sfoactuary

Say what you will about Emirates - one thing they know how to do is the First Class experience. After enjoying our time eating and relaxing in the lounge, we were able to board directly from there.

From there, two jetways were in use, with one specifically reserved for First Class passengers. That's right, there was an entire jetway reserved just for the 6 of us, while all 300+ Business Class and Economy passengers used the other. And just in case one of those Business Class passengers got frisky and tried to jump over to the other jetway, there was a gate agent standing there to turn them away.

We boarded very early, much to my wife's chagrin, so we had the entire First Class cabin to ourselves for the next 15-20 minutes. The first time we flew Emirates First Class was last year on an ex-CMB ticket with the routing CMB-DXB-LHR. It was my first time flying "Bling Air" and the DXB-LHR segment was even on the A380 so I could experience the glorious 4-minute shower. During those flights I was in a complete honeymoon state, so everything was viewed through rose-colored glasses. Emirates could simply do no wrong in my eyes.

Fast forward a year later, and on to my 2nd experience with Emirates First Class. The honeymoon phase was over, and I could now be a more discerning critic.

First thoughts upon boarding? The color scheme actually didn't seem that gaudy. Maybe I was just used to it or knew what to expect, but the "blingyness" of the cabin with its color scheme and gold trims on top of gold trims just wasn't as loud as I seemed to recall.

One thing that hasn’t changed is the First Class Suite product, which is one of the sexiest that you'll find in the market today. Since our last flight on Emirates we've flown Cathay Pacific and Korean Air First Class, and all my wife and I could think about during those trips was how much we missed the Emirates Suite.

The suites feel extremely spacious, with plenty of storage for luggage and bags, as well as cubbies for other small items. There is a mini-bar with drinks and a snack basket, although I wonder what the utilization of these actually are. Between my 3 flights on Emirates I’ve only taken the bottle of water out of the mini-bar and a pack of mints from the snack basket.

There is a large 27” TV, and the ICE in-flight entertainment system contains over a thousand on-demand movies and TV shows. The seat and IFE can be controlled through a hand-held tablet, and there is a small remote control in the armrest. There are 2 reading lights and another light inside a lamp next to the IFE screen. Most importantly, there are 2 air-conditioning nozzles that can be controlled which were my saving grace while trying to sleep as the cabin was kept hotter than I would have liked.

And of course, what’s not to love about a sliding door that can shut off the rest of the world, and really create a sense of privacy.

Emirates First Class Suite


27" IFE screen


Snack basket


Mini-bar (non-refrigerated)


Our last trip had flight segments of just 4 hours and 8 hours, so with an ultra long-haul flight of 15 hours we'd really get a sense for the product. But with all the gold trims and technological bells and whistles, my main takeway about the trip? The seat is really not that comfortable.

Believe me, it's all relative and I'm not complaining about getting to fly in First Class, but relative to some of my other experiences I just didn't feel that at ease - I think it all boils down to seat width.

Now, I'm fully willing to admit that perhaps I've grown since my last trip. No, not as a person, but physically. And as someone who is now into their 30's you can guess if that growth was horizontal or vertical. But Seatguru confirms my suspicions, here's how the seat width stacks up against other notable international First Class products:

- Emirates: 20.5" for 777-300ER, 23.0" for A380
- Air France: 24.0"
- American Airlines: 30.0"
- Asiana: 25.5"
- Cathay Pacific: 36.0"
- Etihad: 29.5"
- Korean Air: 26.5"
- Lufthansa (non-seat and bed): 31.5"
- Singapore Airlines: 35.0"
- Thai Airlines: 26.5"
- United Airlines: 22.0"

So unless I'm crazy here and there's some quirk in how Emirates seat width is being reported, it has the smallest width of all the First Class products listed above, even worse than United! And believe me, when you're sitting in the same place for 15 hours, every little bit really does matter.

A few minutes after we boarded, the flight attendants came by to introduce themselves, offered us Arabic coffee and dates, and distributed amenity kits and pajamas. The pajamas had a slightly different design and color than the ones we received last year, but were seemingly made from the same material. Overall, these pajamas are very comfortable and I didn't waste any time before changing into them before take-off.

New pajama design


Men's amenity kit


Shortly after take-off, meal service started. Emirates features an A la Carte-style menu, with breakfast, dinner, snack, and dessert options available at any given time. By my count, there were 33 food options available on flight. In theory, the A la Carte-style menu provides the most flexibility and choice since there are no set timings for meal service and no meal-specific limitations based on time of day. Just order what you want, whenever you want.

Emirates actually makes all of their menus available online and will show the exact menu you'll be offered on your flight. At one point in time I had bookings to Dubai from Chicago, Seattle, and ultimately San Francisco, so I had checked the menus for each city and they appeared to be identical.

A la Carte dining menu






Wine list




Consistent with our 2 flights last year, the First Class food aboard Emirates just wasn’t up to the standards we expected. Aside from the lamb, everything else was just OK, including the caviar service, shrimp and salmon appetizer, and other entrees. Oh, except for the Arabic Mezze, which was terrible. The hummus in particular was just plain awful - certainly worse than the gyro/falafel joint near my office, and even worse than the stuff we buy at Costco.

At the end of the day, Emirates A la Carte dining has opted for quantity/flexibility over quality. I can’t even begin to imagine how much food is wasted on a given flight, since with so many menu items available they must load at least a couple of everything. Instead of spending $X on catering and offering 33 options (I’m sure there are favorites, and some items that rarely get chosen), I’d rather see them spend the same amount of money and just offer half the number of items, and instead focusing on making each one better.

Dom and nuts to start, can't go wrong with that!


Mix of hot canapes


Dining table setup with caviar service


Caviar service


Arabic mezze


Seafood duo appetizer


Best thing we ate - parmesan-crusted lamb


Cheese plate


Chocolate and walnut brownie


Service throughout the flight was attentive and effective, but not the warmest we’ve received. After the meal service, with the help of a couple glasses of Dom, I was able to pass out for a good 8-9 hours. The bedding used by Emirates wasn’t that great and the cabin was too hot, but as I mentioned before I was able to point both air conditioning nozzles directly on me which helped.

I woke up with about 3 hours to-go and ordered more food - not to contradict myself, but I did enjoy the flexibility of being able to choose from breakfast or dinner items since it would have been breakfast time back in SFO, but mid-afternoon in Dubai time.

As much as I like the seats, for someone like me who is a light sleeper and sleeps with ear plugs, sound pollution through the cabin was a big problem. From the noise perspective, the Emirates suites are terrible since both the mini-bar and sliding doors are operated with motors, so to the extent that others in the cabin are up and about, the whir of a motor can be constantly heard, which woke me up a a couple times.

Cabin mood lighting


Seafood machbous


After finishing up my 2nd meal, with a couple hours left I jumped on my laptop and got started on the trip report. Note that I wasn’t able to get my Macbook charger to fit into the power source at my seat, but luckily had enough juice to me to the end of the flight.

Overall, we had a really good flight on Emirates. The honeymoon-style high was gone, and when you peel back all the technological gadgets and gold trims, there is certainly some room for improvement. Will I be flying with Emirates again? Heck yeah. I still really like the product, and with Emirates' quest for world domination, they have the widest route network, especially to the Middle East and Africa.

sfoactuary

I'm sure it will bring back fond memories from your trip

We really liked Dubai! Probably not a place that we'd spend more than a couple days at a time, but it's a perfect stopover en route to Africa and I'm sure we'll be back.

Unfortunately, not as many delicious culinary adventures on this trip A lot of burgers and pizzas!

Thanks for the tip - I downsized them a bit, let me know if the formatting is still screwy and I can go even further

Thanks, HangukStyle!

Congrats!!! That's so awesome, enjoy that 4 minute shower and look forward to the report

Great minds think alike!

Wow, I seem to have generated some buzz Thanks to everyone for tuning in, ask and you shall receive. Next installment just posted

Bretteee

How many miles do you need in F to the Seychelles?

I want to go to Mauritius and with my AA and UA miles only South African goes there.

And I think it's impossible to get award miles.

Qatar cancelled the route.

I would love to go to the Seychelles but the 2 shark attacks in Praslin put me off.

sfoactuary

For First it'll run you 100k miles each way to either the Seychelles or Mauritius on Etihad (via AA miles) or Emirates (via Alaska miles). Award availability on both is actually quite good.

I hadn't heard about the shark attacks - we didn't really see people swimming all that much at the beaches, perhaps that was a factor. It was also really wavy, so hard to swim far from shore.

CRAZ8

Even Maui had 2 fatal shark attacks last year - near the Four Seasons! When you're in tropical waters, these things can occur. You're still more likely to die in the cab to the airport

http://articles.latimes.com/2014/jan...harks-20140115

sfoactuary

After clearing immigration and customs, we made a right turn toward the Emirates chauffeur desk, received our transfer form, and jumped in one of the Mercedes wagons waiting outside. It was just a 15 minute drive from the airport to the Conrad, and upon arrival one of the bellmen ran over to help us with our bags.

It's worth nothing that the driveway situation is quite odd here, with the Conrad sharing a one-way street with the Fairmont that can get quite congested, especially during rush hour. I'd recommend budgeting a few extra minutes to get in or out of the hotel during those times.

We headed inside and over to the reception desk to check-in. I was still groggy from the flight and was very much looking forward to a hot shower in the room. Of course it wasn't going to be that simple.

Conrad Dubai exterior


Conrad Dubai lobby




"Sir, we can't seem to locate any record of a reservation with us. Are you sure this is the right hotel?"

Not the words that I wanted to hear after a 15 hour flight halfway across the world. I'm neurotic about my trip planning, so of course this was the right hotel. In fact, a couple days prior to the trip I had called the hotel, Hilton reservations, and the travel agency who all confirmed that we were good to go. I pulled out a print-out of our reservation and asked them to check again.

"I'm sorry sir, this confirmation number isn't in our systems."

At this point, I was just plain confused more than annoyed or angry. I opened my laptop and called up the travel agency via Google voice. Normally, I make all of my Hilton bookings directly through the Hilton.com website. This time I had booked via Citi ThankYou Points which uses their travel agency. I was immediately regretting that decision.

Assuming I actually had a room booked, I was able to get a killer deal. The best available rate for our dates was around $200/night, or I could have used 70,000 Hilton points or 28,000 points + $100. I was leaning toward the cash and points option, until I was able to find the same room using ThankYou Points for just $125 per night. Score!

Long story short, the Citi travel agency uses an archaic booking system, which was the source of all the issues. At the time of booking, they made an initial booking which was entered into the systems, and therefore everything looked good at the time I called to confirm. After that, they deleted the reservation and replaced it with a final confirmed booking under a different reservation number, which they faxed over of the hotel that day.

That's right...faxed over to the hotel. As expected, nobody checks the fax machines anymore, so the document just sat there. After an hour on the phone, conferencing in Citi and Hilton reservations, we finally found this tidbit of information out. Someone at the hotel ran over to the fax machine, grabbed the new confirmation number, and we were on our way. Hope this helps others who make a hotel booking through Citi ThankYou Points and run into this same issue.

All told, this led to about an hour delay before we got settled into our room. The Conrad staff were great during the whole ordeal, and moved us up to the 24th floor Executive Lounge while we resolved everything. Not the worst place to be stuck, since we arrived just in time for evening canapes and quite honestly, even if we already had a room this is probably where we would have spent that time anyways.

The Executive Lounge looks great and features great views of Dubai. There are 3 food services in the lounge throughout the day, starting with breakfast in the morning, followed by afternoon tea from 3-5pm, and finally evening canapés from 6-8pm. The food offerings in the lounge were pretty sparse, so I wouldn't plan on making a meal out of it like you can do at other locations.

Conrad Dubai Executive Lounge






Evening canapes, just the sweet stuff


Presumably to make-up for the missed fax situation, we were upgraded from the lowest category room to a corner room on the 31st floor which granted Executive Lounge access for the duration of our stay.The corner room was very spacious, to the point that it felt almost like a Junior Suite, and had great views of the city from two directions. Also, since the corner rooms are located at the end of the hallway, we didn't hear a peep from outside which is a huge plus for a light sleeper like myself.

The hotel just opened in late 2013 and with less than a year of wear-and-tear, the room still had some of that new-hotel smell and feel.The rooms are modernly appointed, with an extremely comfortable bed and a great workstation which is outfitted with a universal power station, something that is often overlooked. There's also a portable sound system with an iPod docking station.

The bathroom featured a rainfall shower and large soaking tub. Interestingly, there was a brand of toiletries that I had never come across before from Tara Smith. They were labeled as vegan, which of course got me thinking about which animal parts are included in the shampoos and body wash products I use today.

Taking the elevator up to our room


31st floor hallway


Room entrance


Corner Room Bedroom




Bathroom/toilet


Tara Smith-branded Vegan toiletries


We woke up the next day at 5AM and killed an hour before heading down to the main restaurant, Ballaro, for breakfast which starts at 6AM. There’s a nice international spread, including Asian, Middle Eastern, and Western options. We didn’t find the food here to be that great, but since it was our first breakfast buffet after starting our vacation, of course we went a little crazy and grossly over-ate.

Ballaro restaurant at Conrad Dubai


Ballaro restaurant dining room


Open kitchen / breakfast buffet




Breakfast selection


In general, Dubai certainly has a Vegas-like feel to it. In fact, if you put a casino in this hotel and transported it onto the Vegas strip, it would fit right in. One area which really feels like Vegas is the pool, which looks like it was built for the sole purpose of throwing a huge pool party. The outdoor area features a huge swimming pool and bar area, along with several cabanas. After breakfast, we jumped in for a quick dip.

Conrad Dubai pool








Pool cabanas


On the same level as the pool and restaurant there are a few additional facilities, which include an outdoor yoga pavilion, fitness center, and spa. Given the scorching hot temperatures up around 100 degrees, as expected the yoga pavilion was sparsely used.

Outdoor yoga pavilion


Fitness center


Conrad Dubai spa




Overall, we had a great 2-night stay at the Conrad Dubai and wouldn't hesitate to stay here again. The facilities and rooms still feel brand new, and the hotel is in a very central location, just a 20 AED taxi ride to Dubai Mall and 40 AED ride to Mall of the Emirates. In the competitive Dubai hotel market, you can often find rooms here for ~$150/night which is a great deal for what you get.

sfoactuary

We’re slowing working our way up to a proper stay in Dubai. Last time we were just there for a long 12-hour layover where we basically camped out at the Dubai Mall, window shopped, and then watched Hunger Games 2. Not a bad place to kill a few hours, given that Dubai Mall is the largest in the world with plenty of things to see and do.

This time, we were in Dubai for a total of 36 hours across 2 nights, which felt like just the right amount of time. Actually, one more night would have been nice since I really wanted to do a desert safari but simply couldn't find a way to squeeze it in. At least with a couple nights, it would allow us to explore more of the city and hopefully work in a splash of culture.

We started in the morning with the heritage walking tour at the Sheikh Mohammed Center for Cultural Leaning. Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 10:30am there is a 90-minute walking tour around the Old Dubai area, which includes a visit to a nearby mosque. At the end, there is a group chat with the guide back at the center which also includes Arabic coffee and dates.

It was a good chance to briefly explore the Old Dubai area, and to learn about the culture from our guide. The outdoor portion is probably just 45 of the 90 minutes, which was about all we could take anyways, as the early morning temperatures were already nearing 100 degrees.

Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding in Old Dubai


Delicious and worth trying once, but not worth the price


Walking around Old Dubai






Arabic coffee and dates




Not sure there's a better way to cool off from the desert heat than in the snow.

Afterwards we headed over to the Mall of the Emirates, and as we were walking by the Ski Dubai entrance we just couldn't resist the temptation to try it out. I mean, where else in the world can you go skiing in a shopping mall?!

They do a nice job of packaging everything together so it's certainly not something you need to plan for in advance - ski pants, jacket, and all equipment are included in the entrance fee. The only thing not included are gloves, which we purchased at the store for 20 AED per pair. We thought about going glove-less, but we're glad that we didn't since it was pretty darn cold inside.

When you head into the snow area, it's a funny feeling since it essentially feels like you're inside a very, very large walk-in freezer. There are a series of snow-related activities, including sledding, zip lining, and of course skiing or snowboarding. There's really just one main slope which I'd rate as easy/medium difficulty, although there is one brief section where you can pick up some decent speed.

It wasn’t crowded at all and the snow was surprisingly soft, I was expecting it to be much icier given that it's all man-made. Honestly, while it may seem gimmicky, it was a really fun and exciting way to spend a couple hours and was a perfect way to fight through the jet lag which was setting in right around this time.

Walking around Mall of the Emirates






Ski Dubai




Even though the Ski Dubai pass is good for 2 hours, we only lasted about an hour and a half before calling it a day. We had worked up an appetite and went searching for food around the Mall of the Emirates. The selections here were disappointing, so instead we jumped in a taxi and headed over toe Dubai Mall. The taxi ride took longer than expected due to the heavy afternoon traffic and if I remember correctly came out to around 30 AED. For the most part we took taxis around the city since I considered them to be a great deal compared to prices in other countries.

After we got to Dubai Mall, we circled around and were frankly a bit overwhelemed with the number of choices. There is literally every single chain from around the world represented here - everything from California Pizza Kitchen, Red Lobster, IHOP, Chili's, and on. After much deliberation, we ultimately decided on Shake Shack and then finished that off with Laduree for dessert. Shake Shack really hit the spot, and there was even a special burger featured here with Veal Bacon.

Aquarium at Dubai Mall


Shake Shack - hit the spot!




Macaron heaven at Laduree


It was now early afternoon, and between the jet lag and food coma I was really struggling to stay awake. I had to inhale several cups of coffee in order to make it to our 5:30pm reservation to At the Top at the Burj Khalifa. We tried our best to sneak in prior to our reservation time, but they only allow you to enter up to 15 minutes prior.

5:30pm and 6:00pm are the most popular times around this time of year since it means you'll be up there for sunset, and in general I'd highly recommend booking your tickets online ahead of time, which can be done up to a month in advance.

After going through the main entrance, there's a showroom where a model of the Burj Khalifa is featured, after which you go through a looooong walkway before reaching the elevator that takes you to the top.

I've been in some fast elevators, but this was an insanely fast ride which shoots you 124 floors up to the observation deck. Unfortunately, weather wasn’t on our side and therefore viability was really limited, which certainly took away from the overall experience.

Overall, while it was cool to be in the tallest building in the world, to be perfectly honest I'm not sure that I'd recommend it relative to the cost of ~$35 per person. If you want great views of Dubai, just make sure to have a window seat on your flight.

At the Top, Burj Khalifa




124 floors up!


View from the top

sfoactuary

I'm not a morning person at all, so normally I'd cringe just at the thought of an 8:40AM flight. Thank goodness for jet lag, which had us wide awake at 4AM and ready to go. I had booked the Emirates chauffeur service pickup for 6:10AM, or 2.5 hours prior to departure which is the latest that they would allow. In general, online bookings can be made for pickup times that are 3 hours or more prior to a departure time, with anything less requiring a call.

After twiddling our thumbs for a couple hours, we headed down to the lobby at 5:45AM and figured that we'd just wait downstairs until the driver came. To our surprise, he was already waiting for us, and we jumped in and headed to the airport. In my 4-5 experiences with Emirates chauffeur service both in Dubai as well as in the US, the drivers have always arrived 15+ minutes before the scheduled time.

Even though we zipped through check-in and security, we were only left with about 2 hours before departure or 1.5 hours before boarding. This meant that it was decision time.

On the one hand, I really wanted to go back to the First Class Terminal located in Terminal A which we experienced last year. Put simply, it's the most ridiculous and awesome airport lounge I've ever been to. But given that our flight would be departing at the other end of the airport from Terminal C, we wouldn't have more than 30-45 minutes in the lounge after accounting for transit time.

The second option, which would be much more practical, would be to spend our time at the Emirates Terminal B First Class Lounge which is on the way to Terminal C. I must have looked like a fool standing in the security area while this internal debate went on in my head. Ultimately, I made up my mind to go with the Terminal B option and we prepared ourselves for a for a big letdown.

We took the elevator up to the 2nd floor, laughed at the people who turned left toward the Business Class Lounge (just kidding! Sort of...), and turned right toward the First Class Lounge. First thought? Holy crap, this place is nice!

Our fears about having to spend time in a sub-par First Class Lounge were completely unfounded. On the whole, this place is just as good as the First Class Terminal located at Terminal A, and in fact, I may even prefer the Terminal B lounge more.

Basically, everything that the Terminal A Lounge has is also here - stylish decor, ample seating, Timeless Spa, and of course a full service restaurant. From what I could tell, the only pieces missing were the shoe shine service, cigar bar, and nap room.

As you can imagine, this lounge is more crowded, but certainly not crowded in the way a United Club is. We had our pick of seats all around the lounge, and had just a couple neighbors here and there. In comparison, the Terminal A Lounge is almost too big to the point that you can go hours without running into another human being. I guess it all comes down to what you're looking for at that moment, peace and quiet or a little more action.

Emirates Terminal B First Class Lounge








Wine cellar


Spying on an Emirates 777-300ER


We made a beeline over to the Timeless Spa in hopes that we could squeeze in a quick massage prior to our flight. Just our luck, openings were available and we both had a 15-minute chair massage. Not a bad way to start the day.

Afterwards, we went to the restaurant and ordered up a huge feast. Consistent with our last visit, the food here was really, really, really good and such a stark contrast from the food served on board the plane. My solution? Just give out to-go boxes in the lounge so that people can bring the lounge food onto their flights.

I was sad about having to miss breakfast at the hotel until I took my first bite from the pastry basket. That was followed by many more bites, after which I absolutely destroyed the breakfast buffet, which featured hot food selections, along with fantastic cheese and sushi spreads.

Up to that point, the waiters had probably been scared to interfere with my feeding time, but eventually made their way over with the breakfast a la carte menu. Even after devouring the whole bread basket and several plates from the buffet, we couldn't resist the temptation to order up a few more dishes, which included mushroom crepes and Scottish kippers with poached eggs.

They must breed super chickens in Dubai, because the eggs over there are really something else. I don't care how you like your eggs cooked, in Dubai you MUST get them with runny yolks. The yolks are seriously a color that I’ve never seen before, golden like the sun, and oh so delicious.

At this point, I was seriously considering pushing our flight out to tomorrow and just staying in the lounge for the next 24 hours. Funny as it is to think about, I actually looked and there was availability, and the change would have been possible to do for free. Gotta love award tickets and airline status. But my wife reminded me that we had places to go and things to do, and I begrudgingly left for the 20 minute walk over to our gate.

I know that the First Class Terminal at Terminal A gets all the attention these days, but the Terminal B First Class Lounge is absolutely nothing to sneeze at and is worth heading to the airport early just to experience it.

Dining area


Breakfast menu




Bakery basket


Cheese heaven


Sushi for breakfast? Why not!


Plate #1 of many


Mushroom crepes, delicious!


Poached Scottish kippers

ft101

The general feeling over on the EK forum seems to be that the Concourse B Lounge beats the one in Concourse A.

There is also one in Concourse C where you departed from - you can try that next time.

sfoactuary

Interesting, all you hear about in trip reports these days is the First Class Terminal in Concourse A. I guess we naturally gravitate toward the new and shiny things

I clearly didn't do my homework and didn't even realize there was a First Class Lounge in Concourse C. I poked around online and found a couple reviews, looked much older and much smaller than the Concourse B lounge.

offerendum

We visited both lounges, C had only opened a few days before. We liked B more with the water.

sfoactuary

I must have found an old review of the C lounge, as I did read somewhere that it was closed for refurbishment. Makes sense now.

Next time we are in DXB, will be sure to check out out so we can complete the A/B/C trifecta!

sfoactuary

It's crazy how quickly technology improves every year. I was recently doing some spring cleaning and came across the Dell laptop that I had during college about a decade ago. It weighed over 15 pounds, had a battery life of an hour, and a processor that moved at the speed of molasses. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if my refrigerator had more computing power than this thing.

You're probably wondering how this has anything to do with my flight. Before we get there, let's start from the beginning.

After our 2-day layover in Dubai, the continuation of our Alaska Airlines First Class award ticket would take us from Dubai to Mahe, Seychelles. The incremental cost of this flight segment was only 10,000 Alaska Airlines miles which is an absolute steal. This primarily leisure route is stunningly expensive, with an Economy ticket for the 4-hour flight normally costing well over $1,000.

After eating far too much at the lounge, we lumbered over to our gate just as boarding was starting. The gate agent scanned our boarding passes, and pointed to the First Class bus waiting outside. As I mentioned before, one thing that Emirates does really well is the First Class experience, and this was no exception. There were 3 separate buses for First, Business, and Economy class passengers.

And this was no ordinary shuttle bus. It was completely blinged out to the nines in typical Emirates fashion. We shared the bus with just one other passenger, and drove around for over 20 minutes around the entire airport before reaching our remote stand.

First Class shuttle bus


Our A340-500 to Mahe


So, back to my original story. We headed up the stairs, and the flight attendants led us to the front of the plane. It felt like we were stepping back in time.

Our A340-500 featured the 1st generation of the First Class Suites which were installed back in 2003. Compared to the new generation of Suites on the 777-300ER and A380, this version looked ancient. While the color scheme and gold trims are very similar, that's about where the similarities end. The seats are starting to show their age, and the flight attendant almost seemed apologetic when mentioning that the plan was to retire these seats in the near future.

The layout of these suites is actually pretty similar, if not identical, to the new generation. And the seat actually feels pretty much the same, so perhaps this is one area that hasn't been improved in years and would potentially explain why it hasn't grown wider over time. Other than the seat, everything else is just a bit older and a lot more low-tech.

There was a really light load on today’s flight with just 4/12 seats taken, so we were able to spread out and take up an entire row.

A340-500 First Class cabin


First class seat




Mini-bar


The in-flight entertainment system felt like it was pulled out of a museum. I had assumed that Emirates' ICE system featured consistent programming across all planes, but the version of ICE on this flight had less than half the number of movies compared to our prior flight.

Not that it would have mattered, since the system was literally impossible to use. The handheld console which controls the seat and IFE had a really old touch screen which wouldn't register unless you smashed your finger against it. And to make things even more interesting, the system used a virtual direction pad to control the cursor on the IFE screen. As you can imagine, it was like pulling teeth just to get that little mouse pointer to move anywhere.

IFE system


1st generation handheld control


We were comfortably full from our meal at the First Class lounge and decided to skip the breakfast meal service. We did snack on some chips and nuts along the way, and for once I found the mini-bar useful as it was easier to grab drinks from here than from the flight attendants.

Breakfast menu


In total, we probably had just a couple interactions with the flight attendants over the course of the flight. Not because they were slacking, but we just didn't need much. As low-tech as the seat may have seemed compared to the new generation, it was really nice to have the closing doors which we kept closed most of the way.

Overall, while the cabin wasn't overly impressive, to put things in perspective this was just a 4-hour flight, which is the equivalent of a flight from Chicago to San Francisco. The fact that Emirates even offers a First Class cabin is already impressive enough, as most carriers would just have 2-cabin regional service on a route like this.

Time flew by as I wrapped up a few more episodes of Sons of Anarchy, and before I knew it we were already on final approach to Mahe. The airstrip is literally within walking distance to the beach, and as we touched down I was really starting to get excited and ready to jump into the water.

The plane came to a stop after landing, and the captain came on the PA system.

"Sorry folks, we blew a tire on landing and have to wait for inspection."

Well that's a new one for me. In the end, our blown tire only held us up for about 15 minutes before we were back on our way. Since we had carried-on our luggage, we were through immigration and customs in just a few minutes.

I went over to the Hertz kiosk just outside the arrivals area and picked up our ride for the next 3 days, a bright yellow Diahatsu Terios. We gassed up across the street, and headed off for the 45 minute drive to the Four Seasons. Unexpectedly, those next 45 minutes would turn out to be the most adventurous of the entire trip.

Landing in Seychelles

offerendum

I think it was c, but not 100% sure

sfoactuary

Getting there/Check-In

After nearly 24 hours of flying which took us halfway across the world, who would have guessed that the final hour would be the most eventful. Transportation in the Seychelles is ridiculously expensive and relatively complicated, enough that it warrants its own how-to guide which I plan to write shortly after this trip report.

The roads in the Seychelles were actually in better shape than I was expecting, and driving on the "wrong" side of the road wasn't that difficult. I already had my first taste of left-side driving in Australia last year, and told my wife to shout out "stay on the left" every 15 seconds until I got the hang of things again.

But there were two other things that combined to provide some serious near-death terror.

First, while all of the main roads are paved, they only have one lane in each direction and each one is roughly 25% narrower than a typical lane in the US. On top of that, there are some really narrow stretches with all of the twists, turns, and blind corners that you can handle. A lot of these sections are along the coast where there are absolutely no guard rails. So while you have perfect, unobstructed views of the beautiful turquoise waters, you're literally inches from taking your car for a swim.

Combine that with the second piece, which I'll describe with just one word: TATA. That's the sign on the front of the huge blue Tata Motors-branded buses that will be forever tattooed in my mind after watching several of those buses come flying toward us. In fact, I'm convinced that these buses do not have brakes, since I only saw them go at two speeds: really fast and super fast. They do not stop, they do not budge, and they will drive in the middle of the road with the expectation that you will swerve out of the way.

There were a few instances where they came around on blind corners like NASCAR drivers on those narrow coastal roads, and honestly scared the living daylight out of us. In total, we probably had 4-5 close calls throughout our three days of driving, with each one leaving us completely terrified.

Perhaps that's why most of the other guests of the Four Seasons had opted for the hotel car service or taxi. We breathed a huge sigh of relief upon seeing the Four Seasons sign, drove past the security gate and into the parking lot. A buggy came by shortly to swoop us up and take us to the lobby for check-in.

Our sexy bright yellow Hertz-branded Diahatsu Terios


First impressions? The hotel is absolutely gorgeous and oozes luxury, but in a subtle way, or basically the opposite of the Emirates 'bling and gold" style.

The resort was literally carved out of the side of a granite mountain in a process that took over 5 years and is on the smaller side with just a total of just 67 villas. Other than the residences, all of the guest villas are all identical, with room categories differentiated solely based on the location and view.

We jumped out of the buggy and walked into the lobby where we got our first taste of the stunning views of Petite Anse down below. This is essentially a private beach for Four Seasons guests, as non-guests would need to access the beach via boat. I really enjoyed the lobby decor which was colorfully and elegantly decorated.

During check-in we received a brief overview of the resort, along with a listing of the daily activities throughout the week, and confirmation of the Virtuoso benefits we'd receive as part of our booking which included daily breakfast and a $100 food and beverage credit. The check-in process was very efficient and afterwards we jumped back in the buggy which took us to our room.

Four Seasons Seychelles lobby




Views of Petite Anse from lobby


Our Villa

We had booked a Hilltop View Villa, which is the highest room category, and were assigned to Villa #112 which is along the "Cotton Walk" street. Since the resort is so big, the street names are used to help guests navigate their way around and provide frame of reference for where they are.

While all of the villa layouts are identical, each one had a slightly different entrance from the main road. Ours was just a short distance away across a relatively flat wooden walkway. Some villas literally had a 3-story staircase leading up to the room, which I'm sure provided some spectacular views, but could also prove tiresome. To the extent that a difficult climb to your villa could potentially be an issue, I'd make sure to send a note ahead of time.

Upon crossing the walkway, on the left-hand side there was a roofed day bed equipped with lighting as well as a ceiling fan. On the right-hand side was the outdoor deck which spanned two levels. The first level had a patio with table and chairs and direct access to the plunge pool. Down below on the second level there were two sun beds which we actually didn't use at all, since they were directly under the sun during the day with no cover.

Hilltop View Villa #112


Walkway from the entrance


Day bed


Outdoor views


Outdoor patio and plunge pool


Didn't waste any time before jumping in!


We were having such a fun time hanging out in the outdoor space that we didn't even get around to entering the room for the next half hour. We finally made our way through the colorful blue door and into the villa.

The decor is again subtlety stylish and elegant, with the entire focus of the room aimed toward the views. Between the indoor and outdoor space, the villa really is quite large which was important since each day we probably spent about half the day at the villa.

In the living room there was a nice chocolate amenity welcome gift waiting for us along with a welcome note from the GM. Throughout the stay the GM was very visible as he welcomed us during check-in, hosted a cocktail hour one of the nights, and would routinely see him walking around during the day to make sure everything was in order.

There was plenty of bottled water provided, along with complimentary tea and Nespresso coffee.

The living room flows into the bedroom where there is a large king bed as well as a sitting/reading area and workspace that both face out toward the ocean. The bed was equipped with mosquito nets which were setup for us each night as part of turn down service. We didn't find them to be necessary as mosquitoes were not an issue at all during our visit.

The bathroom featured double vanities, indoor and outdoor showers, and the most amazing bathtub I've ever had the pleasure of using. The tub is huge and outfitted in gray marble that is just plain sexy. And the views from the tub are simply breathtaking. The only thing between you and the ocean are floor-to-ceiling windows providing unobstructed views, and was the best place on the entire resort to enjoy the sunset each night.

Front door


Living room with coffee/tea and mini-bar


Chocolate welcome amenity


Bedroom


Bathroom


Amazing views from the bathtub




Indoor shower


Outdoor shower


Resort Facilities

The resort is huge and very hilly, so even though we are generally more than happy to walk, we relied on the buggy service which was always prompt and reliable. I'll get to the beach in a bit, but in general the primary resort facilities are the pool and the spa.

The pool is located right next to the beach, and features a huge saltwater pool. Compared to the beach, the pool was always less crowded and it was always easy to find a sun bed. Next to the pool, there is also a children's play center and in general we found the resort to be very kid-friendly for those that are looking for a family getaway.

Pool area


At the very top of the resort is the spa which had the best views that we came across in the entire resort. We had booked a couples massage one afternoon, and after hanging out in the reception area, we were led downstairs to the treatment rooms. I believe they have 6 treatments rooms, each of which is a standalone building with massage room and shower facilities. Our massage was very nice and relaxing, but not necessarily one of the best we've ever had.

There are a couple other facilities right next to the spa, including the yoga pavilion. On most days there are at least 1-2 complimentary yoga and Pilates classes, along with another featured class in which a 10 Euro fee per person is charged.

Unlike other resorts where there is typically just one type of yoga (usually Hatha) offered to all guests, there truly is some variety here with at least 4-5 different types of yoga classes. We only had time for 1 during our stay which ended up being the Power Yoga class and was a legitimate workout that had me sweating like crazy. As an added bonus, my wife and I were the only people in the class which meant that we essentially had a private class. Only downside of that was getting a lot of personal attention from the instructor, which meant that he corrected every pose I was doing incorrectly, which happened to be all of them.

Lastly, since the spa is located at the top of the resort, they have built a rooftop deck which features the very best views. While it was really hot up there during the day, the spa was actually advertising special "twilight" massages on the rooftop deck at night when it cooled down.

Spa




Yoga pavilion


Rooftop deck above spa


View of some of the villas nestled into the hillside


View down to the beach


Couples massage room


There was intermittent rain throughout the days, which provided a good opportunity to head indoors and utilize the fitness center located near the lobby. There are four treadmills in one room which overlooked the ocean, along with another larger room with good modern equipment including weight machines and dumbbells. Along with water and towels, there was a beetroot energy drink and homemade granola bars available to snack on.

Fitness center




Activities

Given that this is a beach resort, as you can imagine the beach was the main activity. While beautiful to look at, there was actually only a small section in the middle of the beach marked off by buoys that was deemed swimmable. It's a pretty long stretch of beach, but the majority of the sun beds are located on one end closer to the pool. During the middle of the day, it definitely gets quite crowded here.

There was a beach equipment hut which provided complimentary rentals of kayaks, pedal boats, snorkeling gear, and boogie boards for guests to use. Stand-up paddle boards and surfboards were available to rent for an additional cost, and there was also a dive center on-site which we unfortunately weren't able to find time to visit.

We grabbed some snorkeling gear and headed over toward the rocks and coral which was the best area for snorkeling. Overall, we just didn't find that much to see here, and it certainly wasn't a calm and relaxing experience due to the waviness of the beach.

However, the waviness of the beach made it absolutely perfect for boogie boarding. Surprisingly, we were the only ones who did this, and must have made quite the spectacles of ourselves as we washed up on shore over and over. This was by far the most fun activity and we must have done it for hours on end, day after day. In general, the crowd here was on the lazier side, opting to just lay out and catch rays while reading.

All along the beach there as beach service provided which included complimentary ice water along with an assortment of small treats throughout the day such as chocolate smoothies or frozen grapes.

Hanging out at Petite Anse




Meeting Cinderella, one of the giant tortoises


And of course, one of the main activities while on a beach resort is watching the sun set each night. It happens every single day, but yet the only time I seem to think about it is while on holiday. For the most part we would head back to our room to catch the sunset while relaxing in the pool or hot tub. Sunset usually coincided with the time of day when the rain would really start to pick up.

Sunset from our room, someone planted the Four Seasons logo




Unlike the Maldives where you are typically confined to the resort, the Seychelles is all about exploration. There are a ton of beaches along the coast in Mahe Island, as well as a huge national park in the middle of the island.

As much as we were enjoying the resort, we got a little stir crazy at times and took our car out for a spin around the island. It was fun to beach-hop and explore some of the other areas. We also wanted to take a hike through Morne Seychellois National Park, and everyone we talked to and everything we read came back with the recommendation of the Morne Blanc trail.

Trust me, if you do one hike in Mahe, do this one. It's a pretty grueling 30 minute uphill climb to the top, and is constantly wet due to the rain which can make it slippery. After finally making it all the way to the top, I was completely soaked with sweat, at which point the skies completely opened up with a huge torrential downpour. It was a complete white-wash and we couldn't see anything in front of us.

Luckily, and as we had grown accustomed to at this point, these are just passing rain showers in the Seychelles and weather can change in an instant. After just 5 minutes, we were back to beautiful blue skies, and we could soak in the spectacular views from Morne Blanc.

Entrance to Morne Blanc


Starting the climb


The reward - views from the top of Morne Blanc








Food and Beverage

The Four Seasons has two restaurant options, ZEZ and Kannel, but each also has a separate annex or bar area, which effectively turns them into four restaurants.

Kannel restaurant is located near the pool and is where we had our first dinner. The focus here is on fresh seafood, especially the fresh fish or catch of the day. We opted for the steamed catch of the day but make the mistake of not pre-ordering, which meant that it was about a 1.5 hour wait before our food was ready. We had gotten up at 4AM that day due to jet lag and having traveled from Dubai were pretty tired at this point. So by the time we finally received our food we just wolfed it down and let. That explains the lack of pictures which is just shameful for someone who's blog is focused on food!

From what I recall, it was pretty unremarkable meal. While extremely fresh, the fish was pretty bland and was served with rice and a tomato-based Creole sauce. Perhaps we were still getting accustomed to "island time" but the service felt slow at times, and wasn't very polished. For example, we were just halfway through our fish but had finished the bowl of tomato sauce. Instead of asking us if we'd like more sauce, the waitress simply took the bowl away, leaving us sauce-less for the last half of the fish.

The third night we ate at the Kannel Bar which is next door to the restaurant and open throughout the day. It's a much more laid-back vibe and a perfect place to chill out and grab a bite. After a long day of hiking and boogie boarding we ordered up a feast which included a seafood pizza and fish and chips. This was probably the best meal we had at the resort, as the fish and chips in particular were just amazing. But once again, shamefully I have no pictures from the meal.

Kannel restaurant


Kannel Bar


ZEZ restaurant is the more formal dining option, but nothing on the menu really jumped out to us and we opted not to eat here during our stay. However, on the 2nd night we decided to eat at ZEZ Bar next door for the sushi dinner.

During check-in, one of the staff members hinted that the sushi in the Seychelles is 2nd only to Japan as best in the world. So we were really looking forward to validating that claim, which as it turns out was just completely false. Overall, while the fish was clearly super fresh, it was pretty average sushi meal, and certainly not as good as the places we have locally in the SF Bay Area.

ZEZ restaurant


Sushi dinner at ZEZ Bar


ZEZ restaurant is also the site for breakfast buffet each morning. The breakfast buffet here was pretty solid, and each day had a mix of western choices and Asian choices, along with a large selection of pastries, fresh fruits, cheeses, and salads. It's not quite as indulgent as some of the other breakfast buffets we've had, but perhaps that was a good thing as we didn't find ourselves over-eating.

We made the mistake of selecting the outdoor patio seating on the 1st day, and quickly realize why nobody else was out there. We were swarmed by the birds who were relentless in their pursuit of our food, even coming over and literally sticking their beaks in our faces.

ZEZ restaurant breakfast setup




Breakfast buffet pastry selection


Breakfast buffet fresh fruits


Breakfast selection


Final Thoughts

On our final night, we received a nice amenity with some fried breadfruit and salsa along with a handwritten card which explained that eating the breadfruit would be a symbol that we'd return in the future.

So will we? Overall, we had a fabulous stay the the hotel. The natural beauty of the resort is undeniable, and the facilities are top-notch. For the most part, service was also fantastic, with the exception of some of our experiences during meals. Food was good, and probably among the best we had in the Seychelles, but in general just wasn't at the same caliber as what you find in the Maldives for example.

Overall, through my research I was convinced going in that this is the best hotel on Mahe, and for the most part our stay reinforced that idea.