Sheraton Frankfurt Airport Hotel and Conference Centre
Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge
SQ25 FRA-SIN Suites
Part of why I picked this hotel for my last night in Frankfurt was because it was the cheaper Bonvoy brand which will allow me to be near to and directly connected to the airport for my 11+ am flight back to Singapore. Also because the stay will clock my last 2k bonus points per night from the Bonvoy promotion. So despite somewhat being rattled by the reviews I’ve seen on Flytertalk, I decided to keep my reservation here for my short stint.
Sheraton Frankfurt Airport Hotel and Conference Centre
Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge
SQ25 FRA-SIN Suites
I was excited about this stay as this property only re-opened a few months back after closing fully for an extensive renovation – so everything would be relatively new. This 5-night stay would also fit in nicely with the plans of using my balance of 5x Suite Night Award so I applied them about 3 weeks prior.
Sheraton Frankfurt Airport Hotel and Conference Centre
Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge
SQ25 FRA-SIN Suites
My last night in NYC was supposed to be spent in TWA as I thought it would be quite a cool experience but then I saw a pretty decent deal on Hotelux which included a USD100 hotel credit, double points, free breakfast, plus possible late check out due to my Diamond status. I was going to have to pay about the same at TWA as the property required cash top up for a late check out which I needed, so I figured why not stay here and earn some points while at it.
Sheraton Frankfurt Airport Hotel and Conference Centre
Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge
SQ25 FRA-SIN Suites
Ah, the hotel splurge of my trip.
It was only a few months back that the opening of this property popped up on my reading list and I was hooked. Ritz Carlton? New? Club Lounge? With Titanium status? YES PLEASE.
But prices? NO PLEASE.
Nonetheless, massive stalking of anything related to this fancy property commenced.
Sheraton Frankfurt Airport Hotel and Conference Centre
Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge
SQ25 FRA-SIN Suites
Where does a New York noob stay? Times Square of course.
Okay so the strategy was to find a spot for a NYC first-timer convenient enough to explore sufficiently, and most of my research turned up Times Square, the ever-buzzing heart of New York. And I settled on this property because they are newly renovated, seem to have decent sized rooms, and has a M Club to settle breakfast and dinners in. The plan is to spend the first four of my nine nights here as a base for exploring the Big Apple.
After my completely devastating forced cancellation of my Etihad Apartment due to COVID (thankssss again), I had shelved any thoughts of flying First (on any airlines) as the roller coaster of disappointment was not something I want to go through again. Yeesh.
I was super excited about finally getting here after the crappy HIE experience BUT I wouldn’t’ve imagined I’d spend so much time in the room – all because I fell sick on the morning after landing and remained so until I checked out.
Holiday Inn Express Dubai Airport (layover 15hrs 05mins)
FZ1209 Dubai – Tel Aviv 09:50 – 11:40 (flight time 3hr 50min) / FZ1550 Tel Aviv – Dubai 09:55 – 15:00 (flight time 3hr 05mins)
Sheraton Tel Aviv
I had a bad feeling about this stay when I found out that we had been assigned a night here due to some flight timing changes but said to myself how bad can a Holiday Inn Express be?
I should confess that Israel would have never been on my checklist for leisure but there was nothing I could control for a work trip so might as well try to wring a trip report out of it, even though flying Y is not the most exciting thing to write about.
My itenary for this work trip would be 7 days all in, including a 5-night stay in total – 1 night in Dubai and 4 nights in Tel Aviv:
Singapore Airlines – I was super glad that I was booked on Singapore Airlines for the 2x 7-8 hr flights. This will be my first Y experience for >5hr flight since 2020 but I’m pretty sure I’d survive quite well on our national carrier. Also time to test out the new economy class meals which has triggered a love-hate avalanche on the internet!
From SQ website
flydubai (website) – never heard of this airline prior to this. Have no idea what to expect but it seems like a decent short haul option for almost 3-4hrs. I also played around with their Manage Booking function (sometimes wonky) and was able to see that Y was laid out in a 3-3 configuration but I wasn’t able to select a fee without incurring additional costs so I’ll leave it up to fate. May the travel gods be with me.
When we began operations in 2009, our aim was to take more people to more places, more often. We now fly to more than 90 destinations and we’re constantly adding new cities to our network as we continue to grow. Over 70 million passengers have chosen to flydubai, making us the second largest carrier, by passenger numbers, operating out of Dubai International.
From flydubai’s website
Bye bye business class seat
AIRPORT LOUNGES
I will be optimistic about having the chance to check out these lounges as sometimes work trips can make stuff like these less flexible. Will try my best!
Singapore Changi Airport (SIN)
Krisflyer Gold Elite Lounge / 24hrs
Airside – Level 3 (Near Central Immigration towards Gates A)
I am really excited about this one as it had re-opened on 20 May 2022 after an extensive facelift and the official photos of the space and reviews (you guys are fast!) were so pretty. This is also my first time stepping into Changi Airport’s airside after obtaining my Krisflyer Gold Elite status so double happiness!
From SQ’s website
Dubai International Airport (DXB)
I have never stepped foot into Duabi anywhere (suaku) so I can hopefully use my transit time to lounge hop abit although Priority Pass website didn’t exactly have very enticing photos of the options.
Ahlan Business Class Lounge (Terminal 1 Concourse D) / 24hrs daily
Airside – prior to Immigration, board the train to boarding gates level then take the lift or stairs on the left to Arrival Level, turn left and then right.
Airside – the lounge is located at lounge level, near the Food Court Area, opposite the ‘DIH Lounge’. International flights only.
Grabbed from Priority Pass’ website
Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport (TLV)
Same same suaku traveller for this airport but pics for this lounge looks way better than those in DXB!
Dan Lounge (Terminal 3) / 24hrs daily
Airside – after Passport Control, follow the signs to Concourse C
Grabbed from Priority Pass’ website
HOTEL
Holiday Inn Express Dubai Airport
This IHG property (website) was an unexpected stop due to the retiming of our Dubai-TelAviv sector, so I am hoping it will suffice for the overnighter and crossing fingers that it’ll be at least clean? And I can’t believe this is where I’ll be testing out my newly minted Diamond status from the fast track. Yeesh. May or may not review this one depending on circumstances (and mood).
Sheraton Tel Aviv
I was really psyched to learn that the choice of accommodation was Sheraton Tel Aviv (website) – yays to the chance to experience the newly renovated property! The rooms looked absolutely gorgeous in pics and the club lounge looks crazy nice too. A dummy search revealed a rather crazy rate of USD500++ a night so high expectations indeed.
Sheraton Tel Aviv sits on a prime beachfront location, right in the heart of the Herbert Samuel Boardwalk, overlooking the Mediterranean coastline, within walking distance to Tel Aviv’s hotspots, artist’s quarter and picturesque Jaffa. Enjoy our fitness room as well as our unique SPA featuring dead sea treatments and much more.
So I wanted to write this brief post despite it being my 5th stay at this property (4th stay in a club room) as there were some jarring incidents which I wanted to share my thoughts on.
Apart from the above, I will not be repeating any reviews of the room as I’ve stayed in this same room type before (refer HERE & HERE) and rather will just review the F&B in the Club Lounge as that was the only other difference from my last stay apart from the stay experience.
