Brief recap on my recent trip.
Early morning flight from JFK to LHR necessitated spending a night in NYC. Stayed at the Iroquois, part of the SLH; was able to use an offer on my plat card, spend $300 get $100 back. Worked and credit has posted. The hotel was nice -- just a 6 min walk from LIRR station making it super easy to get to and from JFK. Clean, quiet, Frette linens (always a plus in my books), nice staff and fantastic location. Would stay here again and def recommend. While in NYC I made use of my Uber credit at Levain (YUM!).
Flight took off right on time and landed in London 10 mins early. Thought a daytime flight would be nice, but I had trouble getting to sleep since it was 4pm here. I still prefer a daytime flight over the ocean and will choose this option again if available. AA service was unremarkable -- can't remember what the food was, so it must've been okay.
I stayed at the Sofitel LHR, a short 8 min walk from T5 where my flight to Florence was to depart from. The hotel is in need of a refresh, mainly because there are no electrical outlets or USB charging ports close to the bed. I had to leave my phone on the bedside table for the early alarm (so it wasn't charging overnight). For what it was I thought it was expensive, but you are paying for location. I'd stay here again if I had an early flight from T5. I landed in T3 and took the tube to T5, stopped at M&S food hall for some snacks, before heading to the Sofitel. It was super easy to get to the hotel.
Flight to Florence was hell and I will never again try to fly there. I will aim for Milan or Bologna (both easy train rides to Florence).
LOVED my hotel in Florence, the Milu. For reference it is almost directly across the street form the Il Torbuoni, which is part of Hyatt SLH. I had booked the Torbuoni through Hyatt but cancelled it because it was 35k pts/night and I knew that I'd never be in the room. It would be ideal for couples on a romantic getaway or people who like to spend a lot of time in their room (of which I am not one). This gem is a small boutique hotel with a nice breakfast spread, friendly and helpful staff, an ideal location and clean and quiet rooms, which is what I like. I paid cash and thought the price of 315 euros / night was very low given the location and how nice the hotel is, mind you I booked it 9 months in advance. I would def stay here again and highly recommend it.
In Milan I stayed at the STRAF Hotel & Bar using 2 FNCs plus 15k pts. I hated it and wouldn't stay there again if it was free. All rooms face the front of the hotel, so they are directly over the bar, which features live music every night. The window was single glaze and I am sure most here know where I'm going with this. The band may as well have been in my room, that's how loud my room was. Also the design was dark and cold: concrete walls and floors in the room and gold metal floors and walls in the bathroom. The bathroom counter was 6" below my knees with a very tall sink. What an incredibly bizarre configuration. I had breakfast at the hotel my first morning and it was 25 euros for a bowl of cereal and yogurt (ripoff). I knew this in advance, so my bad for being lazy. The staff was awful. The location was okay, being a few steps from the Duomo, across from LaRinascent, steps from the metro and in close proximity to La Brera and great shopping. But I would NEVER stay here again and would only recommend it if you can sleep in a very loud room and tolerate terrible staff. I dealt with it because it was free, but ugh.
I spent 1 night in Frankfurt at the airport Marriott to catch my early morning flight to JFK on Singapore Air 777 in first class. I chose to stay at the airport and take the metro into the city (super easy) for the day. My room was updated, clean, quiet, the staff was lovely and helpful and the hotel had a very nice executive lounge. I would def recommend this hotel and would stay here again.
I wanted to explore Frankfurt since I've passed through the airport many times but never been into the city. It was okay, Old Town was pretty, food that I had was good. I wouldn't visit the city again unless I had a layover of a few hours.
Singapore Air first class was everything that I expected and more. The FAs were AMAZING, omgosh just over-the-top amazing. So nice, friendly, engaging, service was excellent, I really can't say enough good things about the staff. The seat was huge and comfortable and the food was delicious. SA is known for their chicken satay and it didn't disappoint. I could've eaten 2 skewers, alas I was only offered 1 (though in retrospect if I had asked for another I'm sure they would've given me 3!). I had used their 'Book the Cook' menu in advance and chose the Vietnamese chicken served with warm potato salad and it was delicious. For pre-landing snack I had the meat porridge and it was also delicious. The bed was comfy and the bedding was so cosy I didn't want to leave. I didn't care for the pajamas -- they had a weird fit and I left them on the plane (gasp!). The amenity kit was Lalique and had a small box of soap, a large bottle of perfume and hand lotion. The FAs also gave me the biz class amenity kit which was really nice and then they gave me 2 Penhalgion small kits (I don't know why they gave me all this bling but I don't mind). The FAs knew I had a 2 hour connection time (on a different ticket) so they gave me a small bag full of snacks. I am going to put SA firmly at the top of my list of first class products. Doubt I'll fly them again anytime soon because the mileage cost to book can be quite high, but if I had the opportunity I'd jump on it!
I had 2 hours to clear customs and go through security to make my Delta One flight to Toronto. There was no line at GE so it took less than a minute (the non-GE line said a 50 min wait); I was able to use the GE line for security and it took less than 5 mins. So I was able to spend 40 mins in the Centurion lounge at JFK! It was nice -- not very crowded, nice staff and decent food (I wasn't that hungry). Liked my Delta flight back -- took off on time, landed a bit early, FA was super nice and funny -- she kept giving snacks because I said I loved their selection and I was hungry part-way into the flight.
There was a lot of moving around on this trip, but I had a great time. I wish vacations didn't fly by so quickly!
I am going to try to book another trip to Florence for next October, maybe for a 5 or 6 nights. I will be looking at logistics shortly.
. That’s all.
