FlyFreakquently

Introduction:
A four-letter expletive typically isn’t the first word out of someone’s mouth when they’ve been told to make plans to go to Europe, but it was for me. A few of those expletives, in fact. That is because I was only informed of this trip a mere six weeks before it was slated to begin. This forced me to rearrange some preexisting plans, figure out flights, alert my internship supervisor that I would need a couple days off, and perhaps most challenging: find reasonable close-in summer airfare to Europe which, these days, can be prove quite challenging to do, particularly if you want to fly up front. Yet, for some things, you just find a way to make it work. The chance to go to Wimbledon is one of those things.

I mentioned this in my trip report last year to the French Open and the World Economic Forum, but having a dad that works in journalism has its perks. Practically from the time I was born, I have been fortunate enough to go to some incredible places, stay in some wonderful hotels, and eat at some amazing restaurants (I believe my first taste of Foie Gras came as I sat in my stroller in the kitchen of a Daniel Boulud Restaurant). Needless to say, my dad has come through once again, this time in the form of tickets to No.1 Court on opening day of Wimbledon.

Booking Flights:
As I alluded to in the opening paragraph, there were really no great options to cross the Atlantic in June by the time mid-May rolled around. My girlfriend was going to be in DC for the summer and myself in the PHL-area, so I was looking to see if we could get something out of DCA/BWI/IAD/PHL. A quick scan of options out of these airports yielded nothing but prices that were akin to paid business class more than anything. Expanding the search, I found round-trip economy tickets from JFK starting at 1.2k per person on AA/BA. This wasn't horrible, but we wanted to fly in business if at all possible. Given that I only had one systemwide upgrade on AA to use, this would have required splitting our reservation, applying the SWU on one ticket and a miles+money upgrade for the other, and praying the upgrades came through, something that was unlikely to happen given the route and time of year. Unfortunately, the award travel options were just as bad, if not worse. American wanted over 60k miles for economy from any of the airports in the region, and business was priced anywhere from 160k to 300k miles. British Airways business class would have been a tempting offer, but availability was almost non-existent in both directions. After much searching, I finally settled on JFK-LHR on BA in premium economy for 40k miles each + $200 a day earlier than we wanted to go. I was planning on taking the Amtrak up to JFK, while my girlfriend would have flown in from DCA. While not ideal, it seemed like the best option for some degree of comfort on the overnight segment. Besides, this would have given us a good opportunity to check out the new SoHo lounge in JFK. On the way back, the best option seemed to be LHR-BWI in business on BA for 57.5k + $700. While I would have preferred not to pay the high surcharge that BA has on its award tickets in/out of LHR, a miles+money upgrade would have been essentially the same cost on top of the base fare, so paying cash just wasn't the best option for uss.

A few days later and our fortunes took a turn for the better. While my girlfriend and I were on our mid-May trip to Portland, I just happened to check DCA-LHR using miles on the AA app and saw DCA-ORD-LHR for 88k miles in American Airlines Business Class. My girlfriend probably thought I was a lunatic because of how quickly I sprinted across our hotel room to grab my wallet to pay the $5.60 surcharge, but I managed to book it before anyone else snatched it up. I also decided to check PHL-LHR and saw that PHL-ORD-LHR was jut 90k miles in American Airlines Business Class. Better yet, the DCA-ORD and PHL-ORD were due to arrive within 30 minutes of one another. I couldn’t believe our luck. Not only were these two flights nearly half as expensive as any other awards on the same day, it was for our preferred day of travel. A few days after that and BA J availability for LHR-PHL popped up. Upon seeing this, I immediately cancelled our LHR-BWI flights and switched us to this new itinerary. The LHR-PHL flight not only got in at a better time (4pm vs 7pm EST), it also meant we be on a 777-300 with the new Club World seats and not the 787-8 with its out dated ying-yang layout.

Accommodations:
With the flights taken care of, we could focus on accommodations. My Dad suggested that we stay in Kensington due to its proximity to Wimbledon and his hotel. For our first night in London, we decided to stay in the Millenium Gloucester Road. For the next three nights, due to a great Loyalty Point earning opportunity on BookAAHotels, we switched to the Park Grand in Kensington. Truth be told, the hotel was more or less an afterthought for us. We planned to be out of the hotel exploring for most of the day, so location and cleanliness were the primary criteria for our stay.

That brings us to just a few days before my girlfriend and I set off on our first international trip together (after dating for three years). While our respective internships have forced us to make this a relatively quick trip, I am incredibly excited to explore such a diverse and important city, as well as attend tennis’ most legendary tournament.

Thank you for coming along with me on this trip, and I hope you enjoy!

an_asker

Wow! This is real time. That is super exiting (compared to mine - I usually post only after I am back home lol).

Never been to Wimbledon but I volunteer at the Miami Open, so literally can watch any match I want (that is not on the stadium court and/or past the quarter final stage).

FlyFreakquently

Full transparency, I can almost guarantee will be a few days delay in getting these posts up. I just wanted to introduce the TR to put some pressure on myself to get through these posts and not drag this out.

Though I’ve only been once, the Miami Open is a great tournament. I’ve heard that the new location is not nearly as good, however.

an_asker

LOL! I feel like I am letting down folks when I don't complete my trip reports (quickly). And then sometimes I just get bored typing when there are no questions - it is as if I am rambling on and no one is really interested. Then I try to rush through to the end!
It is wonderful. Like with all decisions, there are pluses and minuses with the Miami Open location change. For us in the Orlando area, the new location is way closer than the previous location, and there is plenty more accommodation closer to the site. The stadium is definitely a minus because not too many can match the Key Biscayne location for scenery and view of the (still expanding) Miami skyline. And there is still quite a lot of access to the players in the practice courts (I have not been to any other tournament, so cannot really compare - but earlier this year, we had Alcaraz and Tsitsipas, Medvedev, and Rybakina all practicing on three adjacent courts).

AmericanCasey

I'm staying longer in a new town until after Wimbledon because three hotels here have the Tennis Channel. So I'm looking forward to reading your reports. Mackie McDonald beating Taylor Fritz in Eastbourne was a highlight today. The seagulls were quite vocal.

FlyFreakquently

Our trip report begins with a smoggy drive up I-95 North to The Parking Spot where I would be leaving my vehicle for the next few days. After a quick drop off, I had the pleasure of riding “jump-seat” for the five minute drive over to Terminal A.



Getting the airline pilot experience

I was able to whiz through security, and on the other side was greeted with a surprisingly tame scene. I had expected to see a lot more travelers given the impending holiday weekend as well as the weather-related mess of the last few days.


Philadelphia Centurion Lounge

From there, I made my way over to the PHL Centurion Lounge. I must concede that I'm not the biggest fan of the Centurion here. There are no tarmac views, it can get quite packed due to its small size, and the food has never been particularly great. Yet, this visit was remarkably better. The lounge was quiet when I first arrived which meant I had no trouble finding some space in the back corner. I enjoyed a delicious breakfast, coffee, and obligatory vacation Bloody Mary. Although the lounge eventually got busier, it never became the raucous feeding frenzy that Centurions can often devolve into.










American Airlines First Class from Philadelphia to Chicago

Summer storms wreaked havoc on the East Coast in the days preceding this trip, so I was nervous that the residual effects would lead to lengthy delay or even a cancellation. Given that there were no seats on PHL-ORD that day, nor any seats from the US to London, this would have put the whole trip in jeopardy. Thankfully, boarding got underway right on time, although the entire process lasted close to 30 minutes. The flight attendants and gate agents did get everything buttoned up quickly and we still managed to have an early departure, although this came at the cost of a pre-departure beverage service. First world problems.

After a 15-minute taxi, we took off towards Delaware and into the smog before making a sharp right turn to the North. The climb out was uneventful and it wasn’t long before we were over central-PA and the smog began to thin out, giving way to unobstructed views of the bucolic landscape below. The FA came around for drink service, so I enjoyed a Bloody Mary while passing the time watching season 1 of Better Call Saul.


Ample legroom up front on this 737




Chicago and Lake Michigan


The flight was totally uneventful, aside from steady chop from Pittsburgh, PA until we were over Indiana. We touched down at 11:30am CDT and quickly taxied over to the K-gates. After a short walk through the terminal, I made it to the Flagship Lounge where I was quickly admitted and handed a glass of Piper Heidsieck champagne to enjoy while waiting for my girlfriend's flight from DCA to arrive.

FlyFreakquently

Sorry for the lack of posts--it was nonstop action from the moment we arrived and I barely had the chance to open up my laptop. I am home now, so hopefully I can make some headway into this TR.

FlyFreakquently

Less than 30 minutes after I was admitted, my girlfriend arrived at the Flagship Lounge. Our first order of business, after securing her a glass of champagne, of course, was to take a walk around and figure out where we would like to sit for our 7 hour layover. Given that it was 12:30pm, the lounge was very quiet and that meant we had our pick of seating options. While we settled on a pair of couches against the window, I was happy to see the variety of seats on offer. There was a quiet room, a media room, couches, dining tables, and more.




Once we had our seats, we went to grab lunch. There were plenty of hot and cold food options: tuscan chicken, shrimp, charcuterie, salads, a few small bites, among other options. There was also an action station that was cooking up pasta with pea pesto and sausage. Dotted across the lounge were several fruit baskets, nut/candy dispensers, and coffee machines. Overall, I'd say the food was solid, but not great. I would rank this Flagship Lounge behind both LAX and MIA as far as food quality, but on par with JFK.





One of the highlights of the Flagship Lounge experience is the extensive self-serve bar located behind the buffet. Woodford Reserve, Grey Goose, Johnnie Walker Black, and Hendricks were all on offer. In addition to the hard liquor, there is a wine bar with the same Piper Heidsieck offered at the entrance, a rose, and three mediocre reds and three not very good whites, respectively. In the fridges flanking the liquors, there is both a beer selection and non-alcoholic beverage selection.



For some reason, AA seems to have an obsession with Bloody Marys in their Flagship Lounges. They keep a Bloody Mary station open throughout the day in all their lounges. I love Bloody Marys, but it would be nice to see them swap this out for another cocktail during the afternoon and evening.

We spent most of our layover watching planes takeoff, reading, talking, and snacking. This lounge has excellent tarmac views so we were able to see planes taking off and arriving from a number of unique places.


While the lounge definitely got busy as the primary European departure bank crept closer, it never felt overwhelmingly crowded like the Flagship/Greenwich lounge at JFK often does.

At around 5pm, we took a walk around the lounge and noticed the departure board was full of yellow. One look out the window explained exactly why this was: storms were starting to roll in to the Chicago area. Thankfully, our plane had arrived hours earlier--the departures affected seemed to be primarily those with inbounds still en route.


At this point, it was nearly 5:45pm so we took a shower. There are several showers in the Chicago Flagship Lounge which are well-stocked with amenities and have plenty of space and storage.

After a long day of travel, this shower was much needed. By the time we wrapped up, we still had about 30 minutes before it was time to board our plane to London. This was time that was spent enjoying one last drink while doing our best to contain our excitement about the trip ahead.

DFW_CK

The Chicago flagship is my favorite. Good set up, hardly ever a zoo, and the food is decent. Major kudos for not being grand central station.

work2fly

Sorry to see the Textbook cab offering in the FL is now from Paso.

This had consistently been a Napa cab for over a year.

FlyFreakquently

They certainly do a good job. I was particularly impressed by how proactive the staff was. No bottle ever sat out empty for more than a few minutes, food was constantly being replaced, and there were multiple people coming around to collect trash and dining ware.

For a business class lounge, I think that AA needs to do a better job on this front. The wine was average at best and while they had a few local brews, most of the beer was your typical domestic fare (Michelob Ultra, Miller Lite, Modelo, etc.). While I get that might be appealing to some people, I would prefer more variety in styles offered.

FlyFreakquently

Our gate was K19, all the way at the end of the concourse. By the time we arrived, Group 5 was already boarding. Thankfully, the priority lane was wide open so my girlfriend and I were able to stroll right up to the gate and board our 787-9 to London.




I’ve flown American’s 787-9 before, but never in Flagship Business. I find this to be a lovely cabin with a modern feel and large overhead bins. I also appreciate how the business class cabin is situated in front of the boarding door. I say this at the risk of sounding like a snob, but it feels decidedly less premium when there are 200 passengers walking by as they board.


The seat itself is quite big and I had plenty of room to move around and put my feet once in lie-flat mode. The seat is controlled by the touch of a button off to the side, and there is plenty of storage built in.



On the seat was a pillow and blanket, and off to the side was a pair of headphones along with well-stocked Shinola branded amenity kit containing socks, an eyemask, earplugs, lotion, and a dental kit. A bottle of water could be found in one of the storage compartments


The IFE screen was large and had an excellent variety of movies and tv shows to choose from. The IFE was crisp and could be controlled via remote or touchscreen (which I found to be very responsive).

Soon after boarding, we were greeted by the purser who confirmed our pre-ordered mains, as well as our row’s flight attendant who came around with pre-departure beverages. I had the champagne, which was decent.

Boarding took around 30 minutes, which went by quickly thanks to the on-ground in-flight entertainment. We pushed back a few minutes late and had a lengthy taxi over to 9C from which we blasted off and made an immediate left turn towards the North. Before long, meal service began. I was given a hot towel to start and drinks came from the cart. I ordered a Glenlivet 12 neat, which was served with lukewarm nuts.


Next up, we were served a salad with the lone starter option, a tomato tartare. What the hell was AA thinking with this? Absolutely inedible. Who thought it was not only acceptable to offer just one starter option, but to also squeeze tomato paste on bulgar wheat and serve that to premium passengers? The salad and accompanying pretzel roll was quite good, though.


Not long after and the main came out piping hot. I had pre-ordered the salmon based off of my delicious sea bass main on my BOS-LAX in Flagship Business in January, but I just couldn’t eat more than 2 bites of it. Even with the sauce, the salmon was flavorless and overcooked to the point where it had the texture of well-done steak. My girlfriend’s beef was overcooked as well and she complained that it was far too peppery.

Per usual, the sundae was phenomenal and went down wonderfully with the Port.


All in all, I was disappointed by the meal service and really wish I slept instead. My last few meals on domestic flights have been significantly better, and I can honestly say I would have preferred the cauliflower lasagna over what I was given. It seems reasonable to expect decent food on international business class flight, but perhaps my expectations were set too high. For what its worth, the FA serving our row was very good. She was friendly and proactive, but her service did not make up for the poor dining experience.

About two hours into the flight, I decided to put my seat in lie-flat mode and settle in for the evening. A mere ten minutes later, I was jolted awake by the question no one wants to hear: “do we have any doctors aboard?” I quickly put my seat up and saw several passengers bolt towards the back of the aircraft. Thankfully, the issue ended up being a minor and we continued our journey east without a stop in Montreal.

The seat was very comfortable in bed mode which enabled me to get a solid four and a half hours of sleep before being woken up right as we were entering a holding pattern just outside London. We were treated with some fantastic views of the city before landing into LHR at 8:30am.




Once we landed, we had to wait about 20 minutes because another jet was occupying our gate. Once the jet bridge was attached, we were allowed off the plane and corralled into passport control. This took about five minutes, and soon enough, we were in the American Airlines Arrivals Lounge.

The arrivals lounge is very small, but well appointed and aesthetically pleasing. I was a bit surprised at how empty it was, but I suppose most arrival passengers don’t even bother to visit and prefer to head right to the city.




My girlfriend and I both showered in two of the nearly three dozen shower suites and afterward, sat down to have a quick bite. Given that dinner finished just a few hours ago, we weren’t particularly hungry, but decided to sample some of the buffet and a few of the a la carte options for research purposes, obviously.







By the time we left, it was already 10am so we made a beeline to the Underground station to pick up the Piccadilly Line. Getting to the subway was easy enough, and after a 45 minute ride, we made it to Gloucester Road Station.

FlyFreakquently

We made it to the Gloucester Road station just 45 minutes later. After navigating our way out of the station, we stepped out into the chilly and gray London morning. I punched our hotel into Google Maps and to my surprise, the hotel was literally around the corner from the station. How convenient!



The hotel lobby was fairly busy but spacious and clean. There is a small bar tucked away in the corner of the lobby which got relatively busy in the evenings.
Since we were staying with my Dad for the first night and he had been there for three days already, “check-in” only took a few moments and before long, we were in the room.


Our room featured two comfortable beds and a sizable TV mounted on the wall. The room was largely plain, save for the London wallpaper behind the beds.


The bathroom was completely average, although getting into the shower required stepping over a fairly large wall.


Because we were so busy, we did not end up checking out the gym in this hotel, but I had read it is decently equipped.

After dropping our bags off, my girlfriend and I set out into the city. The first order of business was to get some caffeine in our systems. There was a Paul right across the street, so I grabbed an espresso while my girlfriend had a cappuccino. While nothing to write home about, Paul always has solid coffee and it certainly helped wake us up.


Once we properly caffeinated, we went to explore the area. Our hotel was located in Kensington, about a 15 minute walk from Kensington Palace. We found the area to be incredibly charming and had a nice blend of commercial and residential properties.





By the time we had gotten our lay of the land, so to speak, we had worked up quite the appetite. There were some interesting options in the immediate area around the hotel, including a plethora of middle eastern options. One place, Comptoir Libanais, caught our eye thanks to its colorful facade and floral interior. If we had known it was a chain, we probably wouldn’t have eaten there, but the food was quite good and the staff was friendly.




Lunch wrapped up quickly and then the real exploring began. We hopped on the tube and explored Buckingham Palace, walked to the bustling Covent Garden area, and ended up circling back along the water to finish our walk at Westminster Abbey.
















This excursion lasted several hours and it came time to meet up with my Dad for dinner. He had found a well-regarded restaurant in Whitechapel called Lahore Kabob House. This was a hole in the wall restaurant, but it was packed to the gills and smelled incredible—two signs that they are doing something right.

The three of us ended up gorging ourselves on meat, curry, and naan. The food was absolutely fantastic, made better by the boisterous vibe within the restaurant (certainly aided by the bring your own alcohol policy).






It was already 10pm by the time we got back to the hotel, so we turned it in for the night nice and early.

nequine

Got to laugh at your comment about stepping over a wall - a shower over the bath is a very common thing for hotels, especially older ones, it isn't really a wall like I was thinking before I scrolled down to the photo!

FlyFreakquently

Our second full day began with an early alarm and a trip downstairs to the Millenium Gloucester Road’s lobby. In a side room of the lobby, the hotel hosts an impressive all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet. Because my Dad’s hotel room was on a club-floor and the hotel did not actually have a club lounge (removed during the pandemic), those staying on these floors were granted complimentary a number of passes to the buffet each day.

The buffet was quite extensive and had an array of hot and cold breakfast staples. The staff, albeit perhaps a bit too eager to clear someone’s plates and utensils, were very nice and did a great job of making sure the food never got picked over, despite how busy the dining room was.






After a filling and quite honestly, delicious, breakfast, we set off for our first stop of the day: Kensington Palace. After a short walk from the hotel, we arrived to find that it was actually the late-Princess Diana’s birthday. The gates to the palace were adorned with a memorial to her, and there was even a group of ladies seated outside the gates donning Princess Diana paraphernalia.





We didn’t end up going into the palace, but it was a very cool to check out such a historic building. After walking around the perimeter of the palace, we ventured further into Kensington Park.




Our route eventually took us outside of the park and into the actual town of Kensington. It was a Saturday, so naturally, it was quite the lively scene with plenty of people eating, socializing, and enjoying their weekend.




We inadvertently ended up at Harrods, which is an iconic department store known for the extensive array of brands and shops it has. Opulence is the name of the game here; we were immediately greeted with LED signage and designer stores.





We were drawn to a particular section of Harrods which houses a chocolate store, food court, and a grocery store-esque hall containing a deli, bakery, fishmonger, and a variety of other stands. I was impressed at how high-quality everything looked. The meats and fish looked very fresh, and the prepared foods looked delicious. Nevertheless, I found it funny that this oasis of food was located inside of a department store.









After buying a few of the chocolates, we exited the food area and found ourselves in the liquor section of Harrods. There was an extravagant selection of fine spirits, including some rare bottles being sold at absolutely eye watering prices.




On our way out, we went past the gift shop, which had no shortage of famous Harrods Teddy Bears.




At this point, we decided to take The Underground to Covent Garden just to explore that area a bit more and perhaps get a bite to eat. On the way, I decided to pull an audible and get off at Piccadilly Square since we had not been there the day prior. At this stop, we were quickly swarmed by masses of people adorned in rainbow-colored outfits. We quickly realized that we had gotten off right at the heart of London’s Gay Pride Parade.



London’s Pride Parade was an absolute scene. There must have been at least one hundred thousand people in the streets watching the various performers and floats go by. While it was looked fun to participate in, it became a pain to try to navigate through the crowd since the sidewalks were completely filled with stationary people.

After nearly losing my girlfriend several times, we waded our way through the celebration and ended up at Walkers Whitehall, a pub right off the main street.

Walkers ended up being a great place to take a break from the action, and we quickly settled in with two drinks: a Guinness for me, and a glass of wine for my girlfriend. My girlfriend got the fish and chips while I committed an absolute sin and ordered a salad. I immediately regretted my decision to try and be healthy and begrudgingly ate my lunch, stealing chip after chip from my girlfriend to numb my disappointment.



Once we finished lunch, we went back out into the London streets and began making our way over to The British Museum. The museum closes at 5pm, so we were pretty limited on time having arrived at 3:45, but still made a point to try and hit as much of the “recommended” list as possible.










This was my second time at this museum and I still feel as though there is a ton more to see, so I was bummed to have not had more time to explore.

After a 20-minute ride on The Underground, we arrived back at the Millenium to gather our bags and bring them over to our new hotel, The Park Grand. The new hotel is located just half a mile from the Millenium, so it didn't take long at all before we had arrived.


The lobby of The Park Grand is functional. That is basically the only word I have to describe the check-in desk, small seating area, and Indian restaurant that comprise the lobby area.

Check-in too a bit longer than normal, perhaps due to the spirited conversation we were having with the front-desk agent about life in America versus the UK. Once we got our keys, we were shepherded by an attendant…downstairs? Yep…our room was in the basement. As we were led down the steps, my girlfriend and I looked at each other with a mixed expression of concern and confusion.

I actually didn’t mind the room itself at all. While small, it was fine for our purposes and had basically everything we needed. They even gave us some fresh fruit and a bottle of wine, which is always appreciated. However, the problem was that there was no window and the lack of natural light made the room look like a prison cell.






Yikes...

Had this room been advertised as a basement room and had come at a discounted rate, I wouldn’t have necessarily cared. What frustrated me was that I had paid the normal rate and was never warned that there would be a possibility we would be placed in the dunge…er…basement.

At the behest of my slightly-claustrophobic and understandably annoyed girlfriend, I went upstairs to politely ask the front-desk agent if there was any way we could get moved to another room. He could not have been more apologetic and explained that because we had checked-in in the evening, all of the more favorable rooms were given out. Though annoying, he did promise us that the next day, he would have us moved to a room with a window and our bags would be automatically relocated, too. I appreciated this gesture, as the situation could have been met with complete apathy from his part.

Once we got the room situation semi-sorted out, it was time to head out and meet my Dad and a family friend for pre-dinner drinks. We ended up going to The Greene King, a pub chain that has locations all across the city, due to its proximity to the Thai restaurant we had a reservation at. My G&T certainly hit the spot after a long day, and I liked how I could control the strength of the drink by pouring my own tonic water.





Our table ended up being ready much earlier than expected, so we finished up and walked the 30 feet to Addie's Thai. We ordered a bunch of different dishes to share, such as the Pad Thai, Weeping Beef, spring rolls, and a couple of curries. I'm sorry that the pictures of the food are so poor. My fellow diners couldn’t restrain themselves, so I had to quickly snap these as they pounced on the food. I promise, though, that it looked and tasted amazing.





After dinner, my Dad, girlfriend, and I went back to the Millenium where my Mom and sister were waiting having just gotten in from Paris. London was the last stop of their three-week trip across Europe, an itinerary that included island-hopping the Greece islands, going down the coast of Italy, and several days in the City of Love. Given that they had been living it up, the least they could do was to bring the rest of us some treats, which they certainly did. The five of us sampled a variety of cheeses—a perfect dessert if you ask me.


My sister, Dad, girlfriend, and I finished off our evening chatting over a night cap at a Greene King not far from the hotels.