World Traveller 73 
This post is one chapter in our trip to New York City via Cathay Pacific First Class. This trip was booked using American Airlines AAdvantage miles and Starwood Preferred Guest points. 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 directly or on social media on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
Read more from this trip:
- Introduction: New York, USA via Cathay Pacific First Class
- Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge, Vancouver, Canada
- Cathay Pacific First Class: Vancouver – New York JFK
- Westin Grand Central Station, New York, USA
- City Visit: New York, New York, USA
- 9/11 Memorial Museum, New York, USA
- The Gordon Ramsey at the London, New York, USA
- Spice Market, the Meat Packing District, New York, USA
- Balaboosta, Little Italy, New York, USA
- British Airways First Class Lounge, New York JFK, USA
- British Airways Galleries Business Class Lounge & Pre – Flight Dining, New York JFK, USA
- Cathay Pacific First Class: JFK New York – Vancouver
City Visit: New York, USA
We had a great 6 days in New York over Memorial Day weekend 2014. As we all do, we often get the opportunity to talk about the United States amongst travelers around the world. This is an especially interesting topic for me, being Canadian.
Throughout my world travels, I’ve always encouraged those that I have happened to meet that want to visit the US to visit two cities – New York and San Francisco. These two locations in the US are the greatest across the continent. Sure the drive to Key West from Florida is interesting, sure Telluride, Colorado remains my favorite ski area in the USA, and sure it’s tough to beat the beauty of Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. Despite this, there is something about New York and San Francisco. My opinions after this visit haven’t changed. New York is still one of the greatest cities in the world.
A Walk through Central Park:
We started with a beautiful walk through Central Park.
A walk along New York’s Highline:
New since my last visit is the terrific Highline in the Chelsea neighborhood. Starting in the Meat Packing District, the Highline are old railway tracks converted into green space. They even have their own wine bars and chair loungers. It’s a great place to get away for a short walk.
A Walk over the Brooklyn Bridge:
Even amid the beautiful parks, the city never ceases to amaze. NYC is really a photographer’s dream. Beautiful architecture, and the majestic nature of the Brooklyn Bridge, all add up to inspiring sights.
In and around mid town New York:
A Walk through Soho:
As always, Little Italy had great restaurants. Nearby Soho also had some great shopping. It would be more accurate to report that MrsWT73 did some damage here with shopping, while I hung out outside and watched the world go by taking in the wonderful view as we wandered south toward the Staten Island ferries.
Overall, NYC is easy on the camera lens. There’s so much to see and do here. There’s lots to keep you entertained and thankfully, for the most part, we had good weather.
This post is one chapter in our trip to New York City via Cathay Pacific First Class. This trip was booked using American Airlines AAdvantage miles and Starwood Preferred Guest points. 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 directly or on social media on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
Read more from this trip:
- Introduction: New York, USA via Cathay Pacific First Class
- Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge, Vancouver, Canada
- Cathay Pacific First Class: Vancouver – New York JFK
- Westin Grand Central Station, New York, USA
- City Visit: New York, New York, USA
- 9/11 Memorial Museum, New York, USA
- The Gordon Ramsey at the London, New York, USA
- Spice Market, the Meat Packing District, New York, USA
- Balaboosta, Little Italy, New York, USA
- British Airways First Class Lounge, New York JFK, USA
- British Airways Galleries Business Class Lounge & Pre – Flight Dining, New York JFK, USA
- Cathay Pacific First Class: JFK New York – Vancouver
Review: The Westin Grand Central, Mid-Town East, New York, New York, USA
Booking:
Although not the first choice for our stay in New York, we ended up at the Westin Grand Central hotel, which is situated in Mid Town East. There were nicer neighborhoods to stay in but this met the amount of points that we wanted to spend on an reward redemption.
“The Westin New York Grand Central was a well maintained, conveniently located stay experience that was only hampered by a somewhat dull surrounding Mid Town East neighbourhood.”
The hotel was booked for free on SPG reward points at 12,000 a night (Category 5 property). We also used a left over 2013 SPG Gold Re-Qualification Gift 25% off redemption reward that was expiring in July 2014 stacked with the usual fifth night free on an SPG reward redemption. This brought the actual rate down to 7,600 SPG points per night from the usual posted rate of 12,000 points per night.
The hotel is situated two blocks from the Grand Central Train Station (and subway) and is in the shadow of the historic Art Deco styled Chrysler building. Aside from the beautiful shadow of the Chrysler building at night, the neighborhood is pretty dead after hours. We had dinner in other locations away from the hotel and this neighborhood.
Arriving to the hotel:
We experienced a busy check in experience as expected from a property in a high density city. On our arrival at 9 AM, the room was not ready. The lobby area was super crowded, reminiscent of a Las Vegas nightclub and matching clientele, with separate roped lines for SPG Gold’s and Platinum’s. The reception promised to call when the room was ready and actually did at 1:30 PM. We’d heard this before and decided it was impressive for a property that has over 763 rooms and as many as 763 matching reservations. Either way, the lobby space was a socialites dream of hang arounds and people gossiping. Depending on your interests, this may or may not be your scene.
On check in, there was not much on offer for an SPG gold upgrade. We were offered a premium corner room on low floor or regular deluxe view room on high floor. We opted for the regular deluxe view room on the high floor and ended up on floor 32 (out of 42) with a peek a book view of the east river and the empire state building.
The Room: A Deluxe Room – King & single sofa bed
Room 3222 was in good condition. The room was clean, although had some mild water pressure issues. It was a bit difficult to get water to flow from the usual Westin Rain Showerhead with any strength. The room was a little tight, but perhaps this is expected from New York. You certainly don’t miss the space until it’s gone.
The room offered nice peek a boo views to the Empire State Building, looking toward the Murray Hill neighborhood.
Food and Beverage:
The hotel offered one restaurant, the LCL Restaurant and bar. It offered pretty average fare. We used it one night on a Saturday night when we were headed to the theatre and didn’t want the hassle of finding a pre-theatre restaurant in Times square.
The hotel does not participate in the Green Choice program, and only offers one complimentary water per room per day for free.
The stay experience here was average to above average. It certainly wasn’t the best Westin Hotel experience ever, but it certainly wasn’t the worst. The WIFI in lobby was free but I had problems connecting to it on several occasions. Sometimes it was not working at all. On several occasions I ended up walking one block to the Starbucks Coffee to the east of the hotel on E42nd Street to connect when needed. There was also a large Catholic College Group (in excess of 100 people judging by the two large orange school buses outside) staying over the memorial day weekend. This meant that on Friday and Saturday night, there was a large amount of partying in the hotel. This included remnants of someone whom had been sick on the floor near the elevators in the lobby at 1 AM on Saturday after returning home from the play, to celebutantes announcing to everyone in the elevator “Ugh – I have to ride the elevator to the 42nd floor? I’m in a bad mood” In all, it made for an entertaining experience. . .
In Summary:
Overall, it was a reasonable stay and for a free reward reservation with discount in New York, I can’t really fault the hotel. Everything was in good working condition and aside from the partying in the hotel, it was a pretty uneventful stay. The location was the largest fault. Although easily accessible to the subway, we found that the neighborhood didn’t have much charm. We’d aim to say nearer to Tribeca, Chelsea, Greenwich or Central Park next time.
This post is one chapter in our trip to New York City via Cathay Pacific First Class. This trip was booked using American Airlines AAdvantage miles and Starwood Preferred Guest points. 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 directly or on social media on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
Read more from this trip:
- Introduction: New York, USA via Cathay Pacific First Class
- Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge, Vancouver, Canada
- Cathay Pacific First Class: Vancouver – New York JFK
- Westin Grand Central Station, New York, USA
- City Visit: New York, New York, USA
- 9/11 Memorial Museum, New York, USA
- The Gordon Ramsey at the London, New York, USA
- Spice Market, the Meat Packing District, New York, USA
- Balaboosta, Little Italy, New York, USA
- British Airways First Class Lounge, New York JFK, USA
- British Airways Galleries Business Class Lounge & Pre – Flight Dining, New York JFK, USA
- Cathay Pacific First Class: JFK New York – Vancouver
Review: Cathay Pacific First Class, Boeing 777-300, Vancouver – New York JFK
After the sterile transit passengers re-boarded the flight, new passengers were then admitted to the lounge with an immediate pre-boarding announcement for First, Business. One World Emerald’s were also asked to board. We took this opportunity to step on board and get comfortable.
First Class
Cathay Pacific
YVR-JFK (Vancouver International Airport – John Fitzgerald Kennedy, New York)
CX 888 – First Class (Z)
10:55 PM – 7:00 AM
May 21, 2014
Booked: Boeing 777-300
Flown: Boeing 777-300
On Board Cathay Pacific First Class:
Once on board, we were greeted by the senior purser. We were personally and individually escorted to our suites 1D/1K. We received a personal greeting by name by our flight attendant, along with a second formal introduction and thank you by the senior purser.
“Cathay Pacific offers the best first class product in the One World Alliance. It’s First Class Cabins are sleek, understated, with exceptional food and beverage, with service that is world class.”
I’ll come right out and say it. This Cathay Pacific flight was the best First Class flight ever.
Having been fortunate enough to have flown on Asiana, Thai, Lufthansa and now Cathay First Class, I believe that Cathay is leagues ahead of Lufthansa in terms of both the hard equipment product and soft service product.
The suite itself is super spacious. The newly configured Boeing 777-300 is on a 1-1-1 seating plan. The space shows over other carriers that usually offer 1-2-1 in F. The seat had space to drop your cameras, phones and anything else your hearts desired. MrsWT73 agreed, and announced. “OMG this is soooo much better than Lufthansa First.” Wow – I know I’m in trouble now. The bar is set high. Overall, I’d have to agree with her sentiments.
I was pleased to see today’s flight was in the refreshed new First Class configuration featuring updated seating, larger TV and touch controls. Plush red carpeting in the aisle
Tonight’s pre-departure beverage wasn’t the usual orange juice, water or cheap wine. We were treated to lovely Krug champagne. Two servings to be exact! Poured at the seat with the bottle every time, along with a towel service.
Cathay Pacific Food and Beverage:
Dinner menus were dropped off with orders taken on ground. Myself and Mrs WT73 were the only First Class passengers partaking in dinner service tonight.
Cathay featured a full wine list, including the Bordeaux Wine Promotion which offered a select wine from the list of 6 Grand Cru Classes that they had purchased. The selection varies per flight. Of the six, tonight’s flight offered the excellent Lynch Bages.
Amenity Kits “Ergemglido or Trussadi”:
Our flight attendant dropped off amenity kits. The kits were Ergemglido and Trussadi kits for women. The kits contained similar items in each, despite the cases being male and female versions.
Cathay Pacific First Class Pyjamas: “PVC”
Immediately after the amenity kits were delivered, the pyjamas came to our suite on a tray.
The pyjamas on offer are PYC. Although not as high end a brand as the previous Shanghai Tang’s they win the blue ribbon for the most comfortable airline pyjamas’ ever. I have found with a lot of airline pyjamas, that they are odd colored, partially comfortable, or in the case of Lufthansa, partially missing (they only offered a top on their daytime flights). The Cathay Pacific pyjamas were super comfortable and most certainly a keeper.
A quick departure as the plane was 20 minutes behind schedule. Taxi out to runway 08L with an east facing take off. Cathay features the cool under body camera contained within the entertainment system.
The First Service, “Chinese Favourites”
Once underway, dinner service began almost immediately. I have to say that the crew worked their tails off to cater meals, and drinks for the 5/6 in F.
“Cathay Pacific First Class is renowned for it’s Asian Food and Beverage. Along with a five course meal, the free flow Krug Champagne and French Bordeaux Wines were simply an over the top bonus”
Service started with cashews and Krug Champagne.
Followed by fire smoked salmon with grilled scallop paired with Krug Champagne
This was followed by mixed salad with poached pear, smoked duck and pine nut, covered with sesame dressing, paired with Louis Jadot Mersault. The meal was totally delicious, if not a bit chunky with a knife and fork.
I went with the Chinese main course and was not disappointed. Tonight’s dinner was stir fired lobster with ginger and green onion, served with steamed jasmine rice, kailian and carrot flower. I enjoyed this with the non matching Bordeaux Wine Promotion wine 2004 Lynches Bages. Having previously visited the Lynch Bages winery, the wine did not at all disappoint. CX F regulars will notice an omission with the food service…
I went “whole hog” and opted for both the cheese plate AND the dessert. The meal started to close with the extra old cheddar and oka, enjoyed with the always excellent Johnnie Walker Blue whisky.
Conlcuded by strawberry Haagen Daz ice cream. I settled into a little Tom Clancy Patriot Games on the AVOD system while I finished the whisky.
Cathay Pacific sleep service:
After dinner was cleared, a bottle of Evian water was dropped off at the seat. I requested turn down service and had bed made up. I attempted a sleep but was pretty full and only managed about two hours or so.
I woke up about 40 minutes from landing just prior to them turning on the lights. I quickly changed out of the pyjamas. A quick change out of the PJ’s and before we knew it, we were on the descent toward John Fitzgerald Kennedy Terminal 7. We were thanked again for flying Cathay Pacific First by the senior purser on the decent. One last look at the cabin before I left this comfortable suite.
We were on the ground into the basement of JFK T7. Our checked bags were among the first out. We were through Global Entry without any issues, although the number of Global Entry users on this particular flight was the first time I ever had to share the kiosks with other people. (The horrors!)
The Bottom Line:
Overall, this was a most excellent flight. Cathay blends a fantastic hard product with a fantastic soft product that no other carrier to date has been able to match. Both work together seamlessly and felt that our needs were taken care of. The suite is super comfortable, private and excellent to sleep in. The service is of such a high personalized level that no other carrier really comes close.
“The Cathay Pacific Flight from Vancouver to New York JFK was undoubtedly the best way to cross the continent”
MrsWT73 had already been planning a Cathay First Class trip from Vancouver to Hong Kong and onward to Bali before she’d even gotten off the first flight it was that good. Another sign WT73 is in trouble.
This post is one chapter in our trip to New York City via Cathay Pacific First Class. This trip was booked using American Airlines AAdvantage miles and Starwood Preferred Guest points. 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 directly or on social media on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
Read more from this trip:
- Introduction: New York, USA via Cathay Pacific First Class
- Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge, Vancouver, Canada
- Cathay Pacific First Class: Vancouver – New York JFK
- Westin Grand Central Station, New York, USA
- City Visit: New York, New York, USA
- 9/11 Memorial Museum, New York, USA
- The Gordon Ramsey at the London, New York, USA
- Spice Market, the Meat Packing District, New York, USA
- Balaboosta, Little Italy, New York, USA
- British Airways First Class Lounge, New York JFK, USA
- British Airways Galleries Business Class Lounge & Pre – Flight Dining, New York JFK, USA
- Cathay Pacific First Class: JFK New York – Vancouver
Review: The Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge, Vancouver International Airport, Vancouver, Canada
We took separate cars to the airport today since the flight left late in the evening. The late timing of the flight allowed us each to complete a day of work and minimized the amount of vacation time needed.
Tonight’s report started with dinner at the Flying Beaver Pub. It’s located a 5 minute walk from the Vancouver South Terminal (home for the provincial flights- to get here, take the free shuttle from the Vancouver Domestic Terminal to the South Terminal and walk). The Flying Beaver is also contained in the same facility as the float plane terminal for Harbour Air where you can catch a float plane to Vancouver Island. For those of you that are stuck at YVR on a longer layover, it’s a neat place to visit since most of the Aerospace Engineers that work at YVR frequent this bar as the nearest watering hole.
Checking In:
Our outbound flight CX 888 is a continuation of services from Hong Kong. The flight stops in Vancouver for a one hour technical stop, prior to continuing onto New York. This means that the flight to New York is usually prone to all sorts of delays given the long haul nature of the first leg.
Although Vancouver has a United States check in, departure and Customs Pre-Clearance facility, check in for Cathay Pacific was completed at the Cathay Pacific stands in the International departure area. Unlike most other flights departing Vancouver for the United States, this Cathay Pacific flight is not pre-cleared by US Customs and Border Services. The flight departs from the Vancouver International Terminal and arrives at the John Fitzgerald Kennedy International Terminal where all passengers would have to pass through immigration.
Check in was handled promptly and respectfully with no waits for boarding passes. We were given a lounge invitation to access the Cathay First Class Lounge after security.
Accessing the Lounge:
After check in at a deserted concourse, we proceeded to one of only two First Class Lounges in Vancouver. The Cathay First Class lounge is immediately after security. It’s so hidden, I’ve missed a few times passing through here headed to other lounges. The only other First Lounge is the British Airways Terraces Lounge near gate, which has very limited operating hours aligned with the British Airways flights and closed at 8:30 PM (the Cathay flight departs at 10:50 PM). Access was granted courtesy of the One World First Class Service on our boarding card.
The only sign is a small card by the elevator door. The lounge elevator is immediately adjacent to the Air Canada International Maple Leaf Lounge.
Inside the Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge:
Our invitations were accepted inside the lounge. The lounge itself is split up about 60% business seating and 40% first class seating. When designing the lounge, Cathay must have thought that a lot of One World Emeralds would be accessing the First Class side as there were seats for almost 20 people on the First Class side. It is worth noting that there are only 6 seats in Cathay First Class. The space allotted to First Class came at the expense of Business Class lounge seating. It got quite full on the Business Class side during our visit and I’ve read a few complaints about the size of the business lounge on FourSquare.
“The (old) Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge offered the best lounge space One World had to offer in Vancouver, Canada with a peaceful and tranquil setting accompanied by personal bottles of Moët”
The business class side offered several lounge chairs, a sit up bar, a small computer area with iMac computers and newspapers and magazines. Some business lounge photos on our arrival 3 hours before the flight.
Inside the Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge:
We headed straight over to the First Class side and found a terrific First Class lounge space with seating for about 20 passengers. During our visit here, we were the only passengers in here, making it a very peaceful and relaxing environment.
There were pleasant windows all through the lounge, with a nice west facing sunset view of airside operations.
Food and Beverage:
The food and drink offerings were of the snack variety. I wouldn’t arrive expecting to have a full meal. Indeed we saw some Business Class visitors forego the lounge food in favor of better food in the terminal.
On offer on the First Class Side were dim sum, instant noodles, soup, crackers and small plates of sandwiches.
There was an ample selection of wine and spirits available. Of note were the small 375 ml bottles of Moet and Chandon champagne available. There was also one white wine and one red wine on offer. We were pretty much left to our own devices in the First Class lounge, although the reception addressed me by name each time I went up to request another bottle of Moet (that’s something that only happened twice!). I can’t say that I’ve been often been addressed by name while a guest in any of the world’s airline lounges.
I had a post dinner snack of Dim Sum and Moet de Chandon.
“The (old) Cathay Pacific Lounge was a terrific space to relax in before a trip – a neat experience as the only Cathay Pacific Lounge in Canada”
Boarding a USA bound flight from the International Gates:
At about T-45, we opted to head down to the gates. The lounge dragon (who were anything but) indicated that they would personally notify us when the flight was ready to board. However, we opted to go down a bit early to be first on board to take photographs. We passed through the deserted Vancouver Airport and the famous and beautiful aquarium in the departure hall. I’m biased, but I still find my home airport of Vancouver a pleasant place to spend time in.
The flight uses the swing gates on the USA departures wing, today using gate D73. When we arrived, there was a stack of people waiting outside the gate area. The gate was not open as it contained all the transit passengers continuing onto JFK from Hong Kong. The continuing passengers are kept within the holding area while the plane undergoes additional security checks for aircraft bound for the United States.
Inside the holding pen, CATSA (the Canadian Equivalent of the TSA) was conducting a manual search of all the cabin baggage being carried by onward passengers.
After about 15 minutes, the transit passengers were re-boarded. It went quite quickly as they did not verify ID’s or re-scan boarding cards, rather they collected Cathay Pacific Transit cards.
In Summary:
The Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge in Vancouver International Airport was a nice peaceful place to spend a little time before a flight. While it offered a restful place to relax, it didn’t have much in the way of substantial food. Instead, it offered a few small bites. It was a nice place to stop by for a short stay.
Trip Introduction: New York, USA via Cathay Pacific First Class
Trip Planning:
Ever since MrsWT73 saw her first television episode of Sex in the City, she had her sights set on a visit to New York. Year after year passed and the trip seemed to elude us while we pursued more exotic travels and destinations. These included themed trips to Abu Dhabi and The United Arab Emirates Empty Quarter, made popular to some by the feature length movie Sex and the City 2.
After our second RTW, we decided on a more low key local vacation. We decided to take advantage of Vancouver’s location as one of the six Cathay Pacific North American gateway cities (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Newark, Chicago and Toronto are the other ones) and fly the fifth freedom flight between Vancouver and New York aboard the only real trans-continental first class flight in North America: Cathay Pacific First.
Booking:
The trip was booked in close with 65,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles per person with departure at T-8 days out. First class reward availability from Vancouver was excellent, with two First Class seats available almost twice a week with one seat available almost every day per week at about 14 days prior to departure.
For the return, I was unable to find two First Seats and had to settle for 1 First Seat and 1 in Business at about 14 days out. I checked the reward availability almost 3 times per day until the seats opened up and at T-7 less one hour exactly, switched the second ticket from business to first.
Taxes, fees and fuel surcharges came to $55.92 per ticket, in addition to the 65,000 AAdvantage miles per passenger. In addition, there was a $75 AAdvantage reward processing fee for booking within 21 days of departure. This fee was reduced to $25 for MrsWT73 who completed a targeted promotion for AA Gold 2014 status last year.
The routing ended up being simply:
YVR-JFK
JFK-YVR
which was one of the easier tickets to manage these days…
Read more from this trip:
- Introduction: New York, USA via Cathay Pacific First Class
- Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge, Vancouver, Canada
- Cathay Pacific First Class: Vancouver – New York JFK
- Westin Grand Central Station, New York, USA
- City Visit: New York, New York, USA
- 9/11 Memorial Museum, New York, USA
- The Gordon Ramsey at the London, New York, USA
- Spice Market, the Meat Packing District, New York, USA
- Balaboosta, Little Italy, New York, USA
- British Airways First Class Lounge, New York JFK, USA
- British Airways Galleries Business Class Lounge & Pre – Flight Dining, New York JFK, USA
- Cathay Pacific First Class: JFK New York – Vancouver
I hope you will follow along on another terrific First Class adventure to one of the greatest cities in the world!
Review: The Wildflower Grill Room Restaurant, Fairmont, Chateau Whistler, Canada
This review is of the The Wildflower Grill Room Restaurant. If you’re interested in a restaurant in Whistler, but something a little different, please here for our experience at Il Caminetto Restaurant, or the Bearfoot Bistro Restaurant.
With the pandemic all around us, even up in friendly Canada, we’ve been taking holidays closer to home. Instead of closing in on 40,000 miles usually flown by now at more than halfway through the year, I’ve been stuck at about 17,461 and 19 flights as the world ground to a halt. After about 3 months of sitting home, when it was safe to do so as endorsed by the provincial health authorities, we made it up to our home away from home, our place up in Whistler, Canada. As a result, we ‘ve been finding ourselves usually up in Whistler most off weekends. This year, it’s only been more so given that there hasn’t been any international flying or domestic flying.
The new favourite hangout is the semi – isolated Rainbow Park in Whistler. It’s a bit more remote than the other lakes as the park is on the opposite side of the village and is harder to get to and a longer walk or ride. It has some beautiful Canadian mountain views along with great skyline for hanging out during the day.
Our time in Rainbow Park has included the new self isolating relaxing concept. This includes getting your own private inflatable float and positioning yourself away from all others. I won’t be getting tired of this view any time soon. . .
After a relaxing day out in the sun on the water, it’s time for dinner. While we could stay in and cook, it’s much more fun to go out. Tonights’ dinner found us at The Wildflower Restaurant at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler.
The concept:
As I’ve written before, the Fairmont Chateau Whister is one of the flagship hotels in Whistler, Canada that’s typically fully booked through the winter months and mostly booked through the summer months. It is close to the famous pedestrian oriented Whistler Village and is fortunately a short walk from our second vacation home.
We previously visited the Woodlands Rooftop Summer Barbecue Pop Up and had a great time. Would we have the same experience at The Wildflower restaurant in the Fairmont Chateau Whistler?
The Wildflower is the anchor restaurant in the Fairmont Chateau Whistler. It’s situated in the lobby of the Fairmont Chateau Whistler in a pretty unassuming space off the corner of the foyer. In my experience as an every day diner, it can be challenging to brand a mainstream restaurant and still have it be relevant and exciting to all of its clients. In the past, the restaurant has been home to many local Wine Dinners for the Whistler Cornucopia wine festivals. From the Fairmont Chateau Whistler food and beverage website, its described as:
“The Wildflower’s signature warm and inviting ambiance is the ideal casual resort setting for breakfast and dinner. Showcasing locally inspired dishes and innovative classics in a family-friendly restaurant setting, The Wildflower also offers extensive `by the glass’ wine selections, a noteworthy variety of regional beer and signature cocktails. During Whistler’s warm, summer months, enjoy alfresco dining on The Wildflower’s garden patio
Fairmont Chateau Whistler website
Booking:
Like with our past visit, I ended up easily booking earlier in the week through Open Table. There always seems to be availability through Open Table; which has not reached any saturation or prevalence in the Whistler market. Despite dozens of restaurants in Whistler, there are only about seven that remain on Open Table. Still, free points are up for grabs, so it makes sense to use this portal when there is availability. Availability was shown, along with the temporary Woodlands Pop Up Summer BBQ.
The Details (Summer Hours Shown):
The Wildflower is open for breakfast Monday – Friday from 8:00 am – 10:30 am and Saturday – Sunday from 8:00 am – 11:00 am (à la carte only).
Dinner service is available Sunday – Thursday from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm and Friday – Saturday from 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm, by reservation only. Book online via OpenTable.com, call 604 938 8000 or e-mail whistler.restaurants@fairmont.com.
Getting there:
We ended up walking down from our place in the Blackcomb Benchlands neighbourhood to the Fairmont. It was a beautiful summer evening with cooling mountain air.
The Experience of Dining:
We got to the hotel where, like last time, we checked in at the Fairmont Health and Safety Reception located in the main lobby. Thanks to the pandemic, we had our temperature checked and had a courtesy spray of hand sanitizer on our hands. We were then given a hotel coupon showing that we had been “checked” and allowed into the hotel.
Despite the quiet walk over, the lobby was still quite busy. Most of the guests appeared to be Vancouverites up for the August Long Weekend.
We headed over to the restaurant reception. For some reason, there was a bit of a delay tonight with the reception and getting seated inside the restaurant. We had about 10 people in line, which took a bit of time to get the groups processed. There didn’t appear to be any one person set dedicated at reception on duty tonight. This is also unusual times with the pandemic so it’s reasonable that seating arrangements take a little longer than usual.
We were eventually led to our table which was in the upper portion of the restaurant. The restaurant is effectively divided into two interior portions (an upper and a lower), and one seasonal patio portion. Tonights’ set up during the pandemic only involved the two interior portions as the patio was closed even though we were in the summer months.
We were led to a table in the upper interior portion. The tables, like all others under provincial health orders, were socially distanced at more than 6 feet / 2 meters apart. Empty tables were used as dead space for the areas where there was no ability to socially distance.
The decor itself in the Wildflower Grill Room is old world library style. The room was anchored with substantial wine in lit glass bookcases, which led to an older school feel. The mood in this venue was quiet and subdued. The volume level low enough and easy to have a conversation.
We were given the sole option of reviewing the menu via our telephone on the internet or by scanning a QR code located at the foyer. I didn’t ask what the alternate was (laughing), but this option worked just fine. The regular dinner menu is as such:
The restaurant has made a bit of a speciality with wine. Although not in a wine region itself, it does make an effort to showcase the local British Columbia Wine Regions such as the Okanagan area that are about 6 hours driving distance from the hotel.
I was pretty impressed with the wine list for a North American hotel restaurant. The wine list had more than a few local bottles that were eclectic enough to be interesting, along with a few mainstream choices.
When it came time for ordering, the orders were taken. Consistent with service during social distancing, there wasn’t much further interaction with our server. This was okay and not a negative aspect of the experience. I certainly felt as though we were being well looked after as he was always available.
We ended up ordering a bottle of Mount Boucherie Merlot from Kelowna in the Okanagan valley. This presented reasonably well. The wine, like many Okanagan Valley wines (a hot region) are strong on the nose with, black cherry aromas along with deep ash or tobacco. The taste is similar with spicy black raspberry, black pepper and cedar along with a rough finish. There have been forest fires through this area over the years and the vines may have been affected. We didn’t have the wine decanted, although it was offered. The wine did mellow out a bit throughout the meal and presented better with food.
The Meal: A pleasant main course
We were presented with home made breads as a starter. The breads included rosemary focaccia, seeded grain rolls and Italian style crisps. This was served with chives and whipped butter.
For the main course, I had the Yarrow Meadows Duck with confit leg croquette, beeswax aged breast, with Pemberton Carrots, Beets and Cherry Gel. This was prepared “as the chef recommended”. While duck breast is typically an east coast dish in Canada, I rarely pass up on it in a restaurant due to the great flavours that can go with it. This dish was no exception – the flavours in the vegetables were fabulously fresh, thanks to the fertile Pemberton Valley only twenty minutes drive from whistler. There was strong organic taste in the vegetables that complimented how fresh the dish was. The duck was wonderfully cooked and full of flavour. There was lots of complexity there in the flavours of the dish. I enjoyed this dish and would order it again if given the opportunity.
MrsWT73 went for the Risotto special of the day. She never passes up on Risotto thanks to how long it takes to properly cook. There Risottoo was marketed as “Market Risotto – Reimagined daily with Golden Ears Cheesecrafters with Charmesan Cheese with the best of market vegetables. The Risotto special of the day featured celery and parmesan grand panado cheese. While the name sounds like it belonged in an Applebees’ the taste of the dish was equally as fabulous. I took a little sample of it and it was sinfully rich with out being too over bearing. Like the duck dish, there was lots of complexity and depth to the dish that made it wonderfully enjoyable.
We enjoyed the dinner and the wine. Although we were offered desert, we ended up passing on the sweet course. The dessert menu was heavier on the baked goods side. While all looked tasty, we ended up opting for a lighter meal.
The bill was reasonable and we enjoyed the experience along with a walk home through a cooler summer mountain evening.
Overall:
The Wildflower Grill Room was a pleasant if not a slightly predicable dinner for a hotel restaurant. The dishes were very good and enjoyable – quite tasty and sufficiently complex with fulsome flavour palettes. While the mood of the restaurant wasn’t as exciting as the Woodlands Summer Rooftop BBQ upstairs with a live band, the meal was pleasant, the service was punctual and there was enough wine available to keep you engaged and interested. Lastly, the Fairmont did a great job at transforming dining limitations during a pandemic into the most comfortable and safe experience possible. I can’t hesitate in recommending the Wildflower for a meal that can offer something for almost anyone looking for a solid quiet meal.
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Read more from this trip:
- Introduction: Iceland, Spain and Morocco via Iceland Air Saga Class & British Airways First Class
- Plaza Premium Lounge: Transborder Vancouver
- Alaska Airlines: Vancouver – Seattle
- American Express Centurion Lounge, Seattle Tacoma, USA
- Icelandair Saga Class: Seattle – Keflavik
- Hotel 101, A Member of Design Hotels, Reykjavik, Iceland
- City Visit: Reykjavik, Iceland – Part I
- City Visit: Reykjavik, Iceland – Part II
- The Blue Lagoon, Iceland
- The Golden Circle, Iceland
- Ion Adventure Hotel, A Member of Design Hotels, Nesjavillir, Iceland
- Nesjavillir to Dyrhólaey, Iceland
- Nesjavillir, Iceland
- Icelandair Saga Business Lounge, Keflavik, Iceland
- Icelandair Saga Class: Keflavik – Madrid
- The Westin Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Renfe AVE: Madrid Puerta Atocha – Sevilla Santa Justa
- The Hotel Alphonso XIII, A Luxury Collection Resort, Seville, Spain
- City Visit: Seville, Spain – Part I
- City Visit: Seville, Spain – Part II
- Renfe AVE: Sevilla Santa Justa – Madrid Puerta Atocha
- AC Carlton by Marriott, Madrid, Spain
- Iberia Velazquez Premium Business Lounge, Madrid Barajas Terminal 4S, Madrid, Spain
- Iberia Business Class: Madrid – Marrakech
- The Pearl Lounge, Arrivals Hall, Marrakech Airport, Morocco
- Anayela (Riad), a Member of Design Hotels, Marrakech, Morocco
- City Visit: Marrakech, Morocco – Part I
- City Visit: Marrakech, Morocco – Part II
- Activity: Lunch at Aman Yella, Marrakech, Morrocco
- Activity: Overland Travel from Marrakech to Mhamid, Morocco
- Erg Chigaga Luxury Tented Camp, Mhamid, Morocco – Part I
- Erg Chigaga Luxury Tented Camp, Mhamid, Morocco – Part II
- Activity: Overland Travel from Mhamid to Marrakech, Morocco
- Le Meridien N’Fis, Marrakech, Morocco
- The Pearl Lounge, Departures Hall, Marrakech Airport, Morocco
- British Airways Club Europe: Marrakech – London Gatwick
- Le Meridien Piccadilly, London, United Kingdom
- City Visit: London, United Kingdom
- Qantas Business Lounge, London Heathrow T3, United Kingdom
- Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge, London Heathrow T3, United Kingdom
- British Airways First Class: London – Vancouver
Review: Erg Chigaga Luxury Tented Camp, Mhamid, Morocco – Part II
We slept in as our first activity was not scheduled until 10 AM. We ended up naturally waking up at about 8 AM as the desert heat of the day started warming up the tent.
We had a breakfast of yoghurt, museli and fruit, along with coffee. We were also able to more fully situate ourselves as sunset came pretty quick the day before. The morning light made for some great photographs against the dunes.
A camel ride into the desert:
Our first activity of the day was a camel ride into the desert. All the activities were included with the lodging fee. The camels that the resort had access to were very pleasant and mild tempered. There was no spitting or irritability on their part; they were very mellow.
We trekked about 45 minutes into the desert along with our Brazilian camp mate friends. I’ve been fortunate enough to ride camels on 4 earlier occasions in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Most of these rides have been from opportunistic camel minders at the bottom of the pyramids of Giza. All of these have been for short periods of about 15 minutes; you pretty much get what you pay for after you bargain. When you go for a camel ride that is an hour in length, there is a certain muscle group on your body that gets used that you don’t typically get used. Needless to say, I was walking a little funny for the next forty eight hours. Despite this, there were some nice views of the dunes and the desert.
Although not as tall as the sand dunes at the Qsar Al Sarab, Liwa Oasis, United Arab Emirates, the dunes were still a pleasant sight.
After the camel ride, the camels took a break and fed themselves on some shrubs in the nearby dry river field.
A Visit to a Desert Oasis:
We hopped in the SUV’s which had been driven up and drove to a nearby oasis that was about 30 minutes drive away, or about 15 kilometers from the camp. The camp was run and occupied by a nomad that had experience in living in the desert. We are definitely off the grid here, there wasn’t much around for miles.
We had lunch there of Moroccan salad (tomatoes, onion) and brochettes of chicken and beef. We spent a lot of the afternoon at the oasis under tents as it was shady and pleasant. MrsWT73 and I had each brought a book with us which helped pass the time with great comfort. It was recommended by our local hosts that we stay at the oasis as it could get very hot at the camp during the day with no immediate shade trees available.
Sunsets and Sand Dune boarding:
At around 4 PM, we left the oasis. We were one hour back in the car to the desert camp. Once back at the camp, we set up in the full sun to relax. MrsWT73 enjoyed the free flow wine that was available to guests.
Another sunset this time, we headed up top the dunes a little bit late as the sun appeared to disappear quickly. We stocked up on a drink and started the long climb up the dunes to the sunset picnic spot.
We settled into the picnic spot for another sundowner as it got dark. It’s hard to beat a view with a set up like that!
I went and tried sand boarding for the first time. It was pretty neat to try and I managed to only crash down once at the first start. MrsWT73 wanted to get some silly pictures with our hosts so I was more than happy to oblige.
With the sun coming down, we walked down the hill using cell phone flashlights and for the rest of the evening, had some time next to a cracking camp fire. The camp was set up with candles and lights all around, making it comfortable to spend time outside before retiring.
In Summary:
It was a pleasant and interesting day of life in the middle of nowhere. Although the camp was great, it sure took a tremendous amount of time and effort to get there to appreciate those views. For those able to travel, there are similar experiences near paved roads and hotels that are easily accessible near the Liwa Oasis in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. However, it won’t have that historic feel of being near the Berber desert on the spice trail that this region is famous for.
Review: Woodlands Rooftop Summer BBQ, Fairmont, Chateau Whistler, Canada
With the pandemic all around us, we’ve had several months of waiting around for life to get back to normal. After about 3 months of sitting home, when it was safe to do so as endorsed by the provincial health authorities, we made it up to our home away from home, our place up in Whistler, Canada.
The concept:
The Fairmont Chateau Whister is one of the flagship hotels that’s typically fully booked through the winter months and mostly booked through the summer months. As one of the better hotels in Whistler, it’s the sight of many summer weddings on it’s roof top patio.
But what happens when the wedding season is cancelled thanks to a pandemic? Thanks to brilliant business innovation, the property at Fairmont has transformed this roof top space into a Summer Pop Up Restaurant. Their idea is the Woodlands Summer Rooftop Barbecue, which is set in the usual wedding space on the roof top of the Fairmont Chateau Whistler. From their website,
“Welcome to the Woodlands Rooftop, where family-style dining meets spectacular mountain experiences! This relaxed and welcoming covered rooftop restaurant features live music, refreshing drinks, a delicious local-inspired menu prepared by Executive Chef, Isabel Chung, and a picture-perfect mountain backdrop.“
Fairmont Chateau Whistler
Booking:
I ended up easily booking earlier in the week through Open Table. The pop up restaurant is only operating Friday and Saturday nights throughout the summer. It seems to have pretty good availability as compared to other Whistler Restaurants.
The Details:
3-Course Family-Style Summer BBQ
$49 CAD /per person + tax | $29 CAD + tax for ages 6 – 12, kids under 5 eat free.
Getting there:
We ended walking down from our place in the Blackcomb Benchlands neighbourhood to the Fairmont. It was a beautiful summer evening.
The Experience of Dining:
We got to the hotel where we checked in at the Fairmont Health and Safety Reception. Thanks to the pandemic, we had our temperature checked and had a courtesy spray of hand sanitizer on our hands. We were then given a hotel coupon showing that we had been “checked” and allowed into the hotel. We wandered over to the rooftop which was situated on the northern side of the hotel. After a check in with a masked host, we were carefully led to our table for our 7:30 PM booking. The tables were quite set apart under a large tent that could have probably seated two hundred people under regular conditions. Tonight, there were probably less than sixty with the social distancing measures. A live guitar player set the mood for the evening.
We settled into our socially distant table which was a long picnic table with just the two of us. We were presented menus, although we were also given the opportunity to read the menus electronically on line by scanning a QR code on a business card. The menus themselves were set and were inclusive of a 3 course meal.
The drink list and wine menu features mostly local British Columbia wines, which was perfect for showcasing the region of British Columbia. There were a few mainstream international choices on there.
We aren’t big Smoked Pork Rib people so we ended up ordering a extra substitute of chicken instead of the Smoked Pork Ribs. There was also the option to add seafood in the form of steelhead salmon or prawns to the meal for an extra $15 CAD. We enjoyed a bottle of British Columbia Meyer Pinot Noir to go with the meal. The initial impression was that it was a little rough the initial attack and could have probably benefitted from a decanter. However, it paired excellently with the barbecue and we eventually really enjoyed it paired with food.
The service was near perfect for dining during a pandemic. The First Salad courses arrived all at once, followed by the mains. This minimized visitor to server contact and it was great to have the drop the food and go.
The Meal: A Three Course Barbecue Dinner
The salads arrived first. There was a trio of salads consisting of a Water Melon Salad with pickled rind, local tomatoes, lime dressing, feta cheese, arugula, pumpkin seeds, a Creamy Potato Salad with baby red potatoes, grainy mustard & egg dressing and a Zesty Summer Coleslaw with shredded cabbage, carrots, zucchini, red onion, apple cider vinaigrette, dried fruit. All of these were absolutely sensational and a great introduction to the meal. MrsWT73 was prepared to battle me over the last of the potato salad
After the salads were mostly consumed when the main event arrived. Tonights main event was Beef 6 ounce Striploin with signature spice, Rotisserie Chicken. The sides included grilled corn on the cob, with chili lime aioli, feta cheese, cilantro, and grilled summer vegetables with pesto basted zucchini, eggplant, Portobello, onion. As if this wasn’t enough, there were also two side sauces to go with it, a signature bbq sauce and a zippy tomatillo sauce.
The dinner was absolutely outstanding. Even with the two of us, we had enough leftovers to take with us for the next night’s dinner.
As if all that food wasn’t enough, dessert was included in the price. For this, we had a chocolate cake along with a rhubarb parfait. We split these together since we already had more than enough by this point.
We were absolutely stuffed. Indeed it was a while before we departed on our walk home with some leftovers. We did encounter distanced black bear on the climb up the hill back home and I was trotting quickly considering I was carrying leftover steak and chicken. We had some nice mountain sunset views on our walk back.
Overall:
The Woodlands Rooftop Barbecue at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler was an excellent socially distant dining experience. For those of you residing in the Vancouver area, or travelling within the Province of British Columbia during the pandemic, I would highly recommend this summer experience before it disappears for the season. The food was exceptionally tasty and well prepared. The Fairmont did a great job at transforming dining limitations during a pandemic into the most comfortable and safe experience possible.
If you’ve visited the Woodlands Roof Top BBQ at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler, did you find it as tasty as we did?
Read More from this Trip
- Introduction: Christmas Markets in Germany via British Airways and Lufthansa First Class
- SkyTeam International Lounge, Vancouver International Airport
- Cathay Pacific Lounge, Vancouver International Airport
- British Airways Galleries Lounge, Vancouver International Airport
- British Airways First Class: Vancouver – London Heathrow Terminal 3
- British Airways Concorde Room: London Heathrow Terminal 5
- British Airways Club Europe: London Heathrow Terminal 5 – Munich
- Le Meridien Munich, Munich, Germany
- Christmas Markets in Munich, Germany
- DB Bahn Munich Hautbahnof – Hannover Hautbahnhof
- Novotel Hannover, Hannover, Germany
- Christmas Markets in Hannover, Germany – Part I
- Christmas Markets in Hannover, Germany – Part II
- Gedenkstätte Bergen-Bilsen Concentration Camp
- Christmas Markets in Celle, Germany
- Christmas Markets in Bremen, Germany
- Sheraton Hannover Pelikan, Hannover, Germany
- DB Bahn Hannover Hautbanhof – Munich Hautbahnhof
- Aloft Munich, Germany
- BMW Welt and Christmas Markets in Munich, Germany
- Lufthansa First Class Lounge Munich Terminal 2 Satellite
- Lufthansa First Class Lounge Munich Terminal 2 Main
- Lufthansa First Class: Munich – Los Angeles
- Westin Los Angeles Airport, Los Angeles, USA
- Star Alliance Business Lounge: Los Angeles International Airport
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge: Los Angeles International Airport Terminal 6
- Air Canada Business Class: Los Angeles – Vancouver
Review: Air Canada Business Class, Airbus 320, Los Angeles – Vancouver
I arrived to the gate at the boarding time on the card but there wasn’t much happening. As in the case with most LAX gates, most of the lines were into the concourse area. Being Terminal 6, most of the flights today were Alaska Airlines flights. They likely have a much greater presence here now thanks to their acquisition of Virgin America and all their related routes.
Most of the traveler’s today didn’t appear to know or understand the boarding zone concept for Air Canada so everyone was scattered all over the place. I’m not really sure why since it’s used on airlines in the US such as American and United. For some reason, there were a ton of service dogs on this flight – at least 3, Don’t know whether that was the LA crowd or just my bad luck.
Air Canada
AC 573 – Business Class (I)
LAX – YVR (Los Angeles Terminal 6 – Vancouver International Airport)
Dec 18, 2018
12:30 PM – 3:29 PM
Booked: Airbus 319
Flown: Airbus 320-200
On Board:
“Air Canada Business Class offered a reasonable narrow body trans-border flight experience with interesting but generally plain food and beverage options”
On board, it’s the usual barca lounger seats on the North American flights, which is set up in a 2-2 configuration. It was a full load on the flight today. My seat mate was a “celebutante” and we didn’t have much interaction thanks to my weird photo taking hobby.
The pre-departure beverage was a 330 ml bottle of Naya water dropped off at the seat. No other type of beverage was offered.
We got underway with a long taxi from the south side of the airport over to the north runways. As we taxied past the north runways, saw a Lufthansa A380 and a Korean A380 land. It’s so cool that you can see great airplanes at LAX, amid all the other traffic.
Our departure path today took us out over the Los Angeles coast line, which is always scenic. I think I have seen this more from the air than I have visited on the ground. We also passed by the coastal islands near Camarillo.
Food and Beverage:
Air Canada is still offering printed menus on its transborder services. Fortunately, today they remembered to load them. Menus were passed out which was a nice touch.
I had a pre-lunch drink of gin and tonic with a heated nuts service.
Although we had printed menus, in true Air Canada form, the lunch didn’t match the catering. Today’s main was a form of butter chicken. I ended up having it anyway. My celebutante seat partner passed on the meal as she had an apparent gluten issue and just stuck with water.
It was an uneventful flight and I spent most of it nodding off thanks to the Europe to Americas jet lag. We eventually came into rainy Vancouver where the clouds were out as it was December.
After landing, we taxied across the apron to our US concourse gate near the US CBP Pre-Clearance facility. There was a beautiful Air New Zealand B777 parked at the international terminal as we rolled past.
In Summary:
All in all a short and reasonable trip on Air Canada. They don’t have to try to hard to compete on this route and it shows.
Thanks for following along on another great First Class trip!
Read More from this Trip
- Introduction: Christmas Markets in Germany via British Airways and Lufthansa First Class
- SkyTeam International Lounge, Vancouver International Airport
- Cathay Pacific Lounge, Vancouver International Airport
- British Airways Galleries Lounge, Vancouver International Airport
- British Airways First Class: Vancouver – London Heathrow Terminal 3
- British Airways Concorde Room: London Heathrow Terminal 5
- British Airways Club Europe: London Heathrow Terminal 5 – Munich
- Le Meridien Munich, Munich, Germany
- Christmas Markets in Munich, Germany
- DB Bahn Munich Hautbahnof – Hannover Hautbahnhof
- Novotel Hannover, Hannover, Germany
- Christmas Markets in Hannover, Germany – Part I
- Christmas Markets in Hannover, Germany – Part II
- Gedenkstätte Bergen-Bilsen Concentration Camp
- Christmas Markets in Celle, Germany
- Christmas Markets in Bremen, Germany
- Sheraton Hannover Pelikan, Hannover, Germany
- DB Bahn Hannover Hautbanhof – Munich Hautbahnhof
- Aloft Munich, Germany
- BMW Welt and Christmas Markets in Munich, Germany
- Lufthansa First Class Lounge Munich Terminal 2 Satellite
- Lufthansa First Class Lounge Munich Terminal 2 Main
- Lufthansa First Class: Munich – Los Angeles
- Westin Los Angeles Airport, Los Angeles, USA
- Star Alliance Business Lounge: Los Angeles International Airport
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge: Los Angeles International Airport Terminal 6
- Air Canada Business Class: Los Angeles – Vancouver
Review: Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, LAX Terminal 6, Los Angeles, USA
I left the Star Alliance Lounge in the Tom Bradley International Terminal and headed over to Terminal 6 & 7. There was the usual plane spotting at TBIT, with the most interesting one today being the Hello Kitty Eva Air B777.
I made my way through the maze of tunnels and quickly swung by the United Club in Terminal 7 for a Buck Fizz on the outdoor deck. Having previously visit the newer United Club, I won’t be doing so again. There haven’t been many substantial changes and it’s still likely among the best options of the Star Alliance Lounges at LAX.
Accessing the Lounge:
Having already experienced this place, I didn’t stay too long. Rather, I opted for a look at the new Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge in Terminal 6. I hadn’t visited this version of the Maple Leaf Lounge since it had relocated from Terminal 2. Unfortunately, the move has come with a massive downgrade in footprint and size.
The new lounge is accessed through a slow moving elevator from the concourse opposite from the Alaska Lounge. On my visit, the elevator was being used by every wheelchair walker, family with a stroller and pilots accessing a staff center one level below the regular concourse. There must have been stairs but I didn’t happen to see them.
Access to the lounge was granted thanks to the class of service on the boarding card.
The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge:
The lounge is very small, with a posted occupancy of 178. The reality is that there about sixty seats in the whole place. The lounge is about the same size as the Alaska Lounge across the way. All in all, it’s a tiny space and probably the least interesting Star Alliance Lounge at the Los Angeles airport. The lounge is split in half sofa’s and chairs, with the other half small cafe dining tables and tiled flooring.
Food and Beverage:
On the dining side, the catering isn’t too interesting. The offerings were exactly the same as other Maple Leaf Lounges. The usual tired nacho chips and flat watery salsa, pita bread and hummus was on offer. There were also the usual salads including quinoa and green beans. Ther two usual soups were also available. I suppose it’s a plus for consistency, but like being able to get McDonalds hamburgers everywhere, it’s not not always too appealing. I am afraid to say that the United Club actually has the Maple Leaf Lounge beat in this area. That’s something that I never thought I’d say in this lifetime.
There was self pour liquor was also available with tinned soft drinks. The lounge offers attached bathrooms. No showers were available. However, there were computers available in the back, which may be of benefit to someone.
In summary:
The best part of the lounge was the newer décor and the bright windows that overlooked the apron. Although, I wouldn’t invest the time to visit here in advance… This lounge is a far step down in size than the previous facility that they operated in Terminal 2. I think I’d rank it last of the LAX Star Alliance Lounges behind the United Club out front, followed by the Star Alliance Business Lounge in TBIT as the next runner up.
Read More from this Trip
- Introduction: Christmas Markets in Germany via British Airways and Lufthansa First Class
- SkyTeam International Lounge, Vancouver International Airport
- Cathay Pacific Lounge, Vancouver International Airport
- British Airways Galleries Lounge, Vancouver International Airport
- British Airways First Class: Vancouver – London Heathrow Terminal 3
- British Airways Concorde Room: London Heathrow Terminal 5
- British Airways Club Europe: London Heathrow Terminal 5 – Munich
- Le Meridien Munich, Munich, Germany
- Christmas Markets in Munich, Germany
- DB Bahn Munich Hautbahnof – Hannover Hautbahnhof
- Novotel Hannover, Hannover, Germany
- Christmas Markets in Hannover, Germany – Part I
- Christmas Markets in Hannover, Germany – Part II
- Gedenkstätte Bergen-Bilsen Concentration Camp
- Christmas Markets in Celle, Germany
- Christmas Markets in Bremen, Germany
- Sheraton Hannover Pelikan, Hannover, Germany
- DB Bahn Hannover Hautbanhof – Munich Hautbahnhof
- Aloft Munich, Germany
- BMW Welt and Christmas Markets in Munich, Germany
- Lufthansa First Class Lounge Munich Terminal 2 Satellite
- Lufthansa First Class Lounge Munich Terminal 2 Main
- Lufthansa First Class: Munich – Los Angeles
- Westin Los Angeles Airport, Los Angeles, USA
- Star Alliance Business Lounge: Los Angeles International Airport
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge: Los Angeles International Airport Terminal 6
- Air Canada Business Class: Los Angeles – Vancouver
Review: Star Alliance Business Class Lounge, Tom Bradley International Terminal, Los Angeles, USA
I was up the next day at 6 AM thanks to the jet lag. Having an international boarding card in business class, I’d have a choice of several lounges this morning so I thought I’d get up to the terminal instead of waiting around a somewhat dreary hotel. I left the hotel at about 8 AM and drove the 7 minutes up the street to the Hertz car return lot. I hopped the rental car bus and got dropped off by the Tom Bradley International Terminal. It was the usual congested mess outside the concourses.
I tried to use the secret connections security screening off the arrivals hall but actually got turned away by a dragon guarding the entrance there. I was directed back upstairs. In another gaffe, despite having TSA Pre-Check on my ex-MUC Lufthansa boarding card, it didn’t carry over to my Air Canada boarding pass, despite being on the same ticket and Air Canada being a Pre-Check participant. I didn’t bother making inquiries with an AC representative, which was probably back in Terminal 6; a ways out of the way. The TSA Pre-Check agent sent me over to the regular line so I queued in probably the worst security screening line LAX has to offer.
Accessing the Lounge:
Once on the secure side, I made an attempt to get into the Star Alliance First Class lounge with my arriving First Class boarding card but was flat out denied. This was unlike at the LH First Class Terminal or the BA Concorde Room where access is allowed on a same day arriving First Class boarding card). Aww. Access was ultimately granted thanks to a departing flight on Air Canada Business class (class of service).
The Star Alliance Business Lounge:
The world has apparently located the Tom Bradley International Star Alliance Business Lounge. It was much fuller than I’ve ever had the opportunity to experience. I got the sense from the number of bags on chairs, that many asian families were travelling together and many were not actually in the lounge, but wandering around the terminal while one family member stayed behind.
The terrace is still a popular place. I was able to get a seat out here with a bowl of noodles with sparkling wine and set up for a short visit under the time tower.
In Summary:
It’s still a reasonable space. Unfortunately, either the world has found it or it’s just a lot busier than I remember when it first opened. It’s a solid lounge but not the best of the best anymore.
Read More from this Trip
- Introduction: Christmas Markets in Germany via British Airways and Lufthansa First Class
- SkyTeam International Lounge, Vancouver International Airport
- Cathay Pacific Lounge, Vancouver International Airport
- British Airways Galleries Lounge, Vancouver International Airport
- British Airways First Class: Vancouver – London Heathrow Terminal 3
- British Airways Concorde Room: London Heathrow Terminal 5
- British Airways Club Europe: London Heathrow Terminal 5 – Munich
- Le Meridien Munich, Munich, Germany
- Christmas Markets in Munich, Germany
- DB Bahn Munich Hautbahnof – Hannover Hautbahnhof
- Novotel Hannover, Hannover, Germany
- Christmas Markets in Hannover, Germany – Part I
- Christmas Markets in Hannover, Germany – Part II
- Gedenkstätte Bergen-Bilsen Concentration Camp
- Christmas Markets in Celle, Germany
- Christmas Markets in Bremen, Germany
- Sheraton Hannover Pelikan, Hannover, Germany
- DB Bahn Hannover Hautbanhof – Munich Hautbahnhof
- Aloft Munich, Germany
- BMW Welt and Christmas Markets in Munich, Germany
- Lufthansa First Class Lounge Munich Terminal 2 Satellite
- Lufthansa First Class Lounge Munich Terminal 2 Main
- Lufthansa First Class: Munich – Los Angeles
- Westin Los Angeles Airport, Los Angeles, USA
- Star Alliance Business Lounge: Los Angeles International Airport
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge: Los Angeles International Airport Terminal 6
- Air Canada Business Class: Los Angeles – Vancouver
Review: Westin LAX Los Angeles Airport, Los Angeles, USA
Booking:
I was able to get a bargain basement rate of $100 USD here; which fit the bill for my solo and quick 20 hour transit of Los Angeles. I had last stayed here in September 2015. I had considered trying a different property but didn’t see the need to spend time in transit to and from the airport area. Ultimately deciding on the Westin LAX again, I had Suite Night upgrades to burn and applied one within the 5 day window. It cleared into a corner suite in less than one hour.
I picked up a one day rental from Hertz. I was going to go without a car, but the rate was only $20 USD for a 24 hour period so I figured why not? It beats being completely stuck at the hotel, eating hotel food, and relying on airport shuttles. This Hertz location is reportedly the busiest in the world by volume of rentals per their Gold Rewards Newsletter and they were remarkably efficient.
I self parked in the back and found the lobby. I had a quick and friendly check in and the agent indicated that in addition to the SPG Platinum amenity of breakfast being offered in the restaurant downstairs, they would also be posting 1,000 welcome points to the account. The friendly agent thanked me for the loyalty and wished me a pleasant stay.
The property here is absolutely massive. It’s probably the largest Westin I’ve ever stayed in, with 12 floors, 736 rooms and only 34 suites. The first impressions are of an old school / old world lobby with high ceilings. The lobby is large enough on it’s own to old two Christmas trees.
The Room: A Corner Suite
I led myself to room #1036 which was a corner suite. It was about 150 paces from the elevator, which required key fob access to get to the tenth floor.
The initial impressions of the room weren’t so great. The property is really showing it’s age. While the furniture is in great condition, there was a musty smell coming from the foyer. The light switches and fitting were really old. At least there was a large living room…
The hotel also had a completely separate bedroom.
There was the in room coffee maker. I usually bypass the coffee, but I was craving a regular coffee after all the cappuccinos and espressos in Europe.
There was a corner balcony with two chairs and a table. It had a somewhat scary view. The view was south east of the aircraft approach of the south runways. Otherwise, not too inspiring.
The bathroom was standard 1980’s hotel fare. Compact but it had all the essentials.
The neighborhood surrounding the hotel has all the appeal of a tax audit. There isn’t too much around the hotel aside from gas stations, a Denny’s restaurant and a few highway on and off ramps.
I did a face to face check out the next morning. The friendly agent thanked me for the stay and wished me happy holidays.
In Summary:
Aside from the somewhat tired hardware, the property was a reasonable stay for a quick stay in LAX. Although not the most state of the art or interesting stay, it fit the trick for a $100 stay. It was perfectly fine for a solo trip through Los Angeles. Although admittedly, having stayed twice, I’ll probably be considering other options going through LAX for a more interesting stay in a nicer neighbourhood.
World Traveller 73 
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