THE RITZ-CARLTON, ABU DHABI

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The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal 15.4.12

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I stayed at Ritz-Carlton Grand Canal during Ramadan time. When i arrived in the evening the hotel was busy with people having iftar and the atmosphere was very lively but relaxed. The front desk staff quickly checked me in and escorted me to my room at the club level. The room was nice, big size, nice large bathroom with separate shower and bathtub. There was a balcony with view of the entire “Venice-like” hotel and the huge swimming pool which was illuminted in different colours at night. The room did not lack of anything. Very comfortable bed and luxury amenities.
The swimming pool is one of the largest that i have ever seen and i heard that it is the biggest one in the UAE. There are plenty of restaurants in the hotel but they were all closed during my stay due to the ramadan. Main restaurant was open and the meals that I had there were excellent. There is a small stretch of a clean white beach and plenty of staff to keep everything spotless and well maintained. One of the best assets was the Club Lounge. Open from early morning to late night, they offer drinks and food (fresh fruit only during day time during ramadan). As there was no food display during ramadan time, they offered me to order from room service or eat at the main restaurant at no cost. Excellent service from the multi lingual staff. I realised that most of the very young hotel staff started to work there after the hotel opened a year ago. They mostly finished hotel school studies not long ago and were always eager to help and provide the best service. There were always happy for a quick chat and made my stay there a very happy one. On my next trip to Abu Dhabi the Ritz-Carlton will definately be the hotel of my choice. Thanks to all the staff at the club lounge for an excellent 5-star service!

http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/AbuDhabi/Default.htm

ETIHAD AIRWAYS

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Etihad Airways A333

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My seat

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After take-off drink with warm nuts and menucard

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Vegetable soup with white asparagus and creme fraiche

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warm berry mille-feuille

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fresh fruit platter

July 2015:

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window view (netpic)

ETIHAD AIRWAYS ZRH-AUH

Check-in in Zurich was a breeze. No line and local Etihad staff available to greet all Business Class passengers personally. Seat was assigned within seconds.

Flight was booked very light and there were only 10 Pax in C which were greeted with a glass of champagne or drink of their choice. The cabin manager came by to greet all pax personally as well.

Etihad features a “kitchen anytime” concept which leaves the freedom to the guest to choose from a regular 4-course meal or plenty of snack or à la card items from a always available menu. A food and beverage manager (white jacket) will take orders and you can choose every individual course and the time that you desire to eat.

I opted for for a soup and a dessert right after take off. The food was delicious and very nicely presented. The crew was multi-cultural, polite and professional. They seemed to be in a good mood and available for a quick chat every now and then.

Before landing in Abu Dhabi i had a delicious fruit platter and some ice cream. Fast track cards for immigration were given out. No lines at immigration whatsoever.

Abu Dhabi Airport is very old and lots of construction is going on. The building is overcrowded and most of the space is occupied with shops. The main terminal is so full that it is very difficult to move around. Almost all passengers change flights there and the terminal size is narrow and only limited space available. Bars and restaurants are difficult to find and very scarce. (Check for skytrax reviews of AUH airport)

Etihad Aiways has a very good Business Class product with nice seats which can turn to a flat bed, E-Box Entertainment, nice amenities and a very individual service.

http://www.etihadairways.com

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ETIHAD REGIONAL

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Etihad Regional Saab 2000

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Cabin view as advertised

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ETIHAD REGIONAL IS A NEW SUBSIDIARY OF ETIHAD AIRWAYS. THEY TOOK OVER THE SMALL SWISS REGIONAL CARRIER DARWIN AIRLINE.

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The managment is making big promises for the “new product” and selling out their tickets at extremly cheap fares.

Time for me to make a “flight check”. Check-in was not possible online due to software problems. According to the handling agent this seems to be the case since many weeks and no solution is in sight.

The plane was an old *ex OLT” Saab 2000 which was very worn out and tired. The old seats are not in their best condition and its really time to refurbish those aircrafts. Service is mediocre. There are mini sandwiches available and soft drinks. No wine or beer, not even for purchase. The flight attendant was not very motivated. There were only 8 passengers on board. She had obviously difficulty with the german language and also her english announcements were below standard.

Advertisments promise a new fresh cabin with a nice “Etihad”-like service. This flight was unfortunately far from it. If Etihad Regional/Darwin want to survive in the tough european market lots of homework need to be done and other major improvements are necessary..

THAI AIRWAYS A380 FIRST/BUSINESS CLASS SEAT CHECK

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New Review on the new THAI Royal Orchid Lounge at Suvarnabhumi Airport BKK will be available in May 2020

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BUSINESS CLASS:

Full flat business class seats in the upper deck. Very comfortable equipped with shoulderbelts and airbags. The single seats are great. Tip: choose one which is right next to the window..so you have a little space between you and aisle. Well know Royal Orchid service.

FIRST CLASS:

very spacious with a lounge area, a large bathroom with changing area and well known THAI First Class Service with Caviar and all the trimmings. Excellent product.

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http://www.thaiairways.com

THE RITZ-CARLTON, KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

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The Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur targets mainly on Business Travelers. Great location and easy to reach. The best part of the hotel is their staff. Everybody is very polite and will adress you with your name every time they meet you. The service from the door man to the personal butler as well as the charming pool staff is very personal and professional. The hotel has a certain age but it is well maintained. Pools are very small but the Spa area features a nice little rest area to relax, a corner to have a light meal, a lounge with a TV to relax, a gym, a steam room, sauna and jacuzzi.

A very good place to stay in KL!

INTERVIEW WITH MR. PASCAL FREI, RESIDENT MANAGER AT ANDARA RESORT, PHUKET, THAILAND

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1. How do the social media change the booking behavior of your guests?
The effect of the social media on the booking behavior I would say is not direct. But indirectly it effects in so far that the potential guest have more access on information, previous guest feedback, but especially also have a very quick and informal way to contact representatives from a hotel. Further to that, the guest sees in what way the social media is used by the resort, by followers and by previous guests. All this results in a much shorter termed booking than in the past, but also in a much more informed arrival guest.
2. How many people book online through your website? (ca percentage)
Approx. 32% in 2013. Direct bookings are the most interesting booking category and the goal of each hotel is to increase direct bookings since the cost of obtaining is the lowest. For us it became already after 5 years of operation our strongest category, but of course we still keeping going to achieve 100% occupancy and 100% of it direct.
3. How many people book through travel agents or packages?

In 2013 we had 31% of our bookings through wholesale. Wholesale is not cheap but also very important since all relies on recommendations through wholesaler.

4. How important do you think that social media / blogs are important in the future? (next generation)

This answer goes approximately in the same direction as answer no. 1. It is getting more and more important to be strongly present on social media, online articles or blogs. The new generation doesn’t get their information anymore from books, brochures or magazines but all online. Further to that they don’t decide their holidays anymore based on a description with a picture in a travel magazine. The new generation will gather as much information as possible and then decide based on recommendation of friends, circle of acquaintances or travel writers.

5. How important are the social media to “yourself”? Are you using them for work and / or privately?
Social media has quite a high importance to me privately and for work. I use it frequently for both at the same time since in this industry private and work flow a kind like together.

ANDARA RESORT AND VILLAS, PHUKET, THAILAND

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I have stayed at the Andara Resort and Villas a few times now and I remain enthusiastic about the facilities and the personalised service.

I stayed in a 3 bedroom terrace suite which is 241 sq.m. and includes well appointed bedrooms, an equally impressive living and dining area with stylish western kitchen opening to an outdoor terrace enjoying views of the Andaman Sea. Fabrics and silk custom designed from Jim Thompson are complimented by a Bose surround sound system,  55 inch LCD TV and complimentary wi-fi.

SIlk Restaurant & Bar restaurant is a Phuket favourite for hotel guests and visitors alike. With the recent addition of “La Seta”, an Italian eatery, the food variety is even wider and offers a great choice of Italian favourites including pizzas cooked fresh from an original pizza oven. The quality and taste of all meals that I had was excellent. 

The pool is 40 meters long and cold towels as well as water and face spray are provided. Andara Resort resort also offers a separate section on nearby Kamala Beach which can reached by a free shuttle service on demand. Hotel staff are on hand at the beach and offer towels, beach-mats and cold water.

The staff at the resort are very attentive and always provide a distinguished service. Management is very visible and always ready to help and assist in any possible way. 

I enjoyed my recent stay at the Andara Resort very much and would highly recommend it for the stylish traveller.

http://www.andaraphuket.com

THAI AIRWAYS

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approaching Zurich Airport

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main dish, beef goulash

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cheese and fruit

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empty C-Class cabin

 

THAI AIRWAYS

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THAI Airways currently operates 6 A340-600 aircrafts. They operate flights from Bangkok to Zurich, Frankfurt and London.

My flight left Zurich with a good 1 hour delay as a cargo door could not be closed properly. Info given by the captain was sufficent, while the Inflight Manager was nowhere to be seen. (This is the case on most TG flights, IM are invisible during the entire flights, and i have been flying in F,C and Y)

No german announcements were played.

Inflight Service: THAI Airways offers a solid product. Catering ex ZRH was excellent as always and the service was efficient. Food and amenties are of a good quality. The inflight service standards are good but a bit dated. There has never been a change made in the last 15 years. However there were only 10 Pax in C-class today and 6 F/A available so the service was swift and friendly.

The flight was generally very empty. TG is loosing a lot of passengers to the middle east airlines. An improvement of the website and marketing activities are urgently needed.

The A340-600 features a 170° degr recliner seat. It is comfortable but i am hoping for a flat seat in the future.

Breakfast was nice and pleasant. A hot choice would have been also available.

Fast Track cards for immigration in BKK are not been given out anymore, but the fast track channel is still available if you are able to find it.

All in all, THAI offers a good product, but little improvements or updates would be nice.

http://www.thaiair.com

Interview with Mr. Nick Yarnell, Hotel Manager @ Four Seasons Marrakech

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Here are the 5 Questions I would like to ask you to add to my blog

1. How do the social media change the booking behavior of your guests? More and more business is coming from OTAs and our Mobile site which is a direct result of Four Seasons efforts in all Social Media channels, with great actions like Pin.Pack.Go on Pinterest that are innovative and guest focused and very shareable with friends. 

2. How many people book online through your website? (ca percentage) 12% of our business came via website in 2013, up from 7% in 2012

3. How many people book through travel agents or packages? 31% of our business comes via our worldwide travel agent partners 

4. How important do you think that social media / blogs are important in the future?  (next generation) Extremely importnat to us and Four Seasons. We are the first luxury hotel company that included real time Tripadvisor quotes on each hotel's website, so it is very important for us to ensure our Tripadvisor score is high. Same with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest where we have dedicated employees at each hotel to monitor and create content. We also signed up for an ORM (Online Reputation Management) site like Revinate to monitor everything that is said about us on Social Media. 

5. How important are the social media to "yourself"? Are you using them for work and / or privately? Very important for business and personal life. Very connected with travel agents and clients on FB and engaged in all other social media channels on a regular daily basis.