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First Class (SQ Suites,CX), Cities (HK, Guangzhou), Beach (Sanya) - A trip to China

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Old Feb 25, 2017, 12:01 pm
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First Class (SQ Suites,CX), Cities (HK, Guangzhou), Beach (Sanya) - A trip to China

In December 2015, while on a business trip to London, I contracted scarlet fever. This substantially harmless but extremely irritating children’s disease had, somehow, found its way to my body, and it decided to manifest itself while I was flying trans-Atlantic on AA First Class. I still remember my doctor’s face when he found out I had scarlet fever…! He wouldn’t believe it, first because the disease is today very rare and secondly because it even more rarely affects adults. In the prime of their strength, for that matter. A very unusual occurrence, yet again, I never thought I was normal, so nothing strange there. I had to endure a director’s board meeting where I had to present while feverish and with sore hands and feet. I had to walk for about a mile in Central London with blisters all over my feet because I had promised my wife I would bring her back some macarons from Laduree. I… well, I will omit the most disturbing elements of the disease, but while in pain and with fever – and waiting at MAD airport to fly back home, I decided it was time to fly Singapore First Class.

I started checking availability, and soon enough I came across some suites availability from ZRH to HKG via SIN on the A380, in mid-November 2016. Perfect, especially because I needed to be in London for work around that time. Or so I thought. The problem with work calendars is that they change – a lot. Which meant my itinerary changed 2-3 times, but eventually luck wanted that I managed to get a JFK-FRA-SIN-HKG all in Suites Class for the same number of miles and for dates I wanted. Only minor detail, I did not consider my wife, and I booked only for myself. After all, I wouldn’t want to put her though such an ordeal, would I?

Well, first I had to convince her to go to China. You see, my wife is Vietnamese-American, but she was born in Texas and she’s the most Texan person you’ll ever met – except she doesn’t have a strong southern accent. For whatever reason, she doesn’t like Asia too much – and certainly she doesn’t like Asian food too much. She rather stick to good ol’ fried chicken and, if Asian has to be, Panda Express and the Chinese restaurant at the mall will do it. So negotiations started, and I had to make MANY concessions to make this trip happen. Including booking her on a DFW-NRT-HKG-LAX-DFW in business class. Amen.

Fast forward, eleven months passed, our daughter was 11 months, and on Black Friday we were ready to go! My itinerary looked like this…



…and during the trip we would visit Hong Kong, try some top-notch Chinese food, visit Guangzhou (because, why not?), then spend 5 nights by the beach in Sanya, and then fly back. It actually ended up being an epic and fun trip, with some unexpected happenings (missing our flight from CAN to SYX) and with many good things (the Conrad Haitang Bay, the two Michelin stars Yan Toh Heen, China in general). The report will consist of the following parts:

I – Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse @ JFK

IIJFK-FRA on Singapore Airlines Suites Class (SQ F, A388)

III – Lufthansa Senator Lounge in FRA

IV – FRA-SIN on Singapore Airlines Suites Class (SQ F, A388)

V – The Private Room at SIN

VI SIN-HKG on Singapore Airlines Suites Class (SQ F, A388)

VII – Hong Kong and the InterContinental Hotel Hong Kong

VIII – Hilton Guangzhou Tianhe

IX – Guangzhou and the Hilton Guangzhou Tianhe

X – China Southern Lounge at CAN and CAN-HAK in J (CZ J, A320)

XI – Haitang Bay and the Conrad Sanya Haitang Bay

XII – Nanshan Temple in Sanya


XIII – Yalong Bay and the Ritz-Carlton Yalong Bay

XIV – SYX-HKG on Cathay Dragon Business Class (KA J, A320)

XV – Cathay Pacific’s The Wing First Class Lounge at HKG

XVI – HKG-MXP-LHR on Cathay Pacific First Class and British Airways Club Europe (CX F, 77W; BA J, A320)

XV – LHR-DFW on American Airlines First Class (AA F, 77W)

I hope you’ll enjoy this read!

Last edited by oneworld82; Oct 21, 2017 at 2:46 pm
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Old Feb 25, 2017, 12:04 pm
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Um wrong section?!
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Old Feb 25, 2017, 12:18 pm
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Seems like a good trip and a good read, but it's in the wrong forum for now
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Old Feb 25, 2017, 12:48 pm
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Wrong forum. Mods alerted.
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Old Feb 25, 2017, 12:54 pm
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I actually read all the way through hoping the info on the mistake fare was coming (and somehow related to scarlet fever)!
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Old Feb 25, 2017, 1:11 pm
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Originally Posted by tomsam
I actually read all the way through hoping the info on the mistake fare was coming (and somehow related to scarlet fever)!
LOL to that - I do not know how I manged to post it there haha. Should be fixed now!
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Old Mar 2, 2017, 10:48 am
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Centurion Lounge @ DFW and Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse @ JFK

Full report on my website

The trip started in DFW, where Thuy left for Tokyo about 90 minutes before I was leaving for NYC. After bidding her farewell, I had time for a quick stopover at the Centurion Lounge for some breakfast – the frittata was very good.

















The flight to JFK was uneventful.





After collecting my bag I left Terminal 8 and made my way to T4 were Singapore Airlines operates from.





This is also Delta and Virgin’s terminal, and their presence is very strong.

I proceeded to the Singapore check in area, which was almost empty as I was there around 4 hours before my scheduled departure time. I made my way through the First Class check in area, and the cheery Indian agent greeted me smiling and saying I was the first first class customer of the day. As it turned out, SQ was carrying out a manual exercise to cope with system outages, so all boarding passes for the day were issued manually. That took longer than usual, but I can’t help but cheer to their effort to prepare the staff for unexpected glitches.





My bags were checked in all the way to Hong Kong, and I was handed both boarding cards for my JFK-FRA-SIN and SIN-HKG flights. I proceeded through security – a dedicated line for premium customers made it very easy – and within minutes I was walking through the terminal towards the Virgin Clubhouse.

T4 is very nice (compared to T8), as it has plenty of shops and not much wasted space. I did not see many food options, but near the VS gates there was a decent food court (although the establishments were more like proper restaurants, they happened to be clustered together).







The Clubhouse is located near gate 5 (where SQ departs from), upstairs and in front of the Emirates lounge. I was greeted by an agent from the Caribbean – most of the staff here seemed to hail from the islands – and I was promptly admitted. The first impression was not of “wow” like many people describe – but 20 minutes later I was definitely wowing at everything.







The seats are nice and tasteful – the middle section is simple sleek (it reminded me of a W hotel, but classier).

















Yet, the service made all the difference. As soon as I seated a waitress – very polite and professional – came by asking me whether I wanted anything to eat or drink (and she handed me both menus, just in case). The proactive staff was certainly the highlight of the lounge, as they resembled more ANA First Class attendants than anything I had ever seen before on US soil!





I ordered a gin and tonic, and while that was being prepared I took a look around. I went to the spa to make an appointment with Bumble & Bumble – the famed London hairstyle salon – and I got an appointment right before my flight was supposed to board – perfect! Unfortunately, the service was complimentary only for passengers flying on VS, but since I needed a haircut anyways that was not a big deal.

After finishing my G&T (and doing some work) it was time to get some food. I proceeded to the main restaurant area, which looked like a proper restaurant with tables and white tablecloths. As soon as I sat down I was handed the menus by another very polished waiter.





After ordering a glass of Lanson (if you like this champagne chances are you’ll pick Kruger over Dom Perignon) I took a look at the food menu, which read as follows:

















I decided to go with a nice salad and the chicken tikka masala. Both dishes were taken out at the same time within perhaps 10 minutes, and boy were they good! The salad was very fresh and with a great vinaigrette, while the chicken tikka masala was insanely good – so good in fact that I had another glass of Lanson with it 😉









Expecting a feast on the plane I skipped dessert and I went for a shower. The bathroom situation is odd, as there are 2-3 bathrooms and 2-3showers, but since there is no attendant everyone is basically free to use the ones they like. I fortunately found a shower room open, and so I jumped in. The water pressure in the shower was nice, as were the products. The room was large – big enough for three people and accessible to disable people as well.









After refreshing it was almost time for my 7.15p haircut – and so I just loitered around the spa. Perfectly on time I was called in, and I enjoyed a great cut overlooking the tarmac. Not a bad experience if you ask me…! 😉 The range of hair products used is extensive, and the stylist was fast and good at her job.





Before I knew it it was already time to board, and so I bid goodbye to the lounge. This place is so hyped up that I had very high expectations. Well, they were almost all met – and the staff’s attitude and professionalism made all the difference.

Definitely a job well done, Virgin!

Last edited by oneworld82; Mar 2, 2017 at 3:43 pm
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Old Mar 2, 2017, 12:57 pm
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Off to a great start - I am glad you've made it to the right thread .

Looking forward to the rest ^
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Old Mar 2, 2017, 2:32 pm
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Looks great TR, that Virgin clubhouse really has everything. I wonder why BA has never tried to compete lounge wise. Anyway looking forward to the rest.
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Old Mar 2, 2017, 11:35 pm
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Subbed!
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Old Mar 3, 2017, 5:13 am
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Singapore Airlines Part I - JFK-FRA

Flight SQ25, JFK-FRA
Nov 25th, 2017 - 08:15p - 09:50+1
Airbus A380-800
First Class, Seat 2A


Oh boy, here we are. The long awaited moment (almost one year) was finally here. Singapore was the last of the major airlines’ first class I had yet to try – well, there is still Air France actually – and I was very excited to be flying with them all the way to Hong Kong from NYC! The wrong way around, if you like, but certainly the best way to experience the hard and soft product and to properly report on them. Let’s say I took one for the team… 😉

When I arrived at the gate boarding was already well underway. I went through the Suites Class line, and once my documents were checked an agent escorted me all the way to the airplane door. Nice gesture.



As soon as I entered the plane, I was escorted to my suite, 2A. It took me 30 seconds or so to realize that this would be a great fly, as the crew came one by one to introduce themselves and as their attitude was all positive and all smiles. The fact that we were only 4 people in First tonight probably helped, but attitude (and proper manners) really go a long way!







The purser and my aisle’s flight attendant came to introduce themselves, and they offered me a drink. I asked whether they had champagne, but they apologetically said they couldn’t offer it until after take off. So I ordered some sparkling water with lemon, but the purser promised me a glass of Dom Perignon as soon as we would take off. Great service already.

My Perrier was served out of a can and poured right outside the suite – again, proper way to do it. The flight attendant then came by to offer me a pj, slippers, and amenity kit. She took my shoes and put them in a dust bag to protect them – what a cool touch.











I was offered also newspapers and magazines, and I took a copy of the day’s WSJ.

My flight attendant came by again asking me whether this was my first time aboard, and when I said yes she proceeded to give me a tour of all the functionalities of the suite.

Singapore Airlines was the first carrier to introduce the concept of Suites, about 12-13 years ago. While the design on the A380 hasn’t dramatically changed – and while the competition came about with a host of innovations – SQ’s suite still looks elegant and luxurious – albeit not cutting edge.

The seat was very wide and comfortable, and on the side there was a good amount of storage space (plus a closet outside the suite and lots of space under the ottoman). Like mentioned earlier, the suite looks a bit dated, but that doesn’t subtract from its elegance.







Lighting was abundant, controlled by buttons next to the seat. There were two storage areas to the left hand side of the seat, and one more for magazines in the front part of the cabin. Next to the TV screen there also was a vanity mirror, and next to the seat (on the right side) there was a trashcan.

After a second glass of water, boarding was completed and the captain announced a smooth ride to Frankfurt that will land us about 15 minutes ahead of schedule. The flight from JFK to FRA is relatively short – blocked at 7h25m – and like most red-eye flights from the East Coast to Europe is not really ideal to enjoy a great meal and then to catch a good night’s sleep. Thankfully, for once I was not flying to Europe for work, which made everything much less stressful.

I took a look at the menu, which read like this:







































As you can see the menu was varied and extensive.

After taking off the crew started getting ready for dinner, and my glass of Dom Perignon was served, with some nuts. What a great champagne this is – I must say that I prefer it over Krug, as I prefer the smoothness of Dom vs the citrus notes of Krug. I got a good picture of the bottle, and at this point the crew noticed that I really liked taking pictures, and so they tried to help me go above and beyond with that. In fact, shortly after the FA made my bed in the suite in front of me, and started taking pictures of me lying on the bed. Brilliant!





In any case, dinner service started promptly shortly after. I liked a lot the tableware that SQ uses in First Class – very classy. We started with the caviar – served with all the works and a shot of Belvedere vodka. I am not sure what caviar Singapore uses, but it was good (although a tad salty).





More Dom ensued.

Then, instead of the soup and salad I had asked whether I could have the other appetizer, which was an inviting lobster salad. I am glad I did the switch, as it was a very well-executed dish.







More Dom.

Then, it was time for the main. One of the coolest features of Singapore Airlines is that you can pre-order you entree online through what they dubbed “Book the Cook” – a feature available to First and Business Class passengers on all routes but the short Kuala Lumpur one. The concept is brilliant – as we all know that on board choices tend to be somewhat limited (even if First Class) and the quality hit or miss. While dining by the way I was watching Star Trek IV – The Voyage Home – one of the best Star Trek movies out there.









The meal was very well paced, and someone from the crew would check on me every 2-3 minutes (in a very discreet way) to make sure I was not missing anything (that is, my glass of champagne was always full ).

While I was full (and I regrettably passed on the cheese) I still had room for dessert. My FA suggested I had the black forest cake, and I couldn’t do anything but oblige. As expected, it was delicious – mostly because it was moist and flavorful.





So, the meal lasted about 1h30m and it was fantastic. SQ really got its catering and service right, even more so than ANA or Cathay Pacific (no offense, but ME3 service is not the most polished out there). The genuine hospitality and willingness to anticipate my needs was what really set Singapore Airlines apart, and overall I couldn’t have been any happier.

After dinner I finished watching Star Trek – The Movie (the original one from 1979) in my sleeping suite before catching 2-3 hours of sleep. The bed was very comfortable (And a glass of Hennessy XO certainly helped with my sweet dreams), and while I did not have too much time to sleep I felt well-rested when I woke up.







While originally I did not plan on having breakfast (I just wanted to sleep all the way to Frankfurt and have a quick bite at the Senator Lounge if hungry), I was already up when the breakfast service began, so I decided to have something light – a cup of coffee and some fruit.









Shortly after we started our descent into Germany, where we landed, as promised, around 15 minutes early. After a short taxi we pulled over our gate, and minutes after I bid the crew goodbye and, after being greeted by an escort at the exit door, I proceeded to the Senator lounge for the short, hour-long layover.





Overall, this was a fantastic flight the thoroughly impressed me. SQ service went above and beyond in this sector, the food and beverage were spectacular, and the IFE was great. I really couldn’t have been any happier with my first SQ experience.
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Old Mar 3, 2017, 9:12 am
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Enjoying this report! I'm doing JFK-SIN-HKG in SQ Suites in a few weeks!
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Old Mar 3, 2017, 11:00 am
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My mouth is watering!
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Old Mar 9, 2017, 3:57 pm
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Originally Posted by chrisny2
Enjoying this report! I'm doing JFK-SIN-HKG in SQ Suites in a few weeks!
You will enjoy it. Make sure you Book the Cook - totally worth it!

Next installments coming up soon.
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Old Mar 9, 2017, 6:18 pm
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I have flown SQ suites twice - once the JFK-FRA-SIN route and only last week the ZRH-SIN route. Both times,the experience has been unbelievable - the service is just so genuine and wonderful.

Having said all that, I am not a huge fan of the SQ suite when lounging. The headrest and recline just never felt right for me. First world problems.
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