quirrow

Sometime around August, I had decided to return back to Asia after spending a few years in Canada. Having picked up skiing, I was keen to join my friends on his annual trip to Hokkaido for snow sports, and obviously ski in fresh deep powder. The plan was to have a chalet that we would share and that also includes renting a car.


Sunset at Pudong

However plans change and while I was due to join them for the second week of January, I had to be off to Shanghai, China for some work after Christmas. Since China was along the way from Indonesia to Japan, I searched on Google Flights for tickets with a stopover in Shanghai along the way.


Flying past Yokosuka into Tokyo Haneda

As it turns out, the cheapest fare was a red-eye flight from Singapore to Shanghai Pudong, allowing me a few days in the city to settle the business I had there before connecting to another flight out of Shanghai Hongqiao to Tokyo Haneda on New Years' eve. The return flight departs out of Tokyo Haneda again to arrive in Shanghai Pudong giving me a few hours of layover before another red-eye flight back to Singapore via Pudong. With the longest flight being red-eyes, the upgrade to Business Class seems like a nice compromise, especially when the cost of this fare is slightly more than the cost of a direct Singapore to Japan flight on Singapore Airlines in Economy!


Shanghai Airlines Business Class on the A330

The itinerary would give me my first flight with Shanghai Airlines, themselves a subsidiary of China Eastern and add on to the list of airlines I have flown with.

With the main itinerary in place, I booked one way tickets from Jakarta to Singapore on Garuda Indonesia and Singapore to Jakarta on Air France's 5th freedom flight. I would have booked both Air France flights but the outbound Jakarta to Singapore might leave me with too little time for connecting and thus that pushed me to Garuda, a flight which I would not review here since I have covered numerous flights on them previously.


Take-off views of Tokyo Bay

As my flights only brought me to Tokyo, I purchased additional Economy Class flights for the domestic Tokyo to Sapporo segment. Both ANA and Japan Airlines sell special fares for tourists visiting Japan and a return flight purchased directly with ANA came down to $195.


Waist-deep skiing at Rusutsu

In addition, I would have a couple of days to spare in Japan before reuniting with my friends in Niseko. Since SPG just added several new properties in Hokkaido, I reserved a night at the Sheraton and The Kiroro, the latter of which is a Tribute Portfolio property, and the first of such hotel in Asia. Since they are in the same ski resort, I figured it was easy to hotel hop too. But I was unable to get a night on New Year's eve, thus I spent it in Tokyo where I was able to enjoy some of my favourite Japanese food and do some shopping before the ski trip.

The whole report would consist of the following sections:

• SATS Premier Lounge in Changi T3 and MU544 SIN-PVG Business
• Shanghai Hotels
• Shanghai Airlines FM815 SHA-HND Business
• Sheraton Kiroro and The Kiroro
• Skiing in Kiroro and Rusutsu
• JAL Sakura Lounge in Tokyo Haneda and MU540 HND-PVG Business
• China Eastern lounges in Shanghai PVG and MU543 PVG-SIN Business

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Entrance to the SATS Premier Lounge

Arriving via Garuda Indonesia on a separate ticket, I disembarked to terminal 3. What makes Changi airport great is the common departure and arrival hall, along with the ease of transfer and connecting to another flight on a separate itinerary. A visit to the transfer counter by showing the agent my connecting ticket and luggage stub, then he was able to make a call for someone to pick my luggage and issue my onward boarding pass. It was just that easy! Well done Changi!


Transfer and connections counter


Connecting flight boarding pass and lounge invite

China Eastern uses terminal 3 as well for flights to Shanghai and that made it all the more convenient as I was directed to the SATS premier lounge. The SATS Premier Lounge is located just beside the Krisflyer Gold Lounge and more readily accessible via the central atrium elevators as it is usually the lounge most passengers pass first on their way to the Krisflyer lounge.


Reception at the SATS lounge

The SATS lounge might not be comparable to Singapore Airlines Krisflyer lounge in terms of amenities or scale, but it was a nice space in itself. Since I already had dinner and had something to eat on my previous flight, I was not hungry. Thus I checked out the shower rooms and washrooms as I freshened up before the flight. There are a couple of shower rooms at the end of the lounge and it was a nice space for a third-party outsourced lounge.


Vanity counter

With Terminal 3 being the nicest terminal in Changi Airport, the SATS lounge here feels fresh and new. The shower here features both a handheld shower head along with a rainshower, so it was perfect for that quick refreshing shower for weary travellers.


Rainshower with handheld nozzle

For the lounge itself, there is a row of lone high-back leather armchairs by the partition that overlooks the main terminal. These armchairs are comfortable to lounge in and has good privacy due to the high back.


Business class lounge

As a note, from the ledge of the lounge, it is possible to see the movement of people around the terminal. One could also spot the empty space on the same floor where most guests that have long layovers tend to get some sleep at. Changi Airport does provide lots of amenities for connecting travellers after all.


View of the empty space for layover passengers

The main seating area though consists of armchairs that are more conventional for reading and socializing. These seats are also equipped with power outlets for guests seeking to get some work done or just to charge their mobile phones. It was also nice to see the outlets to be adaptable to international plugs.


Main lounge area

Situated between the rows of armchairs, there are magazine racks that are quite well stocked. Though do not expect something as wide variety here since they are mainly lifestyle magazines as I spotted the Marina Bay Sands magazine here.


Magazine racks in between rows of seats

Being a foodie nation, it is only right that the buffet counter is actually placed right by the entrance. In fact it was the first thing I spotted entering the lounge. There is a long communal table beside the buffet area for dining. Though it is also possible to bring food to the lounge area as there are side tables beside the armchairs to place the dishes.


Buffet counter and dining table

The buffet was actually half decent as there was several warm food options even so late at night (around 10:30pm). One of the options for that night includes a Japanese dish selection, which I guess are for Japanese guests. There are also fried noodles and fried rice.


Warm food options

Another corner of the counter, guests can grab some muffins or make their own toast.


Pastry corner with toast machine

There also seems to be a made-to-order noodle station but it was no longer operational this late at night.


Empty noodle station

On the beverage side of the counter, there are a couple of complimentary wines and liquors provided. The lounge is also equipped with 2 espresso machines so guests need not wait long to make their own cup of coffee. Soft drinks and canned juices are also available from the fridge as I got myself a can of orange juice while I sit down at the lounge for some reading.


Alcoholic beverages


Espresso machines

Since the airport has pretty good free wifi, there was no need for me to obtain the wifi from the lounge. For guests who do not have cell phone reception, I believe they can obtain a wifi access code from the reception. Changi Airport provides free wifi by getting a code from the information desk or requesting a code to be sent to your phone via SMS.


Orange juice at the lounge

For the short one hour and a bit more I was inside the lounge, it offered a nice place to read and get some beverages. During the day, this lounge would provide adequate food for a nice meal as well. Though, if you do not need access to this lounge, there is really no need to go all the way for access. Perhaps if it was in the day, I might just walk around Terminal 3 and spot the Singapore Airlines' A380s from the viewing area at the central atrium.


Magazine racks in the lounge

With the lounge being nothing special, I made my way to the boarding gates at the time indicated on the boarding pass. The flight was departing in one of those amalgamated boarding gates where flights on Singapore Airlines A380 usually depart from. Thus there are multiple security check lanes and no queues at all. That meant while I was through the security in no time, the flight was also boarding on time. It seems there was an early boarding as well, and what made it more interesting was that while the flight is tagged as an MU flight which indicates China Eastern as the operating carrier, the airplane was in Shanghai Airlines livery. Though it must be stated that the Shanghai Airlines is a subsidiary of China Eastern.


Shanghai Airlines A330 at Pudong

MU544 Singapore SIN - Shanghai PVG
STD-STA: 0055-0620
Actual: 0059-0529
Airbus A330-200 B-6545
Gate A16 Seat 8C to 6D

Boarding from these gates meant entering the cabin from the front for Business Class passengers. China Eastern uses the same Business Class seats as Air China on these A330s which feature forward facing lie flat seats in a 2-2-2 configuration. As I boarded, there was already someone occupying the seat 8A, so the crew asked if I might want to be seated at 6D instead which is the bulkhead row. I took her up on the offer since I wanted to sleep without being interrupted. When I got settled on the seat, the crew came around with a tray of orange juice and water, and I picked the latter. In addition, a hot towel was also served on a ceramic plate.


Welcome aboard China Eastern

The cabin is suitable for a red-eye flight as it does have a nice spacious seat that reclines into a bed. I had been on <a href="https://quirrow.wordpress.com/2013/03/11/from-mountains-to-beaches-air-china-business-class-lounge-and-a-flat-bed-to-singapore/">Air China's Business Class</a> which features the same seat so the hardware was actually quite good. These are also the same seats found on LOT Polish's 787.


Business Class cabin on China Eastern's Airbus A330

Aside from the welcome drink, there was also a pillow and a wrapped blanket on the seat. By the ottoman, there was a slipper in a re-usable shoe bag. I like the way these slippers are presented as I could have a use for these shoe bags since I like to bring along a running shoe or flip flops for those vacation.


Slippers amenity

While waiting for boarding to be completed, the cabin crew passed around the menus for this flight.


Inflight magazine and menu

What was unique here was that the purser for the flight would take your order and retrieve the menu as the menu lists out the various choices for all the Singapore to Shanghai flights. For this particular flight, only breakfast would be served prior to arrival and guests are asked if they would like to be woken up for service. I know some of the passengers declined this meal service. The menu also lists out the selections in 3 different sets, with colour coding to represent the sets. On the 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th month, it was coded red, the 2nd, 5th, 8th, and 11th month it was coded orange and the 3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th month it would be coded blue. It made it quite confusing for first time passengers though I did eventually find the correct page to look at. For brevity, I would only post the menu for this particular flight and readers interested to know the full menu could find photos of them at my Flickr album for this flight. The menu for this flight was as follow:





There was also a separate beverage menu, and while it may look impressive, I was only drinking tea and water for this flight as I refrained from alcohol since I had some matters to attend to in Shanghai for the day. The beverage menu was as follow:







Boarding did not take any longer than it needed to be as we pulled back early and made a short taxi to the runway for take-off. The flight tonight would be an extremely short one according to the captain and that meant less time to sleep. After we reached cruising altitude, the crew came around with eye shades for passengers, though I was surprised they did not pass this around earlier as some passengers were already asleep at this time.


Eye shades

The crew also passed immigration and customs form for China during this time while I started to check out the entertainment selection.


Headphones and immigration form


Inflight entertainment

As I wanted to watch something before sleeping, I asked the crew for some tea and snacks. I was given a packet of nuts along with the tea. While not exactly premium, it was acceptable for me. On a side note, passengers should not really expect much snacks for the late departure out of Singapore as the crew expects passengers to just go to sleep immediately. The crew did come around the cabin with a bottle of water for every Business Class passenger.


Packet nuts and hot tea

Not long after that I started to feel sleepy and I reclined the seat all the way down. There are no amenity kit or pyjama or socks provided even on this overnight flight either. After all this is not First Class. That left me with just one pillow and a blanket to make myself comfortable.


Pillow on lie-flat seat

It was good to have at least 3 hours of sleep on the bed as the crew woke me up for the breakfast service. To refresh passengers, there was another hot towel service and I was asked if I would like tea or coffee. I went with more tea since on a Chinese carrier, tea is the safer choice.


Tea and towel service

While the amenities might be lacking, the breakfast served was substantial and nicely presented. There was a small yogurt on the side along with a fruit bowl. As I picked the Chinese entrée, it was a bowl of minced chicken noodle with soup. The bowl of noodle was warm and tasty so I did finish it all up. There was also a croissant that I got from the crew who offered it to passengers. Surprisingly the croissant was warm and flaky, and that made for a nice satisfying meal.


Noodle soup for breakfast

After the meal, I got another bottle of water from the crew as I finished the one provided. I also asked for a pen to fill in the customs form, before relaxing for the rest of the journey into Shanghai by continuing the inflight movie from where I left off.


Bottled water and pen


Continuing the inflight entertainment

The captain was not that far off when he said we would be arriving early into Shanghai. I expect that it was nice weather that allowed that to happen and we landed into Shanghai Pudong nearly an hour in advance of schedule. There was a bit of taxi time into the terminal but the early arrival was not bad since it put us ahead of the other flights.


Business class seat

After disembarking from the flight, I made my way to the immigration though not without taking another photo of the plane. Just after I joined the moderately long queue, there was another bunch of passengers coming to join the queue. Because not much of the lanes were staffed by the customs officers at this time of the day, the moderately long queue still took about half an hour to clear. In fact the Chinese nationals queue cleared up by the time I reached the front of the line. That meant by the time I reached the luggage claim area, it was nearly empty as I picked my luggage from the carousel.


Arrival luggage claim

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I stayed at 3 different SPG properties in Shanghai, as part of a mattress run, and because I just enjoy trying out the different properties as they are in separate neighbourhoods. I would not post all the reviews for the separate properties, but for those interested, they may head over to my blog to read more about it. I have to say all 3 are decent properties though the Sheraton Hongkou stood out as it was the newest property and is located in Puxi, which is closer to the places of interest for the average tourist.

Sheraton Grand Pudong Hotel & Residences


Sheraton Grand Pudong Hotel & Residences


Elevator lobby


Superior King Room with an entry into the bathroom beside the bed


Shower and toilet cubicle


View from the room


Indoor swimming pool

The Hongta - a Luxury Collection Hotel

[img]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1497/25260320779_be02e0af7d_b.jpg
Reception desk in the lobby

[img]https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1454/25260319659_6fe293d485_b.jpg
Grand elevator lobby


Deluxe room at The Hongta

Bathroom interior


Marble bathroom with bathtub


Billiard table

Sheraton Hongkou Hotel


Reception desk in the lobby


Deluxe bathroom


Deluxe room in the Sheraton Hongkou


Console and work desk


Fitness centre lobby

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Departure hall in Shanghai Hongqiao Airport Terminal 1

I wrote before about how I liked Shanghai's Hongqiao Airport , which is the lesser known of the city's airport as it handles mostly domestic flights. The presence of a transportation hub comprising of city buses, long distance buses, the high speed rail station next to it and a modern airport terminal makes it appealing to travellers who crave the convenience of transferring. However my flight today departs from the smaller and older Terminal 1 which handles the international flights in Shanghai Hongqiao. International destinations are mainly to South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong.


Check-in counters for China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines

Terminal 1, being older has a smaller check-in hall that does not feel as brightly lit. The check-in counters for Shanghai Airlines was quite crowded in the morning, as these are shared with parent company China Eastern. Fortunately, my flight was in Business Class, and there was only a few people in line for the Sky Priority lane.


Queue for check-in

I checked my bags in as I had my ski boots and other gear inside and obtained my boarding pass. Though there was no lounge invite with entry to the lounge based on the boarding pass. Needless to say there was a moderate queue at security and there was no fast track or premium line bypass, with only one entrance for departing passengers. It took about 15 minutes to clear security which by all accounts is not exactly a long time. The lounge entrance is just opposite the security check area, and considering the terminal is not really large, there was not much trouble navigating around to find your gates either.


Entrance to the lounge

Like many domestic airline lounges in China, this one is not much different in terms of the decor. Which is to say, do not expect a lot at all. Inside the lounge it is also very busy so chances are you will be seated with strangers across and beside you. And it was noisy with the clattering of cutleries and people talking on the phone, businessmen holding conversations and the list goes on. As far as I remember, this lounge is not specifically for China Eastern or Shanghai Airlines customers but also for other airlines and holders of certain credit cards so it does get busy.


Lounge interior

Inside the lounge, there are 2 sections, one to the right and another to the left of the reception desk. Both are unfortunately as busy and the one of the right side seems brighter though both have views of the tarmac.

For a small lounge, they do serve a variety of food. Since it was early in the morning, there was a couple of breakfast items on the buffet counter just right by the reception desk. They consists of dumplings, some hot buns and dim sum items.


Breakfast dumplings on the buffet counter

The majority of the items inside the lounge though are packaged snacks, cup noodles and crackers. These are the most commonly found items in airline lounges within China. There are also bottled drinks but they were not chilled. Even those inside the fridge were more or less room temperature. Granted it might be in winter and people do not generally want cold drinks but in summer, these drink coolers are stocked with room temperature drinks too. Lounges in China seem to treat drink coolers as ornamental accessories!


Packaged snacks and cup noodles

Aside from the food, there was wifi in the lounge which is alright for checking of emails, browsing news and some social media sites but do not expect it to be for watching online videos. There was also some magazines and newspapers but they are all in Chinese language.


Beverage counter

The lounge was definitely not the best in terms of comfort especially considering this is the hub for China Eastern/Shanghai Airlines. So it was a disappointment for sure and the airport lounges would be one area to start with if China Eastern is really keen on upgrading its premium product!

Fortunately I did not have a long time before boarding as I did not really intend to stay long in the lounge either. So I actually just grabbed some packaged snacks and head to the boarding gate earlier. See, those packaged snacks does have some usefulness after all.


Shanghai Airlines A330 in Hongqiao Airport

It was time once again to board the Airbus A330 operated by Shanghai Airlines. While I did technically board one of their A330's, the flight was tagged with China Eastern as the operating carrier. So I really wanted to know if there will be any difference with Shanghai Airlines as the operating carrier even though it is a subsidiary of China Eastern.

FM815 Shanghai Hongqiao SHA - Tokyo Haneda HND
STD-STA: 0905-1230
Actual: 0922-1224
Airbus A330-200 B-6096
Gate B10 Seat 8A

Boarding started with premium passengers and elite Sky Team members and the process was not chaotic at all, so that was a good start. Once in the cabin, I was actually quite surprised to see so much of the airplane being allocated for Business class. Seats are in a 2-2-2 configuration though they are all angled-flat seats.


Seat 8A onboard Shanghai Airlines A330


View from Row 8

As I got seated on my window seat, the flight attendant serving the lightly occupied cabin came over to offer drinks. There was a choice of juices or water and I got an orange juice. I was also provided with a towel placed on a ceramic plate.


Welcome drinks and towel

On the seat itself there was a pillow and a blanket. While the seatback pockets are filled with newspapers in Chinese and Japanese along with the same slippers in the re-usable shoe bag.


Newspapers on the seatback

The seatback pockets also contain the CAAC inflight magazine that should be found in all the major state-owned Chinese carriers along with the safety manual. The safety manual is coincidentally the only logo of Shanghai Airlines in the aircraft as the rest of the amenities seems to be branded with China Eastern. There really is an identity crisis here.


Safety manual


Inflight magazines

While waiting for boarding the flight attendant passed me the menu for today's flight. The menu had China Eastern logo in the cover and is presented in the same style, with 4 sets based on whether it is an odd or even month and whether the flight is between the first half of the month or the latter half. As usual, I would only post the menu for this current flight but readers interested on the rest of the menu can view them on the photos at my <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/quirrow/albums/72157664324478960">Flickr album for this flight</a>. The menu reads like this:













Orders for the meal were taken individually with the crew even bowing down to take the orders. I think this is a common service feature with the Asian airlines.


Taking orders for meal in Business Class

Another crew member came by the cabin to distribute customs and immigration form for entry into Japan while waiting for boarding to complete which again took some time.


Customs form for Japan

During this time, I changed into the slippers provided and made myself comfortable as I munched on the snacks I brought from the lounge since I did not have breakfast, except for a cup of coffee early in the morning.


Slippers for passengers


Snacks from the lounge

Boarding was completed shortly afterwards and I have to say I chose a great time to be in Shanghai for work as the weather was clear and nice while I was there and turned smoggy with bad visibility on the day I departed for Tokyo. While there was a short taxi to the runway the bad visibility meant not much good photos would turn out. I did capture this shot of Shanghai Airlines 737 though before the plane took off. Due to the smog and dirty plane window, there was not much of a view either of the airport or the city.


Shanghai's Boeing 737

Once we reached cruising altitude, the crew came over to serve packet nuts and the beverage of our choice. Shortly afterwards, another flight attendant came to set the table for the meal service and asked if I would like any other beverage. I got a cup of Chinese tea as well.


Tea, apple juice and nuts packet

Since I had not finished the inflight movie on my previous flight, I continued the movie on this flight. Since the last flight I was on was operated by a Shanghai Airlines' plane, the entertainment selection and interface was similar. The movie was 'Back In Time' or '匆匆那年' in Chinese.


Inflight entertainment

With the tray table set, the breakfast was served by the crew. I had picked the Japanese breakfast set and it consists of 2 main plates. The larger plate contains rice and an assortment of vegetables. The smaller plate meanwhile contains 2 slices of fish, some kind of egg roll which was indicated as a bacon cheesecake on the menu and a portion of small fish on a small aluminium foil bowl. It was accompanied with a bowl of miso soup and a packet of soy sauce. The meal did not look presentable but it was alright, and the portion adequate as well. However the dishes were mainly served cold except the soup which is warm.


Japanese breakfast set

For a 2 hour flight, I did not really expect much more than that though some desserts or fruits would have been nice to end the meal. With the short meal service, I reclined my seat to watch some TV shows and relax for the rest of the journey.


Seat controls

The angled flat seat was perfect for these kind of short haul flights and it was very comfortable even for a short nap. On a reclined mode, I found the seat to be much better than the Recaro seats on Malaysia Airlines A330 Business Class. It is probably more similar to Thai Airways Business Class on the 777.


Angled flat seats

The rest of the flight continued on without any incident and the cabin was really quiet considering how light the load was in Business Class with probably only one-third of the seats being occupied. I do believe the Economy Class cabin is quite full since it is the New Year's Holiday when I travelled and there were quite a few families travelling together in this flight.


Cruising on the A330

It was a very nice weather in Japan when we made the descent into Tokyo Haneda. And the treat being in the front cabin is perhaps more for the views as we passed by the town of Yokosuka.


Yokosuka and Kaneda Bay on descent into Tokyo


Town of Yokosuka

We even passed by Yokohama and was able to spot the bay bridge before landing into Tokyo Haneda since Tokyo's Haneda Airport is actually in between both Tokyo and Yokohama and a bus ride from the airport to Shinjuku takes the same time to reach Yokohama's city centre.


Yokohama city view

Arriving into Tokyo Haneda is always a joy, since the immigration was shorter than I have experienced from Narita. Furthermore I like the new airport terminal and my luggage was also handled properly being the first few to come off the conveyor belt thanks to the Priority sticker. That allowed me to purchase my bus tickets quickly and even have time to spare to shop for some snacks at the airport departure hall.


Business Class on the A330

While this flight might seem ordinary, there was nothing wrong with it. I got a nice breakfast even though it was not the best in terms of quality, and there was a nice view during the descent. The quiet cabin made it comfortable to get some rest and allowed me to finish the movie and watch a TV show. Most importantly it got me to where I wanted to be safely and at a convenient time. For that I would say, it got the job done and more.


Shanghai Airlines Airbus A330 at Tokyo Haneda

Duke787

Fantastic start and excited to see the rest of another great quirrow TR! I have my eye on returning to Hokkaido to ski again in the next couple of years and while I didn't think the Hilton was as bad as others have said, I always am interested in new properties (though I think PH Niseko in 2019 seems like a long-term winner).

FM seats look nice on the A330. I flew them PVG - SIN last May in J and the 738 seat was quite nice definitely a step above domestic US F. It's a good thing you weren't drinking alcohol on the flight though, I think the menu is better than what they actually cater. We also had Tattinger listed as the catered champagne but it turns out they didn't actually put it on the plane (even though it was an ex-PVG flight) which was a disappointment.

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Didn't have the chance to stay at the Hilton, but the first time I went to Niseko, I stayed at Kimamaya, which is part of the Design Hotels. This time I stayed in chalet with friends. Though there is the Westin in Rusutsu or SPG properties in Kiroro for those looking to ski in this part of the world.

FM and MU are quite similar to other mainland Chinese carriers. As I had a widebody jet on all my flights, they were definitely a lot of steps up the domestic F. Catering was a hit or a miss though if one enjoys Asian cuisine, it should not be too bad. Where they fail in alcoholic beverages, they have pretty good Chinese tea.

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Modern bedroom furnishings at Sheraton Kiroro

To get to Kiroro Snow World resort where the Sheraton was located at, I took the JR train from Sapporo Chitose Airport to Otaru Chikko Station, one stop before Otaru main station. There was a complimentary shuttle bus which I had to wait more than an hour for but thankfully there was a heated waiting lounge in the station. There is also some luggage lockers and a shopping mall beside the station.


Kiroro shuttle bus information at Otaru Chikko station

Eventually I boarded the 1pm shuttle bus from Otaru Chikko Station and arrived at the hotel at about 1:45pm. Being dropped off in the hotel directly, the service was convenient. Though I have to make a note that the shuttle bus they used was pretty old without any luggage compartment making it inconvenient for guests as they need to carry their luggage up to the bus with them.


Contemporary designed entrance lobby

The check-in area of the hotel was in a nice contemporary design with dark wood accents. Another thing I noted was how the staff was wearing Kiroro branded sweaters. Since I checked in on New Year's Day itself, my SPG Platinum status has not been refreshed yet from my stays in Shanghai. Though when I showed them the app, they accorded me the right status. However with the hotel being quite full, there was no possibility to upgrade to a suite as the property has less suites. There was however a club lounge that I got access to for breakfast and evening snacks.


Reception desk

I was provided a room on the second floor and it was quite a long walk from the elevator. The housekeeping team was still conducting their work when I arrived, since I expect the hotel to be really crowded over New Years' eve, and I was already grateful to get a room earlier than usual.

Like other ski hotels I have been to the foyer of the room has racks to hang your ski jackets and pants. The one in this room also remains flushed when not in used, making the design sleek! This was a nice feature that I have found to be essential to distinguish a mediocre ski hotel from a good one. Then there was the bathroom on the right of the foyer which was very interesting.


Entrance foyer to the room with flushed hangers on the left

The bathroom is actually made up of 3 distinct spaces. The bathtub and shower area was in one enclosed room with its own door. The amenities inside is akin to those found in the Japanese hot springs bath, and they are in a wall mounted dispenser. There is another room with a door that houses the toilet beside it.


Japanese style bathroom

A common area that holds the vanity counter and the wardrobe transitions out into the foyer. What makes this layout nice was that multiple people could use the various functions of the bathroom at any one time since the doors could maintain privacy. However it does make each individual area feel darker. Furthermore the bathroom looked like it was built in the 1980s though it might not be a big issue as I will explain later. One thing I appreciated was the provision of slippers for guests.


Closet and bathroom

When I booked this room, I chose to redeem my Starpoints as it only required 7,000 Starpoints for 1 night, compared to paying a rate of more than ¥39,000 (~$380). I thought that was a very good value, though they only had double rooms available. The double rooms in the bed was actually very comfortable and met my needs perfectly.


Guest room interior at Sheraton Kiroro

The bedroom felt very fresh and new compared to the bathroom. It felt modern with light wood furnitures. In addition the lighting made the room very bright and comfortable, increasing the contrast between the bedroom and the bathroom.


Window view from the sofa bed

The view from the bedroom was also spectacular with a mountain view so it makes it a nice spot to see falling snow from. And guests could be comfortable doing just that from the sofa by the window. This long sofa could easily be converted for another bed in case you have more friends to share the room with, or for families travelling with kids.

Luggage can be placed on the bench at the end of the beds. While there was a console that has a small desk at the end with some drawers in case guests need the storage space.


Double beds

In the evening, because of my SPG Platinum status, I had access to the Club Lounge which is actually located on the second floor of the Mountain Center that is located beside the hotel and linked by a walkway. The club lounge was not large by any means but it was not crowded either. There are a total of 8 tables, each able to seat groups of 4 people located in a medium sized room.


Dining at the Club Lounge

There is a bar area at the corner where the staff are working from. Typically the hotel adds a sticker to the keycard for access to the Club Lounge and guests just show this card to the staff who will acknowledge your access. The lounge serves a variety of canapes which are mainly sliced meats on toast along with nuts, some snacks on toothpicks and cheese. Beverages include wines, Japanese beers, soft drinks and juices.

While the appetizers served in the club lounge was what I consider a bare minimum and no replacement for a meal, the view from the lounge was really nice as it overlooks the main ski area and there is night skiing in Kiroro!


Night skiing view from the lounge

Breakfast was also served in the Club Lounge and there was a nice range of food served here. There are the usual pastries, toast, cereal, yogurt, fruit and salad for a continental breakfast.


Pastries and toast

There was also a counter dedicated to a Japanese breakfast with miso soup, freshly cooked rice from the rice cooker, a selection of side dishes and casseroles containing bacon and sausages.


Japanese breakfast set

As a bonus, guests could also order eggs from the staff in the lounge and I requested for a sunny side up, which is also my favourite type for breakfast.


Sunny side up and miso soup

For guests doing an extended stay in the hotel, there are 3 main restaurants on site. One of them is the Cafeteria Lumiere which is a huge dining spot for skiers as well. This place serves mainly lunch and some after ski snacks but it closes before dinner time.


Cafeteria Lumiere

There is a buffet restaurant called Rivierouge that opens for dinner at the main lobby and a Japanese restaurant on the second floor. Though early reservations are recommended for the Japanese restaurant as it was fully booked on the day I was there. Otherwise the buffet restaurant does seem to have a nice spread of food when I went to check out the food. Though I ended up dining at the Tribute Portfolio hotel which can be reached via a shuttle bus service.


Buffet restaurant Rivierouge

Opposite the reception desk there is a gift shop that also functions as a convenience store as they sell beer, beverages and snacks. Guests could also access the public hot bath located in the Mountain Center, and it is located on the same floor as the Club Lounge. And because I took advantage of this facility which is a nice place to unwind after skiing, I did not need to use the bathroom for the shower.


Gift shop in the lobby

With the hotel being a ski-in/ski-out property that has all the ski facilities on-site including lockers, ski rentals, tuning, and the ticket counters beside, it was the perfect property to be in while skiing at Kiroro. The fact I was on a free night redemption made it a whole lot sweeter, and this is but one reason I stick with SPG for my hotel stays. While I checked out of the hotel the next morning, they were even able to transfer my luggage to The Kiroro Hotel which is also located in the same area just 5 minutes away from the shuttle bus.

This post can be found here in its original format.

quirrow

It was really easy to hotel hop between the Sheraton and The Kiroro, both of which are now managed by Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), as I was able to leave my luggage with the reception desk on check-out and they transferred it to the Kiroro automatically. After a day of skiing, I just hopped into the shuttle bus and checked in at The Kiroro. The reason I stayed at this hotel was it had been branded as a Tribute Portfolio property which is also the newest brand by SPG, and I wanted to check it out to see how it fared compared to the Sheraton.


Reception desk

Unlike the Sheraton, The Kiroro does not have ski-in or ski-out access and you can either walk about 10 minutes to the hotel from the slopes or take the shuttle bus which runs until around 9:30pm at night. That makes it less convenient if you want to be first up on the mountain.


Central atrium at The Kiroro

There was a grand lobby atrium in this hotel and it seems to be marketed as the higher end hotel though the furnishing of this property seems to be stuck in the 1980s. The check-in was another quick experience as my luggage has been sent up to the room and I received my key immediately with information regarding to the hotel's dining options and SPG benefits. Since I was already introduced to them on my previous stay at the Sheraton, I need no further clarification. Both properties share the same facilities and guests could charge their dining at the restaurants to either hotels when staying here.

For this stay, I was assigned a room on the corner and had been upgraded to a suite. Fortunately, the corner suite was close by the elevator as the elevator lobby all overlooks the central atrium.

Entering the suite for the first time, there is a spacious foyer with a wardrobe and luggage bench. For a ski trip, this space becomes very useful to store all your ski gear without cluttering up the rest of the room/suite.


Suite entrance foyer

The suite itself comprises of a large combined space for the bedroom and living space. The living room has a sofa and an armchair along with a small pantry and minibar area on the corner where there is an espresso machine that uses illy coffee capsules. There are also 2 bottles of mineral water as is the norm for SPG members.


Living room

Placed on the other end of the room was a King-size bed with 2 nightstands. While the suite was certainly spacious, it was not the best in terms of layout since there is no separation between the bed and living space with only one TV. It also does not make it easy to watch the TV from the bed as it faces the sofa. The bed here is also a bit softer and has a European setup in that the King bed is actually 2 double beds placed side by side.


Corner suite interior

There is also a work desk and chair in the suite and for a recent re-branding, the hotel has worked hard as they have supplied new stationery and guest folders in the drawer with the Tribute Portfolio branding.


View of the desk and living space

On the left side of the room, there is a very spacious bathroom, and this was once again compartmentalized like the bathroom at the Sheraton Kiroro. The vanity counter is in the main bathroom, while a separate room houses the glass-covered shower area that also has a separate bathtub. However the bathtub and shower area was quite dark compared to the rest of the bathroom.


Vanity counter in the bathroom

Another separate cubicle houses the Japanese automated toilet that is standard in most hotels in the country.


Japanese toilet

The bathroom actually has wall mounted Shiseido-branded shower amenities in the bathroom. Suite guests are also provided with an extra plastic wrapped set of Antica Farmacista amenities that has a grapefruit scent. These are quite interesting as I have never been to a SPG hotels that have these amenities.


Toiletry and amenities


Antica Farmacista amenity

Other special features of the suite includes an air purifier which I doubt many would need in the mountains since mountain air are always fresher. There is also a humidifier that is useful since mountain air is drier, especially during the winter.

Since I checked into the room after skiing, it was already quite dark outside. But the room faces the courtyard and restaurant area. This was opposite to the mountain view where the ski area is located at.


Morning view from the suite

The Kiroro also differs from the Sheraton Kiroro in that there is a paid onsen (hot springs) bath in the complex. I believe it is because this is a natural hot springs bath compared to the one in Sheraton which is smaller and is just a hot water public bath. I paid a rate of ¥900 (~$8.70) and it was an enjoyable experience thus the large bathroom was again not very useful. The hot spring bath area is located in the courtyard section where the rest of the hotel facilities are located at.


Hot springs bath foyer

Beside the hot springs reception, there is a games arcade since The Kiroro seems to be geared more towards families with children.


Games arcade

Like all Japanese resorts, there is a gift shop selling all kinds of Hokkaido specialty snacks and gifts. It is worth noting the gift shop in The Kiroro is much larger and there is also another convenience store in the hotel lobby.


Gift shop

During my stay in Kiroro, I had both my dinner in The Kiroro restaurants as they have more selection. For the first night I had the shabu shabu set at Syunsai, and for the second night, I had a Japanese BBQ dinner at Yanshu. There was one other Japanese restaurant in the hotel, a buffet restaurant and an Italian restaurant. Suffice to say, I don't think one would be bored with the selection even if staying here for a week. However the food was not that great considering the prices are what I deem to be 'resort prices'. That means prices are slightly higher than eating in cities/towns with no significant increase in quality.


Sashimi and abalone at Syunsai restaurant

The downside to staying at The Kiroro was that there was no club lounge here and thus I had to choose either the points or a free breakfast which is a continental breakfast set. Since it was just a continental set, I figured I would just have some snacks in the morning before checking out the next day and have brunch at Otaru instead.


Courtyard of the hotel

Checking out of the hotel was a simple affair and I even had time to spare before the shuttle bus boarding the shuttle bus once again to Otaru Chikko station. My next destination was actually for Niseko Ski Area and there does not seem to be any direct means of transport between these Kiroro and Niseko aside from an expensive taxi ride. The concierge in the hotel was not of much help either with this regard. Service within both hotels were on par like many Japanese hotels and the upgrades in The Kiroro was very much appreciated. In both nights of my stay, I paid a rate of 7,000 Starpoints for a free night as The Kiroro falls under the same category like the Sheraton Kiroro.


Lobby and reception from the mezzanine floor

However if I am returning to the area again, I would rather opt to stay at the Sheraton Kiroro for the newer rooms and more comfortable beds. The proximity to the ski lifts and the ski-in/ski-out access are just the priority in my opinion for a ski resort, and an upgrade is just but a nice thing to have.

The report in its original format can be found here.

offerendum

Interesting to see the different hotel-culture!

cgklax

Great trip report, I'm planning a skiing trip to Niseko and this helps alot. Thanks!

quirrow

Indeed, hotels in Asia itself varies somewhat due to geographical and cultural needs!

Thank you cgklax, I will post some photos up of my skiing in Niseko, Kiroro and Rusutsu up shortly!

quirrow

After a week of fun times skiing in deep powder at Hokkaido along with eating large amount of fresh seafood, it was time to head back home. Here are some highlights of my skiing trip in Kiroro, Rusutsu and Niseko.


Night skiing at Kiroro


When a case of too much snow is a good thing at Kiroro


Sashimi at Kiroro Snow World


Otaru Canal in Winter


Sidecountry terrain at Rusutsu


Backcountry tracks


Jumbo Pair Lift #4 at Annupuri


Sunset at Annupuri Valley


Backcountry run at Mt. Isola in Rusutsu


View from the summit at Rusutsu

The food:


Uni and Ikura Chirashi


Wagyu beef shabu-shabu


Pork belly katsu skewers at Torimatsu


Crab ramen

A more comprehensive write up of the ski resorts can be found in my blog.

quirrow

For the return journey, I made an overnight stay at Yokohama which I would not post here but it can be found on my blog. And this is the report for the return flight.

With my flight departing on a Sunday, the road to the airport was very quiet and naturally the bus ran on time. I arrived at Tokyo Haneda with plenty of time to spare as I proceed to the China Eastern check-in counters. With plenty of open counters for Sky Priority guests, it meant there was no queue and I obtained my boarding pass in no time.


Departure hall of Tokyo Haneda International Airport

Tokyo's Haneda Airport is a pleasant space to walk around before security and I spent some time taking photos of its beautiful lighting in the departure concourse.


Lights in the terminal

After spending some time snapping some photos, I went through security which was another pleasant experience in Japan. As a frequent traveller, I now mark how civilized a nation is by how well travellers are treated in the security check. Japan scores highly in this regard. Passport control was again very fast with little queues, reminding me of the scene in Singapore's Changi Airport.


Walkway in the departure terminal

Once I pass through into the terminal, I made some more purchase of souvenirs at the duty free shops which are very nice to spend time in. Tokyo has certainly made Haneda a nicer airport to depart and arrive in as opposed to Narita. While China Eastern is part of the Sky Team alliance, there are no Sky Team lounges in Haneda and nearly all the Sky Team airlines uses the JAL Sakura Lounge which also features a First Class section.


Entrance to the JAL Sakura Lounge on the second floor


Foyer of the JAL Sakura Lounge

The lounge is located opposite gate 112 in the international terminal, with escalators bringing guests to the second floor where a bright reception area awaits. A cursory check of my boarding pass and I was let into the lounge by the staff.


Reception desk upon entry

Since I had some shopping bags and a carry-on luggage, it was nice to store them in the lockers that had keys. This is another feature that I have seen in Japanese airport lounges and why I rate them highly.


Storage lockers

Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge in Haneda International Airport comprises of 2 storeys. The upper floor houses most of the lounge space while the main floor has the dining area. And to cater to guests that are lazy to climb the stairs, they have a partitioned area for lounging on the main floor across from the lockers. The design of the lounge has a minimalist feel but still maintains its warmth due to the use of wood all around.


Wooden partition in the lounge

Since I did not have lunch, I was feeling a bit hungry and head straight to the buffet counter to grab some food.


Buffet counter

There was quite a bit of people when I arrived but it was a spacious buffet counter with a wide selection ranging from a nice salad bar to pastries, pastas, dumplings and rice. I started with the corn soup and had a second serving of pasta and rice that did make me adequately full before dinner later.


Salad bar


Corn soup and sandwich

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Pasta and rice

It was certainly a nice lounge with good quality food and drinks. Guests could also have packed wet towels to clean their hands before eating. All these details makes me enjoy visiting Japanese airport lounges. While there was a crowd, there was plenty of seating and the place never got too noisy.


Dining tables in the lounge

After my meal in the lounge, I went up to explore the rest of the space. There was a neat lounging area that was very empty with circular loungers that provides a private space for guests.


Circular loungers

There is also a long table with plenty of bar stools overlooking the tarmac that would be a nice place to hang out with a couple of magazines from the shelves. Japan Airlines have certainly invested in adding English language publications but majority of the stuff still caters to business passengers who can read Japanese.


Reading corner

While the second floor is dedicated mainly for lounging, there was a bar area with espresso machines and a fridge for guests to get some drinks. There are also snacks like packed rice crackers and chocolates near the bar area. For some reason, the lounge was really quiet when I visited and it feels empty. Most of the guests just seem to work and eat in the main floor dining space. Thus there are certainly added benefits to spreading the lounge over 2 floors as it creates a very nice relaxing space to lounge as opposed to dining.


Lounge and bar area

Japan Airlines certainly has a very nice Business Class lounge in Haneda. Sky Team passengers departing from this airport certainly have it good with the nice quality of furnishings and I actually enjoyed the quality of the food in the lounge though a wider selection would certainly have been better. This was definitely a lounge that would be comfortable to spend time in and made my journey back home that much better!

From the Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge, it was still a bit of a trek to get to the departure gate for my flight, as it was located at the end of the terminal. I always think that the lesser carriers are placed away from the main terminal, though it is just a hypothesis based on some flights I took.


Airbus A330 operated by China Eastern

MU540 Tokyo Haneda HND - Shanghai Pudong PVG
STD-STA: 1810-2010
Actual: 1830-2040
Airbus A330-200 B-6128
Gate 145 Seat 8A

Boarding was already underway when I arrived at the gate and there was very few people left trying to board the plane. As I sat on the seat, the crew started to bring out a tray of beverage for passengers to choose from. I had a glass of water having drank at the lounge prior. A hot towel placed on a ceramic plate was also placed by the side for me.


Business class seats on China Eastern regional A330


Welcome beverage and towel

On every seat there was a comfortable white linen pillow and a thick blanket. The presentation was definitely inferior to that of Shanghai Airlines whose pillows and blankets have a detailed embroidery. Other than that, the seats were similar to my outbound flight from Shanghai Hongqiao to Tokyo. There was also the usual slippers with a shoe bag placed on the seatback pockets.


Legroom on the Business Class seat

While we were still on the ground, the flight attendants distributed the menu for tonight's flight. If you have been following this trip journal, you would have noticed the colour coded menu that includes meal choices for various odd and even months. But this time the menu was specifically for today's flights. That does make it a bit inconsistent, and I should note that orders for the meal was taken shortly before pullback.


Menu cover


Menu for the flight

Business class cabin was lightly occupied during this flight and it was a large cabin all fitted with angled-flat seats that would be more than adequate for this 3 hour flight. With no seat mate beside me, I had a window and an aisle seat, and certainly made this flight better.


Business class cabin during boarding

There was a slight delay on our scheduled departure but nothing too late that I was not worried about making my connection at all. The clear weather provided a bird's eye view of the city lights at night as we took off from Haneda. The views over Tokyo is another reason to fly into and depart from Haneda as opposed to Narita.


Tokyo from the air at night

During the ascent, I made myself comfortable and settled into the seat to start watching some movies. While the selection was not the greatest, it was adequate. But China Eastern could have provided a nicer headphones for Business Class. Those flimsy headphones found on the seat-back pockets seems to be no better than the ones found in Economy Class.


Headphones on China Eastern

Once the flight attained cruising altitude, the flight attendants re-entered the cabin and provided a round of beverage service. I asked for a cup of Chinese tea and it came with another hot towel that is nicely rolled up.


Hot tea and towel service

The tray tables were also set up with a table cloth and dinner service began not long after with all the dishes placed in a single tray. Somehow, there was a packet of mixed nuts included in the tray as well. Probably that would save the need to distribute them somewhere during the flight.


Dinner service

I had asked for the grilled eel kabayaki main course and it came with a generous portion of side dishes like sushi and soba (buckwheat noodle). Flights from Japan certainly has some tasty dishes and it made for a very satisfying dinner.


Grilled eel kabayaki and rice

Even after my meal at the lounge, I found myself still feeling hungry and perhaps that was why I took a bite of the eel before taking the photo! To end the meal, the crew distributed individually packed dessert that seems to be made from chestnut. It was again tasty meaning I finished it as well.


Japanese dessert at the end of the meal

After the fantastic dinner, I took the time to refresh myself in the lavatory and discovered it was kept clean by the crew. There was also air fresheners placed inside. A nice job by the crew to maintain the cleanliness of the lavatory during the flight.


Air fresheners in the lavatory

Returning to my seat, I enjoyed another cup of tea as I was offered a refill of the tea in-between the meal service. Like many modern airliners, there is a foldable tray table on the seat. Though with no seat mate, the wide armrest makes it easy to just place the cup of hot tea leaving me with less obstruction on my seat.


Foldable tray table

During the meal service and after, there was a bit of turbulence on the flight. It was not a huge deal but it just meant the service was a bit slower. As I reclined my seat to the angled lie flat position, I just took a rest for the remainder of the flight.


Seat controls

As far as I am concerned, the angled lie flat position was perfectly comfortable for a short regional flight. Though for a red-eye flight, I might re-consider. I was even able to take a short nap during the flight until we made the descent into Shanghai Pudong Airport.


Angled lie-flat seat

In the end, we did arrive about half an hour behind scheduled as we docked beside a Shanghai Airlines A330. Disembarking the plane was done in an orderly manner, marking this flight to be another ordinary regional flight.


Shanghai Airlines A330

Transiting at the older Terminal 1 of Shanghai Pudong Airport is definitely unlike in Hong Kong or Singapore. There was no clear signs for transit passengers and had I not been there before, I might be at a loss on where to proceed. Thankfully, the transfer counter was not that busy and being on a Business Class ticket, I was able to get the authorization quickly to re-enter the departure area for my connecting flight.


Disembarkation from the flight

quirrow

China Eastern Business class lounge at Gate 19

Arriving into Shanghai's Pudong Airport in Terminal 1, I made my way quickly through the transit counter and was able to pass through security quickly as I was one of the first transit passengers in line. Back on the departure hallway, I found it to be dark and really a depressing sort of space compared to Terminal 2. What confused me was the numerous China Eastern operated lounges in this Terminal 1. I thought of going into the first Sky Team lounge but that was not possible as my flight departs near the gates in the 20s, I had to use the lounge closest to my gate. Apparently China Eastern operates several small lounges just by the gates so they might have some sort of capacity control.


Departure hallway of Shanghai Pudong Airport Terminal 1


Signs to the lounges

Having obtained the lounge invite from one of the lounges I visited first, I made my way to the Gate 22 lounge which was scrawled on the lounge invite. Even though it looks kind of new with a nice reception area, the lounge did not have showers when I asked for them. Instead the lounge agents directed me to walk back to the Gate 19 lounge which has showers. Returning to the Gate 19 lounge, I discovered an empty lounge with only one staff operating the counter and a cleaning lady somewhere in the back. With no other guest, I got one of the 2 shower rooms which was clean and spacious enough.


Shower room at Gate 19 Business class lounge

There is a shower cubicle, toilet and vanity counter inside and it was brightly lit. Two wall mounted dispensers contains shampoo and a shower gel but they were not really labelled properly. There was also a basket containing some useful toiletries like a comb and a toothbrush with a paper cup. Towels were also packed inside a plastic bag for guests to use.


Shower room amenities

One interesting amenity was a rubber slipper that was provided in the shower room. Granted it might be to prevent contact with the slippery floor, but since it is a shared public slipper used by countless guests, I wonder how hygienic it still is.


Slippers in the shower room

After my shower in the Gate 19 lounge, I thought of getting some food and drinks in this lounge as it was quiet and empty. However the lounge agent insisted I should return back to the Gate 22 lounge. The logic of how the China Eastern Business class lounges work in Shanghai Pudong is sure puzzling, considering most of the amenities are the same. I find staff members in Asia generally follows the rules far too closely. I sure wished they could be more flexible in certain circumstances.


Buffet counter and dining space

While I did not linger in the Gate 19 lounge, it was perhaps average in terms of seating and food selection. There is a magazine rack at the end near the shower area filled with Chinese magazines and newspapers covering all sorts of interests.


Magazine rack filled with Chinese magazines

The lounge even has a massage chair that seems to be absent in some of the other lounges. So that was probably a nice reason to get assigned to this lounge instead.


Massage chair in the Gate 19 lounge


Pastries and sweets

Returning to the Gate 22 Business class lounge, I went to find a seat to drop my bags. With an open layout and a being a relatively small size, the lounge is visible from the buffet counter located behind the reception area.


Reception desk at Gate 22 Business class lounge

There is a bar counter and a magazine shelf that was filled once again with the Chinese publications.


Bar counter and magazine rack

And beside the bar counter lies the beverage fridge that stocks soft drinks, juices, beers, sandwiches and cut fruit platters. It was also nice that there was ice provided from the refrigerator beside the beverage fridge.


Beverage fridge

The rest of the buffet section has a variety of hot food and snacks. There are 4 choices of stir-fry dishes, with 3 being vegetable based, and one being a chicken and mushroom stir-fry. Having had dinner on the incoming flight, I was not appealed by the food offered in the lounge.


Assorted stir-fry vegetable


Chicken and vegetarian stir-fry

There are also a choice of fried rice and noodles which is probably the safer choice if one is really hungry.


Fried rice and noodle

At the other corner of the buffet table, there is a pot of lettuce fish ball soup along with a variety of snacks and candies. I just grabbed some snacks and tried a bit of the soup for the supper.


Lettuce fish ball soup


Snacks on the counter

Located beside the buffet table are some bar tables and stools catering to guests who wants to eat since the lounge seating only has side tables. Even then the space was not large by any means and the whole layout felt like a small North American airlines lounge.


Dining area in Gate 22 lounge

With a somewhat long layover, I was quite disappointed with what was offered in the lounge especially considering Shanghai Pudong is the main hub for China Eastern international flights. The disappointment went on with the wifi signal which is spotty and does not really allow for video streaming as I was hoping to spend the time by watching some videos.


Seating in the Gate 22 lounge

Many of the seating in the lounge also looked kind of dirty with stains all over and just did not make guests comfortable. If there was any investment China Eastern needs to make, it probably should start with consolidating and renovating these pathetic lounges. I find it reflects badly on an airline if they cannot even manage to put on a good show for passengers in their main hub and maybe that is why China Eastern gets a lot of bad reviews even thought their airline offering is not that bad. To be sure, unless China Eastern does something to their facilities in Pudong Airport Terminal 1, I would avoid long layovers with them, and choose one of the other Chinese carriers like Air China or China Southern which has better lounges in Beijing and Guangzhou respectively.


Shanghai Airlines A330 to operate MU543 to Singapore

I was glad when the time came to board the plane as I was getting tired and China Eastern's lounges weren't really a conducive place to spend the hours in. Boarding was conducted efficiently and there was not a large crowd waiting for this red-eye flight to Singapore so I did manage to board early being seated in the front cabin.

MU543 Shanghai Pudong PVG - Singapore Changi SIN
STD-STA: 2350-0520
Actual: 0002-0528
Airbus A330-200 B-6546
Gate 21 Seat 8H


Boarding China Eastern A330


Seat 8J and 8L

Similar to my outbound from Singapore to Shanghai, this return flight was by China Eastern but operated by a plane with Shanghai Airlines' livery. Inside it was the familiar 2-2-2 layout with full lie-flat seats that Air China also utilizes for its Singapore-Beijing route.


Seat 8H with pillow and blanket

On every seat there was a pillow and a blanket while the slippers were wrapped in a shoe bag and placed in the storage area beside the seat back monitor. After placing my luggage on the overhead compartment, I went to charge my mobile phone through the USB port underneath the armrest. At this time the cabin crew came around to distribute welcome drinks and fresh towels.


Welcome drink and towel

Granted this cabin configuration does not provide window seats with aisle access, but it sure was comfortable for an overnight red-eye flight since it is dark outside throughout the flight. That was why I picked an aisle seat in the centre column. The large size of the monitor is another plus point.


Inflight personal monitor

Boarding continued as I relaxed and made myself comfortable for this short red-eye into Singapore and I was already planning to sleep for most of the flight. Loads in Business Class turns out to be more than half full, with the port side to be filled up with families travelling to Singapore with the elderly. On the starboard side, there was some business passengers.


View from 8H

While we were on the ground, the crew distributed the menu. The meal menu was similar in that all the choices for the year was listed, with choices depending on odd/even months and either first half of the month or second half. All the choices can be seen in the full photo album for this flight.


Inflight menu


Breakfast and snack menu

The wine and beverage list was exactly the same as my outbound flight.


Wine list


Wine list


Beverage list

I was expecting the meal orders to be taken since I thought breakfast would be served. However it turns out the flight attendant just asked if I wanted to be woken for breakfast since there would be no choice as only the snack listed would be served for this flight. Perhaps it is to maximize sleeping time for passengers but it is something to note that some Asian airlines do not cater much food for red-eye flights. I also wondered why bother with the full food menu if no choices are given anyway.

Since I was going to have a long layover in Singapore and planned to pass immigration to visit the city for some errands, I asked to be woken up for the snack. Our flight did manage to pull back early and even depart earlier than scheduled. Once we passed cruising altitude, I reclined my seat all the way to a bed and managed to sleep all the way until they woke me up for breakfast.


Hot tea with towel

The snack service began with another refreshing towel along with a cup of hot tea. Because not all the passengers were awake for the meal service, the lights remains turned off. The snack tray consisted of a fruit plate as the appetizer and a main plate that contains 3 different dim sum items. One was a minced beef rice burger and they used a purple and white glutinous rice, another was a water cress dumpling and finally a bun filled with crab. The last one was the tastiest snack though it was not a filling meal.


Dim sum for breakfast

After the snack, I went to the lavatory to freshen up and brushed my teeth since I would be going out into the city later on arrival. It was not long before the pilot announced out descent and the cabin crew turned on the lights in the cabin. On this flight, the crew distributed lukewarm water with lemon for passengers along with more fresh towels. I thought it was a nice touch so passengers can refresh after maximizing their sleep time since it was a short flight with less than 6 hours in the air.


Pre-arrival service

During the descent, I browsed through the inflight magazine that China Eastern has. The language difference certainly makes it harder for foreigners to appreciate the East Asian Airlines' (ANA, Asiana, JAL and the Chinese carriers) inflight magazines.


Connections magazine

Even though our departure was not late by any means, we did land slightly behind schedule. It was still dark outside in Changi Airport when we landed but I did have a nice sleep on the flight and was refreshed enough. This flight with China Eastern had minimal interaction with the cabin crew since I spent most of the time asleep. For the red-eye flight, the seat did what it was supposed to do but the lack of sleeping amenities like socks, moisturizers and lip balms does not make it a real premium flight. To be fair, they did hand out eye shades. If passengers wanted to maximize sleep time, this flight certainly does it quite well and the service was very good too as I liked how they gave out fresh towels and warm water as a wake-up call before landing. Finally as a gauge of value, the flight on China Eastern to get to Japan from South East Asia does offer decent value for the price I paid and as Business Class tickets earns more miles, they certainly add to the overall value of flying upfront. For the right price, I would not hesitate to fly with them again but I would definitely minimize the transit time in Shanghai!


Business Class cabin

TerryK

Digging up an old thread. How did you get to ski in Rusutsu and Niseko by staying in Kiroro only? I see there is infrequent bus service to Niseko and nothing to Rusutsu.