EUROWINGS, GERMANY

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ZURICH-COLOGNE-ZURICH

Configuation : 168 seats > 3 fare categories: Best, Smart and Basic

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Eurowings is the low cost subsidairy airline of the Lufthansa group. Eurowings operates flights within Germany, intra-Europe and a few long haul flights out of Cologne (long haul flights will be transferred to Düsseldorf airport from Summer 2018).

The Cologne flights are mostly operated by “Germanwings”. Germanwings is now fully integrated into Eurowings and will soon fly in Eurowings colours only.

Eurowings sells 3 ticket categories. “Best” which are seats in the first 3 rows of each aircraft and gives you free drinks and a little snack which you can choose for the buy-on-board menu. “Smart” gives you more flexibility in your ticket and offers you a free drink and a pre-packed snack. “Basic” offers you very low fares, no flexibility and no inflight meal or refreshment service. (not even a glass of water)

My outbound flight was delayed by 2 hours due to weather so the crew offered free drinks and snacks to all passengers. They worked efficiently on this 50 minute flight and it was an ok experience.

On the inbound flight there was a another delay, this time no proper announcement was made and a rather grumpy crew with an unmotivated attitude were on duty. Since Eurowings flights are operated as Star Alliance codeshare flights, with Lufthansa and SWISS, it is difficult for some passengers to understand why different levels of service are offered to various passengers onboard. For example, some passengers were getting served with snacks and drinks whilst others were left out or had to pay for a simple glass of water. (You don’t even get a small bottle or a can for yourself if you buy a drink).

I am not a fan of no-frills airlines and I did not particularly enjoy my experience on Eurowings. (Especially when the flight is sold under full service airlines code-shares). Little information was given about flight delays (except SMS) and passengers were treated more like cattle than human beings. Despite the fact that Cologne Airport has many jet-bridge gates, most Eurowings flights are operated via bus-gates which makes a time consuming and uncomfortable travel experience.

https://www.eurowings.com/en.html

 

SWISSÔTEL AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS

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Swissotel Amsterdam is a four-star boutique hotel located by Dam Square, in the heart of Amsterdam’s historic city centre and a short walk from Amsterdam Central Station. The hotel is surrounded by shops, museums and restaurants and is a 20-minute drive from Amsterdam Schiphol International Airport.

Check-in at the Swissotel was a breeze. The front office agent was very welcoming and recognised me as a Swissotel Circle member and immediately upgraded me to a swiss-select room with a nice view over the square. It was a corner room with a small staircase going up to the bedroom. Nice clean room with electric curtains and a comfortable large bed. There was a working desk, a minibar and a Nespresso machine. The bathroom was small but the shower was large with a hand shower or a rain shower to choose from. The bathroom was layed out in grey stone and looked very chic. The hotel had a small gym and an outsourced restaurant called Royal 89. The restaurant looked nice and fresh but I did not try it. I checked out within 2 minutes and the same friendly front office staff member offered me a bottle of water to take with me on the way out.

My stay at the Swissotel was a pleasant experience and the best thing about the hotel is its location on Dam Square, right in the city centre and  just minutes walk from the main train station. Verdict: good standard hotel with reasonable rates during the off season.

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https://www.swissotel.com/hotels/amsterdam

KLM ROYAL DUTCH AIRLINES

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Zurich-Amsterdam, B-737-800 Configuration 20-144 Economy Class

I checked-in online for this flight but due to a electronic glitch mobile boarding passes were not available. However, I passed through airport security with the printed version and was issued another boarding pass at the gate. The flight was booked very light and there was plenty of room for everyone to feel at ease. The airplane was a Boeing 737-800 and looked a bit tired inside. Some seats were a bit dirty and there were many seat pockets which were missing the safety card and/or the Inflight Magazine/Duty Free Shopping List. The flight departed on time and a snack was served, including a choice of coffee and tea. The flight attendants were friendly and pleasant. Verdict: a solid product within the European Market.

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https://www.klm.com

CASTILLO HOTEL SON VIDA, PALMA DE MALLORCA, SPAIN

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The Castillo Hotel Son Vida was built in the 13th century and is a member of The Luxury Collection of the Starwood/Marriott Hotels Group. Son Vida is a small village located above Palma de Mallorca, the main city on the island where the business centre, the airport and the shipping terminal are located. The hotel offers incomparable views of the Bay of Palma and has a large terrace which is often called “The Balcony of Palma”.

I stayed in a deluxe room on the 8th floor (highest floor) with a splendid view. The room was oversized with a charming wooden ceiling decoration, warm colours and all amenities that you could wish for. The room had a large bathroom with separate shower and bathtub.

The hotel’s occupancy was not high as it was low season, but the bar and 1 of the 2 restaurants were open and all the food that I tasted was excellent. There were friendly staff everywhere and beautiful decorations all over the hotel. The Spa was closed for renovation but a gym was available with a small heated pool/jacuzzi.

I enjoyed my stay at the Castillo Hotel Son Vida very much and would come back to this beautiful castle any time. All round it was a very pleasant experience.

 

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http://www.castillosonvidamallorca.com/en

EDELWEISS AIR

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Edelweiss Air, Palma De Mallorca – Zurich, A320

Edelweiss Air is a subsidiary of Swiss International Air Lines whose route network is mainly focussed on holiday destinations in Europe. The airline also operates some long-haul flights to “smaller” ports around the world. I took this flight from Palma de Mallorca to Zurich on a Tuesday night in December. The flight was fully booked with a mix of business and leisure travellers. The flight was operated by an A320 aircraft with 20 C and 142 Y seating configuration.

Pre-departure water bottles and refreshment towels were ready on the seats upon boarding. A handful of magazines were also available. Inflight service consisted of a cold meal platter with drinks, followed by a coffee service with the famous Appenzeller Biberli which is a small Swiss cookie-type sweet dish containing marzipan. The crew was friendly and cheerful and took care of the passengers well who were concerned about missing their evening connections in Zurich (the delay was only 25 min, so that should not pose a problem to anyone)

A pleasant flight despite the short delay and a friendly young crew who made a good impression.

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https://www.flyedelweiss.com/en/pages/home.aspx

 

 

 

OMAN AIR

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Oman Air, B788, Configuration: 18/249 ZRH-MCT-DXB, Business Class

Zurich-Muscat:

Business Class Lounge, Muscat Airport:

Muscat-Dubai:

There was only 1 counter available for Business Class check-in and the waiting time was rather long as the check-in staff were serving economy class passengers who were carrying excess check-in bags and did not want to pay for excess baggage. So the discussions seemed endless until they finally found a solution and I could check-in.

Boarding started almost 1 hour before take-off (Ground staff explained that the captain wanted to depart 15 min ahead of schedule) but at the end the airport slot was not available and we departed on time. The Business Class section is very small with only 18 seats and each seat offers plenty of space and privacy. The booking on this flight was very light with only about 6 passengers in the front section. The crew was efficient but not charming or friendly. Service was done quickly as this was a 10pm departure and passengers wanted to sleep.  I did the same and opted for a breakfast rather than a dinner which was served 2 hours before landing. (A bit too early for my preference as the flight time was only 5.30 h)

Arrival at Muscat was a tedious experience. We landed on time but the stairs were not available for 15 min for disembarkation. After the stairs finally docked on the plane there was a further 5 min delay for the special business class bus. Meanwhile, all economy passengers had already disembarked via the rear stairs and all 3 passenger buses arrived at the terminal building at the same time. Most passengers had connecting flights and went upstairs where a small security checkpoint was located and worked very efficiently.

On departure from Muscat airport, I visited the lounge in the rather old airport terminal and was pleasantly surprised. It  was a large stylish lounge. There was a bar area as well as a self-service area are where drinks and food was presented. Friendly staff were available everywhere. Food choice was good, warm and cold breakfast items were available as well as fruit and other snacks. I did not see any alcoholic beverages, but I expect they were available in the bar section.

Boarding took place again via buses and the small cramped waiting area was packed with people and many were standing in line for the wrong flights. It was a bit chaotic and there were no dedicated gates or doors for business class passengers. After all buses finally arrived at the aircraft at the same time there was another short delay as the cabin cleaning seemed not to be finished.

The crew at the boarding door was very friendly and efficient and boarding was quick. There was a small breakfast service on this flight which was only about 50 minutes long. Aircraft was an Airbus 330-200. Configuration: 20/196

OMANAIR

http://www.omanair.com/en/

 

GRAND HYATT DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

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Club Lounge:

 

The Grand Hyatt Dubai is a huge resort style hotel located between Dubai airport and Dubai downtown. There is a large airy lobby with plenty of plants and other decorations. It seems like a small jungle in the desert. The hotel has numerous restaurants and bars, a hair salon, a pharmacy, a jewellery shop and some excursion desks.

I booked a room with club level access on the 14th floor. The room was nicely decorated with a comfortable bed, a working desk and a small separate wardrobe. The bathroom had a separate shower, bathtub and toilet.

The club lounge was very large with a great view over the hotel gardens. You could see the 3 pools, the children’s play area and the event venue. The lounge food offerings were breakfast (a nice extensive choice), coffee and tea as well as soft drinks all day.

Happy hour consisted of cocktails and wines, and the food was more like a small dinner buffet rather than only a snack choice. Hot and cold items, as well as salads and desserts, were available. It seemed to me that many guests used this as their place to have dinner so seating was almost always full, but due to the size of the lounge it was still pleasant. There was also a separate section for families with children.

The hotel has a gym, 3 outdoor swimming pools, sports facilities which include a heated indoor pool and a gym. All the staff members that I met were friendly and nice. There is no scheduled turn-down service but it is available on request and given the large size of the hotel, the housekeeping department was quick in response, efficient and fast.

If you are looking for a hotel which is away from the beach, and still not too far from the city centre or the airport, the Grand Hyatt Dubai is a good choice.

Hotel in Dubai

https://dubai.grand.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html

JW MARRIOTT DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

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TRIED AND TESTED: JW MARRIOTT HOTEL DUBAI

 

 

Located just minutes away from Dubai International Airport this hotel is a top standard business class hotel with several high class restaurants such as JW Steakhouse, Cucina, Hofbräuhaus, Vienna Cafe, Champion Sports Bar and Bamboo Lounge which are very popular among locals as well as hotel guests.

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http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/dxbae-jw-marriott-hotel-dubai/