Flight TK1765 Istanbul – Warsaw
Departure: 12.25
Arrival: 13.45
Duration: 2h 20m
Seat & Class: 2A, Business Class
Aircraft & Reg: Airbus A321-200, TC-JRY
I left the lounge at roughly one hour before the scheduled departure time. At the entrance to the gate, a booth was set up with an agent inspecting passports before tearing our boarding passes and letting is inside the holding pen. Once all passengers had been checked, the boarding began. Once again no priority call was made for Business Class and Star Alliance Gold, but luckily I was able to board fairly early. To my great surprise I found out that a factory new A321 was operating this flight, which meant that the aircraft had proper recliner seats in Business Class and AVOD in all classes.
Once onboard the plane I was greeted welcome by the purser before settling down in seat 2A. Almost immediately I was approached with a tray of welcome drinks.
I opted for the lemonade this time which tasted nice.
Boarding progressed for quite some time and by the looks of it Economy Class was very full. In Business Class only six of the sixteen seats were occupied, but despite that some passengers from Economy decided to upgrade themselves. Luckily the crew managed to spot them and send them back to their assigned seats. Once the doors were closed, turkish delights and printed menus were distributed.
The seats were comfortable and offered plenty of space. The legroom was quite generous too, though the seat controls were quite stiff as the seats were operated pneumatically.
Once in the air, the chef came out to greet the passengers welcome and take meal and beverage orders. Three choices of main course was available, kebab, tortellini or chicken. I chose the chicken and ordered a glass of Champagne to drink. Due to the relatively short flight time no drinks and nuts were served before the meal.
The starter course consisted of a salmon tartar, along with hummus, red bell pepper, a cherry tomato and spinach salad.
The starter dish tasted phenomenal, and while the combination of hummus and salmon may sound strange, they managed to blend together pretty fine. The Champagne served on short haul flights was Charles Heidsieck Blue top, which I found a lot better tasting than the Gosset which is served on long haul. Next up was the main course.
Main course consisting of chicken fillet, roast potatoes, red bell pepper and aubergine.
While the catering on Turkish Airlines have been nothing but fantastic, I was somewhat disappointed to find that this dish did not meet the standard that had been set up on my previous flights. The chicken was a bit dry and so were the vegetables. Neither was there any sauce found, and the dish wasn’t seasoned properly. I am assuming that this may have been caused from heating the dish for too long. Nonetheless it wasn’t a bad dish, and I was able to finish most of it.
Soon the trays were cleared and digestifs were offered. I settled for a glass of Bailey’s along with a cup of black coffee.
The dessert which consisted of a berry compote with a vanilla foam, tasted great.
After the meal service was completed roughly one hour remained of the flight. I decided to explore the IFE offerings and have a look around the cabin before it was time to land.
The leather seats which were comfortable enough for this two hour flight.
View of the cabin.
The aircraft was fitted with the newer version of the Planet IFE, which included roughly 100 movies, a selection of audio, tv shows, as well as an information channel. Acceptable enough for my likings.
Very soon the the pilot began our descent into Warsaw Chopin International Airport, and soon enough we pulled up at the gate for an on-time arrival. The queues at the passport control were rather long this morning, but luckily the EU line was moving quick. Within the course of 30 minutes I had cleared passport control and was on the train bound for central Warsaw.
The Hilton Warsaw Hotel & Convention Centre
Due to the LOT flights to Stockholm being rather expensive on June 30th I decided fly on July 1st and spend the night in Warsaw instead. Hotels in Warsaw are cheap and plentiful, with most 4-5* chain hotels priced at €50-range. During previous visits I have stayed at the Radisson Blu, but this time I decided to give the Hilton a go. I booked an advance purchase rate for PLN299, and thanks to a BRG claim I managed to get the rate down to PLN99. Sadly however Hilton haven’t refunded me the difference yet…
The hotel lobby.
At the check-in I was greeted welcome by a lovely receptionist, before being handed the key to my room. As of January 1st 2013 this property no longer upgrade HHonors Gold members to the executive floor, but the receptionist was kind enough to make an exception and provide me with Executive Lounge access. I was given a standard guest room located on the 16th floor.
My standard guest room.
The bathroom.
Welcome amenity consisting of Polish toffee.
Overall the room was nice and clean. The bed was super comfortable, and the curtains did a great job in blocking out all the outside sunlight. The only downside of the room may have been the size, as I perceived it as somewhat cramped. But then again after spending 5 nights in an executive room at the DoubleTree in KL, maybe I’ve lost some reference there.
The bathroom was rather nice and clean as well, featuring both a shower and a bathtub which were arranged separately. The toiletries were of the brand Peter Thomas Roth, which I found to be of better quality than the CrabTree & Evelyn that are usually found on Hilton properties. The toiletries may however seem a bit masculine, but I hope it isn’t something that will bother female guests.
Overall the room was pleasant enough for my short one-night stay, and I wouldn’t mind spending more time at this hotel. Since I felt rather tired from all the flying, I decided to spend the rest of the day in my room watching a few movies on HBO.
The Executive Lounge.
At 18.00 I took the elevator up to the Executive Lounge for the daily happy hour. I skipped on the alcohol this time, and settled for a few bottles of diet coke to go along with the food. The food offered this evening was chicken skewers and mushroom soup, as well as various canapés, salads and breads. I found it sufficient enough to serve as a light dinner. By the time I had finished my food I was feeling very tired, so I headed back to my room at 19.00 and fell asleep right away.