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Pre-Bachelor Party Adventure: AA/JL/SQ First, JL J, VA Y, Park Hyatt Seoul

Pre-Bachelor Party Adventure: AA/JL/SQ First, JL J, VA Y, Park Hyatt Seoul

Old May 1, 2015, 6:32 pm
  #46  
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Originally Posted by HangukStyle
These days I actually only take the airport railroad express, but in 2010 I payed 9000 won for a busride from Sinchon to Incheon airport.
His was the deluxe Korgan Air limo. That's why. You're right though that it is more expensive than before. When I took it in 2009, it was 10,000 or 11,000 won.

If you fly KE, you can buy discounted tickets through their duty free sales on the plane.
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Old Jun 18, 2015, 4:37 pm
  #47  
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Lounge Review: Asiana First Class Lounge(s) ICN

*Let me apologize for taking SO LONG in between posts. I could make a bunch of excuses about life being busy and the new website taking some time, but really I could have done it and I didn't! Sorry! Without further ado, let's pick up where I left off...*

Upon arrival at ICN we made our way to the Singapore First class check-in desks. It sounds terrible to say it, but honestly when you're flying in a premium cabin and you have your own "dedicated" check-in desk, you almost want there to be a big line at the main desks to make you feel like that desk means anything. You know? Or maybe even ONE other person. Alas, our experience wasn't like that. We showed up to the first class check in for Singapore airlines to a pretty much empty check-in area. But hey, it was nice a quick, I'll take it!


First and Business Class check in


The absolutely empty check in area

After what was obviously a very quick check in, Kev and I headed to security. This is where we may have made a mistake. We are fairly positive there is a premium line of some sort as there are at many international airports, however, we couldn't find it. We ended up waiting in a decent sized security line, but ended up getting pretty lucky at the passport control because they opened up a new lane that we got to the front of. Anyway, complete first world problems, we were through everything in 20-30 minutes. Now it was time to buy some gifts for Jaime and Katie and then check out the lounges!

Our options for lounges in this airport were plentiful. Here they were:
- (2) Asiana First and Business Class Lounges (Star Alliance partner of SQ)
- Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge (Flying first class on SQ)
- Korean Air KAL Lounge (Priority Pass lounge access with Amex Platinum)
- (2) MATINA Lounges (Priority Pass lounge access with Amex Platinum)
- Sky Hub Lounge West (Priority Pass lounge access with Amex Platinum)

Having previously read fellow blogger's sites, we knew that there were two Asiana First Class Lounges in the two different terminals of ICN. We had also read that these lounges were significantly different from one another, but that they would overall be the best options of the ones listed above (pretty much because they were first class lounges). We figured we had some time, and we might as well try both of the Asiana first class lounges so we could compare them!

The Seoul Incheon Airport technically has one "terminal", but it's pretty much two terminals. Now, there is only one security check in the main "passenger" terminal, but you have to take a train to Concourse A where we were flying out of (and it is solely for international travel - although 80% of the flights are probably international anyway).


You can see the Asiana lounges depicted on the map.

First up was the Asiana First Class Lounge in the passenger (main) terminal.


We walked across the bridge over the main concourse into the lounge!


Upon checkin we told them we were just there to take some photos and that we were going to be spending the majority of our time in the other lounge in Concourse A (as it was very close to our departure gate). They nodded and smiled and somewhat understood what we were saying (we thought). Scanned our boarding passes and we were off!


The main hallway

This lounge was very, very nice. It almost felt like being in a country club. A little dark with wood finishes everywhere.







One part that was someone disappointing was the tarmac views. The views didn't boast much, and with the screen protector over the windows (to block the sun?) it was tough to really see out/get pictures.


Private tv/entertainment areas

The food selection wasn't anything to write home about, but we were there for 5 minutes, so I can't give an accurate description. We did see they had a lot of nice booze and some sushi, but we figured we'd try the food in the other lounge that we were actually going to spend some time in.



While not having a massage service like some of the international first class lounges (such as the JAL First Class lounge we wrote about in NRT), it had a relaxation room with massage chairs. I think there were two different relaxation rooms with about 5 or 6 chairs total.





There were also about 3 or 4 large shower rooms/bathrooms. Would be a great place to refresh after a long flight and international connection.


Shower room/Bathroom


Shower


View from the back of the lounge (near the food/bar, relaxation and shower rooms) to the from of the lounge. Windows to the tarmac are on the left.

As I said earlier, this lounge looked very nice, and had some good amenities. The decorating was top notch, but the amenities left more to be desired. There was no complimentary massage or restaurant unlike some of the competitors. Overall, it'd be a great place to spend a few hours in - no complaints here! Now, off to the other Asiana First Class lounge in Concourse A!

We got off the train in Concourse A and walked around a bit of the upper level seeing where all the lounges were. I can't speak for all of the "passenger" terminal, but most of the Concourse A lounges were co-located on the 4th floor. The Singapore, KAL, Cathay Pacific, and Asiana lounges were all right next to each other (and I believe even some of the contract lounges). After a quick loop, we found the Asiana First lounge and headed on in!


Concourse A first class lounge entrance

This is where we hit our first small hurdle. Apparently you are only allowed access to one of the first class lounges. When we arrived, they had said we could not enter because we had already been to the other lounge. We thought this was very strange and couldn't figure out why they would care which one we were in or how many times. Obviously, we didn't know these rules, or we wouldn't have lounge-hopped. And although it was most likely the language barrier, we weren't told any of that by the other lounge agents previously, even after we told them our plan of hitting the other lounge as well...

After explaining to them that we literally just walked in and took pictures of the other lounge and were there for only 5 minutes or so, they reluctantly let us in! We thanked them and made our way in!





There was one main door entrance, but the first class lounge was on the left and the business class side was on the right. We never made it over to the business class side.


Main seating area


Cool chandelier

This lounge was decidedly worse than the first one. It had similar amenities (massage chairs, showers, food, etc.), but it was much much smaller and not decorated nearly as well.


Food spread


Drink selection

One part of the lounge that was significantly better than the first was the tarmac views. Kevin and I got some loungers along the window, grabbed some champagne and just soaked it all in.




Kev doing his NCAA Tournament bracket, as we'd be in the air when the games started that Thursday

Like I said before, and I really want to emphasize, this lounge had similar features. But everything just seemed a little worse.


Tiny massage room


Much smaller shower room

I think it all stemmed from the lounge just being about a third the size of the other one - maybe even smaller than that. Here are some key differences:

- The massage room was TINY. I could barely stand in there and close the door at the same time.
- The shower rooms were still ample size, just smaller. Not a big issue in my book.
- The ceilings were MUCH lower in the second lounge. I think that played a big part and just didn't make the lounge seem as big or inviting
- The lounge fixtures were nice, just plain. In the first lounge it felt like you could have been in a million dollar library, with mahogany and oak wood everywhere. It had a grand piano and an overall fancy feel. The second lounge was nice, just pretty plain.

Overall, all the "problems" I've thrown out here are completely first world problems, but if you're going to objectively compare events/destinations/experiences, I think it's important to tell it how it is.

Next up is our Singapore Airlines First Class flight to San Francisco!
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Old Jun 18, 2015, 6:08 pm
  #48  
 
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Fantastic trip report, MarylandFlyer244. Looking forward to reading the rest.

Go O's! I am a Rockies fan, but the Orioles are my favorite AL team. You also gotta love Camden Yards!
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Old Jun 18, 2015, 7:48 pm
  #49  
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Originally Posted by UAL250
Fantastic trip report, MarylandFlyer244. Looking forward to reading the rest.

Go O's! I am a Rockies fan, but the Orioles are my favorite AL team. You also gotta love Camden Yards!
Thanks, UAL250! Glad you've enjoyed it. Go O's!
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Old Jun 18, 2015, 8:04 pm
  #50  
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How was the wedding?

It's okay about the time gap. I have a million and one trips I should write up but still haven't gotten around to it!
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Old Jun 22, 2015, 5:44 pm
  #51  
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Originally Posted by Aventine
How was the wedding?

It's okay about the time gap. I have a million and one trips I should write up but still haven't gotten around to it!
Kev's wedding was absolutely fantastic, thanks for asking! He's writing up his long and detailed honeymoon reviews as we speak!
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Old Jun 22, 2015, 6:23 pm
  #52  
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Flight Review: Singapore Airlines First Class ICN-SFO

The flight I've been waiting for. The illustrious Singapore Airlines First Class. To say I was excited for this flight was an understatement. Here we go...

Wanting to maximizing our time in the Asiana lounges, we headed to the gate for our flight about 5 minutes prior to the supposed boarding. As it turns out, the flight ended up being delayed about 25 minutes or so. We weren't worried much as we had almost 3 hours in SFO before our flight took off for Las Vegas, and with Global Entry, we should breeze right through (and we did!).


Gate 113 - We're ready to board!

The biggest pet peeve for me when I'm flying (and for many travel savvy people out there, I presume) is a disorganized boarding and a cluttered gate area. After a delay, we finally began boarding.


Some plane-spotting before the flight! KE A380...What could have been...


Our ride to SFO - SQ 777!

Kevin and I were literally standing next to the gate, waiting for them to call first class, but guess what didn't happen?! Strangely enough, they immediately started boarding business class and had no first class boarding. We were pretty disappointed by this being that it's Singapore Airlines. If this were United, I would expect it - but Singapore? How could they?!


Airline: Singapore Airlines
Route: SQ16 ICN-SFO
Cabin: F
Plane: 777-300ER
Seats: 2C and 2D
Cabin Seats: 6 of 8 occupied
Flight time: 11 hours


After a few minute wait with the rest of the business class passengers, we entered the plane and took our seats in our thrones!


So excited to try these HUGE seats!


Settled in for the long haul!

Now, I need to set a few things straight: There's no way for me to write this post without sounding like an a**hole.

Kevin and I discussed this in length while in the AA Lounge in SFO after landing. First things first, this flight was GREAT. Really, really awesome. However, I have to write this review as if I'm a paying first class customer. And, as an international first class, we have to compare it to its very good, and very expensive competitors.

With that out of the way, I actually really did like the flight! Most of my "problems" were pretty minimal, and I may come off critical, but buckle in for a great flight.


Window seat in the first row of Business Class

After taking our seats, Kev was heckled by some business class woman walking through the cabin. He had on a Dr. Pepper shirt saying, "Trust me, I'm a doctor". Pretty funny shirt. Apparently that woman was a doctor too, and insinuated that she didn't quite believe Kev was as well. It was strange. Long story short, we had a glass of Dom Prignon sent back to her to cheer her up....just kidding. We made sure she was subjected to business class champagne for the 11 hour flight. Oh the horror!!

With that episode out of the way, we started our champagne tasting!


Yum.


Cheers!


Aisle down to our business class friend!

First things first - the amenity kit, PJ's and all the other goodies!


Really nice and comfortable noise canceling headphones.


Cool bag for the Pajamas!


They are so comfortable.


Really nice amenity kit bag


Fancy Salvatore Ferragamo amenities!

This cannot be said enough, the seat was HUGE! I loved it. With this said, the seat doesn't recline very much. It's perfect for eating and drinking, but if you'd like to lounge back a bit (without getting your bed made) it's not possible. Since the seat folds down forward to make the bed, it doesn't go back much.








Tons of storage space on the side of the seat!


It's tough to review things for you, readers, but I do what I must. The champagne choices are the 2004 Dom Prignon and the Krug Grande Cuve

With dinner getting started, Kevin and I had some tough decisions to make...Krug or Dom...which to choose? We both decided to drink....both of them! We basically just kept going back and forth pretending we could tell the difference...

Now, time for the food! We both used the Book the Cook option online before our trip, which turned out to be huge. Both having never flown on SQ before, we weren't sure what to expect.


1st Course: Satay with a spicy peanut sauce. VERY good.


2nd Course: For obvious reasons, we chose the chilled Malossol Caviar over the seared Tuna. Great choice.


3rd Course: Mixed baby lettuce salad with garlic ranch dressing. Nothing special, but just as tasty.

Now, here's where the Book the Cook came into play. Singapore doesn't offer their best and most expensive entrees on their flights. You have to book them before hand. It's free, easy and a no-brainer. Do it!

We both chose the Lobster Thermidor. It's a lobster tail sauted in butter, flambed in brandy, sprinkled with cheese, and served with creamy mushroom sauce, garlic and spicy mustard, and buttered asparagus.


Main Course: Lobster Thermidor

This was absolutely fantastic. When we noticed that none of the other first class passengers had gotten the lobster, we asked our purser why. She explained that no one else used the book the cook option, and that when you use it, they specifically put that food on the plane only for those customers. But why not just have it for any first class passenger to chose from? Her answer: "It's too expensive!"

Dessert time! Weren't we full by now? Are you kidding me? I've eaten four courses and about a bottle of Dom Perignon - of course I'm full. But I've gotta try it for you guys!


Kevin's dessert: Eclair with caramelia chocolate ganache, vanilla ice cream and morello compote

Kevin's dessert was pretty good, but since we wanted to get different things, I went outside my normal comfort zone and got the Korean dessert, Yeongyang chalyakbab.

I don't know what that means, but to me it spells fail. Now, I'm a picky eater with an admittedly limited pallet, so take that for what it is. I'm sure many, many people would have loved this, just not me.


My Dessert: Yeongyang Chalyakbab....me no like.

For you foodies out there, you can head to our the post on our site to see the menus - I won't make everyone scroll through them here.

After dinner, it was time for a little more drinking...


A little Johnny Walker Blue to put me to bed!

My friend Johnny and I hung out for a bit, then I decided it was sleepy time. I asked the purser if I could have the empty seat in front of me made up. Of course she said yes and began making my bed!


Awesome, HUGE bed.


Kev enjoying the cozy little suite!

So, I've pretty much bragged about most this flight although I prefaced it with the fact that I would nag on it a bit. Let's do some pros and cons analysis...

Pros:
- Huge seat
- Delicious main course and appetizers
- Top end champagne and drinks
- Solid In-flight entertainment

While not being a negative of the flight, we did find the service on our JAL flight to be significantly better. The service on our flight was good, but we were spoiled on our JAL flight, as that service was AMAZING. Complete first world problems, but noticed nonetheless.

Cons:
- Seat functionality
*While not a big deal at all to me because we were 30 minutes from landing, my seat functionality completely stopped during the flight. It wouldn't move up/down, forward or back. If I was a paying FC customer and this happened in flight, there would be problems.
- Plane age
*This plane was old and it showed. The seats were pretty worn, and some of the finishes on the suite were tarnished. The foot rest gave a little bit too much and I kept thinking my feet were about to fall through it.
- Boarding
*I know I hit on it before, but the lack of first class boarding, and it being a somewhat backwards process, really got us off on a bad foot for the flight. Now maybe we can blame that on the specific ICN gate agents, but I don't know.
- Dessert
*I won't talk about it much more, but the dessert options were pretty "meh".

I hope I'm not playing up these "issues" too much. Thus far in my life, this was the 2nd best flight I've ever taken. I think the biggest issue for Singapore Airlines was the fact that we flew it just 4 days after the best flight of our lives!

We were able to get these awesome seats by transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards into our Singapore Airlines accounts! At 75K SQ miles it was a great use of miles! We will talk more about how we got these and how much they cost us in our Let's Break it Down post!

Up next - Lounge Review: American Airlines Admirals Club SFO
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Old Jun 23, 2015, 1:05 pm
  #53  
 
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Very enjoyable and fun-to-read TR.
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Old Jun 24, 2015, 12:31 am
  #54  
 
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Loved the SQ flight pictures. Well done !
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Old Jun 24, 2015, 7:35 am
  #55  
 
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Originally Posted by MarylandFlyer244
Kev's wedding was absolutely fantastic, thanks for asking! He's writing up his long and detailed honeymoon reviews as we speak!
How about a post-bachelor TR?

Very nice pics, thanks!
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Old Jun 24, 2015, 7:36 pm
  #56  
 
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Great report. Great that you brothers have such a healthy relationship: Reminds me of the one I had with my brother while he was alive.

Where does that business class passenger/doctor get off going after Kevin for his t-shirt? Did you report it? Had it been me, I would have made her the object of FA observation just to make a point to her.
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Old Jun 24, 2015, 7:38 pm
  #57  
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Originally Posted by lgts
How about a post-bachelor TR?

Very nice pics, thanks!
Don't worry, his honeymoon is done and TR is coming soon!
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Old Jun 24, 2015, 7:41 pm
  #58  
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Originally Posted by Glensea
Great report. Great that you brothers have such a healthy relationship: Reminds me of the one I had with my brother while he was alive.

Where does that business class passenger/doctor get off going after Kevin for his t-shirt? Did you report it? Had it been me, I would have made her the object of FA observation just to make a point to her.
The entire confrontation was pretty strange, really. She basically said:
"I like your shirt (very sarcastically)"- Her
"Thanks!" -Kev
"But I'm actually a Doctor!" - Her
"So am I!" - Kev
"Yeah...okay...." (HUGE EXAGGERATED EYE ROLL) - Her

But hey, we were sitting up front. I had so much Krug I almost completely forgot about her!
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Old Jun 24, 2015, 7:46 pm
  #59  
 
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Originally Posted by MarylandFlyer244
The entire confrontation was pretty strange, really. She basically said:
"I like your shirt (very sarcastically)"- Her
"Thanks!" -Kev
"But I'm actually a Doctor!" - Her
"So am I!" - Kev
"Yeah...okay...." (HUGE EXAGGERATED EYE ROLL) - Her

But hey, we were sitting up front. I had so much Krug I almost completely forgot about her!
Thanks for the clarification. You're right: You were in First and she wasn't.
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Old Jun 25, 2015, 7:32 am
  #60  
 
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Thanks for the excellent report. Terrific photos to boot!
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