SFO777

Presumably a fat finger IT thing. AA Korea was offering a fully refundable roundtrip Seoul-New York JAL First Class on a code share with unlimited stopovers for what converted to around US$2,800 roundtrip. Many of us routed via LAX or SFO to take advantage of the AA 3 class First transcon segments.

No kidding abut the window washers. You'd never get me up there either. Thanks NashVegas37206.

Thank you Andriyko.

We were in Denver this past weekend for a quick visit. LA not for us either. Not sure where we'll go next but we are heading to NYC next weekend. So who knows.

Thanks so much CappuccinoAddict. Hope you have a great time on Tokyo and that the cherry blossoms are still there. Interesting about the FRA vs. MUC crew theory. I can't disagree at this point. Just glad I had a decent LH flight. I was beginning to wonder.

The Lufthansa First Class Lounges are wonderful. Thank you nequine.

Thanks very much DanielW. Am in awe of some of your adventures!

miuk

wow... i didnt know about the 'secret' TBIT security. I'll need to look out for it the next time i'm there

AtlFlyer123

Is there a problem with Robert Mondovi Chardonnay and can you adopt me so I can travel the world with you

blueferrari

haha, I share this sentiment entirely.

always a treat seeing your report. thanks for sharing.

nequine

Looked a nice aeroplane you were on - very similar set up to Emirates but without the bling!

TheBOSman

You're welcome, although now I'm trying to think of how I opened it. I may have been an uncouth philistine and opened it with my hands .

SFO777

Four Seasons Hotel Seoul


I typically don't spend $375 a night for a hotel on a mileage run, but the new Four Seasons looked great and was perfectly located close to Gyeongbokgung, one of the major tourist attractions. It was also one of the Amex FHR properties that included a $100 food and beverage credit. The hotel opened 18 months ago and is absolutely stunning. The staff and service were simply superb.



Beautiful and elegant decor throughout.



But my room #1902 was a wow!



Drop dead gorgeous. Modern, elegant with all the latest in high tech and electronics.























Whoa, you don't see this everyday.

SFO777

After a quick shower, I headed out into a sunny, crisp +14C spring afternoon.



















The southern entrance to Gyeongbokgung.























































































After an hour or so nap, I headed to one of the hotel's 7 restaurants, Yu-Yuan, a 1 Michelin star Chinese restaurant that specializing in Peking or Bejing Duck. With my body clock all messed up, I chose to eat when they opened for dinner, at 5:30pm.





Ah yes.



Beautiful decor and furnishings.









Service was outstanding, especially since it was essentially my private dining room as no other patrons arrived until an hour later.





My fried shrimp ball starter. Outstanding.



And my duck... 1/2 duck and then stir-fry with lettuce cups. Simply divine.











What a wonderful meal. Then back to the room to rest up for another day of flying.

worldtraveller73

A great trip!

It seems as though Asiana has gone through some serious cost cutting lately. Both the wines and the first class souvenir gift seem to have seriously been downgraded (or are non existent today).

nequine

The cherry blossom looked very beautiful and a very picturesque location where you too the photos at!

How did you find the language barrier in Seoul? A work colleague was there last year for a conference and when they did a day's sightseeing, found it very difficult.

Wow at your hotel and an even bigger wow at the price!!! :O

offerendum

FS Seoul was recently discussed in the Luxury Forum, good to have an insight view. Hope it will still stand in one year.....

SFO777

Hopefully, it stays a secret.

Thanks AtlFlyer123. Mondavi is a mass producer of mostly cheap, marginal wines. Even if their Reserve is good, just offering the label in International First should be enough to terminate any wine consultant.

Thank you blueferrari.

And the shower. Yeah, that EK bling is a little much at times.
The OZ A380 suites are much more spacious than EK suites as EK squeezed 1-2-1 in the narrower upper deck.

I tried just using my hands but the seal was so tight I couldn't break it. Had to insert chopstick and twist.

Thanks very much worldtraveller73. This was my first Asiana experience so I don't have a frame of reference. I can report that there was no souvenir gift, at least on my flight.

Thank you nequine. Every one at the hotel and most service personnel (train, palace ticket office) spoke English. Older taxi drivers? Not so much. Even with a good map and and X marking the location of the hotel, it was still as struggle communicating with the taxi driver that drove me from the Seoul Station to the hotel.

Thanks offerendum. That forum is a great resource. I decided on the FS after reading those reviews and comments.

TheBOSman

I misread your original post, thought there was some chopstick trick I was unaware of . That's a tight seal, I don't recall having that issue myself. Perhaps the pressure differential at plane altitude?

I've been to Seoul four times in the past 5 years. I found it very easy to get around, though I can see the potential issues on the taxi drivers. They do have special taxis with English speaking drivers (see International taxi on that page), though I've never used one; the subway system has been more than sufficient for my needs and I've found that very easy to navigate. I'm surprised I don't see an airport limousine bus option for the FS, though the FS is near the main embassy area so there's surely a bus to somewhere close by. The FS website suggests the all-stops airport train to Seoul Subway Line 5 for getting to/from ICN. Perhaps the average FS patron is too well-heeled to lower themselves to a bus, even a reasonably nice one . One great thing about Seoul (and South Korea as a whole) for tourists is the Visit Korea website, one of the best websites I've ever dealt with for tourist information. Clear, well laid out, lots of great info. Looking forward to the rest of your report here SFO777.

nequine

Thanks for your comments. I think they “targeted” younger people as they are more likely to have some knowledge of English. Hotels were fine as you say, but it was just when they were out sightseeing that they really struggled.


Yes I have heard of those taxi’s but colleague is too tight-fisted to use that and would rather walk… except they needed directions and ran into difficulties!

1nfrequent

Those photos of Seoul are incredible. Such a beautiful city.

1F