A couple of months back, I found myself on the plane to have a working weekend in Goa, and the destination turned out to be the Vivanta by Taj Holiday Village, which is one of the three Taj Hotel properties in Goa, and perhaps one of the best ones out there. My flight into Goa was a little late, which meant I was going to be using the shuttle service from the hotel rather than car that we had on disposal. The hotel is a good one hour ride away from Goa’s airport, in the north end of Goa, so I was looking forward to getting moving quickly and join the rest of my colleagues who were already at the…
Trip Reports
Category Archives for Trip Reports.
Review: Hotel Intercontinental Marine Drive, Mumbai
Last weekend was an overwhelming one, mostly for reasons that a strenuous travel schedule for this year was coming to an end, and it was the birthday of my partner and I’d decided to surprise her. I was just off a 9-hour flight less than 12 hours ago, and while I don’t get jetlagged, I was running on 2 hours of sleep. So, I thought checking into a hotel was going to be a better bet than staying home or going out, also to give vent to some of my own intentions, that I never get to stay in a hotel in Mumbai! Coming to the hotel, I missed the mark with catching the 7-day out rate, and got inside…
Review: Pause Lounge, Bangalore Airport (Domestic)
One of my many gripes with Bangalore’s Airport in Devanahalli, apart from the distance, has been the lack of a lounge for the longest time for Jet Airways elites. Hey, they used to give you food coupons to eat in the Food Court, not appreciating that the lounge was not about the food but about the environment. This got fixed last year when Kingfisher evacuated from Bangalore Airport, and this place was made the Pause Lounge, accessible via select credit cards and for 9W elites & Business class travellers. I haven’t been able to sample this lounge for my few trips to Bangalore all this year, so this was my first time when I actually built in time into my…
Going RTW: Flight UA343 (LGA-DEN), United Airlines, First Class
Introduction & Trip Index <AC Maple Leaf Lounge, LGA There were only two reasons I was booked to fly United. First, American Airlines’ prices were pretty high when I was trying to book tickets with them between NYC to Colorado Springs, and I’d never flown a turbo prop plane, so I thought I might as well hitch the 40 minute ride flight between Denver & Colorado Springs and get a Dash 8-400 on my list of planes flown. The LGA-DEN segment was upgraded to First ahead of the flight due to my United status. After going past TSA, headed straight to the gate where the plane was already boarding. This was going to be a Boeing 757-200 flight, with the…
Review: Doubletree by Hilton, Goa (Arpora)
For the recently gone Independence Day long weekend, I decided that it would be a nice idea to go back to Goa during the rains. Usually, my preference is to go to South Goa and the Park Hyatt is one of my favourite resorts there. However, this time the brother and I decided to head to North Goa, since I found out that the Hilton now had a property there. This Hilton was actually an independent property, which was reflagged as the Doubletree only in 2012. Too bad, my brother could not make it at the last minute due to other commitments, however I decided to proceed with the trip regardless. After arriving on an uneventful flight from Mumbai, I…
Review: American Express Lounge, Mumbai Airport, Terminal 1C
Just this past long weekend, I was headed out to Goa for a vacation. Usually, I am accompanied by people, so I do not end up using the American Express Lounge at Terminal 1C, but the Carnations Lounge instead. However, since I was alone, and I had access to the lounge via my Jet Airways Amex, I decided to give it a go this time around. The lounge is set inside the Carnations Lounge itself (as a separate enclosure), The same lounge also houses Jet Airways & Go Air passengers, Priority Pass, MasterCard & Visa Access, and the recent Diners Club bearing passengers. In short, it is a crowd out there and hence I’d anyday prefer to access the Amex…
Going RTW: Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, Central Terminal, LaGuardia
Introduction & Trip Index <Holiday Inn, LGA UA 343 (LGA-DEN), United, First> I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this on the blog before, but I’ve actively started to avoid early morning flights. I’ve done my fair share in the past, and maybe I’ll do more, but I try and plan around them as much as I can. However, this was one of those days when flying early morning was unavoidable, and hence I went over to LGA, groggy! After collecting my boarding pass, I walked over to the security check area. I needed a quick coffee and something to start my day,…
Going RTW: Holiday Inn LaGuardia NYC
Introduction & Trip Index <EY 101 (AUH-JFK), Etihad, First AC Maples Club Lounge, LGA> After my long wait in the queues for passport control, I was kind of tired. So I asked the chauffer to drive me to the hotel and dozed off for 20-30 minutes in the car itself. On arrival, I found myself in a small little cute hotel, which was good enough to spend one full jet-lagged night before heading on for Colorado Springs. Surprisingly, while the redemption rates for this one were 25,000 IHG Club points per night, those for a Holiday Inn Express nearby were 30,000 IHG Club points per night. I did not…
Airborne: 9W331 (BOM-DEL), Jet Airways, Economy Class
Jet Airways 331 Mumbai(BOM) – Delhi(DEL) Saturday, August 3, 2013Depart: 10:21 AMArrive: 12:33 PMDuration: 2hr12minDistance flown: 708 milesAircraft: Boeing 737-800Seat: 26C (Economy)Meal Service: Breakfast Last weekend, I was on a flight to Delhi, with Jet Airways, who else? For a flight scheduled to take off at 09:55 AM, I arrived at 08:00 hours to check in. My brother was booked in on the same flight but on the JetKonnect codeshare. Due to being listed for a upgrade, I was not going to be able to check into the flight online. So, in a nutshell, the both of us were at the mercy of the Jet Airways crew to get a good seat. As a Platinum, I had the option to…
A sneak peek into the Diners Club space at the Mumbai Carnations Lounge
This past weekend, I happened to hop on to a flight from the A-gates of the Mumbai airport after a couple of months. And I was in the Carnations Lounge, which I have access to thanks to my Jet Airways status, as well as with the Priority Pass. I’ve seen this lounge shrinking over a period of time, first to accommodate the American Express Lounge which opened up for American Express Platinum members. And now, the Diners Club lounge which is open. Unlike the Amex Lounge, the Diners Club lounge is an open area and not a glass enclosure. It seems the food and drinks are going to be the same as for the regular access available to the lounge…
Going RTW: Flight EY101 (AUH-JFK), Etihad, Diamond First
Introduction & Trip Index <Etihad First Class Lounge, Abu Dhabi Holiday Inn, LaGuardia Airport> Like I earlier mentioned, by the time I went through the secondary check gates (for US-bound flights), and reached the gates, boarding was already underway and I queued through a bunch of economy passengers to get through to the jetbridge. However, this was a good time to say hello to the A340. Abu Dhabi (AUH) – New York (JFK) Thursday, May 9 2013 Depart: 10:13AM Arrive: 04:41PM Duration: 14hr28min Distance flown: 6897 miles Aircraft: Airbus A340-600 Seat: 3A (First) Meal Service: Lunch, Snacks Once on board, however, everything was okay. at the gate, the purser greeted me, and asked one of…
