TEX277

Background

For the previous 8 months I had been looking forward to an absolutely fantastic Star Alliance First Class award trip that, after a lot of tinkering, was my ideal itinerary. I was then made redundant a little more than three months before this trip. Fearing that my employment prospects may be somewhat restricted, as any new employer would need to allow me two weeks off over Easter to visit South Africa (BA Amex 2for1 award First out/Club return) and three weeks in February for this Bali trip, I decided to bring Bali forward. Right now I could also use a real holiday to relax, refresh the batteries and return to the UK with the energy and enthusiasm for a full-time job of job hunting!!!

I was made redundant on November 28th 2006, departing on 2nd December for a previously scheduled trip to Las Vegas and returning on 5th December. So I decided to reschedule Bali for departure around 6th December. Unfortunately, there was no first class availability of award redemptions on that date. The closest was in the evening on 5th December. I took it hoping that I would change dates if and when something more appropriate became available but ultimately prepared to arrive from SFO into LHR at 12:40 then depart at 22:15 for SIN. That is one of the great things about being a 1K with United – they do not charge you any award change fees despite cancelling an award, changing dates, airline, routes or class of service. With no first class availability on my preferred return dates I opted for an economy seat again hoping that something better would open up. Previously (and during the last couple of days before my departure) I had found that availability shown on the ANA tool was correct to what UA had available. This time was different. It is quite frustrating to see a first class seat on the flight where you are currently seated in economy and to be told that nothing is available. As my circumstance makes me rather flexible, I knew something would come through for me eventually. Luckily for me, upon arrival in Las Vegas and thanks to McCarran Airport’s free wifi, I used the ANA tool and found my preferred options. Using Skype I rang UA immediately and had my reservation changed to its final configuration:


LON / HEATHROW to SINGAPORE WED 6 DEC
SINGAPORE 321 Departs 10:15P Arrives 7 DEC 6:55P
FIRST CLASS Seat 1B
Aircraft 747-400

SINGAPORE to SUVARNABHUMI FRI 8 DEC
SINGAPORE 62 Departs 10:40A Arrives 2:05P
FIRST CLASS Seat 1A
Aircraft 777-200

SUVARNABHUMI to DENPASAR SUN 10 DEC
THAI INTRNL 431 Departs 8:40A Arrives 2:00P
CONNOISSEUR Seat unallocated
Aircraft Airbus A300

DENPASAR to SINGAPORE SUN 17 DEC
SINGAPORE 143 Departs 1:05P Arrives 3:35P
CONNOISSEUR Seat 12K
Aircraft 777-200

SINGAPORE to LON / HEATHROW MON 18 DEC
SINGAPORE 320 Departs 12:40P Arrives 6:45P
FIRST CLASS Seat 1B
Aircraft 747-400


As well as the onboard experience, I deliberately selected this itinerary (most notably the insertion of SIN-BKK-DPS rather than a straightforward SIN-DPS) for a couple of ground services that I was eager to experience: the Virgin Clubhouse at LHR and an overnight stay at the SKL F lounge in SIN.

Although I felt better than I normally do after flying SFO-LHR, upon arrival at LHR on 5th December, I was so glad that I could return home and spend the night with my wife. It turns out that my wife was rather pleased to see me too – perhaps it had something to do with the three 400g dark Toblerones that I bought for £2.50 (fantastic value - but that’s another story) and the lift home from work.


Check-in for SQ321 (LHR-SIN) and SQ62 (SIN-BKK)

After initial problems attempting to access online check-in at singaporeair.com, I managed to get there eventually. I was glad to see that it gave me the option of checking-in for both flights because I would need my onward boarding pass to access the SKL F lounge at SIN for an overnight stay and also meant that I could check my bags through to BKK. However, looking at the seat map for SQ321 I was surprised to see 1B available as I had been told only a few hours before that it had already been taken. What then confused me was that I could not then change seat to 1B as it said that it had a bassinet and was reserved for passengers with infants. This in itself I could understand but then how come that during my call to SQ to request my Book the Cook options and seat allocations I was given 1B for SQ320 (SIN-LHR)??? I shall ask at the airport later whether than can give me 1B. I was pleased to note that at check-in for SQ62 there were no other allocated seats! Perhaps there is a slight chance that I could be the only passenger in First for those lovely SQ girls to look after? Fingers crossed.

To be continued...

TEX277

Boarding Pass collection and Baggage drop

A little under four hours before departure I walked straight passed the long economy check-in line and straight towards the desk that I had spotted as displaying the SQ First logo on my way through the terminal on Saturday for my trip to Las Vegas. The only problem was that this desk no longer displayed the F logo but that of Raffles. A lady manning the queue saw my surprise and asked me if I was travelling First, Raffles or economy. She pointed towards the sole F desk at the end of the cul-de-sac where nobody was waiting after hearing my response. I introduced myself to the girl on the desk and inquired if could grab seat 1B. She informed me that it was not allocated yet and then handed over a BP for 1B along with one for my connecting flight to BKK.

T3 Fast-Track security

The bad part was that the Fast-Track queue was as long as the normal line that I had used on my way to Vegas only four days earlier. It must have taken me about 10-15 minutes to get through the metal detector before encountering the chap who wanted to wipe his little stick all over my laptop. Rather unsurprising no trace of explosives was to be found. Of course, the good part was that the normal security line was massive and I was not part of it!!!!

Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse

I would just like thank jjpb3 for bring to my attention in this thread in the SQ forum disclosing that SQ F and C passengers are entitled to use the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse. I have been to some good airline lounges including SQ SKL F at SIN and the LH FCT at FRA as well as some rather shoddy lounges (mainly UA and US domestic clubs) but this place knocks the socks of off all the others. If anybody knows of a better airline lounge please do let me know!! Stylish, modern, plenty of space and fantastic staff. The ‘lounge dragon’ was anything but and did an excellent job of making me feel welcome.

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After an initial familiarisation meander, I presented myself at the Cowshed (Virgin’s spa). I was able to make an appointment for a back massage an hour and a half later. The wait was one of the most enjoyable I have yet to endure! Firstly, I was led to my seat to dine in the restaurant which had the following menu:



All Day breakfast

Severn & Wye smoked salmon with creamed field mushrooms, puff pastry and asparagus

Eggs Benedict – poached egg on toasted English muffin with smoked ham and hollandaise sauce

Eggs Florentine – poached egg on toasted English muffin with fresh spinach and hollandaise sauce

Grilled bacon or Cumberland sausage roll


Soups and Salads

White onion soup with Wiltshire ham and yellow pea dumplings

Root vegetable broth with white beans and basil puree

Severn & Wye smoked salmon served warm on puy lentils with dandelion and beetroot dressing

Cornish crab & prawn cake served with blood orange & chilli jam on the side


Bigger bites

Pasta tagliatelle and vegetables with fresh tarragon and grain mustard sauce

Pan-seared free-range chicken filled with herb mousse served with woodland mushroom risotto

Seared Atlantic sea bream with braised potato, steamed fennel and celeriac puree

Shepherds pie – traditionally cooked with minced beef and lamb topped with buttery charlotte potatoes

Goan chicken curry – light curry made with mustard seed curry leaf and creamy cocnut sauce
Also available as a vegetarian option

Clubhouse burger with bacon, cheddar cheese, tomato and chunky chips

Angus beef minute steak baguette with grain mustard mayonnaise and vegetable crisps


Naughty but nice

Syrup sponge pudding topped with caramel sauce and finished with sour cream

Creamed rice pudding with a berry compote and crisp butter biscuit

Fresh fruit salad with passion fruit and smooth red berry sorbet

Selection of dairy ice creams


If you prefer, visit the Deli counter:




Fish and shellfish

Natural oak-smoked slamon

Gravadlax with dill sauce

Half pint of prawns

Potted shrimps


Hams and Pates

Serrano ham

Chorizo

Pate de campagne

Rillettes of duck

Chicken liver pate

Spiced aubergine

Antipasto misto


Salads

Grilled feta salad

Sweet potato and fennel with cumin dressing

Mixed leaf salad with tomatoes and red onion


British farmhouse cheeseboard

Kirkham’s Lancashire

Wealdway

Colston Bassett Stilton

Cheeses are served with onion chutney


Japanese sushi selection

A selection of maki & nigiri served with pickled ginger and wasabi

As I did not want to ruin my appetite (despite being pretty hungry considering that by this time all that I had ate all day were two slices of toast), I opted for the pasta tagliatelle and followed that with the fresh fruit salad. I really enjoyed the fresh fruit salad - I just can not get enough passion fruit and the red berry sorbet was fantasic. My meal was accompanied by a single glass of chardonnay and two small bottles of water.

After dining I took a walk up the stairs into the Skylounge and on to the Garden. The view was quite good of the T3 gate area from the terrace but the cool chill quickly encouraged me to return indoors. I settled into the business centre to utilise the telephone. I am not sure exactly how far Virgin’s generosity extends with regards to free phone calls but it would seem that UK calls are acceptable. I spoke with Mrs TEX277 for twenty-odd minutes before leaving her for the Cowshed. As I approached the desk, a lady looked at me and asked “Mr TEX277?” She then led me into the massage area, got me into position and began to work her magic. I am unsure as to how I would rate the VS spa experience. The drawbacks were that the area in which you receive your massage is not private. You can hear the other spa employees chatting amongst other background noise. As it was not private, I remained fully clothed and the lady massaged me through my shirt obviously without any oils. On the positive side, the female masseur was considerably more attractive than the chap at the TG F lounge in the old BKK airport and also the female Hungarian Hammer-thrower with a moustache that gave me a beating (she called it a massage) in T1 BA Terraces last year. The massage lasted around 10-15 minutes and afterwards I sat in the bar area and another lady took my drink order. To be honest, service here was a little slow and I’d recommend sitting at the bar itself for a speedier service. Anyway, the champagne (Mumm) arrived and I dutifully drank away. I returned to the business centre and continued my phone call to my wife while we both watched Arsenal in their Champions League match against Porto (she’s a Gooner!). Once finished, I took several photos of the lounge and proceeded to the SQ F lounge.

Singapore Airlines First Class lounge

Oh my God! What a disappointment! It was like walking into a United Red Capet Club that served a small variety of hot food and served Moet Champagne. The seats were virtually identical as I remember those in the RCC to be. But they did have some nicely embossed envelopes and headed paper that may have rather mysteriously found their own way into to my hand baggage. I am not sure how that happened but that is all in the past now! I ordered and drank a glass of Moet and thanked my lucky stars that I spent 3 hours in the VS lounge and just 30 minutes in this one. If I’d have done it the other way around I probably would have shot myself when I eventually entered the VS CH!

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SQ321

Upon arrival at Gate 18 the vast majority of passengers were already onboard and I walked directly into the First Class section to be grated by a male FA. He welcomed me onboard and showed me to my seat. After accepting a pre-departure glass of Krug, I received my PJs and settled into 1B. I know that some do not like 1B but I think it is great. It is just so private and you are oblivious to the rest of the passengers and movement within the cabin. Another benefit is that I do not have to see everybody else being served their drinks and meal before I receive mine. As far as I can tell I am always the first to be served! Meal service began approximately 45 minutes into the flight and finished around an hour later.

Back to the food - I had opted for the BTC Lobster Thermidor and, like the rest of the menu, thoroughly enjoyed it. The menu read:


Appertisers

Chilled malossol caviar
With melba toast and condiments

Balik salmon fillet served with classic garnishes


Soup
Wintermelon soup with chicken


Main courses

Braised beef short-rib with boulangere potatoes, chanterelle mushrooms and caramelised shallots

Linguine pasta with sautéed jumbo prawns, spring peas, zucchini, wilted spinach, lemon and tomato salsa

Chicken Udon Soup
White wheat noodles in rich chicken stock garnished with sliced slow poached chicken and green vegetables

Assorted Sushi
Japanese style vinegared rice topped with marinated seafood

Spinach tortellini with cep mushrooms and roasted cherry tomato in cheese sauce


Dessert

Warm walnut financier with poached pear, vanilla ice-cream, raspberry coulis


Cheese

Gourmet cheese


Fresh Fruit

A selection of fresh fruit


From the bakery

Oven fresh rolls
with a choice of extra olive virgin oil or butter

Garlic bread


Hot beverages

Freshly brewed coffee
Espresso or cappuccino
Selection of tea

Pralines
To end on a sweet note


With a drinks menu to accompany the meal:




Champagne

Dom Perignon 1999

Krug Grande Cuvee


White wines

Chablis Premier cru les beauroys 2000 domaine larouche

Chablis Premier cru fourchaumes “old vines” 2003 domaine larouche

2005 Cloudy Bay sauvignon blanc


Red wines

Chateau cos d’estournel 1999 saint-estephe

Chateau pichon-longueville comtess de lalande 1998 pauillac

Mount langi ghiran 2003 shiraz


Port

Dow’s 20 year old tawny port

Grahams 20 year old tawny port


Once the food service had finished I headed for the lavatories and changed into my old SQ F PJs that I had brought with me. I shall be keeping the new ones unopened until I return to the UK and am hoping that a kind FA will give me an extra pair for Mrs TEX277.

After changing I returned to my seat, copied out the menus and slept. Unfortunately, Connexion was not operative on this flight preventing me from making a live update. I awoke once during the night and upon exiting the lavatories saw one of the FAs in the galley. I very polite inquired if there was a spare medium size PJ set as my wife would love one too. He did say that everything had to be accounted for but he’d see what he could do. I thanked him, admitted I was being just a little cheeky by asking anyway and that I understand should it not be possible. A few minutes later his colleague delivered one to my seat and I thanked her profusely.

Overnight snacks were made available with the menu listing:

Snack Menu

Noodles

Fish ball broth with kway teow or bee hoon noodles

Vegetarian and non-vegetarian instant noodles


Sandwiches

Chicken Caesar sandwich

Roasted vegetables sandwich


Snacks

Cashew, almond or macadamia nuts

Chocolate bar

Cheese and black pepper snack

A selection from the fruit basket

Assorted Walkers biscuits


To be honest that was about it for this flight. I am usually a poor sleeper onboard but managed to get around 8 hours of sleep and feel fantastic on arrival for it. I was not hungry either so I turned down the breakfast offerings and opted for a glass of orange juice instead. The breakfast menu read:




Juices

A choice of apple, tomato and freshly squeezed orange


Fruit

Fresh fruit plate


Light starters

Choice of cereals or yoghurt
Cornflakes with milk or Birchermuesli
Plain or fruit yoghurt


Wholesome beginnings

Salmon and conpoy congee
Sliced salmon and shredded dried scallop in rice porridge with deep fried Chinese cruellers

Ham steak with warm salad of potato, mushrooms, tomato and bacon

Free range eggs prepared on-board
With bacon or chicken sausage, vine-ripened tomato, mushrooms and roesti potatoes
Baked, boiled or crambled


From the bakery

Assorted breakfast rolls
Butter, jam, marmalade or honey


Hot beverages

Freshly brewed coffee
Espresso or cappuccino
Selection of tea


We landed around 10 minutes earlier than scheduled and I again thanked the crew for their help with the PJs upon exiting the aircraft.

RTW4

I could not agree with you more about the great clubhouse in LHR. I was blown away by the food selections. I had just as good ( if not better ) experience than the WING at HKG. The all day deli is great and the Eggs Benedict were superb...

TEX277

Sleepover at the SQ SKL F

Returning to the airport after a couple of hours walking around the city, I realised that I was not built for such climates. Upon admission to the lounge I headed straight for the showers. One was free so I walked straight in and had an extremely cold shower. After drying myself off and changing clothes I sat in the lounge for an hours or so and had a bit to eat accommpanied by a glass of champagne that I had to request from a member of the waiting staff as the bar had just closed. I utilised the free wifi service in the lounge (rather slow 11mbps) to browse the internet and catch up on my emails.

Around 00:30 I decided to retire to the slumberette rooms. Room II was the last available and I took it. The chair is quite comfy but I opted for the flat bed (ie floor)! I removed the cushioning from the chair, grabbed a couple of pillows and blankets and I was away for the night.

Unfortunately, I did not sleep too well. I think I only managed around 5 hours of interrupted. The rooms have a glass door that allows light in from the communal area, other passengers seeking a room are regularly peering in to determine whether the room is occupied which removes any idea of privacy. Noise is also an issue as it seems to travel through the walls with remarkable ease. I could hear the person next door snoring like he was in the room with me.

Improvements that I believe could be made to the slumberette rooms would include:

1) A real door with an occupied sign on the exterior to provide privacy and make it easier for people to locate available rooms

2) Improved soundproofing - Not sure why I get not get my Bose QCIIs out to solve some of the problem

3) Am I the only one to get really thristy overnight? Some sort of water fountain or mini-bar (soft drinks only would be good enough) would have been great.

At 7:30 I left the slumberette and get to have a shower. Unfortunately, not only were they all occupied but there were a couple of people already waiting. I just used a changing room instead to get dressed and decided to skip the shower as I had one late the night before anyway.

Personally, if I was to make this trip again I would definately pay for a proper hotel. I am glad to have sampled on overnight stay in a First class lounge but once is enough.

aSiAnRiCk

Nice report ^

Can't wait to see the pictures you took!

TEX277

SQ62 SIN-BKK 8th December

Feeling a little worse for wear, to took a slow walk down to gate F56. The vast majority of the other passengers were already there waiting to be called for boarding. I somehow managed to find a spare seat and rested for a couple of minutes after taking a photo if the aircraft.

Before the end of an announcement saying something along the lines of 'We shall soon begin preboarding' the race was on, as a sizeable group walked towards the aircraft. As there was nobody there to check BPs, more people followed. I gave them a couple of minutes headstart before boarding myself. I was greeted upon boarding and shown to my seat 1A. The rest of the cabin was empty and I began to think that I would be the only passenger in F. This did not last too long as several people took their seats in the F cabin. With only 15 minutes left until the scheduled departure, the seat next to me was free. Great I thought - until the final F passenger entered the cabin and occupied it. Having a quick look around the cabin I realised that the cabin was entirelly full.

We ended up pushing back around 15 minutes late and were informed on our taxi to the runway that as the other runway was closed, all arriving and departing aircraft had to use the same runway. This obviously led to a queue of aircraft awaiting take-off and further delayed our departure. I had a look at the other runway as we were climbing out and did see several yellow vehicles located half way down there runway.

After we were given the menu, the SQ girl confirmed that I had ordered the BTC roast rack of lamb. To be honest, I was beginning to feel worse and genuinely considered turning all food away. However, I attempted to eat the lamb but only managed to eat about a third of it before retiring. I had skipped the starter and also the fresh fruit salad but successfully polished off numerous glasses of iced water.

The menu read:

Light meal from Singapore to Bangkok

Appertisers

Tian of crabmeat with corn kernels and sundried tomato
Corn nage with olive oil and aged balsamico

Main Courses

Kingfish with white beans, tomato and bacon salad, boiled potato, hazelnut dressing

Pha naeng moo
Pork in peanut red curry served with brinjal and dried shrimp salad, steamed rice

Pan fried beef tournedos in shallot sauce with sauteed spinach, baby carrots and mushrooms-risotto

Fresh fruit
A selection of fresh fruit

From the bakery

Oven fresh rolls
with a choice of extra virgin olive oil or butter

Garlic bread

Hot beverages

Freshly brewed coffee
Espresso or cappuccino
Selection of tea


Realising that I had bearly touched my BTC the stewardess asked if it was not to my liking. I assured her that it was fine but I just did not feel hungry.

BKK Arrival formalities

Upon arrival at BKK we followed a Philippine A330/A340 (can't remember which exactly now) and I hoped that our flight made it to immigration before theirs did. I had little to worry about though as they parked at a gate at the end of one of the concourse whereas we parked right at the main terminal building. After clearing immigration, waiting for the three most constipated people in all of Thailand to vacate the lavatories, I headed for the baggage belt. I had foolishly expected great things from a new airport - like the quick delivery of baggage. No I was wrong. This airport made Heathrow's archaic baggage system seem efficient. I wish I had noted the time from landing to the first bag coming out. To make matters worse, when the bags did finally arrive, despite mine being tagged as F priority - I did note an awful lot of non-priority bags making it out ahead.

TEX277

Thanks for the encouragement! It is nice to know that others can share in the experience.

I was not planning on publishing pictures of this trip but beings that you gave some welcome feedback, here you go!

Apologies for a couple of poor quality photos. I am certainly not a professional photographer!!!

I shall attempt to update the photo album as frequently as this trip report.

Thanks

aSiAnRiCk

That's fine .. the pictures came out fine. Thank you for posting them! ^

TEX277

Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers

Once through customs at BKK, I found the hotel representive and introduced myself as I had prebooked a limo transfer. She led me over towards the exit where we waited a couple of minutes until the limo was ready.

I was so glad that I had booked this service (2200 THB) as I snoozed in the rear seat as the driver sped me to the hotel. I am not sure what the speed limits are on the roads upon which we travelled but I dare say we were exceeding them. I was thankful for his enthusiasm, as I was still feeling rather unwell and just wanted to lay down for a while on a comfy bed.

Forgetting that the Towers reception in the hotel was on floor 26, I attempted to check-in at the regular reception desk in the lobby. Upon realising my mistake the chap made a quick phone call and then led me up to the Towers check-in. A cold towel and a cool glass of tangerine juice awaited me whilst they processed my arrival. The towers receptionist then led me to my room and explained the benefits of the tower facilities. To be honest, I was not really listening as I had spotted the bed and was just thinking that as soon as this guys leaves I'll be on that immediately.

He left the room and luckily my baggage arrived before I had time to lay down. However, when that was done and dusted, I laid down for a quick snooze. Five hours later I awoke . I had one of those strange awakenings. You know? The ones where for around the first 20 seconds of consciousness, you just do not remember where you are or how you got there!!! When this had subsided I realised that I had just missed the complimentary hors d'oeuvres and cocktails in the lounge. I rolled over and got another three hours sleep before spending some time using skype to call the wife back home. I then fell asleep again at around 3am before awaking and kicking off my day with the complimentary continental breakfast.

For those that are interested, I am staying at the Royal Orchid Sheraton for two nights paid for with points (2 x 3000) and upgraded in advance to the Towers for $40 pn. The points used for the stay are part of the prize (20000 spg points) that I won at the London Do for coming second in guessing how many miles the hosts and Randy had in their accounts. My thanks to the organisers and especially to SPG for donating such a great prize! ^ ^ ^

I am planning on lazing by the pool for most of the day, before taking advantage of a free 15 minute tension relief massage at the hotel's spa. Tonight I am scheduled to meet Schoflyer, KenF and Willard for a couple of drinks at the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit.

upgrade lover

Great report!!! Thanks for the pix. They add so much to the enjoyment of reading the report^ ^

sporadic

LOL. Your sarcasm makes the whole trip sound funny Like it.

TEX277

Mini-FT do at the SGS BKK

I had a very enjoyable evening in the company of schoflyer, KenF, Willard and Seattle1K. Seattle1K was not scheduled to attend but by chance was sitting next to us in the pool area and upon overhearing our conversations inquired if we had heard of FT! He was cordially invited to join in and we all spent the evening drinking and talking travel.

Highlights included KenF attempted to convert schoflyer into crediting all of his flights into bmi whilst attempting from memory (and rather poor math) to determine the one-way business class and first class cash&miles redemption levels between various zones; Seattle1K's extremely conclusive insurance policy that seems to cover all sorts of eventualities accompanied by some entertaining stories and finally getting my hands on a UGS card. Okay, it was not mine but still ^

We managed to press-gang a SGS employee into capturing us upon camera immediately before we departed the SGS. The photo would be up on the site by now had I not packed my USB cable for the camera into my hold luggage.

As I had been unwell the previous day I decided to return to my hotel at 10pm allowing the to continue the party in the city into the night (and morning??). I wonder how they are feeling right now? Especially Schoflyer who had an early flight too! Thanks for a enjoyable evening with new friends in an unfamiliar city.

BKK Check-in for TG431

The Royal Silk check-in area is very nice. There are several sofas positioned to make nice sitting areas along the sidewall, whilst the check-in desks themselves not only look great, are staffed by very friendly and professional staff but also have a seat for you to sit on which they perform their duties.

BKK Departure Immigration

Okay, this is were I demonstrate that I can laugh and ridicule myself as good as anybody! I am soo stupid sometimes and I proved it here infront a (thankfully) rather small queue! I had been through BKK already once this year. I filled in the arrival and departure side of the immigration to get through. Upon arrival, I filled in the arrival side of the form and noted that the reverse side was for departure and needed to be completed before I got airside. Do you think I remembered to fill it or just hung my head in shame as the female immigration officer returned my form and said 'Fill in form first!!'?? Thankfully, as I moved over to complete my form, the behind me in the queue was called forward and she immediately noticed that he'd made the same mistake. That certainly made me feel a little better but the guy waiting behind him must have been like !

BKK Departure lounge

Nice and roomy but just can't get away from that BAA feel about the place. Is this an airport or shopping mall??? I know which it looks like to me but I can see signs pointing to gates where perhaps aircraft are parked

TG Royal Silk Lounge

I am currently making great use of the free wifi available. I certainly makes up for the time I spent wandering around the lounge attempting to find a seat upon arrival at 07:00. However, it is now 07:47 and there are plenty of free seats around.

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Rejuvenated

Nice written report! ^ I agree with assesment of the slumber room. For a couple hours of napping in between flight, it is a great place for resting. But for overnighting, I'd recommend a hotel's room instead. The wave shaped bed is not going to get you a good night's rest. I've tried it once in June and will never resort to it again for a night's accommodation. Having my body being bent on a curve for an extended number of hours is rather uncomfortable and awkward.

Was SQ321 the only flight available when you booked your award? Personally I have always prefered SQ319 for LHR-SIN. Meals are more comprehensive and the early SIN arrival works very well to my sleeping patter. And with a 2pm-ish arrival, you would have had more time to see the city.

Even though it is SQ321 that would connect immediately SQ285 to AKL, I have always chosen SQ319 to connect to SQ285 as the 7 hour layover in SIN gave me plenty of time to break in between flights, get something to eat inside the SKL and take a rest at the transit hotel before continuing. Personal preference, but it does wonders for my body.

SanDiego1K

It's nice to read what great use you're getting from your win. ^^

TEX277

Many thanks to you all for your kind words.

SQ321 was always my preference as it gave me just the evening in SIN before a relatively early departure for BKK the next day and there is just something about late night departures from LHR! I think that is because when I go on my 'usual' short holiday trips to the US the flights leave no later than 2pm. Everytime that I fly out of LHR late I am going somewhere 'different' like Hong Kong or Australia.

SQ321 was the first of the three flights on my preferred departure date to open up a First award seat. I believe that I later saw SQ319 as available but stuck with SQ321.