The Long Road Back to Australia - Etihad First + Lufthansa First + JL F and more!
Feb 11, 2017, 7:51 am
#46
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Australia
Programs: KrisFlyer, AA, Qantas, SPG, Marriott
Posts: 592
Review: Lufthansa first class a380, frankfurt to seoul
Lufthansa A380
Frankfurt - Seoul
Depart: 5:45pm
Arrive: 11:00am
Class: First Class
Lufthansa Business Class has to be one of my least desirable Business Class seats out there, so it could be a surprise that I was incredibly excited to try Lufthansa's First Class seats on the A380. Originally I had wanted to go to Hong Kong and stay at the Ritz Carlton - but since I was using Lifemiles to book, my options were limited by which seats were available - and unfortunately Hong Kong was note. So I did some searching and saw Japan and South Korea were other less popular destination Lufthansa had for First Class - but only Frankfurt - Seoul featured the A380 (modern planes do it for me) as opposed to the A340 to Tokyo (on that day). The other issue was that most Lifemiles routings were through Munich, where I would lose out on the chance to try the Lufthansa First Class Terminal (a must do!). so I changed my entire plan and routed it through Seoul. It was only a night, but it also gave me a chance to reconnect with my old school friend whom I hadn't seen since 2002! Lufthansa First Class is one of the most desired First Class seats, even by celebs, so I suppose I had been wanting to try it for quite some time!
Having said that, I was greeted by an all female First Class crew, including the flight attendent who was looking after my side Katherina G (now it's been so long since I've flown, I can't recall if it was Kathrina, Katherina or Katherine G, which is a shame since she was absolutely amazing). Since there were only going to be 3 guests including myself, and we were still awaiting 1, I took the time to take some photos of the cabin. It wasn't big like Etihad's First Class Apartments or stylish like Qatar's First Class Cabin - but it has it's own respectable charm and vibe. It was a very two tone color setup, but it made the cabin feel warm and inviting - though it was certainly showing it's aged with the thorough lack of privacy on the seats (apologies for the pic quality - it had a smudge on the lens).
I decided to stick with seat 2K - so I would remain on the window, and the only person on the right side of the cabin. In the main cabin, I just loved how the 'Lufthansa First Class' logo was so prominent at the front.
In terms of the seat - they didn't exactly ooze luxury with the same kind of feeling you would get from other top First Class Airlines, but the seat was quite comfortable - and wide enough not to feel to constricted. It was as plushy as Qatar's First Class seat - but it wasn't terrible either. You could tell is was looking a little worn on the fabrics, but only if you were looking out for it.
I settled into my seat to take a look around at my area. It featured an ottoman large enough to put my carry on and shoes away in, while Katherina brought out my amenity kit along with my pyjamas and slippers. While I don't have a pic of the amenity case insides, I loved how it featured a 3 x sample of La Prarie lotions, one of the most expensive lotions you can buy, and there were La Prarie face and hand lotions to use on the bathroom as well!
Each passenger also got a lovely rose at their seat before we sat down - a nice touch as always. I believe Cathay is the only other airline to do this (though with an Orchid instead). I asked for a champagne, which was Cuvée Grand Siècle by Lauraunt-Perrier, which is a very nice champagne, but maybe not quite as nice as Krug. It arrived with some nuts as well, which I left alone to continue taking some photos.
Lufthansa also provides Bose noise cancelling headphones, a great choice on a plane, though I also head my B&O headphones if I wanted to swap to music on my phone.
The plane took off without much delay, and once up in the air, I decided to change into the PJ's and check out the Bathroom, which was enormous. In terms of size, it was designed exactly like Qatar First - though with a more neutral tone. As mentioned previously they featured La Prarie hand cream and face cream (which I certainly used luxuriously - the cream was amazing mind you). There were also some other amenities like hand towers and face wipes, and so on.
The PJ's were okay - not the best, but they were snug on the top, loose at the bottom which did the trick. I headed back to my seat and ordered an amuse-bouch to start with (which I can't recall what it was, but it was fairly nice), along with another glass of Champers!
I decided to jump straight into the caviar, and get my fill while I enjoyed a few tv shows (a big fault here was that the tv screens were quite small, and even some business class seats have bigger screens. Another fault - the screen was old, and it showed in the quality). Katherina meanwhile got to laying out 'table' and offered a pretzel along with some garlic bread, along with butter and olive oil. The coolest thing about the butter was that it was stamped 'First Class' - another small touch I was immensely enjoying. Lufthansa had really decided to go with pure German perfection rather than extravagance, and I was agreeing with most of the choices.
I was starting to get a little hungry now, despite having stuffed my face at the FCT earlier, so I immensely enjoyed the caviar - which was one of the better brands I had tasted.
In terms of Presentaiton, Lufthansa was definitely behind Qatar in this regard, as you can see below - but it was delicious nonetheless:
By this time, the privacy screens had been pushed up to give us more privacy. Since I was the only one on my side, I kept mine down. It gave me a chance to have a chat with Katherina. She was not only professional, but one of the friendliest flight attendants I think I've ever come across (partly due to the lack of numbers, so she had more time to chat), and we discussed things like First Class flying, her thoughts on Lufthansa vs Etihad (shocker: she says Lufthansa are better), and a few other things. I love to chat to flight attendants, they always have so many interesting stories to tell and it really does increase the experience for me, and Katherina went above and beyond (pretty sure she stood next to me for 30 mins while we had a chat). I sneakily asked if they had any more Caviar as well, and luckily they had a little more - which I gobbled up right away (it's scary how quickly I've developed a taste for caviar). One weird thing I noticed was that I couldn't adjust the seat or the foot rest unless the table was pushed all the way to the back - weird and annoying.
With the lights being dimmed, Katherina asked if I wanted to move onto the main course, which I did. I stuck with the Asian cuising, to get me in the mood for Seoul, and I turned back to Family Guy while I ate. Katherina also suggested a beer for me, one of her favorites she said (franken something), and it was a dark beer, which went down surprisingly well with Asian food.
I had the Beef with mushrooms and rice. Amazing? No, but good enough considering beef can be a hit or miss on the plane. I did eat most of it, so I suppose I must have liked it enough.
Once that was done, and mind you Katherina was extremely efficient, peeking in every now and then to check how I was going, while not being too excessive. I moved onto the mango cheesecake, and while I was quite full, I had about half - it was quite good, but as mentioned, full!
At this point Katherina asked if I would like to have a calming tea if I wanted to sleep - I really didn't as I was enjoying the First Class experience on Lufthansa - but I knew I would struggle the next day, so I asked for her to just pick one. I can't recall which one it was, but it was quite soothing, and headed to the bathroom. Once back, the bed was made and ready to go. Funnily we had a very long discussion on which seat I wanted to sleep in, since I had 3 other seats to pick from - but I decided to stay in mine for comfort and window views.
Keeping in mind the flight wasn't extremely long, coming it at just under 10 hours (although they advertise it as 11-12 hours), I managed to grab around 3 hours sleep. The bedding was fairly comfortable, and did knock out quite quickly, but I also wanted to grab some breakfast pictures so I forced myself up. I decided to start with a little of everything - a cappuccino, bread rolls with jam, fruit, and yogurt. It was all simple, and I enjoyed it all. The cappuccino was quite good as well, considering we were 40,000 ft in the air.
I decided to move onto a mango juice as well, as I ate some cold cut meats and cheeses. They all tasted fresh, and it was just the light start I needed. Again, I can't compliment Katherina enough - she brought out everything before I had to ask, and whisked things off as soon as I was done with it.
I finished up and decided to change into my clothes, as we were on descent - and to no surprise, everything was cleaned and the seat was back to normal when I got back. I took a few more pics of the cabin on our way down, but the one below was the only one worth sharing.
We landed shortly before 11am, and reached the gate fairly quickly. I wanted to grab a few more pics and I knew that I had to get out quickly, but was delayed before my wallet had fallen into the gap between the window and side storage - a real annoyance as it was blending in and it took a little bit of searching. Nevertheless, I thanked Katherina for her amazing hospitality and service, and said hoped to see her again - she was probably the best flight attendant I have ever had (it's worth noting she was quite a bit younger than her older couter part - and it really showed since her counterpart hardly smiled or interacted with me). She in turn did say that I was one of the better passengers she had.. well had. A nice compliment, but I'm sure it was just the training. And with that I took off, as I knew I had a considerable distance still to go to the hotel.
My overall thoughts? The Lufthansa First Class experience, from ground to flight to ground was one of the best I have ever had, if not the best. It's not perfect - but Lufthansa has really managed to fine tune every aspect of the experience - and it really puts a lot of other airlines to shame in certain departments. It also helped that Katherina was one of the best flight attendants I have ever had - and the First Class Terminal was a grand experience. I look forward to my next Lufthansa flight, though sadly I don't think it will be till 2018 - as I don't plan to travel back to Europe anytime soon (twice in 2016 is more than I was actually expecting) - and now that I have moved to Australia, it makes getting Lufthansa flights even trickier. I believe Lufthansa has now stopped the A380 to Seoul, but there are always plenty of other routes!
Frankfurt - Seoul
Depart: 5:45pm
Arrive: 11:00am
Class: First Class
Lufthansa Business Class has to be one of my least desirable Business Class seats out there, so it could be a surprise that I was incredibly excited to try Lufthansa's First Class seats on the A380. Originally I had wanted to go to Hong Kong and stay at the Ritz Carlton - but since I was using Lifemiles to book, my options were limited by which seats were available - and unfortunately Hong Kong was note. So I did some searching and saw Japan and South Korea were other less popular destination Lufthansa had for First Class - but only Frankfurt - Seoul featured the A380 (modern planes do it for me) as opposed to the A340 to Tokyo (on that day). The other issue was that most Lifemiles routings were through Munich, where I would lose out on the chance to try the Lufthansa First Class Terminal (a must do!). so I changed my entire plan and routed it through Seoul. It was only a night, but it also gave me a chance to reconnect with my old school friend whom I hadn't seen since 2002! Lufthansa First Class is one of the most desired First Class seats, even by celebs, so I suppose I had been wanting to try it for quite some time!
Having said that, I was greeted by an all female First Class crew, including the flight attendent who was looking after my side Katherina G (now it's been so long since I've flown, I can't recall if it was Kathrina, Katherina or Katherine G, which is a shame since she was absolutely amazing). Since there were only going to be 3 guests including myself, and we were still awaiting 1, I took the time to take some photos of the cabin. It wasn't big like Etihad's First Class Apartments or stylish like Qatar's First Class Cabin - but it has it's own respectable charm and vibe. It was a very two tone color setup, but it made the cabin feel warm and inviting - though it was certainly showing it's aged with the thorough lack of privacy on the seats (apologies for the pic quality - it had a smudge on the lens).
I decided to stick with seat 2K - so I would remain on the window, and the only person on the right side of the cabin. In the main cabin, I just loved how the 'Lufthansa First Class' logo was so prominent at the front.
In terms of the seat - they didn't exactly ooze luxury with the same kind of feeling you would get from other top First Class Airlines, but the seat was quite comfortable - and wide enough not to feel to constricted. It was as plushy as Qatar's First Class seat - but it wasn't terrible either. You could tell is was looking a little worn on the fabrics, but only if you were looking out for it.
I settled into my seat to take a look around at my area. It featured an ottoman large enough to put my carry on and shoes away in, while Katherina brought out my amenity kit along with my pyjamas and slippers. While I don't have a pic of the amenity case insides, I loved how it featured a 3 x sample of La Prarie lotions, one of the most expensive lotions you can buy, and there were La Prarie face and hand lotions to use on the bathroom as well!
Each passenger also got a lovely rose at their seat before we sat down - a nice touch as always. I believe Cathay is the only other airline to do this (though with an Orchid instead). I asked for a champagne, which was Cuvée Grand Siècle by Lauraunt-Perrier, which is a very nice champagne, but maybe not quite as nice as Krug. It arrived with some nuts as well, which I left alone to continue taking some photos.
Lufthansa also provides Bose noise cancelling headphones, a great choice on a plane, though I also head my B&O headphones if I wanted to swap to music on my phone.
The plane took off without much delay, and once up in the air, I decided to change into the PJ's and check out the Bathroom, which was enormous. In terms of size, it was designed exactly like Qatar First - though with a more neutral tone. As mentioned previously they featured La Prarie hand cream and face cream (which I certainly used luxuriously - the cream was amazing mind you). There were also some other amenities like hand towers and face wipes, and so on.
The PJ's were okay - not the best, but they were snug on the top, loose at the bottom which did the trick. I headed back to my seat and ordered an amuse-bouch to start with (which I can't recall what it was, but it was fairly nice), along with another glass of Champers!
I decided to jump straight into the caviar, and get my fill while I enjoyed a few tv shows (a big fault here was that the tv screens were quite small, and even some business class seats have bigger screens. Another fault - the screen was old, and it showed in the quality). Katherina meanwhile got to laying out 'table' and offered a pretzel along with some garlic bread, along with butter and olive oil. The coolest thing about the butter was that it was stamped 'First Class' - another small touch I was immensely enjoying. Lufthansa had really decided to go with pure German perfection rather than extravagance, and I was agreeing with most of the choices.
I was starting to get a little hungry now, despite having stuffed my face at the FCT earlier, so I immensely enjoyed the caviar - which was one of the better brands I had tasted.
In terms of Presentaiton, Lufthansa was definitely behind Qatar in this regard, as you can see below - but it was delicious nonetheless:
By this time, the privacy screens had been pushed up to give us more privacy. Since I was the only one on my side, I kept mine down. It gave me a chance to have a chat with Katherina. She was not only professional, but one of the friendliest flight attendants I think I've ever come across (partly due to the lack of numbers, so she had more time to chat), and we discussed things like First Class flying, her thoughts on Lufthansa vs Etihad (shocker: she says Lufthansa are better), and a few other things. I love to chat to flight attendants, they always have so many interesting stories to tell and it really does increase the experience for me, and Katherina went above and beyond (pretty sure she stood next to me for 30 mins while we had a chat). I sneakily asked if they had any more Caviar as well, and luckily they had a little more - which I gobbled up right away (it's scary how quickly I've developed a taste for caviar). One weird thing I noticed was that I couldn't adjust the seat or the foot rest unless the table was pushed all the way to the back - weird and annoying.
With the lights being dimmed, Katherina asked if I wanted to move onto the main course, which I did. I stuck with the Asian cuising, to get me in the mood for Seoul, and I turned back to Family Guy while I ate. Katherina also suggested a beer for me, one of her favorites she said (franken something), and it was a dark beer, which went down surprisingly well with Asian food.
I had the Beef with mushrooms and rice. Amazing? No, but good enough considering beef can be a hit or miss on the plane. I did eat most of it, so I suppose I must have liked it enough.
Once that was done, and mind you Katherina was extremely efficient, peeking in every now and then to check how I was going, while not being too excessive. I moved onto the mango cheesecake, and while I was quite full, I had about half - it was quite good, but as mentioned, full!
At this point Katherina asked if I would like to have a calming tea if I wanted to sleep - I really didn't as I was enjoying the First Class experience on Lufthansa - but I knew I would struggle the next day, so I asked for her to just pick one. I can't recall which one it was, but it was quite soothing, and headed to the bathroom. Once back, the bed was made and ready to go. Funnily we had a very long discussion on which seat I wanted to sleep in, since I had 3 other seats to pick from - but I decided to stay in mine for comfort and window views.
Keeping in mind the flight wasn't extremely long, coming it at just under 10 hours (although they advertise it as 11-12 hours), I managed to grab around 3 hours sleep. The bedding was fairly comfortable, and did knock out quite quickly, but I also wanted to grab some breakfast pictures so I forced myself up. I decided to start with a little of everything - a cappuccino, bread rolls with jam, fruit, and yogurt. It was all simple, and I enjoyed it all. The cappuccino was quite good as well, considering we were 40,000 ft in the air.
I decided to move onto a mango juice as well, as I ate some cold cut meats and cheeses. They all tasted fresh, and it was just the light start I needed. Again, I can't compliment Katherina enough - she brought out everything before I had to ask, and whisked things off as soon as I was done with it.
I finished up and decided to change into my clothes, as we were on descent - and to no surprise, everything was cleaned and the seat was back to normal when I got back. I took a few more pics of the cabin on our way down, but the one below was the only one worth sharing.
We landed shortly before 11am, and reached the gate fairly quickly. I wanted to grab a few more pics and I knew that I had to get out quickly, but was delayed before my wallet had fallen into the gap between the window and side storage - a real annoyance as it was blending in and it took a little bit of searching. Nevertheless, I thanked Katherina for her amazing hospitality and service, and said hoped to see her again - she was probably the best flight attendant I have ever had (it's worth noting she was quite a bit younger than her older couter part - and it really showed since her counterpart hardly smiled or interacted with me). She in turn did say that I was one of the better passengers she had.. well had. A nice compliment, but I'm sure it was just the training. And with that I took off, as I knew I had a considerable distance still to go to the hotel.
My overall thoughts? The Lufthansa First Class experience, from ground to flight to ground was one of the best I have ever had, if not the best. It's not perfect - but Lufthansa has really managed to fine tune every aspect of the experience - and it really puts a lot of other airlines to shame in certain departments. It also helped that Katherina was one of the best flight attendants I have ever had - and the First Class Terminal was a grand experience. I look forward to my next Lufthansa flight, though sadly I don't think it will be till 2018 - as I don't plan to travel back to Europe anytime soon (twice in 2016 is more than I was actually expecting) - and now that I have moved to Australia, it makes getting Lufthansa flights even trickier. I believe Lufthansa has now stopped the A380 to Seoul, but there are always plenty of other routes!
Feb 11, 2017, 7:28 pm
#47
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Australia
Programs: KrisFlyer, AA, Qantas, SPG, Marriott
Posts: 592
Review: The ritz-carlton, seoul
The Ritz-Carlton
Seoul, South Korea
Disclaimer: It's worth pointing out I booked this hotel at a Media Rate
After a wonderful Lufthansa First Class flight, I had to make my way to the Ritz-Carlton located in the popular Gangnam district - however I hadn't entirely done my research, so I wasn't too sure how I was going to travel there. There were the options of a train (which looked confusing), bus, and cab - and I settled up with the cheapest (and most convenient) option of the bus - as it would drop me directly at the Ritz-Carlton. The only downside was that it was an hour drive, and I had to wait 30 minutes for the bus, but when it did come, I was pleasantly surprised at how nice and comfortable the bus was, and soon enough I was at my hotel.
It feels weird turning up at a Ritz on a bus, but convinience and costs do matter - especially since I was only in town for one night, and had no plans for the day apart from meeting a friend in 8/9 hours for dinner (our first meeting in 14 years - thanks Facebook!). Either way, I was excited to try the Ritz-Carlton as it was my first Ritz-Carlton in many years.
The entrance of the hotel was quite grand, and you could tell that it was exactly the feeling they were going for. Up the stairs took you to the lobby and reception area, and as soon as I hopped out the bus, the bell man was there ready to grab my bag and whisky me away to check in (it's worth noting there were two other people in the bus with me getting off the the Ritz. As for the lobby, you could tell it was grand, but an older grand with big pillars, high ceilings, and lots of room.
I was quite impressed with the lobby, even if it was looking a little dated at the reception area. Even more so - it was impressive that there were ladies welcoming us in the traditional Korean Hanbok dress to the hotel, which gave a real authentic Korean experience. On the other hand, I know it's weird, but it almost gave off the feeling of a high end shopping centre from the 90's in other areas past the reception (probably leading to the conference center and ball rooms).
Weird right? Anyways, check-in was fairly smooth and since I had booked a club-lounge junior suite (around 45 meters square) - I was given the info sheet which gave me an idea of all the welcome services I was eligible for such as Complimentary pressing of two items, complimentary use of gym and pool (surprised this wouldn't be for all guests), free wi-fi and access to the RC Club where they served food (snacks) around 5 times per day.
Seemed good to me, the friendly bellhop took my bag and led the way to the room.
The carpets were clean, but looked a little worn over time. Once we were inside the room, the bellhop gave me a quick tour of the room and showed me where all the safe and mini-bar were (hint: I wouldn't have found the safe without searching hard for it). I thanked him and as he left I took some quick shots of the room. There were actually two sections to the room - the bedroom, which was simple and elegant, and the living room - obviously for a single traveller it's more than big enough.
Like I said - fairly simple as there were no paintings hung in the bedroom, while a small tv was perched in the corner on top of a dresser. The living room area was large, and featured far too many seats for just me - but I could see it being useful if you wanted to entertain guests while you were in town or catch up. Unfortunately the seats looked well worn (again - they were clean), and the couches especially looked past their date - unfortunate since from a classic perspective - the room was quite nice. A larger tv was found along with the tea cups, kettle and coffee + tea options.
There was no great view per-se from the room, but it gave me a good idea of my surroundings. The bathroom itself was completely featured a marble sink - and featured the Ritz-Carlton's standard quality Asprey ammenities which I quite like.
It also featured a smart toilet - which I couldn't figure out. Perhaps it wasn't working properly?
As I was really starting to feel the lack of sleep from my lufthansa flight, I decided to hop into my bathrobe and grab around 2 hours of shuteye. I did head off to the club lounge for a quick lunch in between pictures and a nap, but I didn't take any photos at that time (more on that below).
When I woke up I was feeling super groggy, but decided that I needed to go out and explore Seoul before it got to dark, so I grabbed a map from the concierge (located at the club lounge AND the lobby) and shot off towards the Gyeongbokgung Palace and other sights. Mind you it's a miracle I managed to find my way at the start as I was so groggy I was at the wrong machine for the metro tickets (I honestly don't even know what machine that was for). The great thing about South Korea is that everyone that's below 30 speaks english - which made it far easier to ask for directions and get about. Here's a few pictures I took in Seoul (it was a bit overcast the whole day unfortunately, so the pics weren't too great with the light. Due to my slowness in getting out- the Palace entrance was unfortunately closing for the day but the guard let me sneak in for a quick photo or two which was nice, even though he didn't speak English at all.
The train journey here was at least 30 mins, and it seems that many of the hotels were here as well in the business district. Either way, I went to a nearby market and just walked around getting a feel of the place and the culture before heading to meet my friend for some much anticipated Korean Barbecue and a drink!
The catchup was great, and hopefully we don't have to wait 14 years to do that again! I decided to head back as I had a morning flight to Osaka (Japan), and wanted to get some good rest to make up for the lack of rest today, so I took the metro/subway back and unfortunately it started raining as I got back to my stop in Gangnam - however this picture was too pretty not to take with all the lights at night.
[IMG][/IMG]
Once back in the room I was pleasantly surprised to find a note from the hotel wishing me well about the stay - obviously booking with a media rate is a given that they'll know it's a review happening - but aside from this note - I don't believe the treatment was any different (just how I prefer it). I wouldn't be surprised if othere's guests got it as well however - considering the 'Tripadvisor' advert.
I ended up crashing pretty soon after my shower, and woke up after a nice 8 hours of sleep - packed, and headed to the club lounge for some brekky before checking out.
The breakfast section wasn't massive by any means since this was just a club lounge, but the spread was still of good quality. It was mostly a buffet section with pastries, cold meats and salds, bread etc - with a tiny hot food section which could be ordered. Since I had to go to the airport after this - I decided to order the Oatmeal since it should have been quick. Unfortunately it wasn't and it took nearly 25 minutes to arrive (good thing I ordered it before getting the buffet). I'm not entirely sure if they forgot the order, or they were just generally slow - I'm just glad I didn't order the pancakes! Either way, full, I rushed back to the room and went to check out and enquired about the bus. Unfortunately it seemed like the bus was late and I was starting to run a little late - so I had to book a cab which ended up costing me $80 to the airport versus $25 for a bus.
All in all, while it was a really short experience, the experience was almost flawless at the hotel, only let down by the old styling and furniture. However, as of Jan 1 - the Ritz-Carlton Seoul has closed for renovations for around 6-7 months, so by August we should hopefully see a much grander experience worthy of the Ritz-Carlton Brand.
Seoul, South Korea
Disclaimer: It's worth pointing out I booked this hotel at a Media Rate
After a wonderful Lufthansa First Class flight, I had to make my way to the Ritz-Carlton located in the popular Gangnam district - however I hadn't entirely done my research, so I wasn't too sure how I was going to travel there. There were the options of a train (which looked confusing), bus, and cab - and I settled up with the cheapest (and most convenient) option of the bus - as it would drop me directly at the Ritz-Carlton. The only downside was that it was an hour drive, and I had to wait 30 minutes for the bus, but when it did come, I was pleasantly surprised at how nice and comfortable the bus was, and soon enough I was at my hotel.
It feels weird turning up at a Ritz on a bus, but convinience and costs do matter - especially since I was only in town for one night, and had no plans for the day apart from meeting a friend in 8/9 hours for dinner (our first meeting in 14 years - thanks Facebook!). Either way, I was excited to try the Ritz-Carlton as it was my first Ritz-Carlton in many years.
The entrance of the hotel was quite grand, and you could tell that it was exactly the feeling they were going for. Up the stairs took you to the lobby and reception area, and as soon as I hopped out the bus, the bell man was there ready to grab my bag and whisky me away to check in (it's worth noting there were two other people in the bus with me getting off the the Ritz. As for the lobby, you could tell it was grand, but an older grand with big pillars, high ceilings, and lots of room.
I was quite impressed with the lobby, even if it was looking a little dated at the reception area. Even more so - it was impressive that there were ladies welcoming us in the traditional Korean Hanbok dress to the hotel, which gave a real authentic Korean experience. On the other hand, I know it's weird, but it almost gave off the feeling of a high end shopping centre from the 90's in other areas past the reception (probably leading to the conference center and ball rooms).
Weird right? Anyways, check-in was fairly smooth and since I had booked a club-lounge junior suite (around 45 meters square) - I was given the info sheet which gave me an idea of all the welcome services I was eligible for such as Complimentary pressing of two items, complimentary use of gym and pool (surprised this wouldn't be for all guests), free wi-fi and access to the RC Club where they served food (snacks) around 5 times per day.
Seemed good to me, the friendly bellhop took my bag and led the way to the room.
The carpets were clean, but looked a little worn over time. Once we were inside the room, the bellhop gave me a quick tour of the room and showed me where all the safe and mini-bar were (hint: I wouldn't have found the safe without searching hard for it). I thanked him and as he left I took some quick shots of the room. There were actually two sections to the room - the bedroom, which was simple and elegant, and the living room - obviously for a single traveller it's more than big enough.
Like I said - fairly simple as there were no paintings hung in the bedroom, while a small tv was perched in the corner on top of a dresser. The living room area was large, and featured far too many seats for just me - but I could see it being useful if you wanted to entertain guests while you were in town or catch up. Unfortunately the seats looked well worn (again - they were clean), and the couches especially looked past their date - unfortunate since from a classic perspective - the room was quite nice. A larger tv was found along with the tea cups, kettle and coffee + tea options.
There was no great view per-se from the room, but it gave me a good idea of my surroundings. The bathroom itself was completely featured a marble sink - and featured the Ritz-Carlton's standard quality Asprey ammenities which I quite like.
It also featured a smart toilet - which I couldn't figure out. Perhaps it wasn't working properly?
As I was really starting to feel the lack of sleep from my lufthansa flight, I decided to hop into my bathrobe and grab around 2 hours of shuteye. I did head off to the club lounge for a quick lunch in between pictures and a nap, but I didn't take any photos at that time (more on that below).
When I woke up I was feeling super groggy, but decided that I needed to go out and explore Seoul before it got to dark, so I grabbed a map from the concierge (located at the club lounge AND the lobby) and shot off towards the Gyeongbokgung Palace and other sights. Mind you it's a miracle I managed to find my way at the start as I was so groggy I was at the wrong machine for the metro tickets (I honestly don't even know what machine that was for). The great thing about South Korea is that everyone that's below 30 speaks english - which made it far easier to ask for directions and get about. Here's a few pictures I took in Seoul (it was a bit overcast the whole day unfortunately, so the pics weren't too great with the light. Due to my slowness in getting out- the Palace entrance was unfortunately closing for the day but the guard let me sneak in for a quick photo or two which was nice, even though he didn't speak English at all.
The train journey here was at least 30 mins, and it seems that many of the hotels were here as well in the business district. Either way, I went to a nearby market and just walked around getting a feel of the place and the culture before heading to meet my friend for some much anticipated Korean Barbecue and a drink!
The catchup was great, and hopefully we don't have to wait 14 years to do that again! I decided to head back as I had a morning flight to Osaka (Japan), and wanted to get some good rest to make up for the lack of rest today, so I took the metro/subway back and unfortunately it started raining as I got back to my stop in Gangnam - however this picture was too pretty not to take with all the lights at night.
[IMG][/IMG]
Once back in the room I was pleasantly surprised to find a note from the hotel wishing me well about the stay - obviously booking with a media rate is a given that they'll know it's a review happening - but aside from this note - I don't believe the treatment was any different (just how I prefer it). I wouldn't be surprised if othere's guests got it as well however - considering the 'Tripadvisor' advert.
I ended up crashing pretty soon after my shower, and woke up after a nice 8 hours of sleep - packed, and headed to the club lounge for some brekky before checking out.
The breakfast section wasn't massive by any means since this was just a club lounge, but the spread was still of good quality. It was mostly a buffet section with pastries, cold meats and salds, bread etc - with a tiny hot food section which could be ordered. Since I had to go to the airport after this - I decided to order the Oatmeal since it should have been quick. Unfortunately it wasn't and it took nearly 25 minutes to arrive (good thing I ordered it before getting the buffet). I'm not entirely sure if they forgot the order, or they were just generally slow - I'm just glad I didn't order the pancakes! Either way, full, I rushed back to the room and went to check out and enquired about the bus. Unfortunately it seemed like the bus was late and I was starting to run a little late - so I had to book a cab which ended up costing me $80 to the airport versus $25 for a bus.
All in all, while it was a really short experience, the experience was almost flawless at the hotel, only let down by the old styling and furniture. However, as of Jan 1 - the Ritz-Carlton Seoul has closed for renovations for around 6-7 months, so by August we should hopefully see a much grander experience worthy of the Ritz-Carlton Brand.
Last edited by jubbing; Feb 12, 2017 at 4:25 pm
Feb 12, 2017, 4:55 am
#48
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Australia
Programs: KrisFlyer, AA, Qantas, SPG, Marriott
Posts: 592
Review: Japan airlines first class 777-300er, tokyo to sydney
Japan Airlines 777-300ER
Tokyo - Sydney
Depart: 7:25pm
Arrive: 6:10am
Class: First Class
I've left a gap between South Korea and Japan because it was mostly meeting up with my family in Japan, so I didn't really go into any hotels or flights (flew Asiana Business) in between - however, I though it would be a nice idea to share some pictures of Japan (which is super cool by the way - 4 days is just not enough).
Anyways moving forward - before my flight I had tried to go up to the Tokyo Tree - but as it turns out, the line was just too long and I had to jump out as I knew the train would take at least 40 mins to the airport. Tokyo's subways system is incredibly well connected - but the size of the city means that distances can be very long. When I got to the airport, I went straight to the First Class check in counter, got my ticket and made my way to the priority security area - which was a breeze. Once on the other side, I made my way to the Japan Airlines First Class lounge, where I had about 1.5 hours or so to kill, and I did so by promptly filling myself up with food.
While there was nothing special about the seating in the lounge, I liked how spacious and spread out everything was. Of course, the highlight of the lounge was the Sushi Bar, which is exactly where I parked myself - to enjoy some freshly made sushi and beer.
Of course, a few plates of Sushi wasn't enough, so went to the buffet section and picked myself up some Katsu Curry with rice. The food section was actually rather small, and while I didn't take a picture of the buffet, I took some food shots.
The view from the lounge was a nice shot of all the JAL planes lined up.
As it was nearing boarding time, and I was starting to feel full - I made my way to the gate early. Once there, I noticed JAL follows a very odd line-up procedure (or perhaps Japan in general?) where people are line up next to each other by class - First, Business, Economy from right to left. I proceeded to get into the First class line behind two other people, and soon we were boarding as I made my way to the plane. I was welcomed by two fairly friendly (but very hospitable) air hostesses, and shown to my seat.
The seats themselves were very comfy, but I could certainly tell they were old right away. The color scheme itself was a bit of a letdown, but perhaps it's more a subtle elegant Japanese style. However, despite that everything was very well maintained, it was really the tv quality which gives away the age, as it doesn't stand up to modern tv standards. The seat featured an ottoman in front, where I kept my bag till takeoff, and a few side table pockets where I could either charge my phone or store my personal items. As the cabin slowly filled up, I noticed there were only 3 other passengers with me, so it was a fairly quiet cabin. Business class on the other hand was packed.
Loewe ammenity kits (which were quite nice) and Bose noise cancelling headphones were given out while I was taking photos.
One little thing I liked was the personal light to my left, which also acted as a headphone stand while I wasn't using it.
One of the junior air hostesses came by and asked if I would like to drink something before taking off, and I requested a Champagne. "Which champagnes do you have?", "uh sorry I'll go check first". Alright then. She returned with a bottle of Salon Cuvee (2012 or 2014 I forget), and I happily accepted. It's no Krug, but Salon is a perfectly drinkable champagne. It was accompanied by a warm towel.
Soon, I was asked if I would like Large or Medium. I was a little confused - their English wasn't too great, so it was a challenge at times communication, but small discussions were fine. I soon figured she was referring to what size Pajamas I wanted, I requested the Large and changed into them before take off. As I came out, the airhostess was waiting to take my clothes, and hang them up- which I loved. I sat down and got comfortable, and shortly thereafter we were taking off.
I have to say, Japan Airlines Jimmy Jams (PJ's) were some of the best I had ever received - they were snuggly, comfortable, and felt of high quality. Once we were in the air, I was asked if I wanted to Western meal course or the Japanese meal course - having just left Japan I decided to stick with the Japanese meal course. While I waited, I tried to use the internet, which was pockets of good and pockets of horrible throughout the flight (flying over the ocean doesn't help). One of my phones worked, but the other phone refused the connect to the net - I tried to get some help, but unfortunately everyone was out of ideas. Oh well, I was content with one phone then. At one point during the flight, the air hostesses came to me to try and get some help with another passengers phone (which was odd, but I helped anyways).
Anyways, I'm not going to remember the names of all the foods that I got, so I'll try to describe them from memory, of the meal which turned into a Japanese 7 course meal on a flight!
It started out with another glass of champagne and some strange entrees - beef wrapped tofu and something else. Edible, but nothing special. This was followed out by 5 bowls very nicely presented.
Tofu, some squid, and some other things I won't even bother guessing - 2 of the 5 bowls were nice, the other two were very strange in taste to me, so I let them me. I appreciated the presentation however, which was a little more unique.
This was followed by one of my favorites - Caviar. It was served with some odd sort of raddish which was not great - and it definitely didn't gel with the caviar (I would have preferred the standard caviar accomplishments). The caviar was very nice though, and I polished that off. This was followed by some sort of miso soup.
I'm not much of a soup person, but it was alright. I had a little and left the rest. This was followed up by some more Caviar, which was to be mixed with some milky looking dish, with some seafood. Very very odd, I did try to finish it, but my taste buds were screaming murder - however I'm all for trying new things, and knowing what to stay away from ��
That was followed up by the main dish, rice and teryaki beef - this was actually quote nice and I did finish it all off (with the exception of the egg and the soup).
Dessert followed up, and it was quite nice. I asked the air hostess what to do, and she explained that I needd to mix them all together, and eat the sorbet before this to cleanse my palet. I'm not a dessert person, but the rice pudding bit was delicious, and the green macha.. fudge (?) was decent too.
As I finished up, I wished I had sort of had the western meal as I wasn't entirely impressed with the food - but the service and presentation was fantastic. No regrets though as I got to experience some new things. The air hostess suggested I have some warm relaxing tea (which I asked her to choose for me) and it was accompanied by some Jean Paul Hevin chocolates (which I put in my bag to give to the chocolate lovers in my family).
Around this time, I asked my bed to be made as I made my way to the toilet. One thing to note, is after many First Class flights in an A380, you almost forget how cramped the bathrooms in the 777 can be. I came back to a nicely made bed in the suite next to mine (spare seats = ease of choice). One thing I have to say is that Japan Airlines is the only airlines I've flown who use proper bedding mattresses (either a Hot or soft type), and it was extremely comfortable to sleep on. The blankets were nice too - though probably too thick for this flight as JAL seem to like to keep cabins not too chilly.
It's a 10 hour flight, and I got a decent 4 to 4.5 hours of total sleep here, and was only awoken because the cabin was a little warm (though not steamy mind you). I was offered breakfast once I woke up, and I went to change in the meanwhile.
Cheese with Omlette and an orange juice was available, but since I'm not into eggs, I opted to start with the fruit instead.
I took another pic of my bed before they cleared it away.
By the time I was in the bathroom and changed, everything had been neatly cleared up and ready, and soon after we landed. Japan Airlines was an interesting one because the food presentation was great, the taste was hit and miss for most of the dishes. I did like the concept of a 7 course meal though, and the staff were genuine, despite the language barrier. Would I fly again as my first choice? Probably not as first choice, but I would certainly give them another go! All I can say was that I was happy to be home in Australia - finally.
Thus ends this Trip Report - thanks for reading everyone!. I've already started a new 2017 FT Trip Report (Discovering Great Italian Hotels). You can check that out here.
Tokyo - Sydney
Depart: 7:25pm
Arrive: 6:10am
Class: First Class
I've left a gap between South Korea and Japan because it was mostly meeting up with my family in Japan, so I didn't really go into any hotels or flights (flew Asiana Business) in between - however, I though it would be a nice idea to share some pictures of Japan (which is super cool by the way - 4 days is just not enough).
Anyways moving forward - before my flight I had tried to go up to the Tokyo Tree - but as it turns out, the line was just too long and I had to jump out as I knew the train would take at least 40 mins to the airport. Tokyo's subways system is incredibly well connected - but the size of the city means that distances can be very long. When I got to the airport, I went straight to the First Class check in counter, got my ticket and made my way to the priority security area - which was a breeze. Once on the other side, I made my way to the Japan Airlines First Class lounge, where I had about 1.5 hours or so to kill, and I did so by promptly filling myself up with food.
While there was nothing special about the seating in the lounge, I liked how spacious and spread out everything was. Of course, the highlight of the lounge was the Sushi Bar, which is exactly where I parked myself - to enjoy some freshly made sushi and beer.
Of course, a few plates of Sushi wasn't enough, so went to the buffet section and picked myself up some Katsu Curry with rice. The food section was actually rather small, and while I didn't take a picture of the buffet, I took some food shots.
The view from the lounge was a nice shot of all the JAL planes lined up.
As it was nearing boarding time, and I was starting to feel full - I made my way to the gate early. Once there, I noticed JAL follows a very odd line-up procedure (or perhaps Japan in general?) where people are line up next to each other by class - First, Business, Economy from right to left. I proceeded to get into the First class line behind two other people, and soon we were boarding as I made my way to the plane. I was welcomed by two fairly friendly (but very hospitable) air hostesses, and shown to my seat.
The seats themselves were very comfy, but I could certainly tell they were old right away. The color scheme itself was a bit of a letdown, but perhaps it's more a subtle elegant Japanese style. However, despite that everything was very well maintained, it was really the tv quality which gives away the age, as it doesn't stand up to modern tv standards. The seat featured an ottoman in front, where I kept my bag till takeoff, and a few side table pockets where I could either charge my phone or store my personal items. As the cabin slowly filled up, I noticed there were only 3 other passengers with me, so it was a fairly quiet cabin. Business class on the other hand was packed.
Loewe ammenity kits (which were quite nice) and Bose noise cancelling headphones were given out while I was taking photos.
One little thing I liked was the personal light to my left, which also acted as a headphone stand while I wasn't using it.
One of the junior air hostesses came by and asked if I would like to drink something before taking off, and I requested a Champagne. "Which champagnes do you have?", "uh sorry I'll go check first". Alright then. She returned with a bottle of Salon Cuvee (2012 or 2014 I forget), and I happily accepted. It's no Krug, but Salon is a perfectly drinkable champagne. It was accompanied by a warm towel.
Soon, I was asked if I would like Large or Medium. I was a little confused - their English wasn't too great, so it was a challenge at times communication, but small discussions were fine. I soon figured she was referring to what size Pajamas I wanted, I requested the Large and changed into them before take off. As I came out, the airhostess was waiting to take my clothes, and hang them up- which I loved. I sat down and got comfortable, and shortly thereafter we were taking off.
I have to say, Japan Airlines Jimmy Jams (PJ's) were some of the best I had ever received - they were snuggly, comfortable, and felt of high quality. Once we were in the air, I was asked if I wanted to Western meal course or the Japanese meal course - having just left Japan I decided to stick with the Japanese meal course. While I waited, I tried to use the internet, which was pockets of good and pockets of horrible throughout the flight (flying over the ocean doesn't help). One of my phones worked, but the other phone refused the connect to the net - I tried to get some help, but unfortunately everyone was out of ideas. Oh well, I was content with one phone then. At one point during the flight, the air hostesses came to me to try and get some help with another passengers phone (which was odd, but I helped anyways).
Anyways, I'm not going to remember the names of all the foods that I got, so I'll try to describe them from memory, of the meal which turned into a Japanese 7 course meal on a flight!
It started out with another glass of champagne and some strange entrees - beef wrapped tofu and something else. Edible, but nothing special. This was followed out by 5 bowls very nicely presented.
Tofu, some squid, and some other things I won't even bother guessing - 2 of the 5 bowls were nice, the other two were very strange in taste to me, so I let them me. I appreciated the presentation however, which was a little more unique.
This was followed by one of my favorites - Caviar. It was served with some odd sort of raddish which was not great - and it definitely didn't gel with the caviar (I would have preferred the standard caviar accomplishments). The caviar was very nice though, and I polished that off. This was followed by some sort of miso soup.
I'm not much of a soup person, but it was alright. I had a little and left the rest. This was followed up by some more Caviar, which was to be mixed with some milky looking dish, with some seafood. Very very odd, I did try to finish it, but my taste buds were screaming murder - however I'm all for trying new things, and knowing what to stay away from ��
That was followed up by the main dish, rice and teryaki beef - this was actually quote nice and I did finish it all off (with the exception of the egg and the soup).
Dessert followed up, and it was quite nice. I asked the air hostess what to do, and she explained that I needd to mix them all together, and eat the sorbet before this to cleanse my palet. I'm not a dessert person, but the rice pudding bit was delicious, and the green macha.. fudge (?) was decent too.
As I finished up, I wished I had sort of had the western meal as I wasn't entirely impressed with the food - but the service and presentation was fantastic. No regrets though as I got to experience some new things. The air hostess suggested I have some warm relaxing tea (which I asked her to choose for me) and it was accompanied by some Jean Paul Hevin chocolates (which I put in my bag to give to the chocolate lovers in my family).
Around this time, I asked my bed to be made as I made my way to the toilet. One thing to note, is after many First Class flights in an A380, you almost forget how cramped the bathrooms in the 777 can be. I came back to a nicely made bed in the suite next to mine (spare seats = ease of choice). One thing I have to say is that Japan Airlines is the only airlines I've flown who use proper bedding mattresses (either a Hot or soft type), and it was extremely comfortable to sleep on. The blankets were nice too - though probably too thick for this flight as JAL seem to like to keep cabins not too chilly.
It's a 10 hour flight, and I got a decent 4 to 4.5 hours of total sleep here, and was only awoken because the cabin was a little warm (though not steamy mind you). I was offered breakfast once I woke up, and I went to change in the meanwhile.
Cheese with Omlette and an orange juice was available, but since I'm not into eggs, I opted to start with the fruit instead.
I took another pic of my bed before they cleared it away.
By the time I was in the bathroom and changed, everything had been neatly cleared up and ready, and soon after we landed. Japan Airlines was an interesting one because the food presentation was great, the taste was hit and miss for most of the dishes. I did like the concept of a 7 course meal though, and the staff were genuine, despite the language barrier. Would I fly again as my first choice? Probably not as first choice, but I would certainly give them another go! All I can say was that I was happy to be home in Australia - finally.
Thus ends this Trip Report - thanks for reading everyone!. I've already started a new 2017 FT Trip Report (Discovering Great Italian Hotels). You can check that out here.
Feb 12, 2017, 8:58 am
#49
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Germany
Programs: Some
Posts: 11,535
While the public spaces at RC Seoul looks very nice I find the suite meh. Sure it my be big enough but I can't see a real furnishing concept. Good excample why RC is going down over all with some excemptions.
Feb 12, 2017, 4:06 pm
#50
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Australia
Programs: KrisFlyer, AA, Qantas, SPG, Marriott
Posts: 592
My contact there has gone, so I'm not able to check WHAT is being done, but I can probably ask head of Communications about this in a few weeks/months to see if they can share any info.