Home (Page 9)
Airline Reviews Korean Air Reviews

Airline Review: Korean Air – Business Class (Boeing 777-300ER with Lie Flat Seats): Bangkok – Seoul (KE 660)

Flight:  Korean Air KE 660  from Bangkok to Seoul Duration: 5 hours 45 minutes Aircraft: B773(Boeing 777-300ER) Class: Business Seat: 8B (side Aisle seat in forward cabin) Seat Specification: True Flat Bed, Seat pitch: 74″. Seat width: 20.6 ” Korean Air flies both A380 as well as Boeing 777-300 widebody on Bangkok – Seoul route. This was my first time flying Korean Air Business and over 2 segments I got to try business class on both type of aircraft.  The flight form Bangkok – Seoul was on a Boeing 777-300ER with 2 x 2 x 2 configuration for a total of 56 …

Asia Destination Trip Reports

December 2019: Kandy and Colombo, Sri Lanka Trip Report

Earlier part of the Sri Lanka Trip involves sightseeing in Bentota, Weligama, Ella and Nuwara Eliya. Day 5: We left Nuwara Eliya after having breakfast at our hotel. After 30 minutes of driving towards Kandy, we arrived at Damro Labookellie Tea Centre and Tea garden. The tea factory here is actually running and the management offers complimentary 15 minute guided tour around the factory. We learned about various stages of processing of tea as well as about different varieties of tea. Finally we were treated with a variety of fine Ceylon tea. We ended up buying a good amount of …

Asia Destination Trip Reports

December 2019: Bentota, Weligama Bay and Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka Trip Report

Day 1: We arrived at Bandaranaike International Airport late afternoon and after clearing immigration we met with our driver Nishanta from Ceylon Escapes in the arrival hall. Our first night stay was at Bentota, about 110 km from the airport. We reached Bentota in about 2 hours and checked into our homestay at Shangri-Lanka Villa. We were fairly tired after traveling since the morning that day and went to bed early Day 2: We left after having breakfast and made our way south. First up was Bentota Beach. The beach was very clean and the water quite warm for December. …

Hilton Hotel Reviews Reviews

Hotel Review: Hilton Colombo Residences, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Hilton Colombo Residences 200 Union Pl, Colombo 00200, Sri Lanka Hilton Colombo Residences is one of the 2 Hilton properties in Sri Lanka (as of now). Located about 30 minutes from Colombo International Airport, this hotel has huge rooms that are more like serviced apartments. I had booked a 2 bedroom suite for 1 night with 40,000 Hilton points. Check-in was quick and I was upgraded to a huge 3 bedroom – 2 bath suite. The front desk agent also handed me 3 welcome drink vouchers. We were happy to see some nice pastries and a wine bottle as welcome …

Hotel Reviews Independent Reviews

Hotel Review: Earl’s Regent Hotel, Kandy, Sri Lanka

Earl’s Regent Hotel, Kandy 40/1 Deveni Rajasinghe Mawatha, Kandy, Sri Lanka Earl’s  Regent Hotel is located by Mahaweli river in the outskirts of city of Kandy. Located away from the hustle and bustle of Kandy, this hotel is ideal for tourists seeking calm and quiet surroundings with great views. Check-in was fairly quick and I was glad to find out that the hotel provided complimentary accommodation for drivers. I had booked half-board rate (includes dinner & breakfast). However, we arrived late afternoon and were hungry so went for lunch at the on-property restaurant named The Flavors. The pricing was reasonable …

Hotel Reviews Independent Reviews

Hotel Review: Ruvidee Villa, Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka

Ruvidee Villa No. 3/6 Glenfall Rd, Nuwara Eliya 22200, Sri Lanka Ruvidee Villa is a small hotel located close to Grand Hotel in the center of Nuwara Eliya. I was quite late in searching for hotels in Nuwara Eliya and by the time I was looking to book a lot of the options were either gone or charging high prices. I basically booked this hotel mainly for the price. The room was quite small and there was not much space to move around. The bathroom was very cold during our stay. The hotel did not provide any toiletries. The hotel …

Hotel Reviews Marriott/SPG Reviews

Hotel Review – Weligama Bay Marriott Resort & Spa, Sri Lanka

Weligama Bay Marriott Resort & Spa 700 Matara Road, Pelana, Weligama 81700 Sri Lanka Marriott Weligama Resort & Spa is a Category 3 (Off-peak 15,000 Marriott rewards points/night) property located in south-western part of Sri Lanka in Weligama Bay. The property is located right on the beach known for surfing and other water activities. Check-in was fairly quick and while I was being checked in, front desk manager Bhagyashree came by and introduced herself and notified me that although our room was not ready yet, if we were willing to wait for 30 minutes, she would have an amazing room …

Hotel Reviews Independent Reviews

Hotel Review – Shangri-Lanka Villa, Bentota, Sri Lanka

Shangri-Lanka Villa #23, De Alwis Road, Horanduwa, Bentota – 80500, Sri Lanka Shangri-Lanka Villa is a very highly rated home-stay property located in Bentota, Sri Lanka. Surrounded by lush greenery, this property highlights individual villas and a swimming pool. I loved the bathroom the most in this property. The water pressure was really good and was nice to take a shower after all the travel. I had booked at a rate that included breakfast and the caretaker took our order the night before. We opted for Western Breakfast instead of traditional Sri Lankan breakfast. Thumbs up: Room had 3 beds …

Airline Reviews Cathay Pacific Reviews

Airline Review: Cathay Pacific – Business Class (Boeing 777-300 with Lie Flat Seats) : Los Angeles – Hong Kong (CX 881)

Flight:  Cathay Pacific CX 881  from Los Angeles to Hong Kong Duration: 15 hours 55 minutes Aircraft: B773(Boeing 777-300ER) Class: Business Seat: 11A (single bulkhead seat with direct aisle access) Seat Specification: True Flat Bed, Seat pitch: 81.0 “. Seat width: 21 ” Cathay Pacific flies Boeing 777-300ER on all its LAX – HKG flights (3 x Daily) and I have experienced it twice before, once in 2015 and next in 2018. There are a total of 53 business class seats divided between a small forward cabin of 2 rows of 1 x 2 x 1 reverse herringbone configuration and rest in a …

Trip Summary

Dec’19 – Jan’20: India and Sri Lanka Trip – Introduction

Time for my yearly trip to India again!! This time I will be going there myself (without my wife that is) and planning on visiting Sri Lanka with my parents for a week or less. We will be visiting Colombo, Bentota, Kandy and Nuwara Eliya. There will be a lot of trip reports, airline reviews and hotel reviews following this trip. Airline Review – Cathay Pacific Business Class from Los Angeles to Hong Kong Trip Report – Bentota, Weligama and Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka Hotel Review – Shangri-lanka Villa, Bentota Hotel Review – Weligama Bay Marriott Resort & Spa Hotel …

Airline Reviews EVA Airways Reviews

Airline Review: EVA Airways – Business Class (Boeing 777-300 with Lie Flat Seats) : Taipei – Los Angeles (BR 6)

Flight: EVA Air BR 6 from Taipei to Los Angeles Aircraft: B773 (Boeing 777-300) Class: Business Seat: 10K, Window Seat Specification: Full Flat, 180 degree recline, Seat pitch: 81″. Seat width: 26″ EVA Air operates Boeing 777-300 on all its flights between Taipei and Los Angeles with Royal Laurel Class (Business Class) having 1-2-1 layout and full flat beds. I have flown EVA airways on this route before, on both LAX-TPE and TPE-LAX segments in 2015. I was a bit full by eating in the EVA Air lounge earlier and opted to skip the main entree. I slept for a …

Airline Reviews EVA Airways Reviews

Airline Review: EVA Airways – Business Class (Airbus 330 with Angled Flat Seats) : Bangkok – Taipei(BR 206)

Flight: EVA Air BR 206 from Bangkok to Taipei Duration: 3 hours 45 minutes Aircraft: A333 (Airbus 330-300) Class: Business (Premium Laurel) Seat: 8G, Middle Aisle Seat Specification: Angled Flat, Seat pitch: 62″. Seat width: 22″ EVA Airways flies different configurations on Bangkok – Taipei route. They fly Boeing 777-300 with Royal Laurel Business class with flat beds in 1-2-1 layout (which I flew in 2015) and also fly Airbus 300 with Premium Laurel Business class with angled flat seats in 2-2-2 layout (this flight).  For a short flight as this one the difference in comfort was minimal. Flight attendant …

Airline Reviews Lufthansa Reviews

Airline Review: Lufthansa – Business Class (Boeing 747 with Lie Flat Seats) : Frankfurt – Bangalore (LH 754)

Flight: Lufthansa LH 754 from Frankfurt to Bangalore Aircraft: B748 (Airbus 747-800) Class: Business Seat: 5G, Middle Aisle Seat Specification: Full Flat, 180 degree recline, Seat pitch: 64″. Seat width: 20″ Lufthansa operates a Boeing 747-800 on this route with 2 x 2 x 2 layout in Business Class downstairs and  2 x 2 upstairs. Since I was traveling by myself and opted for a middle row downstairs (for direct aisle access and having seatmate not climbing over mid-flight). For a 9 hour flight, Lufthansa was pretty generous in feeding us 2 full meals :). Lunch service started soon after …

Airline Reviews Lufthansa Reviews

Airline Review: Lufthansa – Business Class (Boeing 747 with Lie Flat Seats) : Los Angeles – Frankfurt(LH 457)

Flight: Lufthansa LH 457 from Los Angeles to Frankfurt Aircraft: B748 (Airbus 747-800) Class: Business Seat: 11D, Middle Aisle Seat Specification: Full Flat, 180 degree recline, Seat pitch: 64″. Seat width: 20″ Lufthansa operates a Boeing 747-800 on this route. To be frank, this is one of my favorite aircraft to travel on (because of upstairs). There are 8 rows of 2 x 2 x 2 configuration downstairs and 8 rows of 2 x 2 configuration upstairs in Business Class. I usually prefer the upstairs because its more cozy. However, I was traveling by myself and preferred the middle seats …

Airline Reviews Choice Hotels/Radisson Hotel Reviews

Hotel Review – Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Chicago O’Hare South, IL

Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Chicago O’Hare South, IL 777 E Grand Ave, Bensenville, IL 60106 This Country Inn & Suites hotel (a Radisson property) is located about 7 km from O’Hare International Airport. The hotel provides complimentary airport shuttle once an hour (both for pickup and drop off). We were arriving at the airport and staying just 1 night in Chicago so this was a convenient option for us. The bed was not very comfortable and felt like it sagged in the middle. We tried the complimentary breakfast and the selection was quite limited. Thumbs up: Complimentary Breakfast …

Destination Trip Reports North America

June 2019: Chicago Trip Report

Day 1: We started the day by taking the Blue line from O’ Hare Airport to Clark/Lake station and then transferred to State/Lake station. We had purchased the $10 day pass for the CTA and it served us well throughout our trip. From the station its a close walk to the Riverwalk. There are a lot of picturesque spots along the Chicago Riverwalk. We saw quite a few interesting and notable buildings including the Trump Tower. A few minutes into the walk we came across the Vietnam Veternans Memorial. We walked the Riverwalk to Lower Michigan Avenue and then walked …

Airline Reviews Iberia Reviews

Airline Review: Iberia – Business Class (Airbus 359 with Lie Flat Seats) : Madrid – Chicago (IB 6275)

Flight: Iberia IB 6275 from Madrid to Chicago Equipment: A359 (Airbus 350-900) Class: Business Seat: 3E – 3G, Middle Aisle Seat Specification: Full Flat, 180 degree recline, Seat pitch: 78″. Seat width: 26″ Iberia used to operate this route using Airbus A346 in the past and recently upgraded it to an Airbus A359. The business class seats and configuration stayed the same with a 1-2-1 direct aisle access to all seats.  The middle rows are better for families traveling together and we got the “honeymoon seats” where the middle seats are really close together and the arm rests face the …

Hotel Reviews Marriott/SPG Reviews

Hotel Review – Madrid Marriott Auditorium Hotel & Conference Center‎

Madrid Marriott Auditorium Hotel & Conference Center Av. de Aragón, 400, 28022 Madrid, Spain Madrid Marriott Auditorium Hotel & Conference Center is a Category 2 Marriott property located just 10 minutes away from Madrid Barajas International Airport. The hotel provides complimentary shuttle to and from the airport at set times (twice in an hour). We stayed at the hotel twice during our Europe trip, first at a cash rate (about $100 USD per night) and second time using points (12,500 Marriott Bonvoy points per night). After clearing customs and immigration at the airport, I called the hotel front desk and …

Accor Hotel Reviews Reviews

Hotel Review – Ibis Moscow Domodedovo Airport

ibis Moscow Domodedovo Airport 40 km A-105 building 3, Moscow Oblast , 142046 ibis Moscow is one of the very few chain hotels located in the vicinity of Domodedovo Airport, in the outskirts of Moscow. It is located about 5 km from the airport and offers 24-hour complimentary shuttle service. We booked 2 rooms for 1 night at this hotel through Booking.com website. Check-in was quick and we were informed that the complimentary shuttle leaves for the airport twice an hour and to be at the front desk 10 minutes before scheduled time. The bathroom is very small, one of …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

June 2019: Moscow Trip Report

Day 1: We started our sightseeing in Moscow with its most famous sight, the Red Square. Although there is a metro stop close by we took a cab from our hotel straight to the square. The square is surrounded by St. Basil’s Cathedral, Kremlin Walls, and Lenin Mausoleum on one end and the State Historical Museum and GUM Department store on the other. We did not go inside St. Basil’s cathedral as I read that the exterior architecture is more impressive anyways. Lenin Mausoleum was closed that day. After spending some time at the Red Square we walked behind St. …