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Review: Hotel Sheraton Brussels Airport

by Ajay 7 Comments

a bed with a lamp and a table

Introduction Check-in: Clipper Lounge, Terminal 2, Mumbai Airborne: Flight 9W228 (BOM-BRU), Jet Airways, Premiere (A332) Hotel Manhattan, Rotterdam Hotel Sheraton Brussels Airport, Brussels Check-in: Jet Airways Lounge, Brussels Airborne: Flight 9W227 (BRU-BOM), Jet Airways, Premiere (A333)   After my few days in Rotterdam, I headed back to Brussels on the train network. Luckily, I was only making one stop transfer this time around, and made it to Antwerp with 20 minutes to spare before I was going to get to my train to the Brussels National airport. This was good enough time to catch a helping of Fritters, which is something I make it a point to have when transiting via BRU and staying overnight. There are various hotel options…

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Going Dutch: Hotel Manhattan, Rotterdam

by Ajay 6 Comments

Introduction Check-in: Clipper Lounge, Terminal 2, Mumbai Airborne: Flight 9W228 (BOM-BRU), Jet Airways, Premiere (A332) Hotel Manhattan, Rotterdam Hotel Sheraton Brussels Airport, Brussels Check-in: Jet Airways Lounge, Brussels Airborne: Flight 9W227 (BRU-BOM), Jet Airways, Premiere (A333) After landing up from my flight to Brussels airport, my usual routine is to walk up to the train station situated right under the airport, and buy a ticket to my destination in the Netherlands. If I don’t have much time, I choose to take the Thaly’s but if I do have the time, I take the Belgian international trains. However, this time, the snow seemed to have had other plans for me. I wanted to take the Thaly’s and make it quick, but…

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Review: Flight 9W228 BOM-BRU on Jet Airways Premiere (A332)

by Ajay 9 Comments

a glass of beer and a bowl of nuts

Introduction Check-in: Clipper Lounge, Terminal 2, Mumbai Airborne: Flight 9W228 (BOM-BRU), Jet Airways, Premiere (A332) Hotel Manhattan, Rotterdam Hotel Sheraton Brussels Airport, Brussels Check-in: Jet Airways Lounge, Brussels Airborne: Flight 9W227 (BRU-BOM), Jet Airways, Premiere (A333) After the trip to the Clipper Lounge, my flight’s boarding was announced and I headed to the gate. There was a separate queue for Premiere class boarding and I headed through that queue to the plane. There was a secondary security check on the gate as well. Jet Airways 228 Mumbai(BOM) – Brussels(BRU) Tuesday, March 12 2013 Depart: 2:05AM Arrive: 07:50AM Duration: 10hr15min Distance flown: 4,271 miles Aircraft: Airbus A330-200 Seat: 2D (Premiere Business) Meal Service: Dinner (Refreshment), Breakfast I was flying the Mumbai…

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Review: Clipper Lounge, Terminal 2, Mumbai

by Ajay 1 Comment

food in a buffet with plates and spoons

Introduction Check-in: Clipper Lounge, Terminal 2, Mumbai Airborne: Flight 9W228 (BOM-BRU), Jet Airways, Premiere (A332) Hotel Manhattan, Rotterdam Hotel Sheraton Brussels Airport, Brussels Check-in: Jet Airways Lounge, Brussels Airborne: Flight 9W227 (BRU-BOM), Jet Airways, Premiere (A333) Update: New Lounge as of February 2014 is covered here. I intended to arrive at the Mumbai Airport Terminal 2 in good time for this trip. Part of the reason for that was that I had just gotten done with a long day with a client, and I wanted to relax and be at ease on my flight, since I was going to slip into work as soon as I landed up in the Netherlands post my flight. However, the whole expectation of having…

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So I had another good flight with Jet Airways Premiere

by Ajay 4 Comments

I must admit I have not been flying Jet Airways on my domestic routings of late. I have heaps of trip reports to write, but essentially, when I went by for my little holiday to the Park Hyatt Goa in June, I had a no air-conditioner flight on Goa to Mumbai. I decided I when I got back to be treading away from them for a while, but I already had reservations with them for this November trip so I thought I’d brave it out this one time then. Jet Airways, on the other hand, seemed to have other plans for me. I was travelling my regular BOM-DEL segment, something I do a zillion times. I’d asked for an upgrade…

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Go Goaah: Alila Diwa, Goa

by Ajay 2 Comments

a building with a pool in the middle

Park Hyatt Goa Resort & Spa Alila Diwa After a very relaxed few days at the Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa, I was going to switch to the Hotel Alila Diwa where a friend of mine was hosting his wedding proceedings for the next couple of days. Since both the hotels are about 10 minutes apart, we used one of the complimentary shuttle cars offered to us by the Park Hyatt to drive down to the Alila Diwa. The Alila Diwa is a large hotel,built on a 12-acre big piece of land next to a paddy field. The hotel received the ‘Top 25 Relaxation/Spa hotels in India 2012’ commendation from TripAdvisor, which it proudly displays on its website and…

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A Thai Vacay: Hilton Pattaya Review

by Ajay Leave A Comment

a round couch with pillows on it

Introduction Check-in: British Airways Galleries Lounge, Mumbai Check-in: Clipper Lounge First Class, Mumbai Airborne: Flight CX 750 (BOM-BKK), Cathay Pacific, Economy Millennium Hilton Hotel, Bangkok Around Bangkok Hilton Hotel, Pattaya Around Pattaya Radisson Suites, Bangkok Check-in: Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge, Bangkok Check-in: British Airways/Qantas First Class Lounge, Bangkok Check-in: Cathay Pacific First & Business Class Lounge, Bangkok Airborne: Flight CX 709 (BKK-BOM), Cathay Pacific, Economy Conclusion After spending two nights in Bangkok, we checked out from the Millennium Hilton, Bangkok and drove to Pattaya. The hotel quoted an exorbitant THB 5,500 or so for a 2 hour long drive, but we were able to look up a cheaper option of THB 1,400 on the internet and picked up a Toyota…

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Go Goaah: Park Hyatt Goa Resort & Spa

by Ajay 4 Comments

a sign on a wall

Park Hyatt Goa Resort & Spa Alila Diwa, Goa June – September is the time of the year when I am inclined to take a vacation with friends in Goa. The peak Goa season is over in March (starts from October when all the tourists arrive!). The idea is to spend time with close friends and shut down my mental machinery for a few days, also the Goa weather in June-August is marvellous, with the rains. This time around, the destination was going to be the Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa, partly thanks to my Hyatt Diamond status last year. We were a bunch of six-eight friends who were going to be going over, so I booked three standard…

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A Thai Vacay: Airborne flight CX 750 (BOM-BKK), Cathay Pacific, Economy

by Ajay Leave A Comment

a man sitting in an airplane

Introduction Check-in: British Airways Galleries Lounge, Mumbai Check-in: Clipper Lounge First Class, Mumbai Airborne: Flight CX 750 (BOM-BKK), Cathay Pacific, Economy Millennium Hilton Hotel, Bangkok Around Bangkok Hilton Hotel, Pattaya Around Pattaya Radisson Suites, Bangkok Check-in: Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge, Bangkok Check-in: British Airways/Qantas First Class Lounge, Bangkok Check-in: Cathay Pacific First & Business Class Lounge, Bangkok Airborne: Flight CX 709 (BKK-BOM), Cathay Pacific, Economy Conclusion The flight I was booked on was CX 750, a hopping service from Mumbai, which flies to Bangkok and then over to Hong Kong. After buying my tickets online, I tried to assign seats via the Manage my booking feature, however seems like after the reservation systems upgrade CX had earlier this year they…

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A Thai Vacay: Clipper Lounge First Class, Mumbai

by Ajay 4 Comments

a store front with glass doors

Introduction Check-in: British Airways Galleries Lounge, Mumbai Check-in: Clipper Lounge First Class, Mumbai Airborne: Flight CX 750 (BOM-BKK), Cathay Pacific, Economy Millennium Hilton Hotel, Bangkok Around Bangkok Hilton Hotel, Pattaya Around Pattaya Radisson Suites, Bangkok Check-in: Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge, Bangkok Check-in: British Airways/Qantas First Class Lounge, Bangkok Check-in: Cathay Pacific First & Business Class Lounge, Bangkok Airborne: Flight CX 709 (BKK-BOM), Cathay Pacific, Economy Conclusion Update: New Lounge as of February 2014 is covered here. I must be over 40 trips old to the Clipper Lounge in Mumbai Airport’s International terminal, however, I’ve almost always used the business class section of the lounge all the time. Reason being, I’ve never flown First Class from Mumbai (there are hardly any first…

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Guest Post: Bidding adieu to The King of Good Times on Kingfisher’s final Dubai flight

by Ajay 2 Comments

a plane with red writing on it

Kingfisher Airlines has received many a good word from their frequent flyers, and almost all of them feel sad that the airline is progressively going down. I invited Arun Rajagopal, a Kingfisher loyalist based in the UAE to write a trip report on Kingfisher’s final flight to Dubai when I heard the airline was shutting down international operations. Turning over the mike to him without further delay… I’m a loyal customer of India’s Kingfisher Airlines. I first flew Kingfisher in Jan 2011 but since then I have flown them 15 times. I fly them as much as possible. I often pay a premium to fly them even when I have cheaper or non-stop flights available. I even recommend it to…

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