eggs / omelette station, cheese, middle eastern foods such as hummus, laboueh and moutrah, along with Asian specialities such as congee and rice. The service provided was friendly and warm, which again I wasn’t expecting for a major chain hotel in the middle of an African city.

We also enjoyed a light dinner in the Palm Brasserie restaurant. The hotel didn’t seem to have many restaurants around it that were walkable and I wasn’t getting any great suggestions from Google, Trip Advisor or the Lonely Planet guidebook. MrsWT73 had a cheese pizza that didn’t agree with her. I ended up having a Quiche Lorraine with Mixed Greens. In true African style, the mixed greens never made it on the delivery truck as nothing is usually as advertised. It was only a few accent pieces tonight.

For the most part, I enjoyed the food and beverage options at the Hyatt Regency. Although MrsWT73 was a little delicate after her food, I mark this up to a typical international experience and not any unsafe food handling on the part of this particular hotel.

Baggage Storage:

In other arrangements with the hotel, I had contacted the hotel in advance and asked if they could store my rolling bag while we went to Zanzibar since we were coming back through Dar Es Salaam on the way back. They had no issues doing so free of charge. We were headed out on Precision Air Dar Es Salaam – Zanzibar on an ATR72 propellor plane. Thanks to my past Air Tahiti ATR72 experiences where we got charged additional fees for traveling with a rolling case, I was looking for other options. As I turned over the bag, I asked the front desk if they needed to check inside it before I locked it up for security reasons. The front desk lady joked with me and asked “Why – is there a bomb inside it?” She was light hearted about it but it was a funny interaction for someone like myself when there was a full security cordon and X ray screening at the front of the hotel. The storage was completed without issues and I was really appreciative of the hotel’s organization and understanding.

The Bottom Line: The Hyatt Regency Dar Es Salaam:

Overall, the Hyatt was a very reasonable choice. It offered everything that you’d need in a central African hotel where you could opt for compound African living if necessary. The nice state of our room was a pleasant surprise for our stay. While it wasn’t a complete five star experience, it was a very solid four star property in Africa which is a terrific achievement indeed. We would easily return for our next travels through the area.

If you visited Dar Es Salaam, did you stay at the Hyatt Regency “The Kilimanjaro” ?

Tags: Hotel Review, Hyatt Gold Passport, World of Hyatt

Review: Turkish Airlines Business Class B737-900ER, Istanbul – Dar Es Salaam

Posted on February 26, 2022 By World Traveller 73 in Airline + Boeing 737 + Business Class + Tanzania and Seychelles via Air Canada and Turkish Airlines Business Class + Trip Report + Turkish Airlines

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Turkish Airlines offers strong service through many parts of Africa through its international hub in Istanbul, Turkey. While the majority of these connecting flights are on their wide body aircraft, a select view operate on their narrow body aircraft. Our flight today from Istanbul to Dar Es Salaam would be my first experience on their long extended range narrow body aircraft in a Boeing 737-900 ER. Would the quality of the business class be comfortable for a seven hour connecting flight into Middle Africa?

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Review: Turkish Airlines Business Class B737-900 ER, Istanbul Atatürk International Airport – Dar Es Salaam Julius Nyerere International Airport

We arrived into Istanbul Atatürk International Airport off our Turkish Airlines Business Class Toronto – Istanbul flight at Gate 230. This was the furthest east most gate in the Atatürk airport facility. There was double jet bridge off loading and we were into the airport quickly. We had a long walk to the connections security checkpoint through a nice spacious pathway that appeared to be fairly new.

We connected upstairs and ended up in the eastern end of the concourse. We made our way back to the familiar Turkish Airlines Business Lounge for our transit lounge experience. The Istanbul Atatürk airport has always been a busy, crowded and unpleasant airport to transit and today was no exception. It’s the usual people standing in the walkways, walking and texting, or suddenly changing direction into your walking path.

It was always a crowded experience at Istanbul Atatürk

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Visiting the Turkish Airlines Business Lounge:

We eventually found our way to the Turkish Airlines lounge. We have previously visited and reviewed the Turkish Airlines Istanbul Atatürk Business Lounge on several prior occasions, including our most recent update. As a result, I won’t get into too much detail with the lounge, other than to highlight what you can expect prior to a Turkish Airlines Business Class flight.

The lounge advertises automatic entry with a scan of your boarding pass. Our boarding cards that were issued on Air Canada stock in Vancouver, Canada did not work at the gates. An attendant promptly swapped our cards for new Turkish Airlines boarding passes, which allowed us a clean swipe in.

Past the Front Doors of the Turkish Airlines Business Lounge

The lounge has reached a certain maturity level as it’s days are numbered with a new Istanbul Airport scheduled to open in October 2018.

Inside the Turkish Airlines Business Lounge:

As we wandered in, the place was pretty packed. The white leather slung chairs that feature as the main loungers had all the charm of a Nigerian Drug Dealers mansion. We located a spot on the upper level. I went to get MrsWT73 a rose wine, then set out to take photographs.

The Grand Piano in the Turkish Airlines Business Lounge

The Media Room at the Turkish Airlines Business Lounge

Turkish Airlines Business Lounge Food and Beverage:

Along with the sheer size of a lounge that seats 2,000 people, the food is the highlight of the lounge. As usual, there were a lot of options on offer today. The funny part is that most of it seems to taste exactly the same with a similar flavour profile.

I found my way downstairs to the lower floor where most of the food is. I located the pasta station and had some the Turkish pasta. It was made fresh and mixed together prior to being presented on a plate. Along with a crisp glass of white wine, it was very tasty and a have again. We would later find it as a pasta option on a future Turkish Airlines flight.

As for the ambience of the lounge, it’s fallen a bit. It’s become a bit too full and has all types of people… slow walkers, fast cutters, people walking and talking aimlessly on cell phones. Cleaning and bussing staff that can’t keep up with the pace of the operations at peak capacity. Furthermore, the furnishings are showing a bit of wear and tear, although not nearly as much as our earlier experience this trip in the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Vancouver International.

Lounge Shower Facilities:

I put my name on the list for a shower. It was a 40 minute wait announced at the reception which turned out to be a 32 minute wait by the time it was all said and done. The reception took my boarding card in exchange for a buzzer that you get at a popular family restaurant. The shower room was clean and in reasonable state of repair. The shower handle came off in my hand when I tried to turn it on, but I replaced it and it worked properly.

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Turkish Airlines
TK 603 – Business Class (I)
IST-DAR (Istanbul Atatürk International Airport – Dar Es Salaam Julius Nyerere International Airport)
May 27, 2018
7:05 PM – 2:30 AM +1
Booked: Boeing 737-900ER
Flown: Boeing 737-900ER

This flight was the only one of the trip that I was least looking forward to. Who relishes narrow body flight in a chair lounger after you’ve crossed an ocean in a nice comfy bed, when you’re in a different time zone, flying a flight that is seven hours long; all while in the middle of the night?

I’m happy to say that I was very much surprised at how comfortable Turkish Airlines made this last segment. It was my first time flying on a Boeing 737-900ER . This last flight segment was scheduled at about 7 hours and 15 minutes duration.

We left the Turkish Airlines Business Lounge Istanbul and picked up some duty free at the Atu Duty Free shop in the main plaza of the Istanbul Departures Hall at Atatürk. The gate for our departing plane turned up on the monitors about 2 hours before our flight. It was listed as Gate 703, which I assumed to be a bus gate given the seven hundred area of the airport.

We wandered for about a 10 minute walk to Gate 703, which was down a set of stairs. It was indeed a bus gate. Surprisingly, there was a full food fair and duty free shop down here as well. MrsWT73 picked up some Tic Tac’s, among other souvenirs.

Boarding Turkish Airlines Business Class:

Boarding was called at 10 minutes past the time printed on our boarding cards. Business class was asked to board the bus first, although we surrounded with economy class passengers until the bus was full. This meant that we didn’t get a separate bus and were along with everyone else when we got off.

There were some nice views of Turkish Airlines wide bodies from the ground level as we walked out to the bus.

Transiting on the Apron Bus to our Aircraft

The Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-900ER was parked a short distance away from the main terminal. There was double door boarding with rows 18 and under boarding through the front doors and rows 19 and upward through the back doors. We scrambled up the front stairs under cloudy skies at Atatürk.

Views of Turkish Airlines Fins on the Apron at Atatürk

Boarding our Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-900ER

Views down the fuselage of the Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-900ER

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On Board Turkish Airlines Business Class:

Once we finally got on board, we got into the Boeing 737-900ER which is set up in a 2 – 2 business configuration. I had to say that these have to be the longest narrow body seats that I’ve ever flown. I’m 6ft 2 inches tall and, when seated in the seat, my feet could not even touch the seat in front of me. It was easily two and a half windows between seats. It was most certainly no compact Alaska Airlines First Class here.

Turkish Airlines Business Class Boeing 737-900 ER Seats

Spacious Legroom Between Turkish Airlines’ Boeing 737-900 ER seats

A window passenger gets many windows in the manner that they have configured this aircraft

Ample Legroom; even for tall travellers like myself

There was USB power available between the seats but surprisingly, no power plug ins on today’s flight.

USB Power Plugs but surprisingly no actual Empower In Seat Power

The seat also had the old fashion retro seat reclines.

The video screen also had a somewhat dated corded remote. The screen was a pull out of the armrest variety, showing the beautiful welcome images.

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Pre-Departure Services:

While we waited to depart, a “welcome drink” was offered of orange, lemonade, water or tomato juice. I had another great lemon and mint drink. Turkish Airlines does not typically offer sparking wine as a pre-departure beverage but the lemon and mint combination is really refreshing.

The Amenity Kits: Cerruti Branded

Even with the narrow body aircraft, amenity kits were passed out while we were still on the ground. This time around, they were Cerreuti branded amenity kits. Instead of Bentley creams, they were Cerreuti creams. They also had the same useless stuff inside them. I wasn’t overly impressed with these kits and chalked this one up as destined for under the bathroom sink at home, never to see daylight again.

As we got underway, the Turkish Airlines safety video played through overhead monitors.

The dinner menus were distributed. Tonight’s menu was a thinner version of the large menu cards we received on the long haul flight.

Turkish Airlines Business Class Menu Istanbul – Dar Es Salaam

Departing Istanbul:

As we got underway, I took some photos of the climb out. It got cloudy really quickly so there wasn’t much to see.

The flight track was to take us straight across the Mediterranean, through Egypt and straight down towards Tanzania. The flight time was seven hours and fifteen minutes.

Our Flight Track for Today’s Flight into Middle Africa

Only Seven Hours of Flight Time Remaining

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The Meal: A Two Course Dinner

The Dinner service was served fairly promptly as we headed out over the Mediterranean sea. The starter was Smoked Salmon and Celeriac Salad, Garden Fresh Salad with olive oil dressing, selection of cheese and DO & CO Chocolate Mouse presented on a tray all at once. This was paired with an unspecified champagne.

Once that appetizer was finished, I had the grilled chicken brochette with sweetcorn mousseline and grilled zucchini for the main. It was quite tasty.

The Main Course
Grilled Chicken Brochette with Sweetcorn Mousseline and Grilled Zucchini

After dinner, spirits and tea and coffee were offered from the cart. I had a Irish Cream and Coffee to try to keep me awake so I could get onto the African Time Zone.

As the flight time went by, I then followed it up with a Gin and Tonic while I worked on the trip report. The sun set beautifully over the Mediterranean Sea.

On our flight track down, I also managed to get some photographs of Cairo. It’s a shame the flight was not an hour or two earlier as the right hand side of the aircraft would have had a great view of the pyramids and Nile River. Instead, I got to see the bars, hotels and Corniches by night that I’ve visited over the years.

Views of Cairo, Egypt and the Nile River dissecting the town

I slept for a few hours in the recliner. It went back pretty far and allowed for some sleeps with back resting sleep. It wasn’t too comfortable on the side sleeping position but the plane did feature the wings on the head rest.

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The Second Service: A Light Snack

I woke up with about one hour and ninety minutes left in the flight. MrsWT73 had also gotten some sleep and had told me that there were sandwiches that we available as a snack. I ordered one and got a sponge cake to go with it. It was pretty tasty as a second service.

We headed in on the approach for Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. In a typical landing for an African country, it was totally dark outside and an absence of any real electrical grid in the rural areas. Any lights were on appeared to be industrial security lights as opposed to house lights.

We arrived to the gate and there were only a few lonely planes parked overnight, an Embraer 195 from Kenya Airways and an Airbus 320 form South African Airways. We entered into the small arrivals hall where there were immediate counters for visa on arrival.

At the immigration counter, we provided a full set of electronic fingerprints and a photograph. After immigration, we went into the baggage hall. The hall only had a single belt and no washroom; unfortunately, the washroom was before immigration.

The baggage gods were smiling on us today as our bag was one of the first 10 out on the belt. We had a customs X-ray and we were out to meet our driver on the public side. At 2:30 AM, all the foreign exchange shops were closed but there were about 30 taxi mafia standing around all wearing blue shirts at a central taxi kiosk post. It was about 20 minutes into the city. I suspect the taxis would have taken US dollars as a negotiated rate.

Arriving in the darkness at Julius Nyerere International Airport

We ended up transferring over to the Hyatt Regency Dar Es Salaam – The Kilimanjaro in a hotel car which we had pre-arranged in advance.

My Thoughts on Turkish Airlines Business Class:

Our narrow body flight down to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania on Turkish Airlines was more comfortable than I anticipated. We were well fed, the space was comfortable and the whole flight was without major issues. I was initially reluctant about a long narrow body flight but we didn’t have any issues at all. I wouldn’t hesitate about flying a Turkish flight such as this throughout Africa.

If you regularly travel to and from Africa, do you attempt to stick with the larger wide body aircraft to these regional destinations ?

Tags: Aeroplan, DAR, IST, TK 603

Review: Turkish Airlines Business Class B777-300ER, Toronto – Istanbul

Posted on February 25, 2022 By World Traveller 73 in Airline + Boeing 777 + Business Class + Seventy Two Hours in Miami, USA via Alaska Airlines + Trip Report + Turkish Airlines

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Turkish Airlines is one of the most rapidly expanding carriers around the world. As a member of Star Alliance, they offer connecting service through Istanbul, Turkey to many destinations around the world. They started service into Canada through Toronto and Montreal, later expanding to Vancouver. We would get the opportunity to test their service out from Star Alliance Hub city Toronto, to Turkish Airlines Hub city Istanbul. Did Turkish Airlines live up to being a true global international carrier ?

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Review: Turkish Airlines Business Class B777-300 ER, Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal One – Istanbul Atatürk International Airport

At about fifty five minutes before our flight, we left the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Toronto International and headed down to the international gate departures area. We passed by the beautiful “Tilted Spheres “sculpture in the international departures hall. The sculpture is so large, the sculpture had to be installed prior to the walls and roof going onto the building. Every time I pass by, I always go stand in the middle of it and listen to the echo of my voice. If you’re through the Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal One, you should try it… it’s pretty neat.

The Tilted Spheres Sculpture at Toronto Pearson International Airport

Tonights Star Alliance Flights Departing

We continued over to Gate E71. In true Turkish Airlines style, the boarding area was pretty messy and chaotic. The line queue was managed by one poor guy who was trying to separate the gate through localized public address announcements.

A usual chaotic Turkish Airlines Boarding Zone

There was a schizophrenic flight display sign that wasn’t helping matters. It announced “boarding, but take a seat”.

A converging flight information display sign

While we were waiting near the front of the maze to board, we were charged by about thirty families with small children pushing to the front without despair. Eventually, children, elderly, business class and Turkish Elite and Star Gold, were all called to board all at once. It was about 90 people trying to get on the flight through a crowd of the remaining 150. It seems like the gate agents had lost interest in bothering to separate the groups.

Once we were walking down the jet bridge to board the aircraft, we learned that double door boarding was in effect today. We passed by a manned jet bridge and boarded the aircraft through the business class door at L1.

Turkish Airlines
TK 18 – Business Class (I)
YYZ-IST (Toronto Pearson International Airport – Istanbul Atatürk International Airport)
May 26, 2018
10:30PM – 3:15 PM +1
Booked: Boeing 777-300ER
Flown: Boeing 777-300ER

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On Board Turkish Airlines Business Class:

The Turkish Airlines Boeing 777-300 business class cabin is configured in a 2-3-2 configuration. We were in seats 3J / 3K on the far right hand side. These are comfortable seats for traveling with a partner, but they lack a little privacy if you are travelling on your own for business.

Turkish Airlines Business Class Boeing 777-300 ER

Turkish Airlines Aisle Business Class Seats

The seats themselves are hardly state of the art. Or at least they were state of the art about 12 years ago, when they started getting rid of reclining lounge chairs up front. However, in today’s world of reverse herringbone seats, the pair of seats is set with a little less privacy than the competitors offer. Despite this, the seats do lie completely flat.

It is worth mentioning that the middle seat in the centre row of “three” would be among the worst seat in business class if travelling solo. You would be occupied on either side by other travellers and would have to step over them in order to get out at any opportunity. It would be miserable to be stuck in the middle seat on a ten hour flight.

The Center Bank of Business Class Seats with a dreaded middle seat

The seats offered a variety of seat controls and adjustments. These included a massage and a lumbar function.

Seat Controls that Offer a Massage and Lumbar Function

Waiting for us on the seat ottoman was a shoe bag, containing slippers.

We had a twenty minute delay departing. Turkish has updated their AVOD entertainment to have refreshing scenic images of Turkey cycling as you are welcomed on board. The photography was really beautiful and inspires a trip to Turkey. There were lots of interesting things to look at; some landmarks familiar and some not.

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Pre-Departure Services:

As we settled in, we got the usual Turkish offering a choice of non alcoholic pre departure beverage of water, orange juice or the terrific lemon and mint. We both had lemon and mint, which is always a great start. At least if it is a non-alcoholic offering, Turkish does it right with a selection of interesting drinks.

While we were on the ground, the menus were dropped off. The menu package was pretty impressive. Turkish Airlines has been offering DO & CO Catering, which has been a very tasty endeavour in my experiences. The DO & CO Catering has offered interesting food and taste flavours that are better than the usual combinations you find with airlines.

Turkish Airlines Business Class Menu: Toronto – Istanbul

Turkish Airlines Business Class Beverage Menu: Toronto – Istanbul

The drink wine list was even more impressive. It contained 11 wines, although 4 of them were from Turkey. There were 3 whites, 5 reds, a champagne, a rose and a desert wine. The menu has somewhat of an institutional look to it, unlike other carriers that dress up their wine menus which pictures of the wine bottles or wine labels.

Turkish Airlines Business Class Wine List: Toronto – Istanbul

Turkish Airlines Business Class Spirits List: Toronto – Istanbul

We were also encouraged to complete a breakfast card for the breakfast order.

Turkish Airlines Business Class Breakfast Card: Toronto – Istanbul

An entertaining safety video was played twice; one in Turkish and once in English. It’s hosted by a magician on the left.

Noise cancelling headphones were also presented.

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The Amenity Kits: Bentley Branded Kits

The amenity kits were dropped off. The amenity kits were branded as “Bentley” fragrance amenity kits. There were mostly useless things in here. The Bentley branding was limited to a brochure, lip palm and a small tube of body lotion; a pretty chintzy offering that’s was completely forgotten about after I took the trip.

I checked out the in flight entertainment system. It had a good number of movies and enough to keep you entertained for several long haul flights.

Turkish Airways offers free wifi to business class passengers. Unfortunately, the connection is super slow. I did a speed test and only managed 6 MPS with the application crashing outright on the upload portion.

Tonights’ Flight Path Toronto – Istanbul

We got underway after the twenty minute delay and up to cruising altitude.

A Pre-Supper Towel Service:

Prior to the dinner service, we had a towel service. This was followed by a pre supper cocktail. Champagne was on order tonight.

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The Meal: A Three Course Dinner

Candlelight High Above the Clouds

The dinner service started with a small mezze platter, and soup, plated together. This came with the oh so cool LED candle light in the sky which is a silly, but excellent touch of ambience at cruising altitude that I always look forward to on Turkish Airlines.

Candle Light Dinner High Above the Clouds Candle

The main course was steak and arugula with potatoes. I love having steak and red wine on a plane but it seems really hard for airlines to invest the money to execute it right. Today’s steak was awfully tough, worse than sirloin and quite grainy in texture. Unlike the Bentley amenity kit, this I did remember for how lousy it was.

Desserts were brought around from the cart, which is always super impressive. I ended up with chocolate mousse based on appearance selections.

Dinner was a leisurely affair with service completed about 2.5 hours into the flight.

The cabin was turned down for the evening with the window shades closed and the service cleared. A small bottle of 330 ml water was dropped off at the seat. There was an offer to have the bedding made up but I elected to catch up on the trip report before turning in. We were just off the coast of Newfoundland by the time that we were done the food service.

After dinner, I turned down for the evening and tried some rest. It was a bit of a bumpy flight and I managed about 4 ½ hours’ worth of sleep.

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The Second Service: Breakfast

I woke up over of Dubrovnik, Croatia to the sounds of breakfast. Service was prompt and the first breakfast offering was presented within 10 minutes of waking up.

The Turkish Airlines Business Class Cabin at Morning Light

Breakfast started with a coffee, a strawberry smoothie, cut fruit and bread offerings.

A Turkish Coffee, A Fruit Smoothie and Fresh Fruit

This was followed by an omelette with potatoes and peppers.

After breakfast, I stocked up some water from the self service bar which had been mostly packed up for the flight.

Landing at Istanbul:

We had a straight in approach with no holds, touching down at Istanbul Atatürk International Airport. We were dumped off at one of the last gates on the international wing. As a result, we had a long walk to the connections check point.

We disembarked and headed off to our Turkish Airlines Business Class Istanbul – Dar Es Salaam flight on their unique Boeing 737-900 ER aircraft.

My Thoughts on Turkish Airlines Business Class:

Turkish Airlines is a great way to get across the Atlantic. Thanks to generous business class reward availability and no fuel surcharges, it’s not usually too hard to find flights with them. Although their business class seat isn’t class leading by any means, their tasty DO and CO catering is a great way to pass the time while you’re on board with them. Add to this the fact that they fly almost everywhere, and you have a winning combination.

If you regularly connect within the Middle East, is Turkish Airlines Business Class a reasonable travel option for you ?

Tags: Aeroplan, IST, YYZ

Review: Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, Toronto International, Canada

Posted on February 24, 2022 By World Traveller 73 in Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge + Lounges + Tanzania and Seychelles via Air Canada and Turkish Airlines Business Class + Trip Report

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The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Toronto International represents Air Canada’s top flagship international lounge. The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Toronto International is a reasonably new lounge offering that offers a spacious lounge area and solid food buffet amid a contemporary setting. How would this lounge rate compared to other international business class departure lounges?

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Review: Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, Toronto Pearson International, Terminal One, Canada

We arrived into Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal One on Air Canada Signature Business Class Vancouver – Toronto. With a great flight behind us, we were looking forward to more greatness on the next leg of our adventure.

Locating the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Toronto International:

We arrived into Toronto Pearson Terminal One at Gate D24, which is in the commuter airline area. The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Toronto International is located in the International Departures Terminal.

The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Toronto International
Map Courtesy of Toronto Pearson Airport Authority

We wandered down the usual connections path from the Domestic Terminal towards the escalators up to the E connection gates.

Toronto Pearson International Airport Domestic Terminal

Following Our Way to The International Terminal

We used the express travelator over to the International concourse which is an interesting contraption by Thyssen Krupp that is a double speed level travelator that moves on an accordion floor that shrinks and expands depending on where you are.

On the Accordion High Speed Moving Travellator

The escalator dumped us off at the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge International Toronto. The entrance way features the neatly designed light display of the world behind the reception desk.

Arriving to the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Toronto International

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Accessing the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge:

The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge was accessed today courtesy of a business class ticket for our Turkish Airlines Business Class Toronto – Istanbul flight.

You could also get access into the lounge through a business class ticket on Air Canada under the Star Alliance Lounge policy, by purchasing an annual lounge membership, or through select Canadian based credit card memberships affiliated with American Express.

Access to the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge is also permitted for Star Alliance Gold Customers travelling in any class of travel. Access is permitted for a Star Alliance member airline operated flight which departs at the same day as the visit or latest by 05:00 AM the next morning. If your boarding pass does not carry the Star Alliance Gold indicator, you will need to also show your valid Star Alliance Gold card. Under these circumstances, one guest is permitted.

Inside the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge:

It’s my second time in this lounge. It’s always a dark affair since my flights always seem to be connecting internationally in the evening. The layout seems less impressive these days compared with some of the massive hub lounges of the world, although it is a perfectly nice lounge.

The seating areas are nicely spread out with ample spots to sit. The better spots seem to be further into the lounge away from the entrance.

Lounge Seating in the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge

In addition to the main seating areas, there were also some quieter seating areas in the back that were more appropriate for groups travelling together.

The lounge was pretty spacious, although every time I have been through, it has usually been quite full.

Almost Occupied to Capacity in the Late Evening

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Food and Beverage:

Certain airline carriers offer a better offering for their international lounges than over their domestic or trans-border offerings. In this case, the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Toronto International featured a buffet with more substantial food offerings than at the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Vancouver Domestic lounge. There were varied hot food offerings that included meats, pasta and rice.

There were also cold salads and other lighter foods. The usual Maple Leaf Lounge standard fare tortilla chips and salsa were also available.

The Familiar Salsa and Corn Tortilla Chips

Despite the more impressive food offerings, the usual inexpensive wines were on pour. The wines were the same types as the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Vancouver Domestic Lounge. There were no special upgrades here in the wine category, it was the same offering as in the domestic and transborder versions.

We didn’t stay to long. We uploaded / downloaded laptop emails and charged up with some water before heading off on our Turkish Airlines Business Class Toronto – Istanbul flight.

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The Bottom Line: The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Toronto International

All in, the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Toronto International is pretty solid international lounge. It has all that you’d need when connecting to an international flights. It’s got a reasonable buffet and some comfortable chairs to spend time in between your connection. I doubt that I would count on this place for a meal replacement, if you were hoping to get to sleep right away on your international flight, but it’s pretty good nevertheless.

If you visited the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Toronto International, what were your impressions ?

Tags: Star Alliance Gold

Review: Air Canada Signature Business Class B787-9, Vancouver – Toronto

Posted on February 23, 2022 By World Traveller 73 in Air Canada + Airline + Boeing 787 + Business Class + Seventy Two Hours in Miami, USA via Alaska Airlines + Trip Report

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Air Canada recently recognized that they are able to offer a very strong competitive advantage in the form of a fully flat business class seat an executive pod over its usual narrow body recliner seats. Air Canada has branded this as Air Canada Signature Class promising an elevated end to end experience. How would it stand up on a trans continental route ?

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Review: Air Canada Signature Business Class B787-9, Vancouver International Airport – Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal One

We had a bit of a rushed get away this morning from the house. With this being the first leg of a two week East Africa trip, we took extra steps to make sure the house was buttoned up. We’ve had a dry spring so I spent lots of time giving the plants an extra long water. MrsWT73 volunteered to drive us to the airport today so we packed up the car and we were off at 10 AM.

Checking into Air Canada Signature Class:

MrsWT73 dropped me off at the Vancouver International Airport Domestic Terminal with the bags while she went to park the car. The area is getting quite small and they have out grown their foot print in the old original airport building which dates back to 1968.

Air Canada Vancouver Domestic Priority Check In

We checked in at the Air Canada Priority Desk that has been jazzed up in elegant black since the last time we flew with them. This desk handles all business class domestic and international check ins for Air Canada. The US Transborder Departures are handled at a separate area that is closer to the US Pre-Clearance facility.

A friendly check in agent verified our Tanzanian’ visa’s and was excited to hear that we were travelling all the way to Tanzania. “Have fun you guys” she exclaimed as she sent us on our way with three boarding cards. Our bags were tagged the entire way to DAR Dar Es Salaam, and flagged with Star Alliance Priority Tags.

We were tagged for our Long Onward Journey

There was a long line at security screening today that had about 200 people in it. Thanks to Nexus Trusted Traveller cards, we followed the pathway around to the left at screening check point “B” and snuck our way into the security lane that only had about 5 people in it. While Air Canada Signature Business Class also offered Priority Security Screening, we didn’t end up using this feature.

After we had cleared security, we passed the new First Nations Art work in the C wing. We headed down to the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge – Domestic Terminal. It is pretty cool that there are Brentwood boxes decorating the inside of the Vancouver Airport representing the local indigenous art of the area.

Indigenous Art in Vancouver International Airport

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Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Vancouver Domestic:

I’ve reviewed the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge – Domestic Terminal several times before, so please see there for those reviews along with access information. This lounge used to be a regular stop over of mine, but it has been probably 6 months since I’d visited last.

The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Vancouver Domestic has its lobby area on the entrance level followed by a rectangular shape on the upper level. The lounge itself is looking quite worn. The leather chairs are quite beat up and there are a lot of stains on the carpet. The place has gotten quite a bit of use recently.

Lounge Seating: Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Vancouver Domestic

Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge – Food and Beverage

MrsWT73 insisted that we eat in the lounge on the way there instead of stopping for a proper meal. “There will be sandwiches there lovey”. Famous last words. . . Unfortunately, it seems as though there have been some cost cutting. Two salads, green peas and flatbread was all that was on offer. Now looking less than United Clubs an Even the Plaza Premium Priority Pass options in Vancouver are looking much more nicely appointed than the Maple Leaf Lounge.

Despite the meager food selection, there were a handful of British Columbia wines available. There were also lots of self pour spirits. It wasn’t anything too exciting but nice to have the option.

British Columbia White and Red Wines and a Variety of Hard Spirits

The best part of the lounge are the large windows with views across to the domestic / international swing gates and the coast mountains north of Vancouver. There are great views from the lounge of the international and domestic apron.

Views of an Air Canada Boeing 777 from the Comfort of the Lounge

Outstanding Views of the Air Canada Glacier Blue Green Livery

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Air Canada
AC 116 – Signature Business Class (I)
YVR-YYZ (Vancouver International Airport – Toronto Pearson International Airport)
May 26, 2018
01:00 PM – 8:22 PM
Booked: Boeing 787-900
Flown: Boeing 787-900

We headed down at about fifty minutes before our flight to Gate C49, which was one gate up from the Maple Leaf Lounge Vancouver Domestic. Today’s service was on a beautiful new Boeing 787-900 with the attractive “sunglasses” livery. Air Canada boards by zone and it wasn’t long before the zone gate mazes filled up.

Air Canada Boarding by Zone Maze at Gate C49

The Air Canada Sunglasses Livery for the Air Canada Boeing 787-900

On Board Air Canada Signature Business Class:

We were able to board in Zone 1 and we were the 5th and 6th people on board the aircraft. We guided ourselves to our assigned Signature Business Class Seats 4A and 3A. Air Canada offers a pretty nice 787 reverse herringbone product with a business class cabin set up in a 1 – 2 – 1 configuration. When we arrived to the seat, we found the sleep set waiting for us, consisting of upgraded but unbranded bedding along with a pillow.

Air Canada Signature Business Class B787-9

Suite 4A: Air Canada Signature Business Class

An Overhead View: Air Canada Signature Business Class

A Video System that Highlighted Our Destination

The seat itself has electronic seat controls accessed by a touch screen. These controlled the seat reclines, the in suite lighting system and the flight attendant call button.

Service, Ambiance, Seat Control and Comfort Menus

There were also thankfully individual air vent nozzles. It’s a feature I’ve grown to appreciate more and more through my years of flying.

Our Seat had Personal Individual Air Nozzles

Consistent with a modern seat, there were lots of great cubby holes, storage place and plug ins. The most convenient one was the wallet, phone and device storage that featured Empower in seat power. It also featured a wired remote control for the television monitor.

A Wired Remote Control, along with Empower in Seat Power

A Space for Water Bottles under the side of the seat

A Magazine Rack in the Footwell, featuring Air Canada’s Enroute Magazine

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Pre-Departure Services:

As we prepared to get underway, a bottle of Naya still water was dropped off. It wasn’t clear to me whether this was to be saved for the flight or whether this was the “pre-departure beverage”. It seems that they have either cut the Pre – Departure Beverage on domestic flights since no one ever came around again to offer anything. I ended up shelving the water for later in the flight.

The Pre-Departure Water that became a regular water

While we were waiting to get underway, the menus were also dropped off. The wine lists were of the “ask your server” variety; also known as non existent as it wasn’t loaded.

Air Canada Signature Class Menu Vancouver – Toronto

The captain came onto the public address system to announce a shorter than usual flight time of 3 hrs and 47 minutes flight time and 4 hours and 19 minutes gate to gate. As this was happening, the flight attendants came around to take lunch orders. The orders were taken from the right of the aircraft to the left. Although I was near the end on the left side, I was still able to get my first choice of entrees.

Departing Vancouver:

We had a short and unexplained push delay of about 10 minutes. We set off for Runway 08R which had us departing Vancouver International in an eastward direction over my home town of Surrey. Were we joined a queue of about 7-9 aircraft waiting to take off. This included a Korean Air Cargo Boeing 777 Freighter.

Our Flight Track from Vancouver to Toronto

Once we were under way, the in flight service started with a towel service.

The meal service started with a beverage service with nuts. I thought that the staff would not be back again for a while, so I filled up with a Tanqueray gin and tonic AND a white wine. I was pleased to report staff was around frequently for drink refills.

A Mixed Nut Service with a Tanqueray Gin and Tonic and a White Wine

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The Meal: A Three Course Lunch

After the initial drink and cocktail service, it was time for lunch. The well advertised Air Canada Signature Hawksworth menu items surprisingly absent and missing from the printed menus. Despite this, food that was offered was tasty and pleasant.

The Appetizer plate was served on a full tray. The first course consisted of Ceasar salad, romaine, pancetta, Parmesan pepper crisp, French bread croutons, creamy Ceasar salad dressing (is there any other kind)?

Ceasar salad, romaine, pancetta, Parmesan pepper crisp, French bread croutons, creamy Ceasar salad dressing

The main course was Chicken Piri Piri, smoked paprika, curcuma basmati rice, green beans, carrots, red peppers. The sauce was great and nice to have some spice on the plane where everything usually tastes so bland.

Chicken Piri Piri, smoked paprika, curcuma basmati rice, green beans, carrots, and red peppers

The final course was dessert and a Chocolate chip cookie baked fresh on board, vanilla (gelato) ice cream, and a coffee since we had a long travel journey ahead of us.

After the food service, the cabin was turned down and I settled into the in flight entertainment system. Throughout the balance of the flight, there were frequent drink refills and I was addressed by name at almost every opportunity. It was a solid effort by Air Canada.

The Air Canada Signature Business Class Cabin

The flight entertainment system is a much stronger version than on their narrowbody aircraft with many more movies available.

MrsWT73 had no issues with the Air Canada Signature Business Class set up by the looks of things. The seat was quite comfortable for relaxing, and did fold to fully flat for sleeping if you were so inclined.

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Arriving into Toronto Pearson:

We arrived to Toronto just as the sun was setting for the day. As always, it was an approach over many of Toronto’s freeways.

Winding Down Our Flight into Toronto Pearson

We landed into Toronto Pearson International Airport arriving to gate D24. We would head over to the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Toronto International, prior to connecting onwards later in the evening to our Turkish Airlines Business Class Toronto – Istanbul flight.

My Thoughts on Air Canada Signature Business Class service:

The Air Canada Signature Business Class Boeing 787-900 flight with its reverse herringbone configuration remains THE most comfortable way to skip across Canada. We had great and friendly service from our crew. The food was also reasonably tasty. The only let down in the service was the initial lack of food in the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Vancouver. It certainly beats the narrow body recliner seats that most Air Canada flights offer on their Airbus fleet. I can’t wait to fly Air Canada Signature Class again!

If you regularly travel across Canada, do you make an effort to fly in Air Canada Signature Business Class or do you just go for the most conveniently timed flight ?

Tags: AC 116, Aeroplan, YVR, YYZ

Trip Introduction: Zanzibar, Tanzania and Seychelles in East Africa via Air Canada and Turkish Airlines Business Class

Posted on February 22, 2022 By World Traveller 73 in Africa + Seychelles + Tanzania + Tanzania and Seychelles via Air Canada and Turkish Airlines Business Class + Trip Report + Trip Report Introduction

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The countries of Eastern Africa have always been a little difficult to get to from my home in the Pacific Northwest in North America. While we had visited the Maasai Mara in Kenya in the past, the Islands of Tanzania and the Seychelles had always alluded me in the past. As a result of an upcoming Air Canada Aeroplan devaluation, we were able to get ourselves on a two week trip to East Africa on Air Canada and Turkish Airlines Business Class.

Trip Introduction: Zanzibar, Tanzania and Seychelles in East Africa via Air Canada and Turkish Airlines Business Class

Trip Background:

The frequent flier world always changes and, in this travel chapter, it was the announcement in December 2017 that Air Canada would soon be severing its relationship with its then spun off frequent flier program Aeroplan. This likely meant that, at the worst, our points would be able to be redeemed for merchandise and economy class seating on any carrier. The horrors! We’d had a good run with Aeroplan, having redeemed about 1.2 million miles with them over the course of the years. At the time of this report, no bright future was in sight. Instead of having our points turned into toaster or appliance redemptions, we decided to burn off the majority of the points with two North America – Africa Business Class Awards valued at 150,000 Aeroplan points per person.

Airfare Planning:

Thanks to generous business class award space on Turkish Airlines, we booked departing from Vancouver across Canada to Toronto in Air Canada Business Class (in Air Canada’s Signature Class Boeing 787 long haul pods, connecting to Turkish Airlines down to Tanzania.

Our return was on an open jaw ticket departing from the Seychelles, re-tracing our steps through Istanbul, Turkey and onwards to Toronto, Canada back to our home city of Vancouver, Canada.

I was initially unable to get 2 business class seats on the Air Canada Vancouver – Toronto flights so I had booked into Premium Economy for this segment. I set Expert Flier seat alerts and fortunately, at the four month mark, 2 business reward seats opened up. I called in and had us moved up from Premium Economy to Business Class without charge.

Each ticket was 150,000 miles apiece for six flights in business class. Aeroplan doesn’t collect fuel surcharges for flights on Turkish Airlines so our taxes and fees per ticket were a reasonably low $197.41 CAD ($154 USD) per ticket. These tickets were booked at 5 months before travel with selective award availability.

Since this was an open jaw ticket arriving in Tanzania and departing from the Seychelles, we had to get ourselves in between the two countries. I noticed that Kenya Airways was flying in between Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and Mahe, Seychelles via Nairobi, Kenya. The ticket was a surprisingly low base fare of $35 USD, a bargain basement price for a one way international fare. With taxes and fees, the ticket came to $160 USD each. We didn’t bother with a business class ticket coming in at $600 USD per person on this route. We didn’t need the extra baggage allowance thanks to several propeller plane rides throughout the trip, and our ability to access lounges on this intra Africa trip was limited with only a 50 minute connection in Nairobi.

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Hotel Planning:

The Marriott Bonvoy hotel chain did not have a huge presence in Dar Es Sallam, Tanzania or in Mahe or Praslin of Seychelles. As a result of this, we defected to Hyatt for a large portion of this trip. Using their World of Hyatt (previously Hyatt Gold Passport), we redeemed Cash and Points Rates in order to save on hotels for our African stays.

We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Dar Es Salaam – The Kilimanjaro in Dar Es Sallam, Tanzania. It’s prominent waterfront location was an easy choice. We also stayed at the over the top Park Hyatt Zanzibar situated in Stonetown, Zanzibar. Both of these were booked on a Cash and Points rate.

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If you visited East Africa, how did you put your trip together ?

Tags: Aeroplan, Trip Report Introduction

Review: The Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel, British Columbia, Canada

Posted on February 21, 2022 By World Traveller 73 in Hotels + Marriott + Trip Report

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The Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel is the Vancouver Hotel for Marriott Loyalists. It offers a business traveller oriented experience, with amenties such as a concierge lounge, a reasonable location that is well situated to many of Vancouver’s attractions and beautiful Harbour Views. Read on to see how our stay was and whether the Marriott experience delivered.

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Hotel Review: The Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel, British Columbia, Canada

“A Hotel for Marriott Business Traveler Loyalists in Every Way; accented with Harbour Views, an Executive Lounge and Nearby Chain Restaurants making for a convenient stay”

There are several Marriott Hotels in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. If you’re looking for another Vancouver property, please see our reviews of the JW Marriott Parq, The Sheraton Wall Centre and the Westin Bayshore.

For a Vancouver Airport Hotel, please see Westin Wall Centre Vancouver International Airport or the “in terminal” Fairmont Vancouver International Airport.

Planning and Getting There:

Our travel plans over the Christmas holiday season had us in Vancouver Downtown for a view events. Unfortunately, the events were cancelled as a result of the Omicron Variant virus of COVID 19 that was spreading throughout the continent. With reasonably good health, and having previously travelled during the pandemic, we decided to keep our hotel room to have a little stay – cation, despite our event being cancelled.

On the Marriott Website, I booked a One King Bed City View Room for $198.99 CAD ($156 USD). The room rates in Vancouver vary tremendously in normal times. They can range from a low of approximately $150 USD, all the way up to $500 USD dependent if you hit cruise ship season.

The Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Hotel is a Marriott Bonvoy Category 6, meaning that rooms are approximately between 40,000 – 60,000 a night under variable pricing, with 50,000 pints a night as standard. If you value Marriott Bonvoy points at $0.005 a point, you’d have to spend more than $250 USD to come out ahead for a 50,000 point redemption. In the summer, this might represent a better value when the room rates climb beyond $300 USD per night or perhaps if you’ve visiting Vancouver on a cruise ship Friday or Saturday night when hotel inventory in Vancouver completely sells out thanks to those Alaskan cruise ship travellers. However, if you’re visiting in the off season, you’re much better paying cash. As a result, we ended up paying cash for our visit.

Arriving to the Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle:

1128 West Hastings Street,Vancouver Canada British Columbia V6E 4R5

The Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Hotel is reasonably well situated in Coal Harbour in Downtown Vancouver. It is located two blocks inwards from the water at Coal Harbour, meaning that many of the hotel views are of the “peek a boo” variety.

The Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Hotel is among the furthest away of the Marriott properties in Vancouver by distance from the Vancouver International Airport. If you’re coming to this location with a lot of luggage, a car transfer from airport to hotel is probably your best option. It’s possible to take the Skytrain from Vancouver Airport to Waterfront Station and walk 5 blocks (10 minutes) to the hotel. However, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this unless it was fair weather outside, and you were travelling light.

In our case as local Vancouver residents, we self drove to the hotel. We self parked in the attached and directly under the hotel underground. The hotel parking is below level P3, with the first levels for commercial hourly self parkers.

Self parking a car at this property requires you to fiddle with a parking meter. I entered “Hotel Check In” on the parking meter. That allowed us a limited 10 minutes of free parking. I regularly visit this particular underground parking garage even when I don’t stay at this property, since the parking rates are coded to earn 5 points per dollar on my American Express Bonvoy Credit Card similar to if I were staying at a Marriott Bonvoy hotel. It is also worth mentioning that the parking administration company “Diamond Parking Services” is quite aggressive in monitoring the parking, so I would make sure that you return within your prescribed time or otherwise expect a ticket.

Checking into the Marriott:

We self navigated ourselves up to the ground floor of the hotel. The lobby is what I would describe as functional. It offered a high ceiling with some convention space on the third floors, in addition to a small seating area towards the back of the lobby with the parking elevators. Being the holiday season, the lobby was well decorated making things quite festive.

The Lobby of the Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle

The Darker Lounge Space off the Parking Elevators

Lobby Internet Computers were Also Available

We went to the front desk and started the check in process. As a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium level member, the terms and conditions of the program allow you to gain access to a better room “We’ll do our best to upgrade your room (including Select Suites), based on availability upon arrival. Upgrades are subject to availability identified by each hotel and limited to your personal guest room”.

I asked at the front desk for the possibility of a suite upgrade and was given a flat out “no – they’re all sold out” response, without even a check of the computer. I was given the “well we’ve already upgraded you to a harbour view room” comment. We would end up being upgraded into a One King Bed Harbour View Room Above Floor 19, a room which was retailing for $500 CAD ($392 USD) on the night of our stay. While this was a reasonable upgrade in terms of available inventory, there’s nothing like a bit of a sour start to the stay when you happen to know there is quite a bit of suite inventory, and it’s not being made available; even if the hotel doesn’t offer all categories of suites available to it’s elite members.

All this apparently available suite inventory and no complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Elite upgrades

In complete fairness to the hotel, I haven’t been upgraded with Marriott Bonvoy as much as I used to with the Starwood Preferred Guest program. The only hotel that I’ve been consistently upgraded to a suite as a Marriott Platinum as been the JW Marriott Parq Vancouver. Most of my room category upgrades have been to an enhanced room within the same room category or slightly larger.

I finished the check in process and selected points as the Marriott Bonvoy welcome amenity. I was explained that the Executive Concierge Lounge was open, although it was offering limited service. I was also given several vouchers for breakfast and complimentary appetizers to be enjoyed in the ground floor lobby Showcase Restaurant.

It’s worth noting that the property was quite generous in terms of offering a full hot breakfast and hot snacks with it’s vouchers. This isn’t always something that I’ve experienced at other Marriott properties in North America.

Lastly, we were offered a 4 PM late check out per the Terms and Conditions of the Marriott Bonvoy program, consistent with a Titanium elite level.

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The Room: One King Bed, Harbour View.

Separate Shower and Suite, 19th floor and above. A Panoramic Suite

We navigated ourselves up to a One King Bed Harbour View Room #2220. The hotel has only a eighteen rooms per floor in a tower configuration. Some of these rooms offer ocean harbour views where as some offer city views of other towers in the business district.

The first thing that you notice getting into the room is the magnificant harbour view. On our room on the twenty second floor, it is quite impressive and striking. Large windows that are almost floor to ceiling capture the space quite nicely.

Harbour View Room “Above Floor Nineteen”

The hotel was built in 2000 with the rooms last renovated in 2009. In line with this, the rest of the room is the usual Marriott space; a room with reds and orange earth tones. While this is a pretty typical colour scheme throughout Marriott properties, I find that the colours are looking quite dated and older. The room featured a comfortable king bed, along with two Marriott red relaxing chairs.

A television and desk rounded out the room. The desk was not super spacious, although it did provide a place to charge phones and devices.

A Flat Screen Television and a Smaller Desk

The Desk was a Little Small for any Work Projects that required spreading out

The room was pretty compact at 300 – 350 sq feet. It would have felt much smaller without the large windows. Generally, I find a room of this size to be fine for one business traveller, but when you add another person, it does get a little crowded quite quickly.

A Little Bit of Room to Roll Around, but not Much

The room featured a Keurig Coffee Maker, along with several caffinated and decaffinated coffee pods.

The room did feature a renovated bathroom. The bathroom was in more modern greys and tones. Consistent with a smaller room, it featured a single vanity sink. The bathroom featured a stand up shower that was also fairly tight on space, and a separate bathtub consistent with the configurations of a hotel from the twenty first century era.

A Bathroom Counter that was Compact for Two Persons

The bathroom toiletries were the “thisworks” brand; a brand that I’ve never seen anywhere else other than inside a Marriott hotel.

The best part of the room was the view from the twenty second floor of the harbour. The views were of a peek a boo variety through the residential towers and looking North towards the North Shore Mountains.

Snowy North Shore Mountain Views from the Twenty Second Floor

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Features of the Hotel:

Concierge Club:

The Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Resort offers a concierge club that is available to Concerige Lounge Access level rooms or Marriott Bonvoy Platinum, Titanium and Ambassador level members. It is located on the twenty fifth floor on the harbour side of the buildling.

Concierge Room Access on the Twenty Fifth Floor

The lounge wasn’t attended to by a reception while we were there. We gained access through a key card at the door. For some reason, the lounge was not accessible twenty four hours, with key card access being shut off during non “access hours”. Access was limited to a restrictive 7 AM – 10 PM on weekdays and 7 AM to 7 PM on weekends.

Inside the Concerige Lounge, the space held seating for approximately 30 -50 people depending on room configuration. The space had great harbour views like our room.

I would imagine that this space would get quite crowded during regular travelling time as it wasn’t too spacious.

With most of the food and beverage being oriented towards the Showcase restaurant, there wasn’t much in the way of food available in the lounge. There were coffee machines, some small snacks in the form of fruit and Kashii bars and available bottled water.

Potato Chips, Kashii Bars and Fresh Fruit

We would end up only visiting this space once during our visit, thanks to the lack of food and limited operating hours.

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Showcase Restaurant and Bar:

In lieu of a proper lounge experience, our stay offered complimentary range of appetizers at the hotel’s Showcase Restaurant. This restaurant is always fairly well occupied, despite there being a really good Cactus Club Upscale Casual Dining Restaurant and Tap And Barrel Pub located just two blocks away just north of the hotel at Jack Poole Plaza.

The Showcase Restaurant anchored the lobby in a high ceiling space that occupies the entire front of the hotel.

The hotel was generous in its offering of “concierge appetizers” and allowed guests to pick one hot / cold appetizer from the menu.

The Marriott Bonvoy Platinum and Higher Lounge Voucher menu

For those that are interested, the street pricing for the Concierge Appetizers were pretty standard hotel pricing.

The Happy Hour Specials Street Pricing Menu

Showcase also offered a regular menu for it’s in hotel dining. It wasn’t anything spectacular or regional, aside from the Sockeye Salmon which doesn’t often feature unless you’re situated on the coast.

There was also an elaborate drink list, with many cocktails available and a decent selection of wine available by the glass.

The Showcase Restaurant Bar and Cocktail Menu

I ended up ordering the Concierge Appetizer Soy Ginger Chicken Wings. I have to give the hotel credit for this. Although the wings took about twenty minutes to come out at a 5 PM order time, they were a massive portion and much more than I was expecting. There were also pretty tasty.

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Nearby the Hotel Property:

Tableau Bar and Bistro:

Although our Marriott Titanium status offered an included breakfast at the Showcase Restaurant and Bar, we ended up taking breakfast off site at the nearby independent Tableau Bar and Bistro adjacent to the Loden Hotel. The Tableau Bar and Bistro is among the nicest spots for breakfast in the city. It’s located only 4 minutes walk away from the Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Hotel and is easily bookable on Open Table.

Tableau Bar and Bistro’s Outstanding Brunch and Drink Menu
Over twenty types of French Champagne!

We enjoyed a really decent croque madame with ham mornay sauce, gruyere cheese and a salmon eggs benedict with hollandaise sauce and russet potatoes.

A Croque Madame and Salmon Eggs Benedict

It was an exceptionally brunch and I would easily return to Tableau Bar and Bistro as one of my favourite breakfast spots in Vancouver.

We ended up checking out of the Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Hotel along with our 4 PM check out. A few days after the stay, I received an automated survey from Marriott. I completed my comments about the lack of suite upgrade, despite asking for it. I was contacted by hotel management a few days later and was offered an appropriate resolution. I have to give the hotel some credit for attempting to make things right in this case, even if we didn’t get a full suite upgrade for our stay.

My Thoughts on the Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Hotel:

The Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle is a pretty straight forward Marriott hotel that’s a no nonsense experience geared towards business travellers. It offers a traditional Marriott stay in a hotel that offers a well stocked bar, a concierge lounge and a reasonable location within Vancouver that is convenient to several decent restaurants. On the downside, the rooms are pretty compact for two travellers and they are starting to look quite dated in decor. Between the other properties in the system, I personally prefer the Westin Bayshore, the Sheraton Wall Centre or the more upscale JW Marriott Parq, as an alternative place to stay. While it isn’t the most aspirational property out there, it may completely fit your needs for a stay in Vancouver.

If you’ve stayed at the Marriott Pinnacle, did you prefer it to other Marriott Bonvoy properties within Vancouver ?

Tags: Hotel Review, Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott Platinum

Review: Alaska Airlines B737-9, Fort Lauderdale – Seattle

Posted on February 20, 2022 By World Traveller 73 in Airline + Alaska Airlines + Boeing 737 + Seventy Two Hours in Miami, USA via Alaska Airlines + Trip Report

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My return flight from Florida to the Pacific Northwest on another direct transcontinental from Florida to Seattle. It was among the second longest domestic flights in the United States as a result of the diagonal trans continental distance from city to city. Like on my way down, I’d experience the pleasant Alaska Airlines service in an Emergency Exit row seat.

This post is one chapter on our trip to Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States of America. This trip was enhanced through Alaska Mileage Plan and through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.

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Review: Alaska Airlines B737-9, Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport – Seattle Tacoma International Airport

We left the wonderful stay at The St Regis Bal Harbour. We drove to the airport and filled up the rental car. We returned the car to Avis without any issue. From the rental car center, it was a quick 5 minute walk to Terminal 1.

We had completed on line check in via the Alaska Airlines App. The App seems to be a little clunky at times and it usually takes us a few tries to get it to work. I suspect this is because we are almost always on international flights with Alaska which may cause some challenges. It frequently seems to forget all our entered information causing us to re-enter everything again. Luck was on our side because the check in worked on the third try.

Call me old fashioned, but at the time of this flight, I still liked to have a paper boarding card. Why? I don’t know. Perhaps for collectables sake, even though most are the same old thing. We stopped by the Alaska desks to get one from the kiosk. Unfortunately, there was a long line even in the First Class line and no kiosks to be found. With that, we just abandoned the thought of the paper boarding pass and headed straight for the TSA Pre-Check line.

The Alaska Airlines Check In Zone at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport

A Few Queues Today at the First Class and Elite Line

We were through security in about 10 minutes. The Fort Lauderdale airport seems to be undergoing a bit of a refresh since many of the concourse shops after security were boarded up behind construction panels.

With breakfast wearing off, we went to Chili’s for a late lunch. MrsWT73 proclaimed her joy “Oh great, I finally get to eat at a Chili’s”; an airport staple around the America’s. The service was prompt and cheery, like most of our experiences in Florida. Today’s serving was a turkey avocado bacon sandwich with fries. Nothing like a light meal before a long flight!!

After lunch and over at the gate, MrsWT73 was called up to the podium for an “important message”, which was a cleared upgrade on the Alaska Mileage Plan MVP Unlimited Domestic Upgrade list. As an Alaska Mileage Plan MVP Gold, she was #2 on the list at the flight closing time. As an MVP, I ended up as #15 on the list again and would have to settle for the comforts of 17F as the exit row.

A Mostly SouthWest Oriented Flight Display Board

We were delayed getting out by 15 minutes due to some last-minute seat changes and re-accommodation of a family with infants that required some seat swapping. There was an announcement from the captain that the flight was a long one at 6 hours and 40 minutes. Nevertheless, it was a nice sunset at the gate… including some great over wing views.

Alaska Airlines
AS 35 – Economy Class (T)
FLL-SEA (Fort Lauderdale Hollywood Airport – Seattle Tacoma International Airport)
Feb 3, 2018
06:30 PM – 10:22 PM
Booked: Boeing 737-900
Flown: Boeing 737-900

On Board Alaska Airlines:

My seat was in row 17F in the usual economy class row of 3 – 3 configuration on the Boeing 737-8. The emergency exit row featured a little extra leg room, although no storage underneath the seat in front of you.

Sunset Skies in Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport

The Meal: Buy on Board

featuring Tom Douglas

Once airborne, it was a mostly smooth flight. Despite having the sandwich, I opted for buy on board again and had the Sonoran Chicken Skillet with chili roasted chicken, served with brown rice, roasted corn, red peppers and savoury black beans. It was almost all that but otherwise different than the usual buy on board offerings.

Sonoran Chicken Skillet
“chili roasted chicken, served with brown rice, roasted corn, red peppers and savoury black beans”

I had a major cougher behind me in Seat 18E but the flight time of 6 hours and forty minutes when by pretty quickly considering the long distances travelled.

My Thoughts on Alaska Airlines Seattle – Florida Service:

In summary, it was a great flight up to Seattle without any major incidents. Although there is no upgrades from the middle rows, having the extra room was beneficial for such a long trans continental journey.

If you regularly travel long distances with Alaska, is it comfortable enough for your needs ?

Tags: Alaska Mileage Plan, AS 35, FLL, SEA

Review: The St Regis Bal Harbour Resort, Miami Beach, Florida, USA

Posted on February 19, 2022 By World Traveller 73 in Hotels + Seventy Two Hours in Miami, USA via Alaska Airlines + St Regis + Trip Report

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One of the most aspirational Marriott / Starwood properties in North America is the St Regis Bal Harbour Resort Miami Beach, Florida, United States of America. The St Regis property commands an impressive luxury high rise at the north end of Miami Beach. The property features every luxury and amenity. Would a stay here live up to it’s reputation? Our stay at the property would test almost every feature.

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Review: The St Regis Bal Harbour Resort, Miami Beach, Florida, United States of America

Booking the St Regis Bal Harbour:

When I was scrolling the hotels in Fort Lauderdale / Miami on the Starwood Preferred Guest (now Marriott Bonvoy) site, I happened across the aspirational St Regis Bal Harbour Resort property. It happened to have Cash and Points availability at 15,000 Starwood Preferred Guest points and $275 USD per night, in addition to free night awards at 35,000 Starwood Preferred Guest points. The regular rate for our dates was $1,217 USD per night. By redeeming Cash and Points, I managed to get a redemption rate of $0.062 cents per point; a great value!

Although I had them, I didn’t use a Marriott / Starwood Suite Night Award as the only available category at the time was to a Junior Suite; an increase in room size by 25 sq. I figured I would gamble and hope for a Marriott Bonvoy / Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum benefit upgrade at check in as the coupon wasn’t getting me a double sized room or anything. That strategy ended up paying off as we were upgraded into the room category of the Suite Night Award without actually using and loosing it.

Marriott Bonvoy Redemption Opportunties:

The hotel is currently in the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program as a Category 8 hotel; the highest tier available. The St Regis Bal Harbour Resort is one of the most aspirational properties in the Marriott system so this high rating is to be expected.

The St Regis Bal Harbour Resort makes rooms available for between a low of 70,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night to a high of 100,000 points per night with a standard rate of 85,000 points per night.

If you value Marriott Bonvoy points at $0.005 a point like I do, you’d be better off redeeming points if your paid rate was more expensive than $425 USD.

We departed our earlier stay at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina and self-drove to the St Regis Bal Harbour. I found the traffic in the area to be really bad. Google Maps kept saying that it was 40 minute’s drive which would end up being an hour by the time everything was all said and done.

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Arriving to the St Regis Bal Harbour:

9703 Collins Avenue Bal Harbour, Miami Beach, FL 33154, United States

We drove up to the three-tower complex that is the St Regis Bal Harbour. The signs were clearly marked and there was an army of staff available to unload the car. The valet ticket was quickly handed over and we were led inside by a member of the valet staff.

The Collins Avenue Views of the St Regis Bal Harbour

The Motor Pool at the St Regis Bal Harbour

Checking Into the St Regis Bal Harbour:

The car was parked through the valet. We were walked to the reception and were led to a chair for the seated check in. We had a glimpse of the wonderful grand entry hall which looked really elegant. The hotel did a wonderful job on this space which is otherwise quite tiny.

Once at the front desk, our check in host proceeded to start the room assignment. She picked up on our initial Your 24 request of 10 AM to 10 AM and was going to offer a Atlantic Suite if we were prepared to wait until it was ready. After learning we were going to request a late check out for 3 PM, we opted for a Junior Suite which would be ready immediately and with a confirmable late check out of 3 PM (otherwise we’d need to be “out” at the regular time of 12pm). I wasn’t in a fighting mood with the front desk for the Atlantic Suite since it’s well above the standard suite level and we were already being offered at two category suite up-grade from what we had booked. Besides, we were there at 12 PM and who wants to wait around until 4 PM for a room to be ready when we were only there for a long twenty four hours?

During the check in process, we were offered a glass of champagne or juice. We were thanked for our “many years” of our SPG loyalty; always a nice touch. Interestingly enough, the reception host commented that she “hoped” that Marriott would continue to offer the same great service to their Platinum guests. It was a bit of an ominous tone but probably the reality of what is the future to come.

The reception staff seemed to co-ordinate with the valet desk through a headset. I thought that it was a bit of a low rent touch similar to being in a GAP clothing store. The other part which was a low rent touch was the Resort Fee of $35, which included a host of items. Why there is a need to charge guests a $35 resort fee on a room that is $1,000+ a night is beyond me.

The Resort Fee included a free cocktail. a fitness class, an art tour along with access to the Remede Spa facilities “including showers sauna and steam room”.

After the check in process was completed, we were introduced to our Butler Antonio. The butler escorted us to our room, and provided us an explanation of the property features. We had an explanation of the restaurants and the elevator keypad which automatically assigned the floor.

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The Room: A Junior Suite

Grand Luxe Room, 1 King

We were led to the Junior Suite #2306 on the twenty third floor. The room was categorized as a Junior Suite during our stay but is now known as a Grand Luxe Room. Even the arrival experience in the hallways was pleasant with hall couches, marble and live orchids. I happened to notice on later trip up the elevator that the regular floors do not have the same luxurious marble, instead there is just carpet. A random hallway photo accessorized by MrsWT73.

The suite is nicely appointed with every possible amenity. In addition to being well featured, the room was in excellent condition with very little wear and tear. There was a golden strawberry amenity waiting for us in the room.

A Welcome Amenity of Gold Covered Strawberries

The Bedroom:

The Room was decorated in fashionable but neutral colours, which led to the room having an upscale and luxurious feel to it.

A Comfortable but not overly spacious living space

While the Junior Suite Grand Luxe room was luxurious, it wasn’t all that wide. Instead, the room made up for it’s luxury through length and depth.

A Compact Sitting Area Rounds out the Room

The Hallway Leading to the Entryway and Washroom

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The Washroom:

There was a nice and well-appointed bathroom with a champagne menu for the bath. There was also a TV in the wall for the women’s sink.

Twin Vanities Opposed the Opposite Sides of the Room

Embedded Televisions in the Wall Keep Guests Entertained

I can’t say I have ever been anywhere that offers the option of caviar in the bathtub for $200

A Bathtub Menu featuring Caviar “options”

Laboratoire Remède Products feature in the Bathroom

Unfortunately, there was not much living space in the Junior Suite. It was perfectly suitable for our short stay.

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A Small Kitchen Space:

There was a small kitchen area near the front door. It had a hot plate and other accessories.

The room also featured a Sub Zero chest fridge and freezer. Most of these bottles belonged to the minibar. . .

A Well Stocked Mini Bar was available in the room

There was ever amenity in the room mini bar, including whisky, tequila among others. None of the items were complimentary, but it was a nice feature to have immediate access to it, if needed.

The junior suite faced the south side of the building (the sunny side) and pretty good view, although partially obstructed, of Miami Beach. The suite also had a peek a boo view of Miami Beach in the distance over the tops of the towers. Overall, I was happy with the room assignment given our Cash and Points rate.

Outdoor Patio Space:

The room also had a large outdoor patio at 210 sq ft. There was a functional table and chairs out there, but the best part was the loungers. The deck was accessible by wide glass sliding doors, and most times that we were out on the deck, we left the doors open to the suite.

Views for Two: Perfect for Morning Coffee

Views Downward towards the Adult Pool Zone
The Apartment Portion of the Building gets the segregated smaller pool on the right.

The St Regis Floor Plan layout had all the rooms angled facing the water. The floor plan offered a layout of rooms that allowed all rooms to be angled towards the ocean view.

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Around the Resort:

The Outdoor Pool Deck

There are two pool areas available to guests at the St Regis Bal Harbour. There is a family pool on the lower deck and an adult pool on the upper deck. We spent the day down at the upper adult pool deck. It wasn’t super sunny but it was relaxing.

I managed to get in the last of my book Tom Clancy Truth Faith and Allegiance. For Tom Clancy fans that haven’t read it, the last scene concludes on an Etihad A380 with a Residence flying passenger.

The Hotel Gym:

I took a poke through the gym which is situated across from Atlantikós Restaurant. It was bad timing after all that food; I never ended up using it.

After the sunshine quit for the day, we were up to the deck for 5 o clock fizz along with the sunset. With an east facing property, this isn’t much. We had a self-catered bottle of Nicolas Fueillante that had chilled nicely in the Sub Zero along with champagne flutes that were already in room. It was a super convenient way to end the arrival day. I ended up spending some time on the phone with Aeroplan (who’s supposed Elite Priority contacts 1-800 number didn’t work from my dialing zone despite being advertised on the membership card to the contrary). I had received an Expert Flyer alert opening up business reward space on our Boeing 787-9 flight from Vancouver to Toronto. I quickly called and scooped our upgrade up for our upcoming Tanzania trip

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On Property Dining:

The St Regis Bar and Wine Vault:

We didn’t have any dinner plans and I hadn’t (for a change) done any research on restaurants to dine at in the Bal Harbour area so we opted to eat on property. We freshened up and headed down to the St Regis Wine Vault and Bar for our “included cocktail” that was part of the resort fee.

Our host explained that they were offering a gin-based drink with soda and rosemary, or a house white (Pinot Grigio) or house red (Malbec). I went with the gin-based drink and MrsWT73 went with the pinot grigio. Neither drink was very exciting. There was a live piano player that was playing, which was a nice way to start the evening.

The BH Burger Bar:

We were both feeling hungry by this point so headed over to the (in house) B&H Burger Bar. It’s set up in an elegant 1960’s feel with a jukebox and red leather booths. The BH Burger Bar must cater to international guests that don’t get the opportunity to experience an American Diner style restaurant.

I had a Foie Gras Burger with wagyu beef, seared foie gras, roasted shallot, swiss cheese, frisee, truffle butter, truffle aioli, served with French fries. The whole burger was excellent. I had this paired with a Californian Pinot Noir, which was unfortunately less than excellent (flat tasting – not corked, just bland). Dinner for two with two glasses of wine came to $109 with the included 18% service charge.

The next morning, we started the day with coffee on the terrace as delivered by the St Regis Butler. It wasn’t delivered by our butler Antonio today and we actually never saw him again. The South Florida January weather wasn’t co-operating with us and it was quite stormy outside.

Atlantikós:

We eventually went down to Atlantikós for breakfast. We had selected the Marriott Bonvoy / Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum breakfast benefit, which at the time included a full buffet breakfast. The Atlantikós Restaurant is a smallish space. We arrived at about 9:30 AM (on a Saturday) and were the last of the people not to face some sort of a wait as the staff turned over tables. Thankfully, there was an army of people working and the delivery and turn overs were well executed and fast.

The buffet featured the usual features for a hotel of this caliber. There was an egg omelette station, a self pour mimosa station which made MrsWT73 really happy. The label of the sparkling wine was a house label “St Regis Californian Sparkling Wine”.

There was smoked salmon and a honeycomb station.

Fruits and smoothies and parfaits. Unfortunately, I did not get a shot of the room itself due to the swirling around of customers and wait staff.

When the check was presented, we were asked to sign for a $25 X 2 SPG Breakfast tab, that included the 18% service charge. The whole bill was taken care of and did not appear on our folio.

We went up to the room and enjoyed a glass of wine on the 210 sq deck while we waited for the weather to improve. It only took about an hour and we headed down to the beach itself.

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The St Regis Bal Harbour Beach at Miami Beach:

The hotel offers complimentary on the beach loungers. The day beds are at a chargeable rate. We were set up by the attendant and enjoyed a few hours of sea waves and Miami Beach shoreline. I started on my new book “Thank You for Being Late” by Thomas Freidman. The pool staff were quite friendly and chatty. I happened to be wearing a Hurley “Bali” T-Shirt and I ended up having a short chat with an hotel employee who was from Indonesia there initially and now working here. There must not be many visitors to Indonesia from Miami as I saw him more than once and he seemed really happy to chat with me about Bali. Unfortunately, the bad weather trend continued and we didn’t get all too much sun.

Our 3 PM check out time rolled around quickly. After a cleansing shower with the wonderful Remede Alchemy Mousse and a goodbye to the beautiful views from the suite, we headed down to the front desk for check out. The check out was handled promptly and professionally by our Russian host who was able to proactively have our car brought up by the valet.

The Bottom Line: The St Regis Bal Harbour Resort

From the time that we had booked it, I wondered if the St Regis Bal Harbour Resort would deliver, or would it have been an over rated mess similar to our two experiences at The St Regis Mauritius and our returning stay at The St Regis Mauritius. MrsWT73 had vowed never to go back to a St Regis property, until I showed her a version in a concrete jungle in one of her favourite cities around.

The St Regis Bal Harbour was an excellent experience. I am happy to report that both the hard product and the soft product were excellent. We were really impressed with the suite and the amount of room that we had, along with the terrific loungers on the large room deck.

The staff were very well trained in service delivery, and we felt respected and served with every guest contact that we had. That’s not something that I can say all the time, even at some of the nicer places that we’ve been to. Every staff interaction that we had was pleasant and professional.

The only negative that I can mention is the ridiculous resort fee for a high rise property that actually has, very little, resort that surrounds it. Charging guests $35 per night on an average daily rate of usually higher than four figures for the use of fitness classes, a base level cocktail, or bike rentals seems ludicrous from my perspective.

MrsWT73 enjoyed it so much, she ended up telling our check out host that we will be back. I guess the St Regis brand is now to her liking? =) This property is easily one of the best Starwood properties that we have stayed at and is priced accordingly.

If you visited The St Regis Bal Harbour, did you feel it was value for money despite the expensive price of admission ?

Tags: Hotel Review, Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott Platinum, Suite Night Award

Breakfast in South Miami Beach, Miami, Florida, USA

Posted on February 18, 2022 By World Traveller 73 in Activity + City Visit + North America + Region Visit + Seventy Two Hours in Miami, USA via Alaska Airlines + Trip Report + United States

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South Miami Beach gets all the accolades for being among the most hip neighbourhoods in the United States of America. The art deco buildings and the beach vibe to the area make the place among the most worthwhile to visit on any trip to Florida. Did the area meet up to it’s fame and accolades?

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Activity: Breakfast in South Miami Beach, Florida, United States of America.

I woke up at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina. MrsWT73 went for the last day of her conference and I took the rental car for a touristy drive to South Beach in Miami. It was 41 minutes away on the Google Maps, but with traffic, construction and parking, it was more like an hour and a half by the time I got settled.

I ended up driving to the 17th avenue parking garage in Miami Beach and ended up going for a Trip Advisor “top rated” breakfast at The Social Club restaurant at 1701 Collins Ave, Miami Beach. It is situated right next to the SLS Miami Beach with a silver Lamborghini parked out front. I had no trouble getting an Open Table reservation for one. This was my kind of place as it served breakfast brunch until 3 PM every day. Although it had no view of the water, it was a nice place to be with both indoor seating and a patio. I opted for the patio.

I had the well rated “The Breakfast Sandwich”, which was a tasty mix of an over-easy egg, maple bourbon bacon, avocado, heirloom tomato, toasted challah and breakfast potatoes along with an excellent smooth Café con Leche. It was nice and filling and the service here was unusually terrific considering it probably lives on tourists coming through. I passed on the unlimited mimosas for $30 since I was driving today. LOL.

There was no view of the water from this restaurant but the people watching on Collins Drive was pretty good on its’ own.

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Strolling Down Ocean Drive:

After breakfast, I took a walk down Ocean Drive towards 7th avenue. It’s typically known as the Art Deco District and has many refurbished hotels. The buildings are all of the 1920 – 1930’s era. Although architecture is outstanding, its an endless patio district full of tourists. I think it actually shows better in these photographs than in person.

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The Art Deco Buildings of the Miami Beach Strip:

There were some pretty unique examples of properties to visit. It was neat to think back of what beach holidays and glamour would have been like almost 80 years ago in the 1920’s and 1930’s when this area was built up.

As mentioned, there were endless beach front patios with tourists taking in the the Ocean Drive strip. The walk down Ocean Drive today involves navigating between a lot of restaurant hosts (or touts). They weren’t too pushy but it was a less authentic experience than a relaxing beach environment. More like, come on in for a $20 drink…

I didn’t realize it at the time, but Winter Haven pictured below is actually available through Marriott as an Autograph collection hotel (or on points for that matter).

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Passing by Gianni Versace’s Residence:

I ended up bypassing my previous favourite, the News Café; a 24 hour breakfast and coffee bar due to time constraints. Almost right next door, there was a small crowd outside Gianni Versace’s residence which has now been converted into a hotel / restaurant.

In summary, a rather pleasant afternoon. I made my way back to Fort Lauderdale and we took an evening of factory outlet shopping at the most excellent Sawgrass Mills. We allotted ourselves 2 hours but could have easily spent 4. There were heaps of Europeans wandering around with full suitcases in the premium outlets section buying up everything in sight.

My Thoughts on my Visit to South Beach:

Miami Beach is an interesting neighbourhood to visit. Having been around since the last time I was through here about 10 years ago, the place has lost a bit of it’s charm and twinkle from my perspective. Although the buildings are impressive, it’s a bit of a tourist strip filled with those getting their “experience” on Ocean Drive. Those looking for the token Miami experience will do well here… others like myself should come for the buildings, take their photos, and enjoy the food and beverage along with the locals just off the strip.

If you’ve visited Miami Beach, did you find it over the top touristy, or a place that represents the true Miami Beach vibe ?

Review: The Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina, Florida, USA

Posted on February 17, 2022 By World Traveller 73 in Hilton + Hotels + Seventy Two Hours in Miami, USA via Alaska Airlines + Trip Report

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Fort Lauderdale has a number of hotels to chose room; many with close proximity to the Marina and waterways that flow through the city. The pricing of hotels in Fort Lauderdale varies greatly, as does the condition and quality of any property. Our stay at the Fort Lauderdale Hilton Marina offered a mid price early entry level resort stay in the Sunshine State that was well suited to business travel or entry level resort holiday living.

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Review: The Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina, Fort Lauderdale, United States of America

Getting to the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina:

I ended up at this property as MrsWT73 had an aerospace convention that was occuring at this location.

The property was located fifteen minutes away from the Fort Lauderdale international airport. After getting off Alaska Airlines Seattle – Fort Lauderdale, I ended up renting a car for my three days in Florida from Avis,

Avis Preferred at Fort Lauderdale International Airport

Arriving to the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina

It is situated right near the draw bridge of one of the entrances to the Fort Lauderdale inlets which presented a great opportunity to get some photos from the bridge the next morning

The Waterways near the Hilton Fort Lauderdale

The Property is located next to bridges; some rooms may not have an ideal view

Views of Yachting Hardware from the property

The Arrival Area of the Hilton Fort Lauderdale

The initial arrival is good as it can get for a hotel that appears to be 30 – 40 years old. The hotel had a small but compact lobby that always had people in it.

I always find it interesting when a property is a flight crew hotel. It sets the tone and calibre of any property. This means it’s usually at a specific price point and that the hotel is okay with a high turnover operation.

Some Regular Travellers that Attend this property

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The Room: Two Double Beds, Intra Coastal View, Balcony

I arrived to the property and found my way to the room. MrsWT73 had checked in the night before and was already settled in her assigned room.

At this property, the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina has several low rise (3-4 story) buildings they call villas (everyone else would call them wings) that surround an outdoor pool, centered with a 10+ story tower that is the newer part of the facility. There appears to be no difference between tower or low rise assignment and the rooms are not marketed separately. We ended up in the low rise buildings that were situated closer to the water.

The Two Double Beds Intra Coastal View room was smaller than an average hotel room, but consistent with the older era. The room had been renovated and was fit to modern standards. Due to high occupancy, we were assigned a double bed room assignment. It had a reasonable view of the boats floating by on the marina.

A Two Double Intra Coastal View Room with Balcony

My apologies on the room mess, but MrsWT73 wasn’t too keen on taking my Nikon camera DSLR with her on her earlier arrival date to take room photos prior to messing up the room.

The room also featured a standard sized bathroom with a shower tub combination.

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Around the Property:

The property is pretty well maintained. It’s definitely an older four star property that’s had several updates over the years.

Impressive Marina Views and Grounds.

First the good: The property is situated right on the canal waterways of Fort Lauderdale. This means that depending on your room assignment, you may get the opportunity of seeing some terrific hardware (yachts!) floating right outside your room. There is water on two sides of this hotel so there is great opportunity to get some water views in. Overall, this was probably the most impressive feature of the hotel.

Our Room Faced the Water with Close Proximity

Expensive Yachts Parked Around the Property

There were many tie ups near the property

Just based on the configuration of some of the hotel buildings, there were some sides of the hotel that were quite shady and dark. If you’ need a bright looking room, you’d want to avoid the north facing views.

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An Outdoor Pool:

There was also a pool with occasional morning sun. Unfortunately, there is no real view from the pool, other than that of the nearby towers themselves.

There is no way anyone should confuse this with a resort property. Being a bit blunt, it’s a waterfront property with access to a pool. The property did not have the usual standard of things that is typically associated with a resort; expansive grounds, activities and other attractions.

There was not any issue getting a lounger seat at the pool. However, there were not a lot of seats that were in full sun at all times as a result of the configuration of the towers.

The property has had mixed reviews on Trip Advisor, but I think if you’re coming to Fort Lauderdale and spending $300 a night on a hotel room on water, instead of a $450 on a beach, then you need to adjust the expectations slightly.

The bad: there isn’t much around this property if you don’t have a car. While there is a Chipotle, an Bayoni Italian restaurant and the Boatyard restaurant about a 7-10 minute walk by foot from the property, I can’t imagine many guests that are of the hotels’ target audience actually walking the distance. Conveniently, there is a Walgreen’s Pharmacy across the street from this complex.

The Bottom Line: The Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina

MrsWT73 wasn’t too impressed with this place. I won’t share the wording here, but needless to say it wasn’t up to her usual high standards. Whereas, I found it to be a perfectly fine business hotel or a location to have a convention. The setting was nice but wholly functional. It wasn’t an aspirational place to be if I were to have travelled all this way but it might fit the bill for someone looking for a short stopover or a business hotel. All in all, it was a nice introduction to Florida with better things to come.

If you visited Fort Lauderdale, what do you look for in a Fort Lauderdale hotel ?

Tags: Hilton Honors, Hotel Review

Review: Alaska Airlines B737-8, Seattle – Fort Lauderdale

Posted on February 16, 2022 By World Traveller 73 in Airline + Alaska Airlines + Boeing 737 + Seventy Two Hours in Miami, USA via Alaska Airlines + Trip Report

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My flight from the Pacific Northwest to the Sunshine State of Florida was on a direct transcontinental from Seattle to Florida. It was among the second longest domestic flights in the United States as a result of the diagonal trans continental distance from city to city. On board, I’d experience the pleasant Alaska Airlines service in an Emergency Exit row seat.

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Review: Alaska Airlines B737-8, Seattle Tacoma International Airport – Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport

It was super convenient to fly trans-continental with our connecting hub being in Seattle without the usual stop half way through the journey in Dallas, Chicago or Minneapolis St Paul like most of our other trans-border flights.

In other noteworthy statistics, this flight gets the silver medal for the second longest domestic flight in the lower 48 continental United States at 2,717 miles, just behind the American Airlines Seattle – Miami flight at 2,742 miles. At the time, it was also Alaska Airlines’ longest scheduled by distance.

Alaska Airlines
AS 38 – Economy Class (T)
SEA – FLL (Seattle Tacoma International Airport – Fort Lauderdale / Hollywood Airport)
Jan 31, 2018
08:50 AM – 5:24 PM
Booked: Boeing 737-900
Flown: Boeing 737-800

Based on a look around the boarding area, the flight was full of seniors heading off for cruises departing from Fort Lauderdale. The boarding for this flight started on time at 8:10 AM with a call for children, those needing assistance, first class and military. There were a handful of walkers headed down the jet bridge at the first call. I boarded with Group 2 with the Alaska MVP members and had plenty of overhead bin space available.

I wasn’t even near getting a First Class MVP Upgrade at Number 15

There was no premium or first class upgrades available today. I ended up way down as an MVP at number 15 on the upgrade list. I later learned that selecting an emergency exit row exempts you from any MVP upgrades at all.

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On Board Alaska Airlines:

Alaska Airlines economy class is set up in the usual 3 – 3 configuration on it’s Boeing 737 series fleets. On board, I settled into Seat 16 A. I was able to get and hold an emergency row seat with extra leg room. The leg room was great and a lot better than my last standard seats on Air Canada. The Alaska seats were slim line Recaro’s without seat back entertainment. Entertainment was provided through your own device using the gogo entertainment app.

Alaska Airlines Emergency Row Exit Seating

There was lots of Legroom in the Emergency Row Exit Seats

The captain announced a 5 hour and 7 minute flight to Fort Lauderdale with 130 knot tail winds with an early arrival. We had a beautiful take off through the clouds of the Pacific Northwest.

Taking Off from Seattle Tacoma over the Mountains of the Pacific Northwest

The Meal: Buy on Board

Featuring celebrity chef Tom Douglas

The buy on board menus and drink lists were as follows. It featured signature meals by Tom Douglas.

Alaska Airlines Buy on Board Economy Menu

Alaska Airlines Buy on Board Economy Alcohol Menu

Despite having had a breakfast snack at Beechers in Seattle Tacoma International Airport, I had pre-ordered the Tom Douglas Breakfast sandwich from the Alaska Airlines App a few das before departure. It arrived during the regular meal service. I enjoyed this with a coffee and a white wine afterwards. The presentation could use a bit of an upgrade but it was otherwise tasty. At each opportunity, I was addressed by name which was impressive for economy class service.

The Tom Douglas Breakfast Sandwich, Smoked Shoulder Bacon with Beechers & Tillamook Cheese

In Flight Entertainment:

There wasn’t much to do for the flight so I read a newspaper and watched some Gogo Inflight Entertainment. Unfortunately, Alaska doesn’t seem to refresh their movies all too often. I enjoyed the same movies “Taken 2”, “CHiPS” and “Hot Pursuit” that were on our flights on Alaska Airlines four months earlier.

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Passing a Satellite Rocket Launch:

In the last hour of our flight, the captain came on to announce that a Rocket Launch was about to take place as we passed over Cape Canaveral Launch station. Unfortunately, the launch was probably spectacular from the flight deck, but I wasn’t able to get any view from the back thanks to the angle. I did get to see some interesting circular cork screw clouds (pictured in mid upper right) over the launch site which gradually disappeared as we passed through the area. The launch was a rocket taking up a satellite for the country of Luxembourg.

The Last Remaining Clouds from a Satellite Launch off Cape Canaveral

It was a quick and easy landing at Fort Lauderdale with no holds or other waits as we started the approach.

On Approach to Fort Lauderdale International Airport

I landed in at Fort Lauderdale and arrived to Terminal 1. Similar to many other American airports, it’s a very utilitarian structure that looks like it was designed in the late nineties. There were commercial, industrial looking spaces, flared with primary colour hues, in a somewhat soulless environment. Nevertheless, it was extremely easy to navigate with broad concourses. It made it easy to get over to the Car Rental Center, after a short walk through the arrivals concourse.

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Picking up Transportation at Fort Lauderdale Rental Car Center:

I have to love the United States for these wonderful Car Rental Center facilities. Nowhere in the world can you have an entire concourse dedicated wholly to car rentals on various floors. Set yourself up properly in advance and you can get to your car rental and choose almost any car in the aisle.

Breaking with my usual Hertz due to a major difference in price, I picked up an Avis Rental Car and drove the 15 minutes up to the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina.

My Thoughts on Alaska Airlines Seattle – Florida Service:

The Alaska Airlines service continues to impress me as among the more favourable carriers operating around the United States. Their service is friendly. I was addressed by name as an Alaska Mileage Plan MVP at every opportunity, something that maybe happens once a flight during a purser introduction with elite status I’ve held with Air Canada or United Mileage Plus. The food was reasonable, although I didn’t realize that grabbing the emergency exit row would exempt you from further domestic upgrades.

If you regularly travel to Florida, what’s your preferred route to get there ?

Tags: Alaska Mileage Plan, AS 38, FLL, SEA

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Review: The Hyatt Regency Dar Es Salaam – The Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Booking the Hyatt Regency Dar Es Salaam:

Getting to the Hyatt Regency Dar Es Salaam:

The Room: One King – City Garden View Room

The Room: A Regency Suite

On the Hotel Property:

An Outdoor Pool

Hotel Gym:

Level 8 Rooftop Dining:

The Palm Brasserie:

Baggage Storage:

The Bottom Line: The Hyatt Regency Dar Es Salaam:

If you visited Dar Es Salaam, did you stay at the Hyatt Regency “The Kilimanjaro” ?

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Review: Turkish Airlines Business Class B737-900 ER, Istanbul Atatürk International Airport – Dar Es Salaam Julius Nyerere International Airport

Visiting the Turkish Airlines Business Lounge:

Inside the Turkish Airlines Business Lounge:

Turkish Airlines Business Lounge Food and Beverage:

Lounge Shower Facilities:

Turkish AirlinesTK 603 – Business Class (I)IST-DAR (Istanbul Atatürk International Airport – Dar Es Salaam Julius Nyerere International Airport)May 27, 20187:05 PM – 2:30 AM +1Booked: Boeing 737-900ERFlown: Boeing 737-900ER

Boarding Turkish Airlines Business Class:

On Board Turkish Airlines Business Class:

Pre-Departure Services:

The Amenity Kits: Cerruti Branded

Departing Istanbul:

The Meal: A Two Course Dinner

The Second Service: A Light Snack

My Thoughts on Turkish Airlines Business Class:

If you regularly travel to and from Africa, do you attempt to stick with the larger wide body aircraft to these regional destinations ?

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Review: Turkish Airlines Business Class B777-300 ER, Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal One – Istanbul Atatürk International Airport

Turkish AirlinesTK 18 – Business Class (I)YYZ-IST (Toronto Pearson International Airport – Istanbul Atatürk International Airport)May 26, 201810:30PM – 3:15 PM +1Booked: Boeing 777-300ERFlown: Boeing 777-300ER

On Board Turkish Airlines Business Class:

Pre-Departure Services:

The Amenity Kits: Bentley Branded Kits

A Pre-Supper Towel Service:

The Meal: A Three Course Dinner

Candlelight High Above the Clouds

The Second Service: Breakfast

Landing at Istanbul:

My Thoughts on Turkish Airlines Business Class:

If you regularly connect within the Middle East, is Turkish Airlines Business Class a reasonable travel option for you ?

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Review: Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, Toronto Pearson International, Terminal One, Canada

Locating the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Toronto International:

Accessing the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge:

Inside the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge:

Food and Beverage:

The Bottom Line: The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Toronto International

If you visited the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Toronto International, what were your impressions ?

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Review: Air Canada Signature Business Class B787-9, Vancouver International Airport – Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal One

Checking into Air Canada Signature Class:

Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Vancouver Domestic:

Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge – Food and Beverage

Air CanadaAC 116 – Signature Business Class (I)YVR-YYZ (Vancouver International Airport – Toronto Pearson International Airport)May 26, 201801:00 PM – 8:22 PMBooked: Boeing 787-900Flown: Boeing 787-900

On Board Air Canada Signature Business Class:

Pre-Departure Services:

Departing Vancouver:

The Meal: A Three Course Lunch

Arriving into Toronto Pearson:

My Thoughts on Air Canada Signature Business Class service:

If you regularly travel across Canada, do you make an effort to fly in Air Canada Signature Business Class or do you just go for the most conveniently timed flight ?

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Trip Introduction: Zanzibar, Tanzania and Seychelles in East Africa via Air Canada and Turkish Airlines Business Class

Trip Background:

Airfare Planning:

Hotel Planning:

If you visited East Africa, how did you put your trip together ?

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Hotel Review: The Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel, British Columbia, Canada

Planning and Getting There:

Arriving to the Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle:

1128 West Hastings Street,Vancouver Canada British Columbia V6E 4R5

Checking into the Marriott:

The Room: One King Bed, Harbour View.

Separate Shower and Suite, 19th floor and above. A Panoramic Suite

Features of the Hotel:

Concierge Club:

Showcase Restaurant and Bar:

Turkish Airlines
TK 603 – Business Class (I)
IST-DAR (Istanbul Atatürk International Airport – Dar Es Salaam Julius Nyerere International Airport)
May 27, 2018
7:05 PM – 2:30 AM +1
Booked: Boeing 737-900ER
Flown: Boeing 737-900ER

Turkish Airlines
TK 18 – Business Class (I)
YYZ-IST (Toronto Pearson International Airport – Istanbul Atatürk International Airport)
May 26, 2018
10:30PM – 3:15 PM +1
Booked: Boeing 777-300ER
Flown: Boeing 777-300ER

Air Canada
AC 116 – Signature Business Class (I)
YVR-YYZ (Vancouver International Airport – Toronto Pearson International Airport)
May 26, 2018
01:00 PM – 8:22 PM
Booked: Boeing 787-900
Flown: Boeing 787-900

Alaska Airlines
AS 35 – Economy Class (T)
FLL-SEA (Fort Lauderdale Hollywood Airport – Seattle Tacoma International Airport)
Feb 3, 2018
06:30 PM – 10:22 PM
Booked: Boeing 737-900
Flown: Boeing 737-900

Alaska Airlines
AS 38 – Economy Class (T)
SEA – FLL (Seattle Tacoma International Airport – Fort Lauderdale / Hollywood Airport)
Jan 31, 2018
08:50 AM – 5:24 PM
Booked: Boeing 737-900
Flown: Boeing 737-800