Airline Reviews Reviews

Airline Review: Finnair – Business Class (Airbus A350-900 with Lie Flat Seats) : Helsinki – Los Angeles (AY 1)

Flight:  Finnair AY 1 from Helsinki to Los Angeles Duration: 11 hours Equipment: A359 (Airbus A350-900) Class: Business Seat:  2A (Window) Seat Specification: Flat bed seats This was my first ever Finnair flight and I was looking forward to flying it on the A350 with the recently redesigned Business class cabin. Finnair A350 has 30 Airlounge seats with 7 rows of  1 – 2 – 1 configuration and 2 seats in the middle as first row. One thing I should add is that this seat is much more comfortable to sleep on than sit. Even though it looks very wide its not …

Airline Reviews American Reviews

Airline Review: American Airlines – Business Class (Boeing 777-300ER with Lie Flat Seats) : London – Los Angeles (AA 135)

Flight:  American Airlines AA 135 from London Heathrow to Los Angeles Duration: 10 hours 45 mins Equipment: B77w (Boeing 777-300 ER) Class: Business Seat:  3J (Window) Seat Specification: Flat bed seats with seat width: 20″, seat pitch: 72″ MilesPointsTravel Disclaimer: This review is solely the work of Karen. I personally did not fly this segment.  American Airlines on this version of the Boeing 777-300 ER had 13 rows of seats in 1-2-1 configuration with 2 rows in forward cabin and remaining in aft. I have flown AA on Boeing 777-300 ER multiple times before and only difference was the color scheme of …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

August 2025: 24 hours in Helsinki Trip Report

We arrived late into the night at Helsinki Airport from Oslo. After staying the night at Clarion Helsinki Airport, next day we transfered to the city via train from the airport. After dropping off our luggage at our hotel (Hotel Fabian Helsinki), we walked to Senate Square where our Free Helsinki Walking Tour was about to start. The tour is tip based and lasts about 2.5 hours. We walked by the Uspenski Cathedral, a Russian Orthodox church. Next our guide took us to Havis Amanda, a beautiful statue at a busy intersection. Our next stop was Helsinki Central Station. Our …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

August 2025: Oslo Trip Report

Day 1: We traveled from Bergen to Oslo by train which left very early from Bergen and after 7 hours arrived at Oslo just past noon. The scenic beauty on both sides of the tracks was outstanding. We had already done Bergen – Myrdal segment for our “Norway in a Nutshell” tour 2 days ago. But this time the 7 hour journey went by watching streams, lakes, forests on both sides of the train. After arriving in Oslo, we walked across the Oslo central station to our hotel, the Amerikalinjen. After checking in and dropping our luggage, we walked 2 …

Choice Hotels/Radisson Hotel Reviews

Hotel Review: Hotel Fabian, Helsinki

Hotel Fabian, Helsinki Fabianinkatu 7, 00130 Helsinki, Finland Hotel Fabian is located about 20 minutes walking distance from Helsinki Central station. It is located very close walking to the tourist attractions such as Vanha Kauppahalli (6 minutes) and Senate Square (10 minutes). We stayed 1 night at this hotel using 15,000 Choice Privilege points. The hotel offers complimentary breakfast buffet for all guests. However, I was a little disappointed with the lack of menu options compared to the other Helsinki hotel we had just stayed at in addition to our Norway hotels just before this trip. Thumbs up: Excellent location …

Choice Hotels/Radisson Hotel Reviews

Hotel Review: Clarion Hotel Helsinki Airport

Clarion Hotel Helsinki Airport Taivastie 3, Vantaa, 1531, FI Clarion Hotel Helsinki Airport is located right next to the airport connected by a pathway with a very short walking distance. This makes it a great and convenient option for late arrival and early departure flights. We arrived very late in Helsinki (past midnight) and this was the best option for us to stay instead of in the city. We stayed here 1 night using 15,000 Choice Privileges points. The hotel has complimentary breakfast for all guests and the restaurant has a very large seating area. Breakfast buffet had a variety …

Choice Hotels/Radisson Hotel Reviews

Hotel Review: Hotel Amerikalinjen, Oslo

Hotel Amerikalinjen Jernbanetorget 2, 0154 Oslo, Norway This iconic hotel is located just across the Oslo Central Station and opposite of the famous Tiger sculpture in front of the station. This makes the hotel very centrally located for a lot of Oslo attractions such as only short walking distance to Oslo Opera House (8 minutes) and Karl Johans Gate (10 minutes). We stayed 2 nights here using a total of 40,000 Choice Privilege points. Breakfast is complimentary at the hotel for all guests. However, to manage traffic we were given time slots to appear for breakfast and we still found …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

August 2025: 4 Days in Bergen Trip Report – Day 4 – Hardangerfjord Fjord cruise day trip

We spent our last day in Bergen doing the Hardangerfjord cruise day trip. There are multiple variations of the trip and we booked the one from Norled Cruises. Norled is a transportation company and not a typical cruise operator. What this means is that the boats of Norled are primarily for transporting passengers between various stops along Hardangerfjord but tourists can use it for sightseeing. First segment of the trip was a bus journey from Bergen to Norheimsund kai. After reaching Norheimsund kai we switch to a catamaran to Ulvik village. Spent 4-5 hours in Ulvik and return from there …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

August 2025: 4 Days in Bergen Trip Report – Day 3 – Norway in a Nutshell roundtrip from Bergen

This was our Norway in a Nutshell day. This is probably one of the most popular itinerary for tourists. This included 3 train rides, a cruise and a bus journey. One can book the whole tour at the official website however, I had read in multiple travel blogs that if someone wanted to construct the itinerary from actual train and bus vendors, you can save some money. I don’t remember exact figures but we saved around 150$ for me and Karen total by booking separate segments directly from the vendors instead of the official website. First segment of the journey …

Choice Hotels/Radisson Hotel Reviews

Hotel Review: Hotel Oleana, Bergen

Hotel Oleana, Bergen Øvre Ole Bulls plass 5, 5012 Bergen, Norway Hotel Oleana is an iconic hotel located just 10 minutes walking distance from Bergen Sentrum station. It is located at a very convenient spot to walk to local attractions like Bryggen neighbourhood (12 minutes),  Fish Market (6 minutes) and Floyen Funicular (10 minutes). We stayed at this hotel for 4 nights for the entirety of our stay in Bergen and used a total of 60,000 Choice Privilege points. Check-in was a breeze. We met different front desk staff during our stay and everyone was extremely courteous, friendly and helpful. …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

August 2025: 4 Days in Bergen Trip Report – Day 1 & 2 – Bergen city sightseeing & Mostraumen Fjord Cruise

Day 1: We arrived at Bergen International Airport (BGO) on our flight from Reykjavik. Cheap and convenient way to reach the city center is the tram from airport to Byparken stop (near Bergen Centrum Station).One can pay for the tram in Skyss ticket app itself. I had already installed the Skyss app and it came in handy on our 4 days in Bergen. After reaching Byparken Tram stop, we walked to our hotel for 4 night stay in Bergen, Hotel Oleana. After checking in and freshening up we set out for lunch. We stopped by Pingvinen Restaurant. I ordered the …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

August 2025: 6 Days in Iceland Trip Report – Day 6 – Last day of Waterfalls – Skogafoss, Kvernufoss and Irarfoss waterfalls

This was our last full day of traveling in Iceland and we were traveling from Skogafoss to our hotel near Keflavik airport to fly out next day. We were staying at Hotel Skogafoss by EJ Hotels and one of the main reasons of staying here was so we could see the falls on the night we arrive and the day after. We started the day early visiting the falls right after breakfast at the hotel. We were glad we got waterproof shoes to walk on the rocks to get to the middle to take the pictures. After Skogafoss we drove …

Hotel Reviews Marriott/SPG Reviews

Hotel Review: Courtyard by Marriott Reykjavik Keflavik Airport

Courtyard by Marriott Reykjavik Keflavik Airport Aðalgata 60, 230 Reykjanesbaer, Iceland We stayed at Courtyard Reykjavik Keflavik Airport for our last night in Iceland before flying out next day. The hotel is located just 2.5 km from Keflavik airport. The complimentary hotel shuttle only runs from hotel to airport and exclusively for Marriott Bonvoy members. We had a rental car and coincidently enough the Ace Rental Car agency is located just across the hotel. The cash rates at the hotel were quite expensive (even by Iceland standards) and we used 50,000 Marriott points for the 1 night stay. The hotel …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

August 2025: 6 Days in Iceland Trip Report – Day 5 – Fjallsárlón Glacial Lagoon, Svartifoss/Hundafoss waterfalls in Skaftafell Nature Reserve, Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon

Today we were going to drive 305 km from Hofn to our hotel for the night (Hotel Skógafoss) while seeing various attractions along the way. After driving about 80km we arrived at Jokulsarlon Glacial lagoon. Even though we had already visited this lagoon the day before, we saw signs to a different parking lot and decided to check it out. After spending a short time taking pictures we continued our journey towards the other popular glacial lagoon that we skipped the day before, Fjallsárlón Glacial lagoon. Soon we arrived at Fjallsarlon Glacial lagoon. This lagoon is quite smaller and you …

Hotel Reviews Independent Reviews

Hotel Review: Hótel Skógafoss by EJ Hotels

 Hótel Skógafoss by EJ Hotels Skógar, Skogar 861 Iceland Hotel Skogafoss by EJ Hotels is located just 5 minutes walking distance from the Skogafoss falls. The biggest selling point of the hotel for us was being able to walk to the falls. The hotel included 2 days of parking inside the park. The rooms have a numeric keycode lock outside the wing so it did feel more secure. In the bathroom we saw a note saying hot water is sourced from geothermal source and might have sulphur smell. It wasn’t too bad and I actually enjoyed the uniqueness of it. …

Hotel Reviews Independent Reviews

Hotel Review: Guesthouse Dyngja, Hofn

Guesthouse Dyngja Hafnarbraut, 780 Höfn í Hornafirði, Iceland For our 1 night stay in Hofn, we stayed at Guesthouse Dyngja. The guesthouse is located right on the harbor within minutes walk from a lot of good, renowned restaurants in Hofn. The day of arrival we received an email from the owner stating the passcode for the keybox to the apartment. Thumbs up: Excellent location right on the harbor Lots of good restaurants within very short walking distance Thumbs down: No breakfast at the hotel

Destination Trip Reports Europe

August 2025: 6 Days in Iceland Trip Report – Day 4 – Eldhraun Lava Field, Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon and black sand beaches (Diamond Beach, Stokksnes Beach)

After breakfast at Hotel Katla we started driving towards the city of Hofn along the southern coast. We were going to cover about 275km today so it was going to be a long day. We passed by the Eldhraun Lava fields. The moss covered lava fields was a sight to behold. After driving for a while, we started seeing glaciers for the first time at a distance. Soon we arrived at Jokulsarlon Glacial lagoon. I hadn’t pre-booked the Zodiac tour in time and it had been showing sold out for the previous 10 days. Then the amphibian boat tour started …

Hotel Reviews Independent Reviews

Hotel Review: Hotel Katla by Keahotels

Hotel Katla by Keahotels Höfðabrekka, 871 Vík, Iceland Hotel Katla by Keahotels is located just 5 minutes drive from the town of Vik in very picturesque surroundings. We stayed here 1 night, booked direct with the hotel. The property had various buildings of different shapes and sizes but the 2 storey building below is the one we stayed in. We received complimentary breakfast with our stay at the hotel. The breakfast is served at the main restaurant and had quite a few options such as bread, juice, cold cuts, waffles, eggs etc. Thumbs up: Located in very picturesque surroundings near …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

August 2025: 6 Days in Iceland Trip Report – Day 3 – Seljalandsfoss and Gljufrabui Waterfalls, Reynisfjara and Víkurfjara Black sand beaches

We stayed the night before at Hotel Laugarvatn after traveling our Golden circle route. We drove from Laugarvatn area to the town of Vik, located in south coast of Iceland. After spending quite a bit of time at Seljalandsfoss falls, we took the path in front of the falls along the side of the mountain for only 10 minutes to approach the next falls, Gljufrabui falls. Since the crevice is narrow and a stream flows through it, to get inside the cave there was a queue. Soon we were in. After spending a short time in Gljufrabui Falls, we resumed …

Hotel Reviews Independent Reviews

Hotel Review: Hótel Laugarvatn

Hótel Laugarvatn Dalbraut 10, Dalbraut 12, 840 Laugarvatn, Iceland Hotel Laugarvatn is located next to Lake Laugarvatn and also the Laugarvatn Fontana geothermal baths on the Golden circle route. The hotel does have a front desk but I rarely saw anyone sitting there. However, day before arrival, I received an email with the room number and passcode to the room electronic lock. Thumbs up: Very affordable by Iceland standards. I would rate the hotel as great value Beautiful surroundings and great location on the Golden circle route Thumbs down: Did not see anyone at the front desk during the stay. …