krazykanuck

This whole trip came about because I wanted to find an aspirational use for 2 Marriott 60k Free Night certs that were burning a hole in my pocket. These began life as Ritz Tier 1-4 FN certs from the CC sign up bonus and were converted to 60k certs during the program transition. Earlier in 2019 before the introduction of Category 8, this meant virtually any Marriott in the world was bookable, so I picked Al Maha, a beautiful full board property outside of Dubai. I locked that down in February, grabbed some EY J/F flights with AA miles, and then mostly forgot about the trip until October.

Closer in, I realized I had a week in the UAE and a bunch of expiring hotel free night certificates to burn, so I lined up nights at the Hilton The Walk in Dubai, Waldorf Astoria Ras al Khaimah, and St. Regis Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi to round out my week of relaxation and resort hopping before heading back to Europe for NUE DO.

This was part of me being gone from home for three straight weeks, but I’m going to omit the mileage run, week of work in Paris, and 4 days in an Airbnb in Budapest where I worked from home for the first part of the week of US Thanksgiving. The mileage run was to MAD, and then I did a same day MAD-AMS-JFK//JFK-CDG to get back for work. I didn’t even have time to go back to my apartment… If anybody cares about the stuff I omitted just let me know and I’m happy to add it back.



Moxy CDG, EY J CDG-AUH, and Dubai (Hilton and WA)
Al Maha
St. Regis and Abu Dhabi
EY F AUH-CDG and NUE DO

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Moxy CDG
1 night
Rate paid: €70

I left Budapest wondering if the Moxy was even open since the Marriott website still said “opening November.” Sure enough the grand opening party was the night of my stay, so I was treated to music, an open bar of beer/wine/select cocktails and snacks.



As far as the hotel itself, it’s a pretty cookie cutter Moxy with no discernable difference from the ones I’ve stayed at in Berlin or Heathrow. I selected the F&B credit as my Platinum amenity which wouldn’t have completely covered the overpriced €15 breakfast, but due to some mix up at check in the credit didn’t get applied and they wound up just waiving the breakfast fee.



Etihad Lounge CDG

Following check in, which opened 30 minutes later than the Etihad website said it would, I was provided a fast track pass for security and immigration and within minutes was in the EY lounge. For an outstation lounge, the dining and drink options were pretty good. I was hungry, so I ordered a burger sans fries and a glass of champagne. The buffet had a biryani, a curry, a noodle dish, salad, and some desserts. Nothing was great besides the desserts.



Burger



The lounge also had Glenfiddich 21 on offer which I hadn’t had before which was a nice scotch and at nearly $200/bottle was a treat.

EY 38
Etihad CDG – AUH J
777





The Etihad J 1-2-1 seating is fairly standard and perfectly comfortable for an overnight flight. Despite the late hour I took one for the team and had the dinner, though I was too full for the cheese course.

The mezze appetizer plate was pretty tasty



The beef cheek with veggies and potato was really good



The chocolate fondant was delicious



After dessert I crashed, slept through breakfast, and was woken up upon descent to AUH. After clearing immigration, I went to the Arrivals Lounge for a couple of diet cokes and to check email. There was a bit of food available, mostly light bites like breakfast pastries since it was about 7:30 am.

Hilton Dubai The Walk
1 night
Price Paid: 1x Hilton Free Night

I had reserved a car for the week from Avis and hit the road. The Hilton was an easy 90 minute drive from AUH with virtually no traffic being that it was early on a weekend, well Friday, morning.

I was able to check in around 9am and take a nap until noon. I only received the base level room that I had booked as I seemed to lose my upgrade due to the early arrival, but that wasn’t a big deal to me as the base rooms are quite spacious.

View from my balcony



I spent the afternoon sitting on the beach, relaxing, and reading a book. Not that I had any, but beers on the beach would run ~$15/USD each.

Had a nice view of the water and beach.

The Executive Lounge happy hour had a decent food spread and they were very generous and proactive with the free drinks. The patio was also nice to be able to sit outside and since the lounge is on the 35th floor had a good view as well.

Diamonds are able to take breakfast in the main restaurant which I’d recommend since it has a much better selection than the lounge does. The food was very good and high quality. I had a great omelette and a bunch of various fresh fruit. I had breakfast in the restaurant and then went up to the lounge patio for some coffee.

Shortly before noon I packed up and hit the road for the next hotel!

Waldorf Astoria Ras al Khaimah

Price Paid: 1x Hilton Free Weekend Night

There are two WA’s around Dubai and I don’t entirely remember why I picked this one, but it was a bit pricier on cash rates and had good reviews on FT. Overall I had a great one night stay with both the hard and soft product being fantastic.

I was upgraded to a King Deluxe with seaview and balcony, which seemed much larger than a standard room and offered way more space than necessary for one person, but it was very much appreciated!









Down to the beach, the beach here was the least nice of the 3 beach hotels I stayed at. Not dirty or anything, just more coarse sand, bit rockier, and so on. The towels and water on the beach were self-service (oh the horror!)



While the menus for the hotel restaurants looked good they were more than I wanted to spend on dinner, so I walked to the mall that is about 20 mins away and got some Indian food at the food court. There was also a liquor store a short drive away that had a selection on par with what you’d find in the US that was easy to buy at. I picked up some beer to have on the beach and in the room.

Breakfast the next morning was busy, but a huge spread, and the only hotel I stayed at that had pork products on offer. After breakfast I grabbed my book and sat by the pool until checkout time at noon. I thought about getting late checkout, but with the near 2 hour drive to my next hotel, I wanted to get on the road anyway.

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Al Maha, a Luxury Collection Hotel
2 nights (2x 60k Marriott FN certs)



This was the highlight of the trip, and overall one of my best hotel stays ever. I arrived around 2pm and one of the guides parked my car while check in formalities were completed. I was also able to sign up for the evening camel ride activity.

They asked me if I wanted lunch and I obliged. Just a casual three course lunch…

Incredible burrata and tomato salad



Fantastic Indian dish – my mind is blanking on the bread, it’s not naan, but softer and more rich



Chocolate tart for dessert



I was assigned Suite 8, which is a short walk/drive from the main building.









After a short rest and a beer, it was back to the reception area to leave for the sunset camel ride. One of the other guests had second thoughts about the ride after getting moderately freaked out as the camel stood up and opted for the Toyota Land Cruiser instead.

At the end of the ride, the staff had set up snacks and an open bar of beer and sparkling wine.









Shortly after sunset, we hopped on the camels to head back. As the guide pointed out, “the camels don’t have headlights!”

Dinner was very good, but felt somewhat like a formality travelling solo and surrounded by people who…weren’t. The staff seem to be used to this and if you’re alone they will often drop off newspapers to read. I got so tired of sitting there and was tired so I asked my waiter if he could send my dessert to my room. Not a problem! About 10 minutes after I got back to my room, room service arrived with my final course! Apologies for the poor pictures…







After a great sleep I had to be up for falconry which was very cool. In the lobby they have snacks and an espresso/coffee machine available for your pre-activity buzz. Falconry was a short walk down the hill and featured two falcons and an eagle.

Oh – hi! Just snacking here.









I went to breakfast after falconry and had the same server from dinner the night before who inquired if I was feeling better after skipping out early. I have nothing but good things to say about the staff at Al Maha! They were attentive without being overbearing, great about remembering my name – like to the point of golf carts stopping and saying Mr. Krazykanuck would you like a lift?



I spent the morning laying by my pool, and unfortunately had to come out of vacation mode for a couple hours of work. I ordered lunch to the room since I didn’t feel like going to the restaurant. Room service set up a restaurant style table on the patio where I was joined by a half dozen gazelles looking for their share of lunch!





That afternoon I went on the wildlife drive. This was a small activity as it was the guide, me, and only two other guests in the vehicle. They took us out past the Presidential Suite and into the desert where we found a number of Oryx. Back toward the main building and out the main road we found a large group, including two that were chasing each other.





In better spirits for dinner compared to the previous night, I managed through every course in the restaurant. Gazelles mill around the restaurant patio waiting for guests to hopefully feed them! While flies can be an issue in the morning and at lunch, they don’t seem to like the cold of the evening, so it’s much more pleasant to sit outside.

On my final morning I had a leisurely breakfast and packed before my archery activity. I wasn’t too keen on it, but there wasn’t anything else I wanted to do that worked with the timing.



I was invited to have lunch after check out and prior to departure. One last lunch, where I ordered the steak sandwich. I wasn’t expecting an actual steak on a bun!

After lunch I said goodbye to the staff and hit the road. This is one of the only hotels that I left thinking “I already want to come back”. While it’s pricey, with the Marriot devaluation the cheapest its available now is 70k/nt off peak. But if you think about it and do it as double occupancy… between the meals and activities being included it adds a lot of value. I think two nights is the ideal amount of time here. I wouldn’t want to spend more time, while one night would feel rushed.

roadwarrier

Some great photos there!!

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St. Regis Sadayyat Island
1 night (1x 50k FNC)

Back in Abu Dhabi, I checked into the St. Regis for one night and was upgraded a couple levels to a sea view room with a balcony. After being nearly force fed by the kind staff at Al Maha for two days, I wasn’t very hungry for dinner and just grabbed a snack at the small grocery store that is on property. I mostly stayed in the room for the evening and had a quick call for work. I requested a bucket of ice from the butler service, which is on Whatsapp, so you don’t even need to even call somebody! Unfortunately, it took over an hour to arrive and they didn’t have any explanation for why.







Breakfast was served in the main restaurant and was a huge buffet. Everything was delicious! There was a slight hiccup when I arrived since my name wasn’t on the list of included guests. The host found me a few minutes later to tell me that the front desk somehow didn’t process my welcome choice correctly and that my breakfast was included. When I returned from breakfast, my laundry was left hanging in the closet. I received two pieces of pressing complimentary per night – I’m not sure if that’s a Platinum perk or for any StR guest, but I had a couple of shirts in desperate need of rescuing from my attempt of doing laundry in Budapest.



I had a 4pm late checkout so I spent a couple hours on the beach reading. The beach here was easily the nicest of any of the hotels I stayed at and the service was great. The attendants will lay out towels at whatever chair you point at and bring around buckets of iced down bottled water. The beach and hotel didn’t seem to be at all crowded.



Abu Dhabi Marriott Downtown
1 night (cash, ~$95)

For my final night, I stayed downtown at the Marriott. It was a cheap cash rate, so not worth the points, a short drive to the airport, and I was upgraded to a Junior Suite. I feel like I’d have needed binoculars to see the TV from bed!



I went to the rooftop pool to read, which I suppose is technically on the roof, but it is covered and has walls around it so it’s a kinda sorta rooftop pool. Following that I made my way to the exec lounge for drinks and dinner which are strangely offset by an hour, like food is out from 5-7, and drinks are from 6-8. The food was a great spread – one of the best Marriott lounges I’ve seen – Multiple hot options, good self-serve liquor selection, and nice desserts were just part of the offerings.

The next morning I was up too early around 5am, but I had a 9am flight and wanted to check out the first class lounge for at least a couple hours. Having fueled up the car the day before, there is an ADNOC station only a couple blocks from the hotel, I headed straight for the airport.

krazykanuck

Etihad F
AUH-CDG 777
1A

I had a breakfast of eggs benedict and my fair share of the bottle of Rose in the lounge. Both were delicious!





On board I had great service between the FA and the onboard chef. In full honestly, the 7 hour flight is a bit of a blur. I was disappointed that this flight had been downgauged from an A380 to a 777, but oh well, what can you do? I drank another bottle of rose.





After clearing my plate the chef was like, “you finished that?” apparently two bottles of champs fuels devouring a gigantic hunk of lamb or beef. Whatever it was it was delicious!



Ugh. So good but so bad. Nap time now.



JUMP TO NUE DO

Arriving to a general strike in Paris, I had been wondering if my flight to NUE would even happen, having received ominous emails from Air France the day before. Thankfully they revised up the percentage of flights they intended to operate and my flight was spared.

I have a love hate relationship with CDG. Mostly hate, as there isn’t anything to love about this place unless you’re flying AF La Premiere. Today I got to fly out of Terminal 2G. I didn’t even know this was a thing, but it’s like AA’s Eagle Nest at LAX except it’s not connected to anything, landside or airside. So a shuttle bus and annoying security check later I was in the AF Lounge. One more call for work that I normally would have skipped had it not been with one of my main clients.



At T-30 the boarding gate was posted and I headed down for the short flight to NUE. Not sure whether it was due to the strikes, but my flight was only 1/3 full. A Heineken and a muffin were consumed and we landed. Landing in NUE, I took the metro to the central station where the Le Meridian is across the street.



Le Meridian Grand Place
3 nights (25k/nt Marriott points)

I had booked this prior to the last couple of Marriott devaluations. The room was rather cozy in size, but the breakfast buffet was great. I always love a breakfast that included sparkling wine for mimosa!





Photos from wondering around NUE, the Christmas markets, etc. fozzyNUE kept us on schedule and out of trouble!











Unidentifed mass of meat and chips at dinner our final night



On Sunday morning, I went to the DB Rail Museum which is a short walk from the central station. For only a few euros I thought it was worth the price of admission, especially since they have pretty cool indoor and outdoor train displays.



Back to NUE there is only one lounge, which is Priority Pass accessible, but wasn’t needed for me as Air France gave me a pass as a Delta PM/Skyteam Elite Plus. It’s really not worth going out of your way for unless you like room temperature-ish beer.

The flight back to Paris was uneventful and upon landing took the bus back to real CDG to recheck my bag and leave the Schengen Zone.

I’m going to kill this one here because I have nothing to say about the onward AF Y flight besides that I think this has to be the worst timed CDG-JFK flight of the day. It leaves at 7:20 pm, you land in NYC at 10 pm, or 4 am Paris time. It’s just bad news. My sleep schedule was screwed up for the next couple days. F that ..... For better or worse, my Paris-based employer laid me off in February, so that was my final commute. At least the flight to/from Europe was paid by work, so subsidized vacation is always a good thing.