jubbing

Hotel Palazzo Manfredi - Relais & Chateaux
Rome, Italy

How do you make your Birthday extra special? By staying at one of the highest rated 5 star hotels in Rome! This planning started a few months ago, where I wondered where I could have a fantastic birthday dinner with a view of the Colosseum, one of the most iconic buildings in the world - and one that just comes across as amazing. I came across an article (can't find the link sorry) which mentioned a restaurant on top of a hotel, a hotel with a view, just across from the Colosseum. The more I dug, the more I found out about Palazzo Manfredi (part of the Relais & Chateaux Luxury Brand), and instantly made up my mind. However there were two issues - one, the cheapest room cost $395 USD per night, and those rooms didn't have a direct view of the Colosseum, but rather a view from the side if you craned your neck out the window. Two, the Colosseum room view cost over $1,000 per night - something I didn't find worthwhile especially with no Hotel Reward points on offer!


Nevertheless, the proximity to the Colosseum left me in no doubt we wanted to stay here, and was it ever worthwhile! We checked out of the Best Western for a nice 'self-upgrade' as we took a short 10 min cab ride to the Palazzo Manfredi. Mind you, it's quite a small looking hotel (almost cute from the outside) which feature's just 16 rooms, and they like to keep the service quite personalized as well. The night before our arrival, they sent out a quick questionnaire (or Guest Arrival form as they called it) with standard questions such as where you are arriving from, what time, etc - before they become quite personalized with options such as 'Check-in' and 'Check-out' suitcase packing services (complementary) and which fragrance you would like sprayed before you enter you room, to finally what type of music should be playing upon your arrival, to your pillow choice. Just amazing. Of course, I like to pack my own things, so I didn't take advantage of that particular service, but maybe next time . This isn't the first 5 star hotel I've stayed at, but it's certainly the most personalized start, and we knew we were in for a great experience.


We arrived just after 11am, and as soon as we stepped out the taxi, the door to the hotel opened and our bags were immediately whisked inside with a pleasant greeting. We were welcomed at the front desk by Raphael and his team, who told us they would make our 1 night stay pleasant and welcoming (no lies there!) - especially since Raphael noticed it was my birthday and said they would take extra care of me and my family - absolutely love when they notice things without needing to tell them, attention to detail never hurt anyone! Unfortunately our rooms were not ready, so we were taken up to the terrace on the 4th floor for welcome drinks and snack, but I took the opportunity to take some pictures of the small lobby and hallways before that.


The lobby gives quite a cozy (cosy? who knows) upscale feeling, and has a small place to read and a few books/magazines to look at as well - though we almost never saw anyone using it.


There was a lift that went to to 3rd floor, then you had to climb the stairs to the 4th floor, the terrace, where we were absolutely delighted by the amazing view! I almost wondered if I should have spent the $1,000 for the view, but only for a minute I swear!


This of course is the same view you get when you pay for the additional $32 breakfast (never understood why it's not included in the cost in Europe), or when you have dinner at the 1 Star Michelin Restaurant, Aroma, which is where I ended up having my birthday dinner, of course (review coming up next).

Then on the opposite site of the restaurant, they had a small 'clubhouse' type area with relaxed lounged seating and a bar. It's worth remembering that despite it being November, the weather was a GORGEOUS 22 degrees. We had 1.5 hours to kill, and thanks to the decently fast wi-fi, and a glass (or three) of fine Italian Prosecco (Italy's take on Champagne), we managed to relax till we could get to our rooms. It's a decent welcome on the house, and a great way to relax after a day out as well if you get the time.


Once we had our fill, we were informed that our room was ready and we were shown to our room on the 1st floor. As mentioned before, we had booked the standard Prestige Double Room, which was 20 meters squared - again not large by any means, but comfortable. The Room itself was beautifully designed and had a luxurious touch to every aspect of it. However, what confused me was the location of the Queen Sized bed, which was placed DIRECTLY in the middle of the room, and not like the usual 'against the wall' kind of setup - we found this off but we liked the difference it made in the aspect of the room eventually.


Definitely Funky. Lights were everywhere - but that also meant that there was literally ONE single plug I could find in the entire room to charge my DSLR/2 x phones/iPad - and no USB slots available either, so I that was strange, especially since I had to unplug either the Bose bluetooth dock, or the Cappucino machine - definitely an oversight here. Also strange was the placement of the TV on a round mirror - which looks cool at first until you realize how distracting it is.


One fantastic addition was ANOTHER bottle of Prosecco (Paladin Millesimato which retails for $20-50 depending on the year) and some sweets as a 'Happy Birthday treat' to me - really impressive and not expected at all! Also was a personally written card from Bruno, the manager, wishing me on my Birthday, another great touch which left me very impressed thus far.


The bathroom was a mix of traditional and avante-garde styling, and shouted the color white throughout, and came with Battistoni essentials - a brand apparently well regarded in Italy. Interestingly, if you stand in front of the TV, you can see into the shower, which isn't great for families, but the shower is huge - so you can recede to the other end so no one can see in from the bed at least. Still, despite the color, I found the bathroom relaxing and oddly 'inviting'.


The view at night from the Restaurant wasn't half bad towards the night.


So how comfortable was the bed? Very. The pillows were okay, but they had a huge range of pillows to choose from as we found out when we returned from dinner, with our bed remade after a quick nap before dinner, and a turn down service in full effect, along with a weather guide for the next day.


Our bathroom/room slippers were laid out next to each side of the bed as well, and were extremely comfortable. Small touches which really made the experience, and the bathroom was also tidied up again. While they could have done a better job with the bedding itself, as it looked a little un-neat compared to the 'look' they were going for, I honestly can't complain much about.

Like I said, the view directly from the room wasn't.. amazing (or anything in reality) - but the terrace/Restaurant view made up for it.


Another impressive thing was the glazing and thickness of the windows - which cut out 99% of the noise of the extremely busy street at the front, though I suppose this is to be expected from a premium 5 star hotel. The one big flaw apart from the power sockets was that since the bed was in the middle of the room, the ducts were directly on top of our faces, and it caused us to cough quite a bit till we turned it off entirely (it was a little louder than expected as well) - definitely not a great first few hours of sleep, but once off we dozed off into gorgeous slumber once again (did I mentioned how comfortable the bed was?).

I wish I had more than one night here - but I had a flight to catch to Paris the following day, so I was extremely disappointed to leave the family behind who spent more time at the hotel, but it was a near flawless experience. Those of you planning to stay here, rent the Hotel Lamborghini for a few hours next time, to make it even more magical. Next time I'm in Rome - maybe, just maybe I may go for a Colosseum view, and a Lambo drive. It's only a shame $400 a night get's you a slight peek at the Colosseum from your room, falling just short of one of the best views in the world.

Final Review Score here

offerendum

Palazzo Manfredi looks cool. I could never understand why I should let other People pack or unpack my lagguage.

jubbing

Aroma Restaurant - a 1 Star Michelin Restaurant
Rome, Italy

I've never been to a Michelin Star Restaurant before, not because I haven't wanted to, but because all the usual places I've lived have never had Michelin Star Restaurants to try before, whether it be Australia (who use some off Hat Style rating system), or Malaysia or India. So when the opportunity presented itself, where I was looking for a place to celebrate my birthday, I certainly took the opportunity to do so. One of the other reasons was convenience - the Aroma Restaurant was located 3 stories above the hotel we were staying at - Palazzo Manfredi, and honestly it just made sense, even though there are so many choices in Rome.

So with that in mind, we had the on-duty manager book us a table for 9:30pm, as the earlier 7:30pm slots were entirely full. It's also worth noting that they only have around 10-12 tables, so the operations are rather small. It also has a stunning view of the Colosseum at night, which really is the main point of the restaurant.


Obviously, they close the windows so the lights do reflect on the glass/plastic which doesn't give it the greatest picture (ala above), however, it doesn't detract from the view while eating dinner. I didn't take any pictures of the interior because all the tables were full and I really didn't want to disrupt the classy crowd. Like seriously, everyone looked like they were supermodels or models, and were extremely well dressed. I'm just glad I decided to come dressed in my best jacket and shoes, to not feel out of place. There were two families as well, so it's not that everyone was a model, but it was close. The one disappointing thing was that the chairs were exactly the same as used at breakfast - so the place was simply converted to a restaurant at nice, with a few flowers and placements put on - there was nothing unique or amazing about the restaurant itself.

Once seated (instantly), the Manager introduced himself and explained the menu, the choices and told us if we wanted a wine pairing, they had a sommelier who could help us with that. Service from the start wasn't what you would call friendly - but they were very professional and attentive, so no complaints there I suppose. We decided to stick for the ala carte menu, rather than the 5 course meal, as we had a late-ish lunch. Aroma features a Italian/Mediterranean style mix of cuisine, which worked for me.


We decided to stick with White Wine, a main, and a dessert to keep it simple. They started out with a Amuse-bouche, which was vegetables with some sort of cream on top (I can't recall the exact name of the dish), but it was nice enough. Followed by warm bread and bread sticks (bread quality was very nice).


The main course followed, and I opted for Veal (Veal filet in a crust of aromatic herbs and pink pepper with artichokes), which was very tender and well made. Of course, as per usual high-end restaurants - portions were tiny, but every bite was savored. I had asked for medium, and it was cooked to perfection there. We took our time with the main courses over a couple of wine glasses - and although red meat should be eaten with red win (apparently), I wasn't in the mood for a red. The dry-ish wine pairing made for a good combination however.


I followed up with a 'Cuore Liquido' for dessert, a White chocolate ball with coffee and raspberry filling on the inside - with an odd plating finish which had a 'splattered' look to it. Definitely gave it a unique look, but it didn't count for much with me. I rather enjoyed the dessert as well, though it was again - quite light.


Now it's worth noting that once dessert was finished, they brought our a special treat to celebrate my birthday, since apparently someone from my family had informed them beforehand - but it was still a nice surprise. Of course, I was one of 4 birthday's that night, so the restaurant was certainly having it's share of celebrators that night.


I have no idea what exactly this dish was called since I didn't order it, but it had a chocolate coating with some vanilla filling, and while it was a little too sweet for me, it wasn't bad at all. Along with this dish, they also served the same sweet platter they had originally served in the room with a few additions - so it was a double helping kind of day.


By this time, they had given us enough sweets to fill us up, so we weren't hungry any longer - though I would recommend a starter on normal occasion just in case. We took one last look at the Colosseum and it's view and head below to turn in for the night, as I had a flight to catch in the morning.

We paid our bill and bid good night to the helpful staff, and they were happy enough not to charge for the Birthday dessert and sweet platter, which was a nice touch as we were certainly not against paying for those since we had requested for them - but it was a good gesture nevertheless.

jubbing

Air France A321
Rome - Paris
Depart: 12:55pm
Arrive: 3:05pm
Class: Business Class

Originally this was meant to be an economy flight - my only of this trip - however, by hap-chance I got a mail from Air France the night prior to my flight, asking me if I wanted to upgrade to business for only $100. Considering the original ticket cost me $50-60, I thought why not, and booked a Business class. Of Course - this still meant no points as it was upgraded post purchase, but still!

I left my hotel in Rome after a lovely experience, ready to see what Air France regional business class had to offer. I got the airport earlier than expected because of no traffic and an outrageously fast driver. Upon arriving at the airport, I proceeded to the Sky Team/Alitalia and proceeded to the business check-in, where I was quickly checked in and given my boarding pass. I wasn't sure which lounge to go to so I asked once past customs, and I had to walk for a good 10 minutes to get to the Alitalia/Sky Team 'Borromini' Lounge, which was quiet when I arrived with only a handful of people, and breakfast was still being served along with a few juices.


Breakfast had a couple options, along with some hot bacon in the other corner, which was decent for a smaller lounge.


Food was fresh-ish, but not the most tasty, but good enough for a quick brekky. Halfway though my 1.5 hour lounge stay, breakfast was replaced with lunch, which didn't look as appetizing, but I appreciate the effort in the food department. The lounge was filling up slightly so I can see why the food changes were required, though everything was self service apart from the alcohol/coffee.


After accidentally breaking a glass, I decided it was time to head for my flight, and checked out the bathrooms on the way out, which were clean but without any shower facilities (fair enough for an Inter-Europe Lounge).


I wasn't impressed per se with the lounge, but I thought it was perfectly alright for people travelling Inter-Europe. Couches were comfy, but definately in need of a refresh, along with the decor (or lack thereof).

As I got to my gate, it was already in pre-boarding mode as people were lined up, so I went and joined the Business Class line. Economy looked packed, so I'm glad I did upgrade. Being one of the first people to enter, I quickly snapped a shot before the seats filled up. Air France uses the same method as British Airways for business - in that they use economy class seats (3 - 3 configuration) with the middle seat free, and portioned off from economy.


I was hoping to get Air France's newer Inter-Europe business class seats, but unfortunately that wasn't my luck, as they look much nicer than the current batch. These seats did feel slightly better than BA's one oddly, but they were still regular Economy class seats. As they closed the door to the plane, I realized Business wasn't completely full (probably why I was offered the upgrade). I was quite tired still from an early-ish start, and dozed off before the plane even took off, and when I awoke they were starting to serve food and drinks, which meant I had dozed off for an hour.

There was no choice of meals, so they gave me the regular plating all in one go.


Yea.. wasn't incredibly impressive to be honest, but at least warm bread was offered, as it should be on a French Airline. I thought I would try the main course, which didn't look appetizing, and it actually turned out to be disgusting. I have no idea what it was - but they should kill it before it breeds. I couldn't believe it was being served on a flight, let alone business - and it didn't seem like too many people touched it either, though the closest person to me looked like a model, and she probably doesn't eat much anyways.


I picked up with the salad side on the left of the plate, which was at least edible, along with some ham wrapped in cheese which was nice. The bread was decent as well, but the star was the dessert which was quick delicious (not sure what it was - perhaps a custard of some sort), but this made me thankful I snacked a little at the lounge before boarding - because overall the meal was killed the moment the main course was touched.

I wish I could say much about the service, but as I was dozing off here and there, I didn't get much interaction time with them. Although they were professional, there wasn't any friendliness in them, which I guess being French flight attendants, seems about right. I did doze off again but luckily I woke up just as the captain was telling us about the beautiful view we were passing, which I believe was the Alps. I took out my phone quickly as we were just passing the end of it, but it was a gorgeous sight nevertheless, despite the glare ruining the pic a bit.


We landed on time and cruised to the terminal at CDG, and proceeded to exit quickly. Just ahead of I noticed an American couple also in Business who were greeted by what seemed like a driver or host inside the aero gate, just outside the plane and were led to baggage pickup. I realized that the host/driver was actually from the Four Seasons as they were staying there, but this is the first time I've ever seen anyone pick them up from the aero gate, rather than just inside the terminal upon exiting the aero gate, but I guess staying at the Four Seasons in Paris must have some perks!

Luckily, my bags came first, before said Four Seasons folks (yea take that!) while I headed to find a cab and they head to get their Merc. Can't win em all I guess.

Final Review score here.

offerendum

It´s unusual in Europe, never saw it before. I only know it from HKG or SEZ for example.

P.S.

I guess this is a fault:

Neverless I´m excited to see more of your nice report^

jubbing

Oops, nice catch, accidentally copied it over from my previous flight, thanks!

jubbing

Pullman Paris Tour Eiffel
Paris, France

Paris has always been a strange city for me - we have a love/hate relationship - this is what makes this one of the tougher reviews to write. This is my 4th trip to Paris, and each trip has been either good followed by bad followed by good, etc - and this trip was back to 'Bad', so having landed I was hoping that it wouldn't be the case. My bags came quickly enough, and I headed to the taxi line, and after a quick wait, hopped in the cab and we were off to the Pullman hotel.

Being winter, I knew the sun would set around 4:30/5pm, and I had planned a room with a view. Having had one of the most amazing hotel locations previously, I wanted a hotel which also had a stunning view - which is why I chose the Pullman Paris Tour Eiffel, a 4 star hotel with a direct view of the Eiffel Tower, which is probably the most iconic building in the world - so I wanted this to be off to a good start. Hence, I wanted to rush in time to get a few pics of the sunset on the Eiffel tower before the sun dipped - since I was planning one night in Paris (hah!) only. There was a bit of traffic, but luckily we were making good progress, and as soon as I saw the Eiffel tower pop up from the car, I knew we were on the home stretch.


Once we unloaded the bags, after a 60 Euro Cab fare, I headed inside to check-in, and was unfortunately behind a small line, so I knew the sunset would be gone soon, but luckily the friendly hotel receptionist checked me in quickly and gave me a map or two, and told me my bags would be up shortly. I had decided to spend a little more and go for the Deluxe King Room, which was a decent 32 m² room with a King Sized bed, and more importantly - a balcony with a view of the Eiffel Tower. Once in my room, I rushed to the balcony and caught the last 10 minutes of the sun on the Eiffel Tower, and got a few nice pictures on my DSLR & phone.


Paris is an absolutely gorgeous city, from any angle, and having a room with a view is a stunning experience. The only down-side is that the Eiffel Tower is located in the 7th Arrondissement (area), which is more of a residential area and is lacking in much of anything touristy. But the metro is incredibly well connected. Having had my fill of pictures, I turned to the room to take a look.


The Room itself was nice, but not plush or anything. There was a King Sized bed, a small couch, a tv and a table for working, along with a Bose dock for playing music (no wireless/Bluetooth though). Interestingly, the room was a 'smart room' in the sense that the TV, lights, were controlled by the iPad provided in the room. It gave a nice touch, but ultimately meant that changing channels on the TV was very slow, so I settled for just listening to some Internet Radio to set the evening mood in the room, before I went out, as I was meeting a friend for dinner and drinks. At least it was simple enough to use.

Annoyingly though - the charging port next to my bed didn't work, so I had to leave it on the table.


The chair wasn't exactly comfortable for working, but good enough to sit on if you needed to. It's nice to have a desk though in case it's required, but it was overly large and took up quick a bit of the right side of the room so a bit unnecessary. Surprisingly though, there was a spare phone charger in the room by Samsung, which was either provided or had been left behind by someone - but either way it was useful for charging both my phones at the same time.


There was also a nice Nespresso machine for a relaxing cappuccino, although there was no milk anywhere to be found, and I really didn't feel like ordering any milk - but yet it's nice to see a coffee machine.


I really liked the look of the bathroom though - the grey walls with white sink gave for a very many vibe, and calming as well. It was large enough, but there was no way to close the shower door completely - as it was just a glass partition which is as you can see in the image above. I have always found that extremely annoying, as water will always splash out, even if not enough to floor the place, but enough to make a mess.


Once ready, it was dark so I decided to set up my gorillapod and take a semi-long exposure shot of the Eiffel tower at night, which was very hard considering the railing on the balcony wasn't amazing - but I'm still pleased with how the shot came out.


After a quick shower and a rest, I headed out the Champs-Elysees for a quick but of browsing and shopping, as all other shops were already closed by 7pm, and I had an hour or so to kill till I met my friend. It was a quick 15 min metro ride to the imposing Arc De Triomphe, which I always stop by to snap a picture of every trip.


After a quick stop at my favorite Macaron store, I headed to meet my friend in the 11th Arrondissement for dinner, which is of course when this trip turned from good, to bad, to hell. See, this is actually a delayed report, it's just taken me a long time to get to it. The date I was in Paris was the 13th November - which was the date when Paris was attacked, and it's a night which will never be forgotten for sure, by many.

We had decided to stop in a bar before dinner, as the place we originally wanted to stop by had an hour wait. When we exited, we came out to a chaotic scenes with Cops and Firetrucks everywhere. We were told 'someone had been shot'. We though, okay no biggie, it can happen, we'll just go elsewhere.


We kept walking, and the more we walked, the more cops we came into. Not normal cops, cops in swat-like battle gear. At this point we were getting a little uneasy but we kept walking - keeping in mind that no one had any idea what was happening at this point, the news hadn't exactly broken out. 10 minutes into our walk, we heard what sounded like train tracks, but it sounded very light and we didn't think much of it. It was at this point a cop started shouting at us to walk the other way (in French, my friend translated), but we thought he was trying to keep the area safe - so we obviously continued to the restaurant.

5 minutes away from the restaurant, we heard the definite sound of rapid machine gun fire, in small bursts for a few seconds. We knew something was wrong at this point, and people are around us were suddenly very concerned with moving away from the area. Considering the restaurant was just around the corner, and that we were hit by Adrenalin (not fear), we thought the safest idea would be to move to the restaurant indoors, and off the streets. It was a strange, festive, and normal mood in the restaurant, so we ordered food as normal. Halfway through dinner, news started filtering in to everyone just how bad the situation outside was. People were rushing off the streets everywhere, and suddenly the mood took a dive, as the restaurant owners decided the safest thing to do was to do a lock-in, roll down the metal shutters and act like the restaurant was closed - which was for the best.


We kept the music on, and in true French fashion, we continued to sip Wine as we slowly lost our appetites and left our dinners half finished. I think the worst part was not knowing what was going on outside - having the rely on Reddit/Twitter/News outlets to update us. The mood has really dulled at this point, and people were talking in lowered voices - Adrenalin having been replaced by worry and slight fear. This was Paris, not Baghdad, and we didn't know if we were safe or not.

We stayed locked up till about 2:30am, roughly 5 hours after we first came to the restaurant. When we saw some normal foot steps outside, we figured maybe it would be better if we got out of the area, rather than stay, as news reports had slowed down. 3 Uber's cancelled on us when they saw where we were, but one amazing Uber driver wouldn't give us till he picked us up (even though most roads around were closed) - however the closest spot he could find was 1km away so we had to walk (or walk really fast) to get to him. At this point the fear was palpable - we still didn't entirely know what was going on outside, but we really wanted to get out of there.. was the longest 1km of my life, but we finally found the cab and jumped in. We saw a few more relaxed cops in the area, and figured things had started to calm down. Paris was a ghost town on the way back, I came across very few people that weren't cops on the street.

I got back and the hotel and blocked the entrance out of safety, but someone let me in eventually.


I don't really remember much of the next morning till I got to the airport - it was a blur, not sure I had slept much during the night. My friend whatsapped me our location of where we were in relation to all the attacks, and it really hit hard just how close to everything we were, as she put it. Sadly, we heard that there was a shooting just behind our restaurant, where 5 people didn't make it, along with the rest of the tragedies.


A Terrible tragedy, so unfortunately this is a curtailed trip report and more of a situation post as well, with everything going on, I only had 4 hours of review time of the hotel. Perhaps I'll be back again in the future, and give it another try.

Full Report here.

jubbing

I know a lot of people have asked for this one, so I've just finished wrapping this article, once I had time.

Qatar Airways A380
Paris - Doha
Depart: 3:00pm
Arrive: 11:25pm
Class: First Class

Having gone through a terrible night, I checked out of the hotel a little earlier than I normally would for a 3pm flight, and took a cab to the airport. It was a quiet, overcast day - casting a strangely gloomy mood over the quiet city, perhaps fitting with how the city was feeling, barely recovered from last nights events. We drove past the Eiffel Tower, closed due to the attacks, and I took the opportunity to snap one final pic. Paris was starting to wake up at 10:30am, but most people were probably still indoors, as it was a Sunday.


With ALL flights being grounded till France had re-opened their borders, I was worried I would miss my flight. Luckily, 6am, they decided to re-open and my flight was back on track. But with the attacks having taken place, I knew I would need to get to the airport early due to extra security precautions, and I was right. The Airport, T1 was in absolute shambles - in terms of people there. Once I checked in, I had to wait nearly 2 hours to get through security and border control. Normally First class passengers would have a separate gate, but they had closed that for security reasons. Armed guards were all over the airport for safety reasons. It was the first time in my life I couldn't wait to get out of Europe, and more exactly, Paris.

Due to the long queues, I didn't have the time to visit the lounge, but I've heard nothing but terrible things about it so in a way it wasn't a big loss, though there was a 20 minute wait at the gate as the flight was slightly delayed. I did meet some Business class passengers who lived in Doha, and we discussed the events of last night, you could tell everyone was ready to get out of Paris. Luckily, they soon started boarding and I was on my way though the separate entrance to the upper deck of the A380, which already made me feel relaxed at least.

Once in, I was greeted by Jean, the upper deck flight crew head, who showed me to my seat. I have to say, while Etihad felt grand and big, Qatar's First class seat was absolutely stunning and gorgeous in every way - and oozed of class. Was this a better looking cabin than Etihad's A380 Apartment? Yes - but in a different understated way.


I was quite impressed with the seat, but was instantly aware of how less privacy was offered in this First Class cabin, which was more of an open type of seating with partitions which could be raised - rather than private cabins. No worries, better than economy! Since I was the first passenger to board, I quickly took the opportunity to snap some pictures before my fellow First Class passengers started arriving (I was told that it was 6/8 on today's flight).


Classy innit? By this time the cabin had settled all it's passengers. In front of me we had a French lady who decided to sleep as much as she could. In the middle front two seats, family from Qatar (with one of the older gentlement who kept looking at me really weirdly whenever I got up to go to the front of the plane), a French Businessman on their right, and another Qatari across from me in the second row. A generally quiet crowd who kept to themselves. I decided to turn my attention to my seat rather than the cabin, and it was quite the snug seat, though not as soft as I would have expected. The Leather + Veneer finish was really impressing me still.


I decided to order an orange juice which came with a tower and some delicious cracker type chips (of which they ran out when I asked again!). I then asked for one of my favorite champagnes - Krug, but I was told not till we were in the Air. Okay then. I stretched out and made myself comfortable. I'm 6'1", so the length was enough for my to perch my legs on the opposite ottoman.


It's worth noting Qatar offers free Wi-Fi for all First class passengers, which was fantastic in theory, but the service was absolutely spotty and frankly didn't work half the time. When I raised the point, I was told that this happens all the time, and they get a LOT of complaints - but they're looking to improve.


Soon my glass of Krug arrived. It was nice, but I wasn't in a particularly drinking mood, I decided to stick to two glasses the entire flight, but it was very nice nevertheless. I decided to watch a few TV show's while they came around and took our 'Lunch' orders. No menu pictures unfortunately, so I'll let the food pictures do justice.


One thing I was REALLY excited about trying was Caviar at 40,000 ft in the air, something which Etihad didn't serve . I'd only had Caviar once or twice on the ground, but not in a few years, so I was interested to see if my palate would be ready for Caviar again. Well, it was, and the Caviar was delicious, and I cleaned the Caviar out. I have to say, the presentation isn't spectacular on Qatar, but I appreciate a very neat and clean layout.


By this time, they had dimmed the lights, and I seemed to be the only one seating, as the other's were busy chatting away or sleeping. I followed up with the Mezze & pita platter, which was disappointing. The Pita bread was warm, but a little hard, and the dips were average at best. It was surprising the dip on quality here, as everything else has been pretty superb till now.

While the main course was on it's way, I started chatting with Jean, who was also attending to my side of the aisle. Qatar Airways has a very strict way of handling their employees, so you could see that while they were professional, there was no charm nor friendliness to their mannerisms, so I wanted to see if that could change. At first Jean was all business, but after a while she opened up and got quite friendly, which was a nice change of pace from the other air hostesses who were hardly smiling. She told me that she was from Philippines (which I had guessed earlier, correctly!), and was happy to be working with at least 3 other flight attendants from Philippines as well on this flight, which is more than normal. Once she opened up, she was very friendly till the end of the flight, which I obviously enjoyed, and seemed she did too as she had to remain 'stoic' with the other passengers. Soon my main course arrived.


I had ordered the steak, which didn't look amazingly presented again, but it was served with veggies and warm bread, which was better than the pita I had earlier. How was the steak? Fine. Not amazing, not terrible. Unlike Etihad, they don't have a Chef on board, so you don't really have too many choices in how it's made. Once done, I asked Jean to show me to the Bar, which I was excited to see as it looked very pretty in pictures I had seen - and to my delight it was gorgeous.


Honestly it was quite stunning, that this was the bar they had made on a plane. Interestingly, you had to walk past the business class section (which was 80% full) to get to the bar, which was different than Etihad had done.

I was either early or late, as there was no one when I arrived, but slowly the bartender, Josef, came back carrying more Krug, and I ordered myself an after dinner digestif, which was strong but nice.


I decided to enjoy my drink there, and see if anyone else worth talking to filtered through, as my business class friends I met at CDG were sleeping. A few people came here and there, but no one really was in a talkative mood, so I decided to head back after another picture or so. It was definitely an environment great for hanging out with friends or meeting new people on an earlier flight if there is one.

Once back, I was feeling a little tired, and was happy to see my seat was already turned down, and made into a bed. Points for being pro-active Jean!


The bed was fairly comfy, and I fell asleep right away for an hour or two, although the pillow was rather weak and thin. We were nearing Doha, so I decided to go back and take pictures of the bathrooms - which were just MASSIVE.


It was quite pretty as well, with mood lighting, and a long bench for sitting and stuff (insert mile high club joke here). Qatar doesn't offer a shower on board, but two big bathrooms duplicated on either side.


Again, the space feels wasted considering the bathroom is too big, but the space is nice. I suppose it gives the feeling of luxury which you can't get in Business or Economy. I decided to wrap up with a few pictures of the plane before returning to my seat, which was without the bedding as we were on decent.


Upon landing, I thanked Jean and exited the the plane, where I was greeted by a ground staff, to walk me all the way to the First Class Lounge. This is one thing I really appreciate about Qatar, First Class passengers are very well taken care of in Doha while in transit, which is something Eithad or Jet lacks in a way.

Final note, and my favorite thing about the flight - The Giorgio Armani (incidentally, my favorite Fashion Brand) amenity kit! (Wallet for impact, and it's not included!)



Full Report here.

SENNINHA

thanks for the first class review.
i guess it was a relief after such a tragic event.

jubbing

Cheers man, it definitely helped. Should get the final 2 reviews up shortly.

Yenakad

Great report, thanks. Did QR staff distributed pyjamas on the CDG-DOH leg?

jubbing

Thanks! And no, they did no such thing! I didn't even realize I had an amenity kit till I opened to mini closet/storage I had. I was rather hoping to get one, since Etihad gave it for their day flight.

That's the one downside I didn't think of while there

jubbing

Al Safwa First Class Lounge,
Doha, Qatar

This is an interesting one, because this entire trip I never had the chance to really experience a First Class Lounge (mostly because Jet & Etihad don't have one yet), so this would be the true first test of how good a First Class Lounge could truly be, specifically since it was only 4 weeks since they opened. Keep in mind, I hold the entire class experience as one which includes a lounge and an excellent flight - so Qatar has the step up on this front.

Al Safwa is Qatar Airway's First Class lounge, specifically for those flying Qatar First Class (Regional and International), however, having landed in Doha from a First Class flight, I was allowed access to the lounge since I was flying business on the following leg, and I was curious if the Al Safwa lounge was a step up from the impressive Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge.

Upon having been led from the Gate to the Lounge, I was already impressed with the pro-activeness of Qatar Airways Ground staff, so I was looking forward, and I was to say upon arriving at the Al Safwa, I was immediately taken in by the grandeur or it all - the long corridors, the impressively high ceilings, and the warm tones of the walls - architecturally speaking, it was stunning.


At first I was quite impressed, but I was hungry again (so maybe I like to eat so what!), so I decided to head straight to the restaurant and took a seat at the comfiest looking chair, ready to try out some First Class lounge food, where I took my first few images after the entrance. Luckily there was a bag room, so I managed to drop my hand luggage off which really helped with moving around.


I had heard many reviews previously that the lounge was empty when they visted, but it was actually rather packed which surprised me - as none of my first class passengers has arrived in the lounge with me, so I guess they must be either outgoing or regional First travelers.


I had a good view of the lounge and the Restaurant bar from where I sat, as it gave me time to take in the lounge. A few minutes after I settled in, the "waiter" came to take my order, and I chose a few items to eat with some more Krug (fast becoming my favorite champagne). The waiter was fairly attentive and professional, but again there was no friendliness in their service - no doubt a perk of working for Qatar Airlines. The menu itself (sorry no images) was quite small, but there seemed to be enough selections for most people.


The food came fairly quickly, which was nice. I started off with the Beef Cubes on a stick (kebabs) with some harissa sauce. The Presentation was decent, but not overly impressive. As for the taste, it was lacking in taste, and the meat was a little overly chewy - surprisingly since this was made 'fresh' from the kitchen. The harissa sauce was delicious however, and it really spruced up the meat.


I followed up with a Tenderloin with veggies, which was a little better in taste, but it still followed the same 'chewy' route, unexpected from a First Class lounge. I suppose it's a new setup, so if we're being generous we can consider them all to still be learning to routines, but I was still disappointed with the taste. I followed up with a Cheesecake for dessert which was nice at least, but could be improved.

Service was professional and attentive all across, which was a nice improvement over Al Mourjan at least.. though there really wasn't a noticeable difference in food or food quality, which was a little disappointing in this regard.


The chair I sat in was comfortable enough, but lacked proper lumbar support so it was a fine chair to look at, but not use for extended periods, as you can see above. There is a lumbar 'pillow', but it's not effective. Stuffed, I decided to check out the rest of the lounge to see how came across, having filled my tummy.


I headed back to the central part of the lounge, which was rather empty, and featured a unique pole from the ceiling which took water down towards the 'water bowl' if you will, and it's nice to look at, but not else, so I moved on.


I checked out some of the emptier seating, which looked nice with it's brown leather, but wasn't particularly better than other seats in other lounges, maybe a little plushier, but nothing special. I felt the brown on brown theme was a little overbearing in the lounge though.


One thing I did like is that many seats had both USB charging and 3 pin charging points for your electronics at your side table, along with a tablet to see your flights status, so kudos on this as MANY lounges miss out on this feature, which is quite shocking sometimes.


I also came across another food wing, which had Fresh Sushi and sandwiches, but since there were no signs direction people here, most people may end up missing out on this, like I did as I was already full at this point.


There was also a business center which had a few work chairs along with iMac's to work on if needed, but with most people having laptops I'm not sure how often these rooms would be utilized. It's still a nice place to bring your laptop to get some serious work done if need be, but I still wonder if it's really worth having more than a few computers in a lounge (thoughts?).


I decided to walk along the corridor to see what was there, and I realized I needed to take a picture because the main entrance to the lounge (from Check-in Area) is really imposing, but it also feels very soul-less and void. The corridor itself is quite plain and could do with some more artwork or splashes of color - hopefully this should be coming soon. It's still a stunning walkway though, even without the color, accompanied by a few small wall fountains. Essentially, it's stunningly cold...(just like my ex ayyyy.. sorry).


I came across another unmanned reception table which led to the game room on one side, and the family rooms on the other side. I decided to check out the game rooms first.


The Games rooms seems to have one room focused towards kids below 12, and one for teens, with a mixture of Xbox/PS3/Wii Consoles, along with some other cool features such as half an F1 car for F1 driving simulation games - which of course wasn't turned on, for some reason, though every other screen was on, though no children were in sight. Still, it's nice for having the option for kids to do something.


Following that, I decided to check out the Family room, which seemed weird to have since there were a LOT of rooms dedicated to families, though again, all were very poorly lit and unused. One interesting thing they did have was a smaller pantry with sweets such as cupcakes, cakes and yogurt (?), which could only be found in this area. Again, I was incredibly tempted to try one since they looked so pretty and delicious, but I wanted to save space for supper on the flight back to Delhi.


The sad part is while it all looked fresh, it all looked untouched the entire day. Moving onto the rooms, I found the decor to me more inviting and pleasant here than the main lounge area, but more lighting was required. The entire concept was also lost on me, since I couldn't figure out if people would really want to use this area when the lounge was perfectly suitable outside, but perhaps as the lounge fills up with usage, the rooms may as well.


Maybe it's to make people feel more at home?

Anyways, by this time I realized I was getting late for my flight, so I had to rush out to get my bag. I snapped one last picture, and headed for my final flight of this short, but amazing European Birthday Adventure. Unfortunately I ran out of time to check out the Spa along with the Rest Rooms, but have to leave something for next time right? 😉


Final Review Score here.

jubbing

So we finally reach the end with this final trip report!

Qatar Airways 787-8
Doha - Delhi
Depart: 1:35am
Arrive: 7:30am
Class: Business Class

My first trip on the 787 Dreamliner plane was with Qatar Airways in 2014, and it is till date the best business class experience I've had - so I really wondered if this plane would match my past experiences and elevated expectations - especially having come off a Qatar Airways First Class flight.

Having had a good stop at the Al Safwa First Class lounge, I ended up rushing to my flight since I had slightly overstayed my visit at the lounge. Not only that, I was departing from Terminal D, which was a ridiculously long walk through a very beautiful terminal. I wish I had taken some pictures, but I'd have rather not missed my flight - and as it turns out it was the right move as I was one of the last few people to arrive during their 'Final Call'. I boarded and was quickly shown to my seat by a polite soft spoken flight attendant, and I realized that the Business Class Cabin was going to be absolutely packed - every seat was taken and I took some shots before the cabin was completely taken.


Qatar Airways' 787 has one of the nicest cabins I believe, and the reverse herringbone seat structure has fast become my favorite type of business class seat. I ended up taking seat 3K which is a Window seat and mid way through the cabin. I usually prefer the left hand side of the plane, but it really makes little difference here.

Flight attendants were on full business mode - so I never caught their name as they came around to take our drink orders, and I ordered myself a nice juice.


I was offered a hot tower along with the juice, and some landing forms for Delhi immigration. I was starting to feel sleepy by this point, so I had a quick snooze while the flight took off, but was awoken by dinner orders. I was feeling pretty comfortable at this point, and while it not may look it, the reverse herringbone seats really gives people a chance to stretch out, and while the seat isn't too wide (compared to first), it feels very snug and comfortable as well.


One thing I love is the numerous options the seat has to change positions, so everyone should be able to find a comfortable position, regardless of if they want to sleep, lounge or eat food.

I did manage to snag a quick pic of the menu before they took it away as well, as the food started to come out.


I started out with the Pan Grilled Lamb and Potato patty which was served with a mixture of veggies. While the veggies were fresh and were seasoned really nicely, the Lamb and potato patty was a bit of a bust, as it was too soft and crumbly. The taste was missing any hit as well - so it was quite lackluster, but as I said, the veggies were quite good. I decided to dig into the warm bread which was offered, which was nice.


For the main course, I opted for the Murg Shafaq Qaliyan, aka stuffed chicken breast which was honestly not too bad, but it was a little on the dry side. The Almond cardamom sauce was.. interesting, and I'm not sure what I thought of it, but it was better than the started so I did manage to eat most of it. The only thing to be improved is the make sure the chicken doesn't get too dry in the future.

For Dessert I was really excited, because they had on offer a Ladurée Soyeux, which may not sound amazing at first (It's got the word Soy in it!), but it's from Ladurée, one of my favorite dessert shops in Europe, and it had White Chocolate in it!


It looked pretty so I took another pic.


It was a little small, but when I took a spoon - it was absolutely delcious, and the biscuit mix just melted in your mouth. Easily the highlight of the meal service, which was a little sub-par now, which was surprising since my first 787 flight on Qatar had the most delicious food (Del to Doha). I was impressed though by the dessert, especially with the cute little Ladurée 'plastic' tag to let you know it was specially made. What I did find surprising though, is that they didn't offer ANY Ladurée desserts on the Paris to Doha flight, but it seems it only takes place on flights leaving from Doha.


They followed up with some Valrhona chocolates, which I've never heard of before (I'm not exactly a chocolate connoisseur), so someone will have to tell me if it's any good - as I gave it away to a friend in Delhi. Once the meal service was done (efficiently I might add), I decided to take some more pictures of the cabin, as most people were generally starting to go to sleep by this time.


Honestly, with the lights down and the mood lighting in full swing, the cabin is quite cool looking, and the reverse herringbone really adds to the effect. Although my one annoyance with the mood lights is that they change way too quickly, rather than a gradual change - it get's a little annoying sometimes.


I decided to try and take a picture of the bathroom, but the blue light really didn't help, and the lights only turn on when the door is locked. It's a tiny bathroom (3 of these could fit in a Qatar First Class bathroom).


They were using Rituals Lotions and liquid soap in the bathroom, and it seemed like a pretty nice brand, though I'm not too aware of it. Toothbrushes and toothpaste packs were also provided in the bathroom since no ammenity kits are offered on a short 3.5 hour flight. With that in mind, I decided to return to my bed where they had handed out sleep masks/eye pads to everyone - which were quite nice and I still use them occasionally.

I managed a comfortable and snug 45 minutes as the sun was coming up, and we were told to put our seats upright for landing. No other meals were served for breakfast, though a quick breakfast bite option would be nice, even though I know dinner service was only 2 hours earlier.


I love sunsets and sunrises from a plane, and a chance to capture the 787's wing with the sunrise was too good an opportunity to pass up - so I quickly snapped a pic, but the downside of flying on business is that you don't get a great view of the sexy wings. I did like how you could 'kind of' see the earths curvature on the horizon - that's always a cool sight.

We finally touched down a little ahead of schedule and taxied to our gate. I thanked the crew and disembarked, finally happy to back home, but also a little sad this holiday was finally over - and thus - bringing this particular trip report to a close. Thankfully I didn't have any issues and got home quite quickly, though Delhi Airport in the morning was ridiculously full of landing flights.

However, fear not, there are some amazing travel plans coming up in April, so stay tuned for then - Thanks for reading all!

Final Review Score here!

Flyinghobby

Nice report. Thanks for sharing!