Check in was OK and not a very smiley young lady who checked us in. Very formal with little interaction. We never arrived there until about 8pm and we were up and away at 6.30 am the following morning so no big deal. I just wished folks who work in Customer Service environments find it hard to just smile or chat that goes a long way in my book.

My wife had Status with the Sofitel and other Hotel groups so I enquired if we were receiving an upgraded room. She asked to see her Le Accor card and after a few bashes with the keyboard the room keys were handed over. I said thanks but it never even raised an eyebrow or acknowledgement. Grr!

The room was nice, free Internet and after dumping the cases etc.





We all went downstairs to the Bar and had a free drink each courtesy of a voucher the sour faced receptionist had given us. I did order 3 portions of Fries which were very nice indeed as was the service in the Bar. Mrs P retired early so Jnr p and I stayed for another half an hour before retiring making sure 3 (yes 3 alarms were set, one being the hotels early morning call and the other two on our phones) Maybe a bit OTT but I hate to be rushed and it’s not the first time I have thought I have set an alarm but not actually activated it. Have you ever done that?

I had fond memories of this hotel as in April 2012 I was very fortunate to have gained a much coveted place on the Boeing Dreamliner Tour which was advertised on the BA Board. That was a great night for the pre-meet and the day itself was fantastic. I met some fine Flyertalk members who were all armed to the teeth with their fancy cameras. I won’t rabbit on about it but if anyone wants to read my trip report for that click here. There are many more TR’s from that day so it is worth a search if you want to read all about this.

Anyhow back to this TR and my camera is a Panasonic Lumix which has been a very trusty companion on all my travels over the last 4/5 years. OK it’s only a 10mp but I find it very easy to use and carry as I have the canvas case attached to my belt. My son always either chuckles or sighs when I see something I want to photograph in an instant and I am VERY quick ‘off the draw’ getting it out and snapping away and replacing it in my Holster.

So right enough at 6 am the alarms went off in sequence and Jnr P would sleep through an earthquake so a wee shake and a few groans later he was up and off we went to the terminal. It was very busy at the main check in but there was literally no one at the Club World drop off and before you could say boo we were also through fast track and security in about 10 minutes. I then bought my cigarettes and Mrs P bought her usual cosmetics.
She always uses the same brand, Clinique, but why not just pick them up you know you want rather than taking 30 minutes to look around. I was hungry and just wanted to get to the Lounge so we eventually headed there.

It was moderately busy and after some cereal, fruit juice and a few Bacon rolls it was time to head over to T5B for the flight.

It didn’t seem that busy for a 747 so there must have been some empty seats, maybe. At this point the flight was called we had our BP’s checked and off we went down the stairs. I am sure it was gate 34 but I didn’t take note of that. At the bottom there were 2 security folks selecting passengers for an additional security check and Mrs P was called over. A young lady just said to me and Jnr P “ YOU JUST STAND OVER THERE”. Ok my dear but no need to shout!

Now I must say at this point what I saw next seemed very unusual. After Mrs P emptied her bag and the contents were checked the security lady pulled out an iPhone from her pocket , took a picture of the inside of Mrs P’s bag and then sent her on her way. Mmm, what is going on here I asked myself. As it turned out she liked Mrs P’s handbag as well as the internal divider she bought separately so she took a picture. Not very professional if you ask me but it was the start of my holiday so we then just made our way down to the aircraft.

I had selected 62 J/K for me and Mrs P and 64 A for Jnr P so great seats and to be honest I was surprised they were actually available given the route, time of year and the late booking which was done about 9 days before we actually flew. Here are a few shots but the BA cabins and food are well advertised here so I never bothered to take photos other than these.



First time I have been in 62k which was great.

A nice crew, service and after 7 and a bit hours we landed at JFK. It only took about 30 minutes to get through Customs and Immigration and probably being some of the first off the aircraft we weren’t hanging about. I had pre-booked a (shared) minibus with go link at a reasonable rate.

As you can imagine at this point my nicotine levels were low so I popped outside for a ciggy. Ahhh, that’s better. I always enjoy my first cigarette in the morning and at times like after a flight. For those reading those who do smoke, or are ex-smokers, you will know exactly what I mean.

An hour or so later we arrived at our hotel. A warm reception and up the room within 5 minutes. Now this is not a large hotel and the rooms were quite small as you can see but for the time we were going to be in them I really didn’t see the point in booking something more upmarket.































Looking northwards now and Central Park.