World Traveller 73 
We had selected Bali, Indonesia for a family trip as I was aiming to each WT73Jr a little bit about the world and some differences from his life at home in Canada. Bali, Indonesia is a terrific country that offers a lot of cultural immersion if plan your trip right as there are many sights of interest to see outside of the hotel resort property.s
This post is one chapter on our trip to Bali and Singapore. This trip was redeemed through Lifemiles, AAdvantage and through Starwood Preferred Guest (Marriott Bonvoy) loyalty programs. 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.
If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
Read More from This Trip
- Trip Introduction: Dodging Volcanic Ash, Bali and Singapore via Delta, Asiana, KLM and Japan Airlines Business Class
- Delta Airlines First Class: Vancouver – Los Angeles
- Delta Sky Club Lounge, Los Angeles, USA
- Star Alliance Business Lounge, Los Angeles, USA
- Asiana Airlines Business Class: Los Angeles – Seoul Incheon
- Asiana Airlines Business Class: Seoul Incheon – Denpasar Bali
- The Westin Resort Nusa Dua Bali, Indonesia
- A Week Around Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia
- Sunset at Uluwatu Temple, Bali, Indonesia
- White Water Rafting Ayung Rapids, Monkey Forest and Tanah Lot, Bali, Indonesia
- The Premier Lounge, Bali, Indonesia
- KLM World Business Class: Denpasar Bali – Singapore
- Contrasting the Old and New of Singapore
- Plant Life from Around the World at Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
- The Singapore Zoo, Singapore Botanical Gardens and Hawker Food Stalls, Singapore
- A Day at Legoland Malaysia, Johor Barhu, Malaysia
- SATS Premier Lounge, Changi Terminal One, Singapore
- Japan Airlines Business Class: Singapore – Tokyo Narita
- Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge: Tokyo Narita, Japan
- Japan Airlines Business Class: Tokyo Narita – Vancouver
A Week in and Around Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia
“Although Nusa Dua in Bali, Indonesia isn’t the most exciting place in Bali to stay, it does offer everything needed for a family oriented holiday, including beachfront walkways, a variety of restaurants and a family friendly beach”
Exploring the Seafront Walkway along Nusa Dua:
We spent some time exploring around the Westin Resort Nusa Dua Bali hotel. The hotel had some basic bicycles available for rental. As SPG Gold members, they were kind enough to extend us a one hour free rental, once during our stay. Aligned with memories of riding the East Coast Parkway in Singapore as a child, I took my son down a 2 mile ride down the Nusa Dua pathway. The pathway is quite jagged and zig zags all over the place. We got in an opportunity to visit some of the other temples and resorts along the way.
Visiting the Blowhole in Nusa Dua at Puras Bias Tugel:
There were also some neat coastal ocean views along the pathway. During our trip, we stopped by the Blow Hole located in a bed of volcanic ash. It is located near Puras Bias Tugel. This was anchored in a park with the typical Balinese statutes of warriors.
The walkway out to the ocean was rustically impressive. It appeared to be set on top of rough lava rock.
Continuing our ride, we took in a lot of the scenery of hotels working out way down the back.
There was no shortage of seaside temples in Bali, which is something as part of the charm of Bali. There marked quiet resort beach areas under shady treed spots.
Local Dinners in Nusa Dua:
One of the nice features of the Nusa Dua area was the waterfront walkway that ran up and down the Nusa Dua beach. The walkway allowed you to walk up and down the beach, and the ability to dine off our own resort at any restaurant in the area. Thinking about it, it’s probably pretty unusual for Indonesia to have an ocean front walkway around their beaches. We dined up and down, and took in many sunset walks in the area when the sun started to go down.
Despite the predictability and austereness of the man made beach front of Nusa Dua, it was perfectly appropriate for a family get away and had everything that one needed for a resort styled holiday.
Local Massages at Jari Menari:
During our stay, we also booked into my favourite Indoensian massage place: Jari Menari. They have been around for years and usually rank very highly on Trip Advisor. They’ve opened up a Nusa Dua location and it’s still one of the best Balinese massages I’ve ever had. They offered an introductory children’s massage that allows your child to get a 45 minute massage along side their parent in the same room for $25 USD.
I didn’t need much convincing for WT73Jr to try it and he thought the whole experience and décor of the spa was pretty neat. Jari Menari also offered a free car transfer to and from the property, which was exceptionally convenient and avoided the hassles of finding a taxi. In true Indonesian style, the hot water tank was broken during our visit, so we had no after massage showers today.
How I felt about our week in Nusa Dua:
Overall, the Nusa Dua area was pretty well equipped for a family visit. It didn’t offer the chicness of Seminyak, nor the upscale foodie restaurants that are perfect or exciting for a romantic getaway. Instead, it offered pretty straightforward, family friendly amenities that made the area easy and convenient to fit the needs of an 11 year old. The ability to stay in a nicely equipped Westin property as well was a bonus.
If you’ve based yourself in Nusa Dua, Indonesia would you do so again?
Our trip to Bali was aimed to teach my son about a little culture, without giving him ultimate culture shock as an eleven year old. With this in mind, we ended up in comfortable but familiar Nusa Dua resort area of Bali, Indonesia. Our stay at the Westin Resort Nusa Dua Bali was everything we would have expected from a stay at in Nusa Dua; a hotel with comfortable rooms, a safe and appealing beach, in addition to being reasonably located for our needs in Bali.
This post is one chapter on our trip to Bali and Singapore. This trip was redeemed through Lifemiles, AAdvantage and through Starwood Preferred Guest (Marriott Bonvoy) loyalty programs. 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.
If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
Read More from This Trip
- Trip Introduction: Dodging Volcanic Ash, Bali and Singapore via Delta, Asiana, KLM and Japan Airlines Business Class
- Delta Airlines First Class: Vancouver – Los Angeles
- Delta Sky Club Lounge, Los Angeles, USA
- Star Alliance Business Lounge, Los Angeles, USA
- Asiana Airlines Business Class: Los Angeles – Seoul Incheon
- Asiana Airlines Business Class: Seoul Incheon – Denpasar Bali
- The Westin Resort Nusa Dua Bali, Indonesia
- A Week Around Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia
- Sunset at Uluwatu Temple, Bali, Indonesia
- White Water Rafting Ayung Rapids, Monkey Forest and Tanah Lot, Bali, Indonesia
- The Premier Lounge, Bali, Indonesia
- KLM World Business Class: Denpasar Bali – Singapore
- Contrasting the Old and New of Singapore
- Plant Life from Around the World at Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
- The Singapore Zoo, Singapore Botanical Gardens and Hawker Food Stalls, Singapore
- A Day at Legoland Malaysia, Johor Barhu, Malaysia
- SATS Premier Lounge, Changi Terminal One, Singapore
- Japan Airlines Business Class: Singapore – Tokyo Narita
- Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge: Tokyo Narita, Japan
- Japan Airlines Business Class: Tokyo Narita – Vancouver
Review: The Westin Resort Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia
“The Westin Resort Nusa Dua Bali offered an old school family styled resort with oversized rooms, a traditional pool and a gentle but basic beach. It was perfect base of operations for a family stay with an eleven year old”
Planning and Choosing the Resort:
We selected this resort as we were looking for a family oriented property that was situated in the Nusa Dua Resort area of Bali, Indonesia. We also were looking for a property that was a reasonable award category, and wouldn’t blow the bank on a reward redemption on a family trip. At the time of our visit, the property was a Starwood Preferred Guest Category 4 property, with free rooms available for 10,000 Starwood Preferred Guest Points per night. At the time of writing, the property is a Marriott Bonvoy Category 5 property, with free rooms available for between a reasonable 30,000 – 40,000 points per night.
We ended up booking at this property under 3 back to back reservations. As we were arriving at the late hour of 3 AM the first night, we ended up booking a standard regular sized room using an SPG Free Weekend Night award that we had gotten as a result of meeting the minimum spend on MrsWT73’s Canadian SPG American Express Card. As a category 4 SPG property, we figured there was no point spending full rates for a night where, with a 3 AM arrival, we hardly could enjoy the property. I find that these American Express awards are a little hard to spend anyway, being valid at only a Category 4 property or less. As a result, we were happy to use this one up no less than 15 days prior to it’s expiry date. Our next booking for the rest of our stay in an Executive Suite on on Starpoints for 5 nights (with the fifth night free), and the last booking was for one night on a paid cash rate for a total of seven nights as this resort.
One advantage to using points when staying in Indonesia is that the reward program takes care of the 11% government tax and the 10% service charge that is otherwise applied to room rates. As a result, you can easily save an additional 22% on the value of a room by redeeming Marriott Bonvoy reward points in Indonesia.
Getting to the Westin Resort Nusa Dua:
Kawasan Pariwisata Nusa Dua, Btdc, Jl. Nusa Dua No.3, Bali 80363, Indonesia
We had arranged the van transfer through the hotel for about $25 USD, which I concluded was probably easier than two taxis with all our bags. After getting off our Asiana Airlines Business Class Incheon – Denpasar flight, we met our driver at the land side and he escorted us to the waiting van. It was a single person operation at this hour – it was almost 2 AM by the time we were land side at the airport thanks to a delay of 30 minutes on landing and some very slow baggage delivery on the part of the airport authority.
We took the toll road to the Nusa Dua area. It was a quick transfer at this time of night, only taking about 15 minutes.
Checking into the Westin Nusa Dua:
We arrived to the Westin Nusa Dua. It was a large property. We were checked in for all three reservations on arrival. Courtesy of Starwood Preferred Guest Gold level status, we were upgraded from the basic room to the “Garden Terrace” for our first night and extended a 4 PM check out for the room changeover for the suite. We were offered by the front desk to accept the new room as early as 12 PM. However, we opted for a later time to allow for a bit of a sleep.
The Room: A Garden Terrace
We were led to Garden Terrace room # 1308 which was a nicely refreshed room in the south wing. It was a little tight in the room with all the luggage (3 regular size suitcases and 3 rollies), but it was reasonable. If we were travelling with an infant, and a few less bags, we could have probably been okay with this configuration of room with the infant resting in the attached bathroom area as the bathroom was really large.
The bathroom was especially huge for a base level room. It ran the entire length of the room and had a combination shower and bath area.
There were some instant Starpoint awards available, as presented on a sheet in the vanity area.
The Garden Terrace:
The garden terrace was nice, and I would have easily paid the small amount to upgrade to this configuration if I was with a family. The terrace was on the quiet side of the building and offered immediate access to the pathway to the beach. It was also key access, meaning you could return to this side after an outing. There were ample lawns outside, meaning that kids could run around easily and burn off steam. The mosquito bugs you would expect in SE Asia were not present at all during our visit during the day or night so it’s conceivable that parents could hang out here at night while their kids fell to sleep.
The Garden Terrace room was perfectly suitable for our one night “late arrival” stay, and we probably could have managed in this room with a smaller child. Despite this, better rooms lay ahead with our stay.
The Room: An Executive Suite
We booked the balance of our 6 night stay into an Executive Suite. It’s the smallest suite configuration at this property, but was still a full suite with a separate dining and separate sitting area with one and a half bathrooms.
We used 20,000 Starpoints per night for the room, with the fifth night free (a regular room is 10,000 Starpoints). As I had mentioned earlier, one advantage to using points was that the points rate covered all the taxes (11%) and the compulsory service charge add on (10%) saving us an additional 21% on top of the rate. The best thing about hotel points are no ridiculous taxes and fees (or fuel surcharges).
Executive Suite # 3524 was nicely featured with two flat screen televisions, a large bathroom, a powder room bathroom and a very large deck (lanai) with two comfortable chairs. The room size was perfect for travelling with a youngster, as we were able to have him sleep in the dining area and were able to have our adult conversation time after he went to bed without disturbing him.
The Executive Suite was split into three separate rooms. The rooms included a bedroom, a dining area and a living room.
The Bedroom with a King Size Bed:
The Bedroom featured a King Size bed with the usual Westin Heavenly Bed. It was nicely sized and also featured a flat screen television.
The Living Room:
At the opposite end of the suite, the Executive Suite featured a living room with a chaise lounger, along with an occasional chair. The room featured a second flat screen television, in addition to a bar area.
The room also offered a dry bar. It was full of souvenirs counter space by the end of our trip.
The Dining Room:
The Executive Suite featured a proper dining area. Although this room is typically configured for two guests staying in the King bed configuration the hotel offered a roll away bed that was placed in the dining room. The rollaway was included free of charge.
The Master Bathroom:
While some suites offer two bathrooms or one full bathroom and a half bathroom, the Executive Suite only featured one full bathroom. While it was a single bathroom configuration, the suite made up for it by making it an extra large massive bathroom, which was family sized. This meant I could toss my son in the shower while MrsWT73 was getting ready for dinner using the mirror without massive amounts of cross over or inconveniences. There was space for our luggages too, with great storage space.
The Executive Suite Lanai:
We took coffee outside every morning on the deck, which had a nice resort view. The outdoor deck was a great place to escape while WT73Jr drifted off to sleep.
Food and Beverage:
The hotel featured Indonesian, Italian, Spanish and International restaurants. None of them were really special or memorable. Except for the fact that the breakfast restaurant was an absolute zoo most days; literally hundreds of screaming kids, Chinese talking on wireless cellular phones wondering aimlessly through the buffet area, and kids zig zagging while unsupervised feeding koi fish with bread from the bakery bar. It sets the scene a bit for this place: fortunately the resort aimed more for family mayhem unlike the usual business atmosphere and sleekness that was prevalent in many North American Westin Hotels. This didn’t totally take away from the whole experience, but rather it was more something to be aware of. We actually skipped breakfast after the first two days for the rest of the trip since this breakfast atmosphere wasn’t all to relaxing.
Around the Resort:
Relaxing Walkways:
What was relaxing were the nice grounds of the hotel. The footprint of the resort was quite large, but there were a few areas along the sides that were nice. There were a few traditional bales and massage areas. Although we never saw anyone actually use these. I wouldn’t call it a spacious resort.
Outdoor Pool:
The property offered a large pool area. Strangely, for a family oriented resort, the main pool photographed here was too deep for children, clocking in at about seven feet deep. It was even too deep for me to stand in.
The Nusa Dua Beach:
The beach area offered a stretch of Nusa Dua still beach. The beach did have a gentle wave break, meaning that it was suitable for smaller kids. Calling it as it is, it’s by no means the nicest beach in the world. There are nicer offerings in Australia, Hawaii or the Maldives. I realize that most people wouldn’t compare the beaches of the Maldives to Bali but since we were travelling a long distance of almost half way around the world to get here, I think it’s a reasonable comparison. MrsWT73 thought I was nuts for travelling from the Americas to get here for this. Overall, the trip wasn’t all about the beach, it was more of the experience and ability to teach culture of Bali to my younger offspring.
The Nusa Dua Beach itself was a nice beach area, although I wouldn’t have described it as a fantastic beach. It was perfectly accessible for those with families, and it provided a good distraction for us while we stayed.
The Bottom Line: The Westin Nusa Dua Bali
Overall, the Westin Resort Nusa Dua is a family oriented property. There are heaps of families and kids staying at this resort. In fact, MrsWT73 described this resort as “Bali Birth Control” as there were so many screaming kids staying here. We definitely wouldn’t stay here on our own if we were looking for a get away- instead opting for something a bit more swank like the W Seminyak or the Laguna Hotel (The Luxury Collection) next door.
The property was previously flagged as a Sheraton, so that can get an idea of the type and style of the property; family oriented with an older style. Despite this dire warning, the hotel was perfect for our needs as a family travel destination and I’d recommend it for anyone making a trip with children (although not with teenagers) in tow. The hotel allows you to dine next door at The Laguna and charge to your Westin room account. The kids food that was presented was of international standards (ie: the satay for my son was not spicy here compared to the spiciness of the satay next door at the Laguna). Overall, I found it was also a good value for reward redemptions due to the low amount of points for a room and covering all the taxes and fees.
If you’ve stayed at the Westin Resort Nusa Dua, did you have a comfortable family stay?
Our connection within Asia after a wonderful Airbus A380 flight was also on Asiana Airlines on their older Boeing 767 product. One of Asiana Airlines best features is the consistency of their in flight service. It is always flawless in execution, even if the hard product is not. While we had a bit of an older aircraft on this route, we drifted off after we took a shortcut from North America to Bali.
This post is one chapter on our trip to Bali and Singapore. This trip was redeemed through Lifemiles, AAdvantage and through Starwood Preferred Guest (Marriott Bonvoy) loyalty programs. 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.
If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
Read More from This Trip
- Trip Introduction: Dodging Volcanic Ash, Bali and Singapore via Delta, Asiana, KLM and Japan Airlines Business Class
- Delta Airlines First Class: Vancouver – Los Angeles
- Delta Sky Club Lounge, Los Angeles, USA
- Star Alliance Business Lounge, Los Angeles, USA
- Asiana Airlines Business Class: Los Angeles – Seoul Incheon
- Asiana Airlines Business Class: Seoul Incheon – Denpasar Bali
- The Westin Resort Nusa Dua Bali, Indonesia
- A Week Around Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia
- Sunset at Uluwatu Temple, Bali, Indonesia
- White Water Rafting Ayung Rapids, Monkey Forest and Tanah Lot, Bali, Indonesia
- The Premier Lounge, Bali, Indonesia
- KLM World Business Class: Denpasar Bali – Singapore
- Contrasting the Old and New of Singapore
- Plant Life from Around the World at Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
- The Singapore Zoo, Singapore Botanical Gardens and Hawker Food Stalls, Singapore
- A Day at Legoland Malaysia, Johor Barhu, Malaysia
- SATS Premier Lounge, Changi Terminal One, Singapore
- Japan Airlines Business Class: Singapore – Tokyo Narita
- Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge: Tokyo Narita, Japan
- Japan Airlines Business Class: Tokyo Narita – Vancouver
This post is one chapter on our third Round the World trip via South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, the Maldives and India. This trip was redeemed through Air Canada’s Aeroplan and through Starwood Preferred Guest (Marriott Bonvoy) and Hyatt Gold Passport (World of Hyatt) loyalty programs. 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.
If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
Read More from This Trip
- Trip Introduction: Vietnam, Maldives and India. Round the World #3 in Star Alliance Business Class via Air Canada, Asiana, Singapore, Air India, Turkish Airlines Business Class
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge – Vancouver International
- Air Canada Business Class: Vancouver International – Seoul Incheon
- The Nest Hotel, A Member of Design Hotels, Seoul, Incheon
- Asiana Business Class Lounge: Seoul, Incheon
- Asiana Business Class: Seoul Incheon – Ho Chi Minh City
- The Sheraton Saigon Hotel and Towers, Ho Chi Minh City
- The Sights and Sounds of Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Restaurant Review: Nhà Hàng Ngon, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
- Trading at Ben Thanh Market and Street Life in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Travelling the Mekong River. Travelling Ho Chi Minh City to Thù Thùa, Vietnam
- Travelling the Mekong River. The Canals of Thù Thùa, Vietnam
- Ho Chi Minh City Airport Lounge – Fin Bar
- Singapore Airlines Business Class: Ho Chi Minh City – Singapore
- Westin Singapore
- Shopping at Retail Giants on Orchard Road, Singapore
- Singapore Airlines Silver Kris Lounge: Changi Airport Terminal 2
- Singapore Airlines Business Class: Singapore – Male
- Hotel Jen Maldives Malé by Shangri La, Malé, Maldives
- Street Life in Malé. A Day Walking the Republic’s Maldivian Capital
- Maldivian Moonmia Domestic Lounge, Malé Ibrahim Nasir Domestic
- Maldivan Airlines: Malé – Koodhoo
- Park Hyatt Maldives
- Circumnavigating Hadadaa Island, Maldives
- The Guided Back of House Tour, Park Hyatt Maldives
- Snorkelling the Park Hyatt Maldives House Reef
- Sunsets on Hadahaa Island, Hudavdoo Atoll, Maldives
- The Leeli Lounge – Male International Airport
- Air India: Male Thiruvananthapuram
- Air India: Thiruvananthapuram – Chennai
- Air India Maharajah Lounge: Chennai Madras International Airport
- Air India Business Class: Chennai – New Delhi
- The Leela Palace, New Delhi, India
- Jama Masjid, New Delhi
- Stepping into Chandi Chowk, New Delhi, India
- Overland Travel: New Delhi to Agra by BMW Luxury Sedan
- The Taj Mahal, Agra, India
- The Walled City of Agra, Agra, India
- Air India Maharajah Lounge, Indira Ghandi Domestic, New Delhi
- Air India: New Delhi – Jaipur
- The Rambagh Palace, Jaipur, India
- Walking the Old City of Jaipur, Hawa Mahal, Jantar Mantar, and City Palace, Jaipur
- A Day in the Footsteps of Royalty, Touring Amber Fort, Jaipur
- Air India: Jaipur – New Delhi
- ITC Muraya Hotel, A Luxury Collection Hotel, New Delhi
- The Plaza Premium Lounge, Indira Ghandi International Airport, New Delhi
- Turkish Airlines Business Class: New Delhi – Istanbul
- Turkish Airlines Istanbul Atatürk Business Lounge
- Turkish Airlines Business Class: Istanbul – Montreal
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge – Montreal Domestic
- Air Canada Business Class: Montreal – Vancouver
Review: Asiana Airlines Business Class B767-3, Seoul Incheon – Denpasar Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport
“Asiana Airlines allowed us a short cut from North America directly into Bali by offering a unique direct flight from South Korea into Indonesia. As a regional flight, it was served by their less inspiring Boeing 767 business class product, paired with their world class service”
After arriving off of Asiana Airlines Business Class Los Angeles – Incheon on the Airbus A380, we had a hassle free connection and a minimal line at the connection security screening area. Heading up to the main concourse, we had a quick look through the Korean Cultural Experience booth but my son didn’t find it too interesting. We ended up opting for the Asiana Business Lounge Incheon on my son’s request. We had happened to have passed through the lounge a few months ago, so I won’t review it again as there was no substantial changes.
My son found the airplane model in the lobby quite interesting. It’s not every day that you get to see models of this size in school.
We had a quick stop here to use the washroom, have a coke and download some emails. I checked the volcano advisory since there was no mention of any flight delays and it seemed we were looking good. Overall, it’s not too exciting a lounge but it’s better than being parked out in the main concourse with everyone else. The fact that you can feed and snack up your kid with a fizzy drink without paying high street airport prices is a bonus as well.
We left the Asiana Business Lounge and arrived to our gate at T-30, just as the priority board was finishing. There was a large economy line with proper segregation and line management. As a result, we were able to get on really quickly in the business class area. My son was intrigued by the fact that we were headed to “Dispenser” (Denpasar).
There was single door boarding today at L2. As a result, there was a stream of people through bus on the economy side. We also happened to be flying on the Asiana Star Alliance livery plane; one of the five Boeing 767’s that Asiana Airlines operated at the time.
On Board Asiana Airlines Boeing 767 Business Class:
The Asiana Boeing 767 business cabin was a small 3 row business cabin in a 2-1-2 configuration. It’s a pretty odd configuration and there aren’t too many carriers that have such a set up. With the three of us, I took my son in the aisle seats and MrsWT73 took the sole center seat.
The plane was outfitted with angle flat seats that were probably state of the art about 20 years ago.
The seat offered angle flat recline positions, including a lumbar support.
The cocktail table in between the seat offered a main table and pop open tables.
Pre Departure Services:
There was a pre departure beverage offered of water, sparkling or orange juice. Indonesian Immigration cards were immediately passed out. My son opted for orange juice, while MrsWT73 and I had sparkling.
While we settled in, I played with the flight map. The flight track for today’s flight took us away from the usual coastal routes up and down the heavily tracked east coast of South East Asia, and out over the open ocean of the South China Seas, over the Philippines and down over Borneo into Bali.
My son immediately located the game feature on the in flight entertainment and proceeded to attempt to set some new high scores. It was a strange snake egg shooting type of game that involved destroying the jewels prior to the serpentine getting to the centre. While I enjoyed this, there was a nice sunset outside through the old school B767 square windows. . .
While my son enjoyed the gaming, otherwise the in flight entertainment was pretty tired. There were about only about 8 hollywood movies in the catalogue with nothing but NCIS to watch on TV for others. Asiana really falls down compared to its competitors here.
In a first for me, there was a health and caution about sexual harassment announcement for flight crew. There was no mention about any volcano issues from the flight crew so we kept our fingers crossed and hoped that Mt Ruang wouldn’t cause any additional havoc. Our same flight, per flight tracker, just 2 frequencies ago, diverted in the last hour of flight to Jakarta. I hoped that we would not have the same result.
While we were on the ground, the dinner menus were distributed. As with other medium haul Asiana Airlines flights, no amenity kits were offered. However, in the truest asian traditions, slippers were provided.
For one reason or another, we lost our departure slot and had to wait on the ground for about 20 minutes. Once we had climbed to altitude, it seemed like it took forever to get comfortable in these seats. It was a pretty stark comparison from the state of the art Asiana A380 seats on our last leg. I am sorry to report that the seats were not really comfortable for lounging, or sleeping.
The Meal: A Full Dinner
As the flight got underway, dinner service was offered. Taking a closer look at the menus, there were different wines offered than on our last flight. Asiana Airlines typically offers a Western and Korean menu on its flights and this regional flight was no exception. The menu was slightly different, although the beef tenderloin western menu offering from our long haul flight was still present on the menu.
A decent wine list for the Asiana Airlines medium haul flight. They offered one champagne, two whites, three reds and a port and ice wine offering.
The starter was the lobster with white balsamic pearls.
I was feeling a bit boring today and went with another beef tenderloin.
The meal service concluded with some pleasant vanilla Haagen Dazs for the dessert. While it was available, I ended up skipping the cheese offering.
After the meal, I dozed off and slept a bit thanks to all the time zone changes. My son also crashed out quickly. Asiana Airlines had loaded chicken nuggets as a child meal, but WT73Jr ended up not having any despite my efforts as a parent to keep his stomach full while travelling.
Landing at Ngurah Rai Bali International Airport:
Thankfully, we had a straight in arrival with a round and about descent into the newer Ngurah Rai International Airport at Bali and we were off without any issues. It seemed that we had a bit of a break in the ash. Indeed, no flight announcements or any deviations from the flight plan and we were safely on the ground
Getting off the plane, we had a long walk from our arrival gate in the new Ngurah Rai International airport though a space that didn’t have any personality. It was surprising for a new airport designed for tourist arrivals. The halls were punctuated with some very short moving sidewalks.
In the arrival’s hall, there was some banner advertising for visa fee entry for citizens of 26 new countries but the Indonesian consulate and website wasn’t updated in Vancouver, Canada prior to our departure so we went with getting a visa in advance from the Indonesian Embassy in Vancouver. For what it was worth, there was no line at the Visa On Arrival counter at our arrival time at 1 AM.
The bags took forever to come out and of course we had an X ray exam before leaving the building. There were heaps of Jetstar flights that had arrived from all areas of Australia filled with college aged kids and their friends. In true Indonesian style, the bags came out on a belt at the opposite end of the baggage hall without any sign or display posting. My son, who was running around the baggage hall, checking all the belts, happened to spot our bags. The bags were on belt 6. He had the pleasure of hauling off the first of our bags as they turned up on the claim belt. A quick check for baggage chalk (the Indonesian authorities used to chalk bags when contraband was suspected in it) and with comfort that there were none on ours, we were headed for the exit without any unnecessary issues.
As we exited the secure side of the airport, we went through what we initially thought was a duty free outlet before heading to the public side, but it was after customs control so it was likely high street pricing. Wine here was $30, which was fairly priced compared to resort pricing. We stocked up on some water and Pocohari Sweat Ion drink to take to the hotel.
Conclusion: Our experience with Asiana Airlines Boeing 767 Medium Haul
Asiana Airlines was an interesting way to get to Bali from the Americas. At the time of writing, they offered 2X weekly service from Seoul Incheon. It was terrific as if you were redeeming on Star Alliance, it saved you from having to route through Singapore or Bangkok. It was pretty easy to find reward space and the flight times were aligned to easily connect from North America (unlike the Singapore Airlines times which are terrible for connecting to Indonesia).
The downside is that the product is quite dated with the seats being very uncomfortable, especially after coming off their flagship A380 aircraft. Ultimately, the savings in time is probably worth the discomfort. The LifeMiles ticket worked great, although we didn’t have to have any interactions with any humans in order to change the ticket. I can’t say that I would rely on their offerings all the time as a result of their funky IT issues.
If you’ve flown Asiana Airlines Regionally within Asia, did you find it a competitive product?
Asiana Airlines is a member of Star Alliance and is considered the “other” South Korean carrier. As a great way to connect across South East Asia, our travels today took us on their unique Airbus A380 aircraft. Asiana Airlines maintains a fleet of 6 Airbus 380 aircraft, which have been used on a mix of regional and international destinations including, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, New York, Sydney and Tokyo. We were able to test them out on their flagship Los Angeles – Seoul route in Business Class.
This post is one chapter on our trip to Bali and Singapore. This trip was redeemed through Lifemiles, AAdvantage and through Starwood Preferred Guest (Marriott Bonvoy) loyalty programs. 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.
If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
Read More from This Trip
- Trip Introduction: Dodging Volcanic Ash, Bali and Singapore via Delta, Asiana, KLM and Japan Airlines Business Class
- Delta Airlines First Class: Vancouver – Los Angeles
- Delta Sky Club Lounge, Los Angeles, USA
- Star Alliance Business Lounge, Los Angeles, USA
- Asiana Airlines Business Class: Los Angeles – Seoul Incheon
- Asiana Airlines Business Class: Seoul Incheon – Denpasar Bali
- The Westin Resort Nusa Dua Bali, Indonesia
- A Week Around Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia
- Sunset at Uluwatu Temple, Bali, Indonesia
- White Water Rafting Ayung Rapids, Monkey Forest and Tanah Lot, Bali, Indonesia
- The Premier Lounge, Bali, Indonesia
- KLM World Business Class: Denpasar Bali – Singapore
- Contrasting the Old and New of Singapore
- Plant Life from Around the World at Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
- The Singapore Zoo, Singapore Botanical Gardens and Hawker Food Stalls, Singapore
- A Day at Legoland Malaysia, Johor Barhu, Malaysia
- SATS Premier Lounge, Changi Terminal One, Singapore
- Japan Airlines Business Class: Singapore – Tokyo Narita
- Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge: Tokyo Narita, Japan
- Japan Airlines Business Class: Tokyo Narita – Vancouver
Review: Asiana Airlines Business Class A380-8, Los Angeles Tom Bradley International Airport – Seoul Incheon
“Asiana Airlines Airbus 380 service on the flagship Los Angeles – Seoul Incheon route offered terrific service, a full flat bed and an experience in one of the most elegant aircrafts to grace the skies”
This Asiana Airlines Los Angeles – Incheon flight would be the second time that we had flown this route. The last time we flew this route, it was on an Asiana Airlines First Class Los Angeles – Incheon on a Boeing 747, which is an interesting comparison between the two flights.
Asiana Airlines
Business Class
LAX-ICN (Los Angeles Tom Bradley International Terminal – Seoul Incheon Airport)
OZ 201 – Business Class (I)
July 18, 2015
Booked: Airbus 380-800
Flown: Airbus 380-800
In September of 2014, Avianca’s LifeMiles Frequent Flier program ran a 2 for 1 purchase promotion (100% bonus on purchased miles). Myself and MrsWT73 stocked up on enough miles for a one way ticket to Asia (or enough for two tickets for myself). It cost around $1,000 USD per person (one way) or 65,000 LifeMiles (now 78,000 LifeMiles). Searching on the United Airlines website, we easily found three business class reward seats on Asiana on their Airbus 380 Los Angeles – Seoul Incheon service with a connection to Denpasar, Indonesia. I was able to replicate the United reward search on the LifeMiles website and we snapped up those three seats as soon as the purchased miles turned up in our account at about nine months in advance of the date of summer season travel. There were no fuel surcharges and the taxes and fees on the ticket were only $14.95 USD each. At the time of booking, we could have departed from Seattle on their Airbus 330 equipment (now a Boeing 777-200). However, this involved older angle flat seating and we wanted to experience an upper cabin on the beautiful Airbus 380. As mentioned earlier, we flew this exact route and flight in 2012 when it was serviced by a Boeing 747 in Asiana First Class.
We headed down to the gate from the Star Alliance Business Lounge Los Angeles Tom Bradley International Terminal at T-45. They hadn’t announced boarding in the lounge as they said that they woud but I wanted to get some aircraft photos. The plane is super impressive parked at the gate and there are some great photo opportunities to get with the people in the background.
There was some confusion and there was a delay of boarding until right at departure time. Unfortunately, the TBIT gates aren’t large enough to physically accommodate 495 passengers in the holding area and line management was a bit of a mess. All economy passengers were segregated to the main boarding area, and two lines were queued up “via the shouting method” for First and Business, and Asiana Platinum and Star Gold priority boarders. Asiana Airlines boarded first and business first after the disabled assistance announcement. MrsWT73 collected her duty free immediately after the boarding document check in the secure gate area. Collecting the duty free, we boarded and headed up the escalators for upper deck boarding.
On Board Asiana Airlines Airbus 380 Business Class:
Asiana Airlines offers business class seating on the upper deck of its Airbus A380 positioned in the forward two thirds of the aircraft, with economy class seating filling the rear third of the upper deck. Asiana Airlines calls it’s business class configuration on the Airbus A380 as “Business Smartium Class”. The seat features a full flat seat. The seating configurations are 1-2-1 with the centre seats staggered (or potentially looking like 1-1-1-1). Some of the centre seats are together for passengers travelling together, where as others are apart.
I was travelling with my son on this trip. Seating wise, I had strategically stuck us together in the centre seats (others rows were staggered and apart) so that so I could monitor my son.
Since there were three of us travelling as a group, I put MrsWT73 on the outside aisle with the goal that we could chat across aisle as needed. The outer aisle seats are much more exposed than the window seats and I’d only recommend these aisle seats as a last resort. Unfortunately, it was not great for a conversation as the aircraft noise across the aisle was too loud to carry on much discussion. If you’re going to pick the outer seats, the ones closest to the window are much better.
My son’s initial impressions on board as we settled in: My son announced “Wow – I could get used to this!”. He promptly started playing around with his seat. You know you’ve impressed your own off spring when they start taking an iPod video of the whole experience, complete with self narrative, describing all the features of the cabin.
Getting back to the seats themselves, the seats are comfortable and private. Each featured an individual reading light, a cup holder and compartment featuring slippers and headphones, and a USB charging station.
The seat had a multitude of controls, including direct lie flat and upright placements. It also featured a wired remote control for the entertainment features on this Airbus A380.
The cabin featured overhead bins in both the center and outer aisles. The Business Smartium configurations made for a private, but not claustrophobic cabin.
The Amenity Kit: L’Occitaine en Provence:
An amenity kit was left in the pod. It was an L’Occitaine En Provence branded kit. Aside from the small and tiny hand lotion, there wasn’t much “L’Occitaine” about it.
It wasn’t too useful. It was something at least, as Asiana didn’t offer another kit on our next intra Asia flight.
Pre-Departure Services:
We had a pre-departure beverage of orange juice or water. In my experience, Asiana Airlines doesn’t open any of the good stuff (like champagne) on the ground in the USA. Dinner menus were also presented with orders taken on the ground.
Flight departure timing wise, it wasn’t Asiana’s best performance today. First, there was a fuelling delay and then a wait for paperwork. We waited on the ground on board for about an hour. Finally at T + 75 we headed to taxi. We were able to follow along the take off runway via the nose camera shown direct to our seat. It’s a great addition. We were held up a little more by Allegiant Air as we headed for Runway 14 R.
A Birthday on Board Today:
It happened to be MrsWT73’s birthday while we were flying today. I offered a bit of a thank you “shout out” to her for accommodating the flying on her birthday, thanks to some patchy reward availability. As a thank you to her, I brought along some streamers and happy birthday decorations and a card. I brought it up to the purser during boarding and had the crew sign it. I also brought some small presents along on board for her. After the seatbelt sign was switched off, I self decorated the cabin. Needless to say, it was a memorable birthday for her that she probably wouldn’t forget (bottomless champagne anyone?).
The Asiana Staff presented the card with a birthday cake (which was a regular desert menu item) prior to the meal and pre meal beverage service. I have to thank the awesome performance on the part of Asiana crew for accommodating!! Hey – the crew even wrote in the card that I was the “best man ever” (laughing). Err, okay!
The Meal: A Full Lunch
After those festivities, the lunch service started. The menus on Asiana Airlines are always quite impressive. Their menus typically feature a full Western and Korean option, which is a great way to try some regional cuisine. Asiana Airlines also happens to be one of the view carriers that consistently put a calorie count on their menus next to the items.
With the exception of First Class, the wine lists on Asiana aren’t too “over the top”. Fortunately, on the long haul flights, there is usually quite a bit of choice. Today’s flight offered Piper Heindsieck Champagne, 2 white wines, 3 red wines, and two dessert wines including port and Canadian Ice Wine.
On the medium and short haul flights, they often only cater one white wine and one red wine. On these shorter flights, it’s “a take it or leave it” situation. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case on today’s flight. The wine list included Piper Heindsieck Champagne, 2 white wines, 3 red wines, and two dessert wines of port and Canadian Ice Wine.
The dinner service started today with an amuse bouche of zucchini wrapped salmon and brie, paired with Piper Heindsieck Champagne.
This was followed by today’s starter of grilled tuna and mixed vegetables.
The next course was a soup today. Why not? It’s clam chowder – which is a strange choice when heated up on a plane, thanks to the potential for strange fish odours.
I opted for the Western menu today instead of the Korean food. I went with the beef tenderloin steak with mushroom sauce, mashed potato and carrots, paired with the Wente Vineyards Reliz Pinot Noir. It was nicely cooked but a little dry.
I finished off with Sawmill Creek Ice Wine with a small serving of Cheese.
A Children’s Meal:
I had pre-ordered a kids meal by telephone through the Asiana Los Angeles ticket office My son didn’t care much for the starters but found the main okay. Dinner service concluded around 5 PM Pacific Standard Time, which was quite late for a lunch service for a flight that was supposed to start at 12:40 PM (T + 4.5 hrs).
Visiting the On Board “Lounge”:
After dinner, we all went for a walk around on board. We ended up in the bare bones lounge towards the nose end of the business class cabin. It was completely dark with the lights off when we arrived. The crew flipped on the lights when they saw us there. It’s a pretty austere place without any real personality. We, well we as in “the adults”, had a few gin tonics here and they brought us some nuts to go along with it. My son had a Coke. It was much easier to talk here instead of across aisle and was nice to occupy all the benches as a family and spend some time together having a unique experience. My son got into his Nitendo DS, which was a must bring for a trip of this length. He also said “Daaaaadd. Enough photographs.”
From the lounge, the access down to what was “First Class”, and is now downgraded to “Business Suite”, was roped off.
We also checked out the stairs at the tail end of the plane. The lounge end is roped off that leads down to first, and the back stairs are also roped off that lead from economy section to economy section. Regretfully, you can’t do laps around on the plane if you wanted to.
On our way back to the seat, we passed through the rear economy section on the upper deck. Each seat had an oversized individual monitor.
After the lounge, we went back to seat to relax. The cabin was dark by this point. My son lasted about two minutes before he fell asleep, tired from the exciting new experiences and the early 4 AM wake up for the Delta Airlines First Class Vancouver – Los Angeles flight down the day earlier.
In Flight Entertainment:
Before I went man down, I played with the in flight entertainment system. Asiana isn’t known for fabulous in flight entertainment, and today options, while decent, were pretty much one flight’s worth of movies. If you were regularily travelling on their equipment, you’d get pretty tired of the limited options.
In terms of sleeping, I found the seat to be a bit narrow in the bottom half for my liking. As a side sleeper, the cavity for the seats were quite narrow and my knees kept bumping against the seat of the pod in front of me. The cabin was also quite warm and no air vents above the seats on the A380. The ANA Square Business Staggered on their B787 seemed a bit more roomy in terms of comparison for a similar staggered product.
The Second Service: A Snack:
I woke up with the lights coming on over Tokyo, about 1:50 minutes prior to landing.
I took an opportunity to take a look outside at the beautiful wing at morning flight.
The second service was delivered promptly after a towel service. The second service consisted of the following.
I started with the proscuitto appetizer with some tired frissee that didn’t travel well. It seemed to sag a little bit.
The main was chicken thigh, which was boneless along with the usual Asiana sauces. Spice condiments were brought around on the tray as well.
My son shovelled kids meal spaghetti, with an assortment of plain vegetables, into his tummy. My son enjoyed his snacks and drink offering. He was such a good sport to be travelling such a long way with his dad. The decision to have him close to me in the center seats was the right one as it made it much easier to take care of him.
The second serving was concluded with dessert, and a coffee to help wake up after a snooze.
Arriving to Seoul Incheon:
As we got ready to descend, the motorized seat gobbled up one of my socks. I had placed it on the ground and when I went to bed, the frame of the recliner dragged it underneath the seat. Unfortunately due to the design of the seat, it was gone forever. I attempted to get it back, but only came up with old crumbs and used ear plugs. I had the rest of the flights today with only one sock! (The horrors!) A bit funny to share this, but those that are travelling on this equipment type beware! I suppose that I could have used the brown ones supplied from the amenity kit, but didn’t.
We arrived to gate and were let off promptly with three door disembarking. We were off and into Incheon without any issue but with kind thank you’s abound from the Asiana staff.
The Bottom Line: Our experience with Asiana Airlines Airbus 380 Long Haul
Asiana’s A380 service was a terrific experience. The highlight of Asiana are the terrific crews that are always pleasant and accommodating. Sure, there are a few language problems and things that are lost in translation, but they spend lots of effort training them (it’s very apparent) that it’s a pleasure to fly with them. The ability to enjoy one of the fifteen carriers in the world that operate the Airbus A380 was an added highlight.
If you’ve flown Asiana Airlines Airbus A380 in Business or First Class, did you have a terrific experience?
The Star Alliance Business Class Lounge in Los Angeles International Airport Tom Bradley International Terminal has undergone a massive renovation and improvement. The lounge forms part of the renovated Tom Bradley international departure terminal and now features one of the nicest terraces and wine displays in any international business lounge worldwide.
This post is one chapter on our trip to Bali and Singapore. This trip was redeemed through Lifemiles, AAdvantage and through Starwood Preferred Guest (Marriott Bonvoy) loyalty programs. 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.
If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
Read More from This Trip
- Trip Introduction: Dodging Volcanic Ash, Bali and Singapore via Delta, Asiana, KLM and Japan Airlines Business Class
- Delta Airlines First Class: Vancouver – Los Angeles
- Delta Sky Club Lounge, Los Angeles, USA
- Star Alliance Business Lounge, Los Angeles, USA
- Asiana Airlines Business Class: Los Angeles – Seoul Incheon
- Asiana Airlines Business Class: Seoul Incheon – Denpasar Bali
- The Westin Resort Nusa Dua Bali, Indonesia
- A Week Around Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia
- Sunset at Uluwatu Temple, Bali, Indonesia
- White Water Rafting Ayung Rapids, Monkey Forest and Tanah Lot, Bali, Indonesia
- The Premier Lounge, Bali, Indonesia
- KLM World Business Class: Denpasar Bali – Singapore
- Contrasting the Old and New of Singapore
- Plant Life from Around the World at Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
- The Singapore Zoo, Singapore Botanical Gardens and Hawker Food Stalls, Singapore
- A Day at Legoland Malaysia, Johor Barhu, Malaysia
- SATS Premier Lounge, Changi Terminal One, Singapore
- Japan Airlines Business Class: Singapore – Tokyo Narita
- Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge: Tokyo Narita, Japan
- Japan Airlines Business Class: Tokyo Narita – Vancouver
Review: Star Alliance Business Lounge, Tom Bradley International Terminal, Los Angeles International Airport, California, United States of America.
After our Delta Airlines First Class Vancouver – Los Angeles flight, we had an overnight at the Westin Los Angeles Airport hotel. We’ve previously stayed at this hotel and WT73jr had jumped all over the bed by the time I had parked the rental car and gotten up to the room so I won’t be reviewing it again here. The next grey and wet morning, we returned our rental car and headed for the Tom Bradley International Terminal.
Checking into Asiana Business Class:
After returning the rental car, we headed for the Tom Bradley International Terminal to check in for our Asiana Business Class Los Angeles – Incheon flight. The terminal is the flagship of Los Angeles airport terminals, and it is a wide and imposing structure.
We located the Asiana counters. They were open as of 08:00 AM per the Asian website from the Asiana Magazine that we had picked up from an earlier flight. This was great for us as our flight had a 12:40 PM departure and we were able to drop our bags a good 3 3/4 hours before our departure time.
There was absolutely no line when we arrived. Our Life Miles issued reward ticket was validated and accepted without any issues and we were checked in. I was a bit worried about having to call the Life Miles San Salvador Ticketing Office to get it straightened out (our LifeMiles ticket was issued by email out of a San Salvador ticket office that probably couldn’t be found on Google Maps )
Asiana Airlines paid particular attention to the fact that we did not have a return booked with them and I was kindly asked to show proof of onward travel, which I happened to have printed on a separate reservation. We were given a map for the lounge, which was handy as you probably wouldn’t locate it unless you searched out for it and knew where to look.
To keep my son entertained on the long 20 hour journey, I made up our own Amazing Race game featuring a team of one. It was similar to turning the whole trip into a scavenger hunt. He got a clue envelope complete with Route Info descriptors, Roadblocks and Fast Forwards, whenever he was able to find the appropriate airline / gate or by completing a challenge. It kept him quite entertained at the travel process. I pre-downloaded off the internet some of the information from the in flight magazines or airport layouts where I could, and made him search through the magazines, the internet or other areas to find information that I knew existed.
Entering the New Tom Bradley International Terminal:
We headed through the new security on the second floor (where the food court used to be). The security screening area is now a much larger facility and it was a bit quicker than it was in the past.
The New Tom Bradley International Terminal is miles ahead of the old Tom Bradley International Terminal. With an expanded departures hall and additional food and beverage outlets, its easily now among the nicest airports in the United States. It’s not quite up to the great airports of the world like Singapore Changi or Hong Kong but it’s a massive improvement over the old space and a pleasant gateway fitting of a world class city like Los Angeles.
We took some window shopping in on the ground floor. The airport space is so much nicer with natural light and I was really in awe of it.
The airport has done a great job at using media displays in a creative way. They’ve added incorporated the flight information display boards into media displays, and put the media displays in areas that were otherwise unused.
The theme of light displays continued throughout the terminal, making great use of monitor displays for advertising, and other effects to make the concourse more interesting.
My son was particularly struck by the time tower. It’s a LED TV display that’s set to clocks, travel and other time themed presentations. It also cleverly houses the lounge access elevators inside it.
Locating the Star Alliance Business Lounge:
After MrsWT73 did a brief check in with the duty free selections, we headed up the Time Tower elevator to the 6th floor. The lounge is located on the right hand side of the airport departures concourse.
Map Courtesy of http://www.flylax.com
Accessing the Star Alliance Lounge:
The Star Alliance Lounge Access policy applies for this lounge.
- International First Class Customers (same day departing flight, with one guest permitted, travelling on the same flight)
- International Business Class Customers (same day departing flight, no guests permitted)
- Domestic First Class (restrictions apply for United Airlines in the USA, one guest permitted)
- Domestic Business Class (restrictions apply for United Airlines in the USA, no guests permitted)
- Star Alliance Gold customers travelling in any class of travel (one guest permitted)
- Paid Lounge Membership Customers, including United Club and Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Worldwide (one guest permitted)
Today’s access was courtesy of travelling in Asiana Airlines Business Class. As a result, we all qualified for access.
The Star Alliance Business Class Lounge at Los Angeles International Airport is guarded at the door with a man at a small podium. The check in is outside the lounge at this podium unlike the typical busy counters that grace so many lounges around the world.
The lounge is administered by Air New Zealand, who previously ran the excellent Air New Zealand Lounge in Los Angeles Terminal Two.
Inside the Star Alliance Business Lounge Los Angeles:
Lounge Seating:
Continuing on with the improvement themes, the lounge space is a major improvement over the old Star Alliance Business and First Class lounge. This lounge was awarded the 2015 “Best Alliance Lounge in the World” by Skytrax consumer ratings. The lounge offers space both indoor, terraced and outdoor seating. At the time of our visit, the place was almost deserted. Looking back, it wasn’t almost deserted, it WAS completely deserted. It’s fair to say that the lounge offers lots of seating space.
The Terrace:
There was an indoor terrace that offered views of the concourse below. It was linked to the inside at each end. The terrace shared a double sided bar that allowed bartenders to move back and forth between the inside and outside seating areas. The outside bar was unmanned during the time of our visit.
We ended up parking ourselves our on the terrace where we had a nice view of the retail area of the TBIT concourse. It also provided lots of entertainment for the back of the Time Tower which my son really enjoyed watching during our stay.
The Outdoor Terrace:
The lounge also featured an outside area that offered views of LAX Terminal 3. It was a slightly boring patio space but a nice feature. The patio was advertised as non smoking. Thanks to the rain this morning, it was completely deserted. Unfortunately, with the design of the new terminal, the lounge has a view of a boring domestic commuter terminal. As a result, your views are more likely to be of a Southwest B737 instead of a beautiful Qantas A380.
Lounge Quotations:
The lounge featured several quotes spread about the lounge instead of art work hung on the walls. The quotes were related to Los Angeles and California. Some of them were entertaining, although many were not famous or recognizable.
Food and Beverage:
The lounge is designed to service international business class flights. As a result, it had a more substantial food and beverage section as compared to a regular domestic lounge. The food and beverage area has the most impressive wine rack I’ve ever seen in any First or Business Class Lounge worldwide.
We opted for breakfast in the lounge. It consisted of quiches, burrito mini egg/cheese wraps, yoghurt, smoothies, cereal and bacon, hash browns. As a person who normally enjoyed a heavier breakfast in the morning, I was pretty happy to be able to get enough to keep myself full prior to our flight.
There was also a Vietnamese Pho station in the back which was a plus. Most of the customers in the lounge at this hour were Asian, since the first two flights were Asiana Airlines Seoul Incheon and ANA Tokyo Narita flights.. It seemed that the most popular items being served were congee or pho for breakfast.
The lounge was a super comfortable place to be. The only minor downside was that the wines were pretty bargain basement. On our visit, Stonebridge Cellars and Mumm Napa Sparking or “method champenoise” were on offer. At least they were presently nicely in their own station.
Our travels today were taking us via Asiana Airlines Los Angeles to Seoul Incheon then onwards to Bali. There was volcanic activity occurring at Mount Raung, which was immediately adjacent to the island of Bali, Indonesia. While we were in the lounge, I spent some time checking the volcanic ash advisory. The Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Center, run by the competent Australian Government, covered Mt Raung in Indonesia and published comprehensive reports that were updated several times a day. Since the Bali Airport website wasn’t really providing any useful information, and the flight arrivals and departure information displays on their website were not working properly, I located FlightAware and Planefinder.net which also provided as real time information as you could get.
Seems as though the ash cloud floats different ways depending on who you look at. Planefinder had the trouble zone to the south of DPS. At least there was some information on the web, which was more than the Bali Airport Authorities or the airlines themselves were providing.
Either way, it would make for an interesting upcoming 24 hours.
The Bottom Line: The Star Alliance Business Lounge at Tom Bradley International Terminal
Getting back to the lounge, overall the new Star Alliance Business Class Lounge was an awesome space. We came early and we didn’t really regret it. It’s a nice lounge on par with the Amex Centurion Lounges without the fancy wine or bartenders mixing deluxe drinks. What this place doesn’t have in food and beverage, it makes up for in space and design. For me, that said a lot compared to how grungy some of the lounge facilities have gotten in the past few years. It’s easily now the nicest Star Alliance Lounge in the United States and easily worth a visit when you are through the Tom Bradley International Terminal.
If you fly from Los Angeles International Airport, do you make a habit of coming to the Star Alliance Business Lounge in the Tom Bradley International Terminal?
At the time of this trip, the Delta Sky Club in Los Angeles Terminal 5 had been recently refreshed as their main lounge at Los Angeles International Airport. I had booked us to fly down to Los Angeles a day early, prior to our overseas flight so that MrsWT73 could do a little shopping and that there would be no issues with our connecting flight on two separate tickets. Having arrived, and with no set schedule, we decided we would check out the lounge.
This post is one chapter on our trip to Bali and Singapore. This trip was redeemed through Lifemiles, AAdvantage and through Starwood Preferred Guest (Marriott Bonvoy) loyalty programs. 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.
If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
Read More from This Trip
- Trip Introduction: Dodging Volcanic Ash, Bali and Singapore via Delta, Asiana, KLM and Japan Airlines Business Class
- Delta Airlines First Class: Vancouver – Los Angeles
- Delta Sky Club Lounge, Los Angeles, USA
- Star Alliance Business Lounge, Los Angeles, USA
- Asiana Airlines Business Class: Los Angeles – Seoul Incheon
- Asiana Airlines Business Class: Seoul Incheon – Denpasar Bali
- The Westin Resort Nusa Dua Bali, Indonesia
- A Week Around Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia
- Sunset at Uluwatu Temple, Bali, Indonesia
- White Water Rafting Ayung Rapids, Monkey Forest and Tanah Lot, Bali, Indonesia
- The Premier Lounge, Bali, Indonesia
- KLM World Business Class: Denpasar Bali – Singapore
- Contrasting the Old and New of Singapore
- Plant Life from Around the World at Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
- The Singapore Zoo, Singapore Botanical Gardens and Hawker Food Stalls, Singapore
- A Day at Legoland Malaysia, Johor Barhu, Malaysia
- SATS Premier Lounge, Changi Terminal One, Singapore
- Japan Airlines Business Class: Singapore – Tokyo Narita
- Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge: Tokyo Narita, Japan
- Japan Airlines Business Class: Tokyo Narita – Vancouver
Review: Delta Sky Club, Los Angeles International Airport – Terminal Five, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.
At the time of this trip, Delta Airlines and the Delta Sky Club were situated in Terminal Five in Los Angeles. Although Delta Airlines has since moved over to Terminal Two, it’s still worth a walk down memory lane to see what a Delta Sky Club offers during our visit to the this lounge.
Locating the Delta Sky Club:
We arrived off our Delta Airlines First Class Vancouver – Los Angeles flight. At the time of this trip, the Delta Sky Club was located just past the Lemonade restaurant in Los Angeles International Airport in Terminal 5. The Los Angeles International Airport is located in nine different terminals in somewhat of a sprawling area.
Surprisingly, the club was accessed from the concourse via a freight elevator?? Sinister! It was a pretty grungy entrance for what was marketed as a massive renovation. There were no hip and happening escalators here- or an abundance of space.
Arriving to the lounge reception, it was not exactly a serene arrival with a crowded reception desk of grumpy customers.
Accessing the Delta Airlines Sky Club:
Delta Airlines, as a member of Skyteam, have quite a different list of access policies. It’s especially different considering that Delta offers a number of premium and International services from Los Angeles International Airport.
- Domestic Delta first class and ‘Delta One’ business class flyers bound for New York JFK
- Passengers booked in business and first class on Delta and SkyTeam international flights, or connecting to or from the same – including Delta’s daily Los Angeles-Sydney service
- Virgin Australia Velocity Gold and Platinum frequent flyers ahead of any Delta flight
- Delta Gold and Platinum Medallion members when departing LAX on a Delta or SkyTeam international flight, or when connecting domestically to or from the same
- Delta Diamond Medallion and paid-up Sky Club members ahead of onward travel with any airline, where the lounge is in the same terminal or secure area as the flight
- SkyTeam Elite Plus members with a same-day international SkyTeam flight
- American Express Platinum and Centurion Charge Card customers, travelling on Delta Airlines in any class.
- US-issued Delta Reserve credit cardholders
- Full economy (Y-class) travellers on Delta
While they used to offer access on a one day paid fee for $50 USD, this has since been discontinued.
We gained access as a result of travelling internationally (from Canada) on a first class ticket. During our visit, they had no issues with us using the lounge as “arriving” first class passengers, and we admitted without any concerns.
Inside the Delta Sky Slub Los Angeles – Terminal Five:
Once we were inside, we had an opportunity to appreciate the newly renovated Delta Sky Club. The most immediate striking feature was the ceiling accent, which really marked the lounge space. The high ceiling was further accented with rotating color light.
The lounge had striking colors of white, blue and red, which made strong statements in a contemporary manner. Off the main lounge area were several moods and seating areas that were a little less inspirational, but perfectly functional.
WT73jr enjoyed the space, and immediately connected to the free wifi in a comfortable lounger.
The lounge was probably at about 70% occupancy on our visit and we were still able to locate some places to sit. This was better than the regular Los Angeles Terminal Five concourse, which was stuffed full on our walk through the concourse. it was a nice space with tarmac views.
The lounge featured some contemporary and traditional art. Growing up in the seventies, I especially liked this piece.
In addition to the lounge seating space, the lounge offered apron views with daylight windows. This was a more popular space to be, and the chairs over here were completely or near full on our visit.
There were also some less exciting sponsored magazines available near the food stations, if you were looking for something to take with you.
Food and Beverage:
Breakfast Feature:
Our visit coincided wit breakfast hours. The breakfast food offering was dismal and wasn’t anything to write home about. It was the usual United Club style preserved bagels, porridge and mini muffins that would require a handful in order to get any substance.
Lunch Feature:
Thankfully, we happened to arrive right at meal changeover at 11 AM. The lunch offering was much better. The food was much more attractive, consisting of celery, vegan vegetarian / tomato bisque soups presented in attractive red Creuset cups and assorted olives, salads and other snacks. Apparently, other people thought so too, since the chicken salad went just like that!
There was also a proper seating area towards the glass that had a substantial amount of natural light. There were also ample plug ins and power ports. The high density seating area wasn’t all too popular during our visit.
MrsWT73 and I had a wine from the bar. They were serving Concha Y Toro Frontera as the house wine. Delta was swish enough to have proper stemware type glasses along with upgraded upholstery chairs to lounge in. The only minus was that the wifi was dreadfully slow and the attached bathrooms in the lounge were completely closed during our visit due to a water main pipe bursting. Although the lounge served it’s purpose, it wasn’t really designed to be a place to stay for a long time.
My Thoughts on the Delta Airlines Sky Club Los Angeles Terminal Five:
Ultimately, it’s a nicer lounge that’s trying really hard to be an American Express Centurion lounge without the free fancy mixed drinks. It was worth a visit, but it was nothing excellent to write home about. The fact that this place was quite busy, lessened the exclusivity of it as well. The style was neat, but I fear that as more and more lounges get upgraded, this one will fit in as “a middle of the pack” lounge.
If you’ve visited the Delta Sky Club’s, how do you find that they compare with other US Airline lounges?
Delta Airlines offers some limited flights too and from Vancouver International Airport, with non stop service to and from Atlanta, Los Angeles, Minneapolis / St Paul, Salt Lake City, and Seattle. Today’s experience with the usual competitor was on a Delta Airlines First Class flight Vancouver – Los Angeles. While we enjoyed a lower price, we didn’t get lower features. We invite you to read on to see why…
This post is one chapter on our trip to Bali and Singapore. This trip was redeemed through Lifemiles, AAdvantage and through Starwood Preferred Guest (Marriott Bonvoy) loyalty programs. 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.
If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
Read More from This Trip
- Trip Introduction: Dodging Volcanic Ash, Bali and Singapore via Delta, Asiana, KLM and Japan Airlines Business Class
- Delta Airlines First Class: Vancouver – Los Angeles
- Delta Sky Club Lounge, Los Angeles, USA
- Star Alliance Business Lounge, Los Angeles, USA
- Asiana Airlines Business Class: Los Angeles – Seoul Incheon
- Asiana Airlines Business Class: Seoul Incheon – Denpasar Bali
- The Westin Resort Nusa Dua Bali, Indonesia
- A Week Around Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia
- Sunset at Uluwatu Temple, Bali, Indonesia
- White Water Rafting Ayung Rapids, Monkey Forest and Tanah Lot, Bali, Indonesia
- The Premier Lounge, Bali, Indonesia
- KLM World Business Class: Denpasar Bali – Singapore
- Contrasting the Old and New of Singapore
- Plant Life from Around the World at Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
- The Singapore Zoo, Singapore Botanical Gardens and Hawker Food Stalls, Singapore
- A Day at Legoland Malaysia, Johor Barhu, Malaysia
- SATS Premier Lounge, Changi Terminal One, Singapore
- Japan Airlines Business Class: Singapore – Tokyo Narita
- Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge: Tokyo Narita, Japan
- Japan Airlines Business Class: Tokyo Narita – Vancouver
Review: Delta Airlines First Class E175, Vancouver International Airport – Los Angeles International Terminal 5
“As a competitor to United and Air Canada on this route, the Delta Airlines First Class transborder experience featured a deeply discounted airfare price only a little bit less of a First Class product.”
This flight on Delta Airlines Vancouver – Los Angeles was one of the few times we had flown on Delta. To see how it compares, please feel free to check out a comparable review of Air Canada Business Class, Los Angeles – Vancouver.
Delta Airlines
Business Class
YVR-LAX (Vancouver International Airport – Los Angeles Airport)
DL 5683 – Business Class (G)
July 17, 2015
Booked: Embrauer 175
Flown: Embrauer 175
For eight years, I used to be a self funded chaser of Aeroplan Top Tier status; topping off business travel with the occasional work trip. Consequently, I spent a great deal of time, effort and energy accumulating points to achieve Star Alliance Gold through Air Canada. Thanks to devaluations, I’d given all that up now and just go for availability and discounted fares; taking advantage of all the benefits of status without paying for it. Today’s opportunity was on Delta Airlines at a deeply discounted first class fare at $250 USD that was only $40 above the cost of a similar economy fare on Air Canada. The Air Canada Business fare was more than double the price at $520 when compared to Delta for their less interesting low cost carrier “Air Canada Rouge” product. Ouch. Sorry Air Canada, that decision was made easy and the cheaper Delta Airlines it was. It’s a bit more freeing now that there wasn’t a need to chase status.
Checking into Delta Airlines First Class:
We took an Aerocar from the house to the Airport today. We had lots of luggage for a family trip and we ended up with a Ford Expedition. It was pretty quiet on arrival to Vancouver International Airport thanks to our early morning flight time.
We checked in at Vancouver International at the well marked Delta Airlines Sky Priority check in line. We were assisted through the kiosk check in and had our bags tagged over at the counter. Vancouver US Pre-Clearance requires that all bags get dropped on a conveyor belt, where they are photographed and linked up to a boarding card. We quickly made it through Nexus pre-screening and US Pre-Clearance Global Entry and with only 4-6 people in front of us.
Unfortunately, no lounge was available with the purchase of a Delta First Class fare, other than the Plaza Premium Lounge Vancouver Transborder, (previously the Alaska Airlines Board Room) so we just opted for the terminal where my son filled up on Tim Horton’s coffee shop bagels.
We headed over to Gate E87 in the USA Transborder Departures Area. Boarding was a bit delayed by 15 minutes thanks to a small maintenance issue.
On Board Delta Airlines First Class:
Once on board, we settled into comfortable commuter jet seating in a 1-2 configuration with 4 rows of First Class. The load was full today, less two seats.
It’s fair to say that the Cabin was pretty intimate and not all too exciting.
Pre – Departure Services:
A pre departure beverage of Dasani water was available, as left on the seat.
There was a nice Delta branded red blanket made available to passengers. There was no mistaking that bright red color!
Getting underway with the flight, as always it was a beautiful climb out of Vancouver airport todays with views over the University of British Columbia and the mountains in the backdrop today.
The Meal: A Cold Breakfast
We were offered juices prior to the breakfast offering. It was cranberry juice with ice cubes today, served in proper glassware.
The Delta Airlines Breakfast wasn’t the usual hot omelette and sausage or pancake offering on Air Canada but instead Cheerios cereal. Delta could up their game a bit here compared to Air Canada by offering hot selections, although I can’t speak for their current competitor’s offering on Air Canada Rouge in Business Class.
Delta, like many others, has removed in flight television monitors from its seat backs. Instead, entertainment is provided through a tablet app promising hours of free entertainment. My son settled into the Penguins of Madagascar movie which came across okay on my iPhone.
Before we knew it, we were in for the landing at LAX. It was a reasonable flight without much fanfare to it.
Conclusion: Our Flight with Delta Airlines
It was a quick run down which was more than comfortable for an easy flight. Overall, it was well priced for the price paid and I can’t really complain. The Embraer 175 was a little compact and was a no frills experience. I would definitely fly Delta Airlines again if I had the opportunity. I’d just pack a hot breakfast sandwich on board before I did.
If you regularly travel by air on the Canada / United States Transborder routes, do you have a favourite carrier?
Around this time, I started to get a bit more creative with the frequent flier redemptions. Instead of just collecting the points, I started with the “buy low / sell high” method of purchasing points to redeem against outsized value. In this trip, I maximized point redemption values to put together a fantastic family trip for a lot less than expected.
Trip Introduction: Dodging Volcanic Ash. Bali and Singapore via Delta, Asiana, KLM and Japan Airlines Business Class.
Trip Background:
I was born to two sets of first generation Canadians, having immigrated to the United States from Singapore and the United Kingdom. When I was ten years old, I was being taken overseas to visit grandparents and aunts and uncles; travelling from Canada to Singapore. We mostly traveled on Cathay Pacific from Vancouver, through the old Hong Kong Kai Tak airport. My dad was taking me in the other direction, to the United Kingdom and Guernsey in order to visit the other side of the family. I didn’t know it then, but I really enjoyed those trips and it made me into the world traveller and explorer that I am today.
Now that my own son is 11 years old, I wanted to give him a similar experience. Although it’s been challenging, he’s been given the opportunity to travel to Singapore, Thailand, Costa Rica, Maui (Hawaii) and now Bali, Indonesia. MrsWT73, the gracious host, has accompanied me and my son (who is from the previous administration) on all these trips. It won’t be long before we have one of our own.
We picked Bali as a destination as it involved beaches with a little bit of culture that I’m sure an 11 year old would find different than our life at home in Canada. It was also close to the family home in Singapore and we could get in a visit at the same time. I personally enjoy South East Asia as a destination to visit and this trip was no exception.
Trip Planning and Constructing the Trip:
The goal on this trip was to visit both Bali for holidays and Singapore for a family visit. Bali, Indonesia is a bit of a tricky destination to get to from North America. I had thought about getting from Vancouver to Singapore, then purchasing a round trip ticket to Bali from Singapore but that added cost and time to our vacation.Instead, I happened to find 3 business class reward seats on Asiana Airlines from Los Angeles – Seoul Incheon on their Airbus A380, and onwards to Seoul Incheon to Denpasar Bali on their older Asiana Boeing 767. I was able to redeem 65,000 Avianca Life Miles per person for this award, along with $25 award fee and $14.90 in taxes, totalling $39 USD in ticket fees each. I purchased the Lifemiles outright on one of their famous two for one promotions, meaning that I was able to purchase 32,500 miles (at $35.40 USD per 1,000 miles, totalling $1,150 USD) with promotion doubling to total 65,000 miles. I found that getting two flights in full business class to get to Bali from Los Angeles was worth $1,150 USD one way, and not much more than half the price of an economy ticket.
Given that the Lifemiles booking engine was not very complex at the time of booking, we weren’t able to add on a flight on Air Canada to get to Los Angeles for our Asiana Airlines A380 flight. While Air Canada had economy flights Vancouver – Los Angeles available for $210 USD one way, Delta Airlines had First Class flights available Vancouver – Seattle for $250. As a result, I paid cash for a positioning flight Vancouver – Los Angeles in first class to get to our Lifemiles ticket which started in Los Angeles, USA.
There were quite a view ways to get from Bali to Singapore. While there were several low cost carriers flying the route such as Jetstar and Valuair, in addition to the prestigious options like Singapore Airlines, I also noticed that KLM was also flying a fifth freedom flight on the route: Bali – Singapore – Amsterdam. Being a fifth freedom flight, their business class between Bali and Singapore was deeply discounted. As a result, I purchased this ticket for $315 USD along with taxes and fees of $42.70 totalling $357.70 USD, which I found to be of good value for an international business class flight. It included lounge access and free overweight checked baggage; something the low cost carriers did not.
For our options to get home, Singapore had great connectivity in both Star Alliance and One World networks. I had a bunch of AAdvantage Miles that are a little difficult to use from Vancouver given that it is Star Alliance territory. As a result, I was able to locate two business class seats on Japan Airlines Singapore – Narita – Vancouver. MrsWT73 flew home a little earlier in the week on Japan Airlines Singapore – Haneda / Narita – Vancouver using the co-terminals rule at Haneda/Narita, Japan. My flights included a flight on the Japan Airlines “Sky Suites II” on their Boeing 767, and their newer product on their Japan Airlines Boeing 787 “Shell Flat Neo” serving Vancouver. I redeemed AAdvantage Miles that were converted in from Royal Bank of Canada Avion Visa Credit Cards for 55,000 AAdvantage Miles and $62.55 CAD in taxes and carrier imposed fees per person.
In terms of accommodation, as we were travelling as a family, we opted for a little extra space. We ended up staying at the Westin Nusa Dua in Bali. As a Category 5, a regular redemption was 10,000 Starwood Preferred Guest Points with the fifth night free or 40,000 points for 5 nights. There was a little known feature that suites were double the award price, so we redeemed 80,000 Starwood Preferred Guest Points for a Garden Terrace Family Suite. We got the fifth night free as always. We also used a certificate for a standard room on our initial arrival night when we arrived at 1 AM, courtesy of the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Credit Card.
We stayed at the family house in Singapore and didn’t incur any accommodation expenses for our 7 days there.
All in, our tickets cost us $1,785 USD per person for seven flights North America – South East Asia in full business class, along with the redemption of 65,000 Lifemiles, 55,000 AAdvantage Miles and 80,000 Starwood Preferred Guest points. Our routing ended up looking like follows:
YVR-LAX (paid)
LAX-ICN-DPS (LifeMiles Award)
DPS-SIN (paid)
SIN-NRT-YVR (AAdvantage Award)
Unfortunately, about four days before our trip, Mount Ruang in Indonesia decided to erupt and steam over an extended period of time, causing havoc with the flights. It was a slow eruption and steaming over several days that caused hundreds of flight cancellations. BBC News was our best source of international updates:
I considered on several occasions cancelling the whole thing and changing to Thailand. However, when I checked hotels, there was really nothing interesting available with the best properties being fully booked in the height of summer. Eleven year old in hand, travelling on two tickets, we decided to roll the dice it and proceed with the original plan and take our chances.
It was a test of nerves until the point that we actually landed, and then again until we left Bali. Instead of freakishly checking for award space inventories, I was freakishly checking the VAAC Darwin center ash advisory warning that covered the ash cloud pattern warning. How did we fare? Did we make it in and out unblemished? Stay tuned to find out!
This post is one chapter on our trip to Bali and Singapore. This trip was redeemed through Lifemiles, AAdvantage and through Starwood Preferred Guest (Marriott Bonvoy) loyalty programs. 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.
If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
Read More from This Trip
- Trip Introduction: Dodging Volcanic Ash, Bali and Singapore via Delta, Asiana, KLM and Japan Airlines Business Class
- Delta Airlines First Class: Vancouver – Los Angeles
- Delta Sky Club Lounge, Los Angeles, USA
- Star Alliance Business Lounge, Los Angeles, USA
- Asiana Airlines Business Class: Los Angeles – Seoul Incheon
- Asiana Airlines Business Class: Seoul Incheon – Denpasar Bali
- The Westin Resort Nusa Dua Bali, Indonesia
- A Week Around Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia
- Sunset at Uluwatu Temple, Bali, Indonesia
- White Water Rafting Ayung Rapids, Monkey Forest and Tanah Lot, Bali, Indonesia
- The Premier Lounge, Bali, Indonesia
- KLM World Business Class: Denpasar Bali – Singapore
- Contrasting the Old and New of Singapore
- Plant Life from Around the World at Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
- The Singapore Zoo, Singapore Botanical Gardens and Hawker Food Stalls, Singapore
- A Day at Legoland Malaysia, Johor Barhu, Malaysia
- SATS Premier Lounge, Changi Terminal One, Singapore
- Japan Airlines Business Class: Singapore – Tokyo Narita
- Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge: Tokyo Narita, Japan
- Japan Airlines Business Class: Tokyo Narita – Vancouver
If you’ve got a favourite method of getting to South East Asia on Reward miles, do you have any strategies that often help?
Air Canada’ newest aircraft is the Boeing 737 Max 8, which arrived in the middle of a pandemic and questionable safety issues on the part of the Boeing manufacturer. How did the aircraft stand up on our short shuttle flight between cities on Canada’s West Coast?
Review: Air Canada Business Class B737 – Max 8, Calgary International Airport – Vancouver International Airport
“Air Canada’s newest business class product is a substantial improvement over its’ Airbus series business class product, featuring upgraded seating and in flight entertainment”
Air Canada
Business Class
YYC-YVR (Calgary International Airport – Vancouver International Airport)
AC 221 Business Class (R)
5:30 PM – 6:00 PM
June 10, 2021
Booked: Boeing 737 Max 8
Flown: Boeing 737 Max 8
Air Canada has historically flown an Airbus fleet domestically within Canada, with the occasional entry into the Embraer market. As the Airbus series aircraft get older and closer to retirement, Air Canada elected to enter into the Boeing 737 Max aircraft product. Unfortunately, the timing of problems with the equipment types computer systems and a worldwide health pandemic stunted the growth and use of this equipment type. Today’s experience would be my first flight on this equipment type.
This ticket was purchased as a regular economy class category in Flex Fare economy class. I used e-upgrade credits achieved from flying with Air Canada’s Aeroplan frequent flier program as a top tier elite, in order to upgrade into business class. Thanks to lessened travel demand, there was ample availability. I submitted an upgrade request shortly after purchasing the ticket. My upgrade was cleared and confirmed into business class approximately eight days before my flight, resulting in four e-credits being deducted from my Aeroplan account.
I had checked in to the flight through the Air Canada App at twenty three hours before the flight. While the flight showed as almost full on the seat map, there was only 11 out of 16 seats occupied. Air Canada must block some seats or there much have been some mis connnects as I ended up with several empty seats around me.
After a visit to both the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Calgary Domestic, and the Westjet Elevation Lounge Calgary Domestic, I headed to Gate C52 to board today’s flight. The Air Canada Boeing 737 Max 8 family is now frequently used on shuttle service between Vancouver and Calgary, in addition to other domestic routes within Canada.
By the time I had arrived to Gate C52, priority boarding was in the process of concluding with the final call for Zone 2. As an Air Canada Business Class traveler, I was given Boarding Zone 1 designation on my boarding card; the best possible number available.
On Board Air Canada Business Class on the Boeing 737 Max 8:
Air Canada Business Class on the Boeing 737 Max 8 is set up with four rows of business class in a 2-2 configuration. Air Canada has gone for a darker color on its seats, compared to the glacial blue that was in its previous generation on the Airbus Series. The new look is much more contemporary and subdued in its elegance.
The seats themselves are slimline seats, which are lighter in weight. I typically don’t find these seats to be as comfortable. However, I’m happy to report on this version that I found that these seats are actually more comfortable than their Air Canada Airbus Series Business Class barcalounger style counterpart. I also found them more comfortable than the comparable puffy seat found in the Alaska Airlines First Class product.
I located my seat 2F, which was a window seat on the right hand side of the aircraft. I stowed my luggage in the overhead bin, which had ample storage space using large scale bins that can fit rolling suitcases vertically. I didn’t end up having a seat mate with me today in 2D, so I had both seats to myself to stretch out.
Settling into the seat, I had ample leg room. It didn’t matter whether I was seated straight or cross legged, there was enough space without dealing with knocking knees into the seat in front of you.
The seat also featured foot rests, that could be adjusted in a variety of ways.
Features of the Seat:
The Seat Featured a recline option and a foot rest option. These features were accessed through level buttons on the wall of the seat itself.
It’s a bit difficult to show how the seat base extends, but I tested it out on the seat next to me. It extends upwards, to help with a rest option.
Individual Air Nozzles:
The seating space featured individual air nozzles, along with a light feature. The light feature was activated from a button on the overhead luggage compartment.
Storage Space:
The seat console of the seat ahead featured a storage space. It was suitable for a water bottle, but was sized such that laptops or phones would probably slip out of this space as it only had a fabric band keeping things in place.
Fortunately, the seats had a very convenient lap top space in the console in between the seats. The space was large enough to fit many of the largest laptops. There was also in seat Empower in the seats, along with USB ports and a double prong headphone slot.
In Flight Table:
The opposite side of the seat featured a split table. The table could be folded in half, or completely extended for meal service.
The front of the seat offered a magazine pouch. Given that we were in the health pandemic, the Air Canada Enroute in flight magazine had been removed, leaving the in flight safety card as the only thing occupying this spot.
Entertainment Screen:
The seat featured a video screen. Like most modern electronic upgrades, the screen is now a large inches. It featured a montage of aspirational shots of the destination being traveled to, which was a neat way to be introduced to a flight.
Pre Departure Services:
Unlike most American carriers, the Air Canada pre-departure services are pretty tame by comparison. Its customary for an open bar to be offered in the US, wheras Air Canada offers a bottle of Naya Still Water.
Getting Underway:
As all passengers boarded, we got underway two minutes early from our scheduled departure time. For some reason, we had a manual safety demonstration by the flight attendants. I’m not sure whether this is usual, but there was no apparent failed attempt to start a video demonstration; reverting to manual as a last resort. Rather, it was planned and put into their take off routine as we started to taxi to the runway.
We had the exceptionally long taxi over to runway 35, for our departure to Vancouver. I counted about 15 Westjet B737 aircraft parked around the airport, thanks to the downturn in air travel from the health pandemic.
As we proceeded down the runway, the take off noise was substantially quieter and less harsh than the loud throttle of their usual Airbus series aircraft. The engine noise sounded more subdued and refined, instead of the usual glare and noise of the Airbus CFM Dash 5’s.
In Flight Entertainment:
As we climbed to altitude, I played with the in flight entertainment system. The system has been modernized and features an easier user interface compared the last Enroute product found on the Air Canada Airbus Series.
The home page featured both a menu page, and an entertainment page. After playing with the system, it offered a picture in picture set up so you could watch a movie in addition to having the moving map set up in the order so you could watch both at the same time.
The Meal: A Snack
We only had a flight time of one hour as we travelled the 436 miles to Vancouver. As a result, the meal service was started promptly. The meal service was considered as “modified” as a result of the health pandemic.
The meal was a small salad presented in a box. It was offered with Albarino White Wine or French Beaujolais Red Wine. Since the day was over, I enjoyed a glass between putting the face mask on and off.
The snack meal was reasonable. Although the meal offered hummus in lieu of salad dressing. I was expecting the usual Air Canada Olive Oil and Balsamic combination but instead came up with hummus alone.
The service on board was the usual Air Canada politeness; pleasant but not super interactive. Staff were available for drink refills, although I didn’t partake in any as I was driving home.
After the meal, i stared out the window, missing travelling by air.
The windows of the aircraft offered the usual pull up / down window shade varieties. Unfortunately, they did not offer the digital electronic window shading that is also found on the current generation Boeing 787 products.
Landing at Vancouver International:
With the flight being really brief, it wasn’t long before we were navigating into Vancouver International Airport. I followed along on the next generation flight map, to plot our route.
We over flew the downtown core of Vancouver, with a heading out towards the Georgia Straight, before a left turn back to runway 26 L.
After landing, we taxied off the runway. I happened to catch my first glimpse at the Turkish Airlines Boeing 787 that starting its route Vancouver – Istanbul only 21 days ago, in front of a Phillipines Airlines Boeing 777 parked at the international gates.
We arrived to Gate C41 in the Domestic Terminal at Vancouver International Airport and deplaned without any issues. I hopped the shuttle bus to the park and fly and headed home for the evening.
The Bottom Line: Air Canada Business Class Short Haul on the Boeing 737 Max 8
The Air Canada Business Class on the Boeing 737 Max 8 represents the business class of the future. It is a substantial improvement on the old Air Canada Business Class Seat in the narrow body Airbus Series aircraft, featuring a more comfortable seat, along with a more functional space that surrounds it. I wouldn’t hesitate to fly this aircraft again, or hesitate about using e-upgrades to upgrade into business class as it would be money well spent. Well done Air Canada.
If you’ve flown the new Air Canada Boeing 737 Max 8, what did you think of the aircraft?
The Westjet Elevation Lounge is Westjet Airlines first entry into the business lounge space. As an outlier airline not in any one international airline alliance such as Star Alliance, One World or Skyteam, Westjet has often forged its own path. The Westjet Elevation Lounge continues on that path with a better than expected lounge space, paired with excellent food and beverage offerings.
Review: The Westjet Elevation Lounge, Calgary Domestic “B” Concourse, Calgary International Airport, Alberta, Canada
“Westjet’s Elevation Lounge entrance into the business lounge environment is a solid achievement, with a stylish space complimented by excellent food and beverage offering with a full service bar”
This review is about the Westjet Elevation Lounge at Calgary International Airport, located in the “B” Concourse of the Domestic Terminal. For another lounge in the Calgary International Airport Domestic Terminal, and the direct competition to the Westjet Elevation Lounge, please see our review of the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Calgary Domestic, located a short distance away.
The City of Calgary is home to Canada’s other national airline Westjet. For years, Westjet had resisted having a business class cabin, operating on a single class of service cabin. Over time, their strategy had evolved from solely domestic routes to operating international routes with business class suites on new Boeing 787-8 aircraft. Along with this strategy growth comes with the need to have a lounge experience, leading us to the brand new Westjet Elevation Lounge.
The Westjet Elevation Lounge is the sole Westjet branded lounge throughout the entire global Westjet system.
Locating the Westjet Elevation Lounge Calgary Domestic:
The Westjet Elevation Lounge is located in the “B” Concourse of the Calgary International Airport. The primary base of operations for Westjet in Calgary are the “A” Concourse Gates, which are a short walk away. The Calgary International Airport “B” Concourse was previously the Calgary US Pre-Clearance area, and it’s sort of a no man’s land of space. I am assuming that the retail space didn’t exist in the “A” Concourse, or perhaps it wanted space between the domestic and the international terminal, prompting Westjet to set up space in the “B” Concourse.
Map Courtesy of the Calgary International Airport
I had arrived into the Calgary International Airport on a connecting flight in the “C” Concourse. I walked over along the secure side pathway between the “C” Gates and “B” Gates. There are moving escalators here, making it easy and quick to connect between terminals.
The Westjet Elevation Lounge is a little hard to find. I completely missed it even though I was looking right for it. The reason that I missed it is that the lounge is not posted on airport signage. The Calgary International Airport authority doesn’t really provide an exact map, the Westjet website indicates somewhat generically that it is located on Concourse “B”, without specifying an exact location or nearby gate.
Wandering down the “B” Concourse looking for the lounge, I ended up having to ask a Westjet staff member to point me towards the lounge. After those friendly directions, I was able to find it without any issue. I can’t help but think that Westjet could to a little bit of a better job marketing the location.
The lounge is situated immediately after “B” Gates Security before you approach the YYC Link pathway. If you are approaching from a connecting gate, the lounge is located on the building side of the YYC Link pathway. It is located off to a corner tucked behind a support post.
Accessing the Westjet Elevation Lounge:
After entering into the reception area, which was as tiny as an elevator, I proceeded to check into the lounge.
As Westjet is not part of the Star Alliance, One World or Skyteam international airline alliances, access rules are a little more specific and unusual.
There are several ways to access the Westjet Elevation Lounge:
- Top Tier Elite level members of the Westjet Frequent Flier Rewards program WestJet Rewards Platinum, Gold and Silver members are eligible for complimentary lounge access based on their tier benefits.
- Guests travelling in the Business cabin of the Westjet Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners (including connections when a Business fare has been purchased) also receive complimentary access to the lounge.
- Delta Sky Miles® members with Diamond, Platinum or Gold Medallion® status travelling on an itinerary that includes a segment between Canada and the US operated by Delta and/or WestJet also receive complimentary access. Those holding a Delta One ticket also have access when Calgary (YYC) is part of the same-day international itinerary.
- Priority Pass, LoungeKey, LOUNGE CLUB and Diners Club members may access the lounge using their membership benefits.
- All other guests, including those travelling on other airlines, are welcome to access the lounge for a fee, (currently $59 CAD / $49 USD), payable on lounge entry.
Today’s access was provided courtesy of Priority Pass, as a benefit of holding the American Express Platinum Card.
A friendly lounge reception host scanned my digital membership card. Since I was travelling during the pandemic, I also had to complete an electronic contact tracing form, providing my name, address, email and telephone number.
Inside the Westjet Elevation Lounge:
After entering the lounge, a corridor brings you into the lounge area of the space. The lounge has done a good job of making the corridor feature see through panelling, making this a brighter space given the design.
The corridor immediately deposits you into the mixed dining long table and lounging space. The first impressions of the lounge were that it was designed in a contemporary manner, with modern colours and a variety of space. A long table anchored the front portion of the lounge.
Westjet offered some pretty cool looking relax chairs in their lounge spae. There were a bank of six relax loungers immediately adjacent to the entry corridor. The chairs looked really inviting for those looking for some down time on a longer stay.
Moving counter clockwise around the lounge, the lounge space offered bench seating paired with occasional cocktail tables looking towards the windows. There were also a few paired loungers looking out towards the walkway. The view from the lounge overlooked the concourse pathway between concourse “B” and concourse “C”. The view was through mirrored glass. The view overlooked the pathway, the moving escalators and another series of glass windows towards the apron outside. While the lounge made a great use of maximizing daylight, the reality of looking through several series of glass meant that airside views weren’t as spectacular as they could be.
Working through the lounge, the place offered modern looking loungers towards the rear of the lounge. These seats were adjacent to the bar.
Moving further into the back of the lounge, there were further private lounge chairs with privacy dividers similar to the seats found in American Express Centurion Lounges or a Delta Sky Club. These seats, being at the back of the lounge, were quite dark, given the absence of windows in the back area of the lounge. This portion was completely deserted on my visit.
Working my way through the lounge, the lounge chairs near the bar featured a brighter space, along with a counter top available for casual seating.
The focal point of the Westjet Elevation Lounge was a semi circular bar set in an oval curve. Two flat screens anchored the bar, which were showing sports channels on my visit. The bar was manned and featured a full range of spirits, cocktails and wines served by the glass. The lounge also featured a fireplace, consistent with the colder temperatures that are sometimes experienced during the winters of Calgary.
The lounge extended into the back of the building. There were a few additional features of the lounge. The first one that I came to was a small media room. The media room offered a television and seating for approximately 4-7 people on benches surrounding the television.
There was a separate family space room. The family space room offered a space for children that featured a television and few toys. There were separate loungers outside the family space room for tired parents.
The lounge was much more deserted than the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Calgary Domestic that I visited earlier in the day. Either air travel is substantially down with Westjet, or perhaps there isn’t enough people that have yet found this place. The quietness led to an intimate lounge experience with only four other people in the lounge during my visit.
Food and Beverage:
The lounge offered a substantial food and beverage space in an area centred around a long table. The space was contemporary and sleek.
During my visit in the pandemic, ordering of food was through scanning a QR code on the table.
I have to say I was really blown away by the food and beverage menu. The menu offered was really impressive thanks to its variety and depth. There were dozens of things to order, which was much more than I was expecting. The expansive menu would probably be more obvious when menus were actually available on the table; which had been removed likely as a result of the health pandemic. The menu items consisted of snack like items, instead of full meal items but all looked interesting and worthy of attention.
There was also a full gluten free menu option for many of these items.
Beers:
The food and beverage menu also contained a substantial beer and wine section. While it’s customary that you might find one or two wines in the bar. I was really impressed with the bar selection. There were at least five different kinds of beer available, ranging from light to porter.
Wine by the Glass:
There were twelve kinds of wine available to enjoy. While it’s typical to experience two reds and two whites, the Westjet Elevation lounge really set the standard by offering twelve different wines by glass, including sparkling and rosé.
Unfortunately, there was no champagne on offer, which is only possible opportunity for improvement. Given that Westjet now offers international business class flights, this may be something for them to consider in the future.
Mixed Lounge Cocktails:
As if twelve wines weren’t enough, the lounge also offered mixed cocktails similar to the American Express Centurion Lounges. Unlike some lounges that might only offer a half dozen mixed cocktails, the Westjet Elevation Lounge had twelve cocktails on the menu.
Based on the menu, you could certainly do some serious pre flight damage. The staff and service in the lounge was really pleasant and engaging. I spent a little time here prior to heading off on an Air Canada Business Class Calgary – Vancouver flight.
My Thoughts on the Westjet Elevation Lounge:
I have to say that I was more impressed than I thought I would have been with the Westjet Elevation Lounge. Although the lounge location and views are a little less than desired, the Westjet Elevation Lounge makes up for it with a better than expected food menu and an outstanding beer, wine and cocktail menu. It’s pretty unprecedented in Canada to have a wine bar available at a business lounge so I have to give Westjet credit where it is due.
If you’ve visited the Westjet Elevation Lounge in Calgary International Airport, were you impressed with the lounge?
The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge at Calgary International Airport is the sole Maple Leaf Lounge in existence at the Calgary Airport. As the only lounge, it does triple lounge duty as the domestic, transborder and international lounge for all Air Canada and Star Alliance Departures. Despite this responsibility, it does an excellent job at living up to expectations and offers a very good lounge experience with upscale touches.
Review: Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, Calgary Domestic “C” Concourse, Calgary International Airport, Alberta, Canada
This review is about the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Calgary International Airport, located in the “C” Concourse of the Domestic Terminal. For another lounge in the Calgary International Airport Domestic Terminal, and the direct competition to the Maple Leaf lounge, please see our review of the Westjet Elevation Lounge Calgary Domestic, located a short distance away.
The City of Calgary is home to Canada’s other national airline Westjet. Air Canada is competing head to head with Westjet with a city that is tremendously loyal to Westjet and has a heavy energy sector with substantial business air traffic. In other to maintain some competitive advantage, Air Canada has recently renovated it’s Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge in Calgary, offering some perks like a full service bar and contemporary decor that they don’t offer at many other lounges.
It’s worth nothing that this is the sole Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge at the Calgary International Airport. Unlike their focus cities of Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, Air Canada does not operate additional Transborder or International Maple Leaf Lounges in Calgary; making this place a one stop shop. If you’re departing form Calgary International Airport on an Air Canada or Star Alliance Transborder or International Flight, this is likely the lounge available to you.
Locating the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Calgary Domestic:
I had arrived to the Calgary International Airport on a connecting flight as I often find myself. Today’s visit led me to the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Calgary Domestic. I arrived to the airport on a flight from nearby British Columbia at Gate C54
Walking down the C Concourse, which is home to Air Canada’s Calgary Operations, it is really easy to find the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge. If you’re connecting from the “C” Gates, like I was, the Maple Leaf Lounge is immediately near the exit to the secure side at concourse “C” before the YYC Link electric vehicle shuttle pathway. If you’re arriving to the airport, it’s located immediately after clearing CATSA security after the YYC Link electric vehicle shuttle roadway.
Map Courtesy of Calgary International Airport
The view of the lounge entrance, from the perspective of an arriving traveller coming from security screening. The lounge entry is easily noticeable thanks to its elegant brown and grey panelling surrounding the entry.
Accessing the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge:
The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge was accessed today courtesy of a business class ticket for an Air Canada Business Class Calgary – Vancouver flight. Unlike in the United States, Air Canada allows for lounge access when flying in domestic or trans-border first class. No guests are permitted under these circumstances.
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.
In other great news, the lounge itself is located on the same level as the departures concourse, so there is no cramped elevator to ride in order to gain access to the lounge.
I presented my boarding pass to the scanner at reception and was given access to get in. I was welcomed and I led myself into the lounge.
Inside the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge:
The lounge reception hallway immediately leads you to a “T” shaped intersection. The left side leads to lounge seating, where as the right side leads to the bar and the food and beverage station. Since I was travelling during the pandemic, there were dividers set up throughout the lounge, in addition to ground marking arrows, funnelling all traffic in similar directional flows.
Once into the lounge itself, the lounge was portioned by a large decorative wall. The wall had embedded contemporary lighting also found in the flagship Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Toronto Pearson International Gates. The wall added a sleeker look to the place than in other lounges in the Maple Leaf Lounge System, which are often decorated in a slightly business oriented and plain decor.
The pathway route led me over towards the computer workstation area. The workstation area contained approximately a dozen work stations with power points, in addition to a long communal table that could be located in any office. The work station area was situated in a darker back portion of the lounge, away from the windows to the apron.
Getting back to the more fun side of the lounge, on the building side of the decorative wall, there were some lounge chairs and a few tables near a decorative vertical encased wine display. As my visited was during the pandemic, there were a lot less lounge chairs that can be expected in the lounge as current seating was socially distanced.
Moving clockwise around the exterior of the lounge, there remained the only left over pieces from the lounge prior to its recent renovation. This included a fireplace and a commemorative animal skin covering remarking the lounge’s opening in June 1998. Having visited first hand in the cold of Calgary’s winter, the fireplace is a great addition when the temperatures are a freezing -25 Celsius outside.
Moving around onto the other side of the partition wall, there were large floor to ceiling windows that looked outside at the Air Canada Domestic apron, in addition to an extended look towards the Westjet Apron at the “B” Gates. The Calgary “B” Gates used to be the tiny US Departures Pre-Clearance Zone consisting of only a few gates, which has since relocated over to “E” Gates in the new International Wing.
There were terrific views out the windows of the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Calgary. These were of the Air Canada Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft that now serve the Vancouver – Calgary shuttle routes. Being at the start of the concourse, the best views are at Gate 50 & 52. Traffic views of aircraft departing and taxiing are quite a ways away, so you probably won’t get many plane spotting opportunities when you visit here.
After following the glass around the edge of the lounge, the area eventually dead ended in a small triangular shape adjacent to another decorative wall. There was a small breezeway at the end of the wall to allow for access to and from the food service area.
Behind the decorative wall was a medium sized media area featuring a large television. The area only featured a single row of seating and was open to the other areas of the lounge. This seemed more like a social space rather than a media viewing space.
The lounge also offered attached bathrooms inside the lounge area. The bathrooms were featuring Molton Brown Soap and Lotions, which was a nice upscale touch.
Unfortunately, what this lounge doesn’t have is a lot of physical space. Due to the airport shape and size, the lounge is somewhat compact in its foot print, making this a somewhat medium sized space to service both Air Canada’s Domestic, Transborder and International Traffic. The lounge has occupied mostly the same space since opening twenty three years ago, aside from a small expansion. As a result, I have found it to be quite busy at certain times of the day when regular travel demand is present.
Food and Beverage:
The lounge offered a full service bar. It occupies a large space on the right hand side of the lounge next to the food service area. This is one of the few Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounges that offer a full service bar that isn’t self serve, aside from the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Vancouver International. It’s a nice classy touch and looks down right impressive for a Canadian Business Lounge. Although there was only one staff member working the bar today, there was no line for drinks.
Immediately behind the car was the food service area. It’s typically a buffet styled area. However, as a result of the pandemic, Air Canada was operating on an order from the table basis. As a result, it was not set up for direct food collection on today’s visit.
To ensure a safer experience during the pandemic, Air Canada had shifted lounge food service to a remote ordering method. Those seated at tables were encouraged to scan the menu and order electronically by phone. Once ordered, the food would be brought direct to table in take away style sealed containers.
The menu items on today’s visit in the late afternoon consisted of “afternoon snacks” and “dessert”. The menu featured some interesting and engaging items which I’d actually be interested in eating. The menu consisted with mains and desserts. Based on seeing what was delivered out, the menu portions looked quite small and snack like. You may do better ordering a few of them if you are hungry.
There were also two celebrity chef menu features available, both of which I would have likely ordered had I stayed longer. Both chefs feature prominently on the current on board Air Canada Business Class catering menus in domestic and international flights.
While I didn’t stick around for any food today, the food looked appealing and engaging. I would have liked to have sampled some of them had I not had a short connection time before heading off on an Air Canada Business Class Calgary – Vancouver flight.
My Thoughts on the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Calgary Domestic:
Overall, the Air Canada Maple Leaf lounge at Calgary International Airport Domestic “C” Gates was a reasonable and solid domestic lounge. They have renovated the space nicely and have made the lounge an attractive space to relax in. While the lounge can tend to be busy at times, on today’s visit it was just right. The food looked appealing and there were nice upscale touches like a vertical wine display and Molton Brown soaps available in the washroom. All these things on their own don’t make a lounge, but it was the little things that added up that made a visit more special. Air Canada does a great job with their lounge products, making the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Calgary Domestic on my list of “must visit” places when I am through Calgary International Airport.
If you’ve been through the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge in Calgary, was your experience as pleasant as mine?
The Fairfield Inn represents one of the more inexpensive brands in the Marriott portfolio of brands. While it will never be one of the most inspirational brands out there, I ended up staying at this property again after it has been recently fully refreshed. The Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott Kelowna was one of the first Fairfield Inn’s in the province of British Columbia.
Review: The Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
“The Fairfield Inn and Suites Kelowna recently underwent a full refresh and has emerged as a clean, fresh and vibrant economy traveller hotel”
For another Marriott property in Kelowna, please see our review of the Delta Hotels by Marriott Grand Okanagan Resort, Kelowna, BC. Canada.
The Fairfield Inn was Kelowna’s and the Okanagan region’s very first Marriott property and has been around since at least 2007, when I first started travelling to the area. The hotel has recently had a full refurbish and is being advertised as fully refreshed. The property was indeed almost fully refreshed, which included more than just touch ups in certain areas. The property refresh appeared to include all new furniture, wall coverings, carpeting, lighting, hallway flooring and public common areas. The refresh was well done and all the spaces fit together with a common look and feel.
Planning and Getting There:
I booked this hotel direct on the Marriott website. As I was staying at the start of the summer months, the hotel pricing was a little higher than expected given the town’s orientation towards a tourist destination.
The Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott Kelowna is a Marriott Bonvoy Category 4, meaning that rooms are approximately between 20,000 – 30,000 a night under variable pricing, with 25,000 points a night as standard. If you value Marriott Bonvoy points at $0.005 a point, you’d have to spend more than $125 USD to come out ahead for a 25,000 point redemption. In the summer, this might represent a better value when the room rates climb beyond $200 USD per night or perhaps if you’ve visiting in the height of the summer travel season or when hotel inventory in Kelowna completely sells out. However, if you’re visiting in the off season, you’re likely much better paying cash.
While I was booking the room, I was given an option for using Suite Night Awards as a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Member. The options were a larger guest room and a larger studio, which weren’t really the best uses of these valuable upgrade instruments. They may be an option for some at the end of the year if they were expiring, but I’d probably save them for another more valuable use.
I had last stayed at this particular hotel in 2008. On arrival to the hotel, which used to be on the outskirts of central Kelowna, the hotel now finds itself in a built up commercial area immediately off the main six lane Highway 97 that runs right through town. A Holiday Inn Express is now situated immediately across the street and there are several competing hotel in the immediate area including a Comfort Inn, A Super 8 and a Great Value inn.
The Fairfield Inn and Suites Kelowna
1655 Powick Rd, Kelowna, BC V1X 4L1
Checking In:
I arrived to the Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott Kelowna by car. Compared to my stay before at The Hyatt Place Kelowna, there was ample free parking available on the property. Thanks to its age, the property landscaping is also looking to be quite leafy in comparison.
I headed into the lobby and went to the front desk. Consistent with the full refresh, the lobby was looking a lot brighter and more contemporary since my last stay at this property.
My check in was prompt and located much more quickly than the Hyatt I was at the night before. Since I’m regularly through Marriott hotels, the check in was pretty routine and uneventful. While the hotel forgot the usual “thank you for being a Marriott titanium member” and the offer of a welcome amenity, the welcome bonus of five hundred Marriott Bonvoy points posted without any issue at the conclusion of my stay. I was also given a breakfast sheet to pre-order breakfast on arrival to the breakfast bar.
The check in host offered me what he described as a suite. I got a little excited but it turned out to be a Larger Studio, which is a category upgrade from the base level rooms. While it was not an actual suite, the Larger Studio represents the best category of room available for sale at the Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott Kelowna. This is a little strange that the hotel would sell studio’s as suites, especially for a hotel that has “Suites” in the title, but a Larger Studio is a pretty reasonable compromise.
The Room: A Larger Studio, 1 King, Sofa Bed
I went up to the larger studio. I ended up with a high floor upgrade to a larger studio 1 King Sofa Bed, which was situated on the top fourth floor. My assigned Room #409 was situated near the elevator bank. While it’s typically noisier near the elevator bank, as I was only here for 1 night, this wasn’t something I took any issue with. The hallways, consistent with the refreshed marketing, were looking mostly modern and new.
Entering room #409, I immediately ended up in the hallway looking into the living space.
The Larger Studio Space:
The larger studio offered a semi separate living space separated by a column and a partial wall. While it wasn’t a proper suite, it was the closest thing to it.
The Larger Studio offered a sofa bed couch with plenty of extra room. There was also a green occasional chair and a firm coffee table that rounded out the space.
The Larger Studio had it’s own flat screen television, which was great for relaxing. Like many hotel rooms, this space was a little dark. This may or may not be your thing but it’s not a circumstance that’s unique to this particular hotel.
Passing past the living studio area, was the walk way to the bedroom space. It was separated by a column and a small counter top space.
The living area offered a few room amenties. These included a Keurig coffee maker and an in room refrigerator. It is always convenient to have in room coffee and a fridge, and I certainly miss it when I don’t have it available.
The Bedroom:
The other half of the room featured the bedroom area. The bedroom offered a king size bed, which was comfortable. Along with the hotel refreshment, the room offered new sheets and bedding.
The view from the bedroom was towards a larger king size LG Flat screen television. It also looked toward the in room desk, and a small luggage stand.
The bedroom was separated from the living room by the closet and half a wall.
In terms of sleep quality, I found the room to be louder than I had expected as a result of highway noise from the six lane Highway 97 which was right outside hotel. I ended up being awoken at 5:45 AM from highway truck traffic noise. As a result, I didn’t find the sleep to be super restful although admittedly, this is not the hotels immediate issue to resolve. The hotel runs perpendicular to the highway, so I would request a room towards the back of the hotel away from Highway 97 if a quiet sleep is at all important to you.
The Bathroom:
The bathroom offered a single vanity. Let’s be honest between us… No one will ever get excited about a Fairfield Inn bathroom, but this one was perfectly functional. It offered plenty of counter space for toiletries, along with a stand up shower and tub combination.
The soaps were Paul Mitchell branded, which was fairly consistent with my past stays at Fairfield Inn’s. There were also convenient make up remover wipes, something MrsWT73 struggles with when travelling since packing a giant package is always a chore.
A Room with a View:
As can be expected from a strip hotel, the view from the top floor of the Fairfield Inn was not all too aspirational. My view overlooked the awning of the front porte cochère, and overlooked the brand new Holiday Inn Express and Suites Kelowna next door.
For those that are interested, the floor layout of the property is as follows. The largest rooms are the studio suites and I think you can consider “winning” at this property if you get a longer room instead of one of the shorter ones.
Around the Hotel:
The Fairfield Inn’s are pretty much stay and go properties. They don’t tend to cater to a lot of on property experiences. Despite this, the hotel was well equipped with a gym and an outdoor pool.
The hotel gym:
The hotel offers a twenty four hour gym. During my stay, the gym access was by requesting access through a special key at the front desk as a result of the pandemic. The gym offered Life Fitness treadmills and a proper free weight area for one. The treadmills did not offer any television /video or internet connectivity but a flat screen television was available in the gym for entertainment. The gym was also on the ground floor and had daylight windows. Unlike some gyms in basements, this one had terrific light.
The hotel gym was deserted the entire time that I was on the property, and I didn’t see any other guests using it.
The Pool:
The hotel offered an outdoor pool, a hot tub, and four story waterslide. The pool was more of a plunge pool variety and was on the highway side of the hotel. There was a very limited sun area which offered chairs; which was more for adult supervision than relaxing and reclining in order to catch up with sun tan rays.
The waterslide wasn’t “on” and running with water while I was here, but I would imagine it could be fun for the right family ages and level.
The hot tub was more functional than anything.
Food and Beverage:
The Free Breakfast:
The Fairfield Inn and Suites Kelowna offers complimentary breakfast with every stay. While it is usually a buffet style or grab and go style for takeaways, it was an individual order based style on my stay during the pandemic. During check in, I was given a breakfast sheet and I was encouraged to pre-order so that the staff could assemble the breakfast.
The breakfast room was a large space which, as in all Fairfield Inn’s, was quite functional. It was built for high traffic volume and had a bit of an institutional feel to it. Although it was designed for lots of people, it was pleasant and I was able to find a nice quiet order near the glass to allow for light.
I presented my pre-filled order card consisting of cheese omelette, white toast, sausage, accompanied with with shredded cheese and salsa, a vanilla yoghurt an apple juice and coffee with cream. The breakfast was certainly generous, although it’s probably not something I’d be partaking in several days in a row.
When it came time to leave, my check out was handled without any issue. I had gotten a 2 PM late check out courtesy of Marriott Titanium status, which was granted without any quibbling. The bill was processed electronically and my Marriott Bonvoy points posted within 48 hours. I did find it interesting that the hotel receipt mentioned that Marriott Bonvoy members should expect now to wait up to seven days for stays to post; which is unreasonable if you ask me considering how much time some of its loyalty members spent on the road.
Nearby the Hotel:
The hotel is well situated in Kelowna. Probably the best feature of the hotel is that it is immediately across from Joey’s Kelowna restaurant, which is probably a primary reason for staying at this property. It offers upscale casual dining and there is no need to worry about driving after enjoying a glass or bottle of wine since the restaurant is within stumbling distance of the hotel.
The Bottom Line: The Fairfield Inn and Suites Kelowna
The Fairfield Inn and Suites Kelowna performed nicely for a short stay. The property was nicely refreshed as promised and it delivered on everything that it offered. While a Fairfield Inn is never at the top of my list of places to stay, it did perform as expected, although I personally found the room a little louder than I would have liked. I would easily stay here again if my first choice of the Delta Hotels by Marriott Okanagan Grand was totally booked, or the Four Points Kelowna Airport was not available.
World Traveller 73 
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