Heading Home for Chinese New Year: Swiss F & SQ Suites

[calvinoeh]

I know it's been a couple of weeks since Chinese New Year has been over and this trip report is long overdue. It just have been one of those few crazy weeks at work.

You know we couldn't just take the easy way home and fly coach on United or Singapore airlines. Swiss first class has to be one of the hardest redemption to obtain but there was a time when there widely available due to a glitch on Lifemiles. Too bad it's gone now but I managed to get snag 2 seats in Swiss first class from Miami before connecting to Thai first class to Bangkok before the glitch was shutdown.

Since we've never been to Miami before, we decided to spend a night and I used up one of my free night certs from the Citi Reserve Hilton credit card at the Hilton Bentley Miami South Beach. We also definitely had to at least stay a night in Bangkok for some massages and Thai food before flying back to Penang. We opted this time to try out the Sofitel So Bangkok.

For the trip back to the US, we would be flying on Singapore Airlines. I'd redeemed a first class award through Krisflyer on their SIN-HKG-SFO flight when it was still operated by their 777-300ER aircraft in anticipation of the switch to a Airbus A380 and allowing me to try out the oh so elusive Suites class. There was only one seat available so Lydia had to "slum" it in business class.



As usual, the trip report will be available on my blog with trip installments below:

• Hilton Bentley Miami South Beach
• Miami to Zurich - Swiss First Class
• Swiss First Class Lounge
• Zurich to Bangkok - Thai First Class
• Sofitel So Bangkok
• The Private Room and SQ First Class Lounge
• Singapore to Hong Kong - Singapore Suites
• Hong Kong to San Francisco - Singapore Suites
• Singapore to San Francisco - Business Class

[calvinoeh]

Hilton Bentley Miami South Beach


After an early morning flight from Austin via Houston, we arrived in Miami and were greeted with wonderful weather. It was only 10 am when we arrived at the Hilton Bentley after a quick cab ride from the airport and there no suites or upgraded rooms available as a Diamond guest. We took the option of checking in later and headed out for a walk and some coffee while the front desk agent continued to look if there were better rooms.



We were back at the hotel about two hours later with the front desk agent waiting for us. He profusely apologized that there were sold out and there were no rooms that they could upgrade us to. Instead of the upgrade, they would comp us the beach cabanas and sent up a bottle of champagne. I did checked online later and they were indeed fully booked with no suites or better rooms available to be booked so the front desk agent was clearly being truthful.

The room we were assigned to was definitely on the small side but adequate for a one night stay.







The feature or the room we enjoyed the most was definitely the balcony that had a partial view of the ocean and Miami beach. It was fun having lunch of stone crab claws and seafood from Joe's and the bottle of complimentary champagne.



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[calvinoeh]

Miami to Zurich

We got a cab to the airport that was driven by an Indonesian who had been in the US for a number of years. It was interesting trying to converse in a mix of Malay/Indonesia. There were no lines at the Swiss counters and we were promptly check-in. The check-in agent who was helping us then escorted us through security bypassing the lines and cabin crew from LAN that gave Lydia and I evil stares.

Swiss uses the Club America lounge in Miami. There was a separate first and business class section but I couldn't tell the difference. There lounge offerings were pretty limited especially for first class with some sandwiches and soups on offer. The lounge does have one shower that we both shared but the drainage was horrible. We ended up flooding the whole bathroom once we were done.



We headed for the departure gate right before the half time of Superbowl where Baltimore had pulled out a series lead over San Francisco. Boarding was not underway yet by the time we got to the gate but everyone was already lined up ready to get on. There was a dedicated first class line and a couple of minutes later, we were the first ones on the plane.



Our flight to Zurich was operated by a Airbus A330 which featured Swiss's new first class. It was our first time flying on Swiss and we were impressed with the first class cabin. The IFE screen was huge, seats were comfortable and relatively private if needed to be. We were originally assigned to the two middle 2D and 2G seats but I moved over the 2A right before take-off since I wanted to see the views from take-off. I stayed up for the rest of the flight since It felt more private with a mini-cabin feel between the two of us once Lydia pull up her privacy partition.







One unique thing that Swiss does is that in addition to the usual pre-departure champagne, they also serve a amuse-bouche. We were offered crab cakes with bread sticks which were simply delicious.



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[calvinoeh]

Swiss Zurich First Class Lounge

The immigration agents didn't bat an eye when we told them we wanted to clear immigration just to visit the first class lounge. The agent manning the lounge front desk went above and beyond by allowing us to get on the van transfer from the lounge back to the departure concourse instead of having us trek back through the train. They usually only offer this to their own Swiss first class passengers and we did not qualify for this service since our next flight was on Thai.

As we made our way around the lounge looking for a seat, we weren't terribly impressed with the lounge. It was small and cramped and we couldn't find a place to seat down.


First Class Lounge Entrance


Buffet Options



Since we couldn't find some place comfortable to sit, we went straight for the showers. There was nothing special about the shower itself - no bath tub to lounge in like the ones in Lufthansa's first class lounges in Frankfurt. The highlight of the visit to the lounge was the Bulgari amenity kits that were provided.

We weren't hungry but decided to get something to eat to check out how the food was. There was nothing that excited us from the buffet line. The ala carte options were also pretty limited if compared to their friends in Frankfurt. We shared a soup and prawns followed by a walnut parfait that was elegantly presented.





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[calvinoeh]

Zurich to Bangkok

It would be a couple more minutes before boarding commenced once we got to the gate. We did think of heading to the Panaroma Lounge that Thai uses in Zurich but decided against it and just explored the nearby shops.


Thai Airbus A340-600

We knew it would be another great flight flight once we got on-board. We were showed to our seats by the pursuer and he made told us to let him know if there was anything he could do to make the flight better. The stewardess serving us next came with hot towels and some Dom. We also noticed that there were some Chinese newspapers waiting for us in our seats and we later found out that the stewardess took the initiative to save those for us just in case we wanted them figuring that we were Chinese from the flight manifest. That was a first for us and greatly appreciated even though we don't read Chinese!



After just getting off a Swiss flight, it was a good change in terms of food to get some rice and curries. I don't think we would have enjoyed another round of rich Western food. We started with some caviar and and a appetizer plate of salmon, scallops and beef. Lydia opted for a main of fried rice and seafood where as I opted for some delicious Thai red curry.













Even though the first class seats on the Airbus 340-600 was not leading edge and as private as other first class options, I found it to be comfortable enough and with a couple of extra pillows, I manage to get a couple of hours of sleep after lunch. With several hours away from Bangkok, I spent the rest of the time catching up reading and finishing up a movie.

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[calvinoeh]

The Private Room and SQ First Class Lounge

After a good a week and a half in Malaysia catching up with friends and family and equally important the food like Laksa, Nasi Kandar and Char Kway Teo, it was time to head back to Austin. I'm going to skip blogging about the flights since it was the usual uninteresting short hops on Air Asia and Malaysia Airlines.

Lydia was getting into Singapore on a slightly later Silk Air flight and had checked through all our luggage leaving with me just a carry on rollerboard. I headed straight to the Silverkris First Class lounge upon arrival in Singapore from a Air Asia flight from Kuching where an agent promptly checked me in provided me with the golden Suites boarding pass before escorting me to The Private Room.


First Class Section



Since it was still too early for lunch, I started off with my some coffee and water while catching up on email. The Private Room consisted of a lounge area that reminded me of an upscale British house and a dining room that served a wide selection of ala carte options. The Private Room also had it's own separate washroom and shower areas.







Lydia arrived in Singapore about an hour later where I met up with her in the business class of the Silverkris Lounge. I tried getting her in to the Private Room but got stopped by the agent manning the door and I was only allowed to guest her into the First Class section.

We split up once again for lunch as I wanted to try the selections in the Private Room. I ordered a bunch of food and paired it with a bunch of equally outstanding wines. It was truly a first class experience with everything tasting wonderful - just wished Lydia was with me trying it as well.


Dining Area


Wine List


Lobster

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[calvinoeh]

Singapore to Hong Kong

Boarding was already underway when we got to the departure gate and with no lines in the First Class/Suite line, we strolled right into the plane. We headed to the upper deck Business Class section first and dropped off Lydia's bag before proceeding down the stairs to the elusive Suites. A flight stewardess was there to welcome us and even offered to take a picture of both of us.




Empty adjacent seat

I had pre-selected one of the middle seats hoping that the next seat would be empty so I would have a double suite just to myself. I lucked out as the seat remained empty for the rest of the flight.

Menus were distributed after take-off with the stewardess serving me confirming that my Book-the-Cook Japanese meal was on board. I was disappointed that there was no satay and caviar on offer - what the heck?!





The meal started off with some Krug and warm nuts. Krug's much better than Dom Perignon 2003 and I wish more more airlines would offer Krug.



The Japanese meal itself wasn't that good. There was no menu or explanation by the crew on what was being served so I was left to guess what I was eating. I guess it's a better idea to opt for the Japanese meals only on the Tokyo bound flights.




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[calvinoeh]

Hong Kong to San Francisco

I failed in my attempt to have Lydia seated in Suites prior to landing so we could exit the plane together. However, the crew did make sure that Lydia came down to the Suites section when we arrived and was ready to de-plane. An escort waiting for us when we got off the plane. We requested to go to the United lounge instead of the SQ's own Silverkris lounge since I knew that they had no showers there. I'm surprised that the United lounge was still open with no more United flights for the day. The only ones in the lounge were us and another couple who were also flying in Suites.

We left the lounge right on the departure time published on our boarding passes. It wasn't clear if there was going to be an escort back to the plane so we were pleasantly surprised to find the escort waiting for us outside the lounge when we left. Boarding had just begun when we got to the gate so the lines were still long due to the annoying additional security screening for US bound flights although our escort did make sure that we were able to bypass the line.

Lydia and I said goodbye at the aerobridge this time. I could tell that this part of the flight was going to be much better as soon as I got on. Unlike the first flight, the in-flight supervisor personally came over to say hi, informed me of the flight time (a disappointing short 10 hours) and made sure I was well taken care of.

The load in Suites was much lighter on this flight. I only remembered the couple seating right in front of me although there might have been someone else in the front cabin.

Once we got airborne the crew made sure my glass of Krug never stayed empty. I had Book-the-Cook some noodles and wonton for supper but decided to save it for breakfast/brunch/early dinner before landing. I wasn't all too hungry but the Beef Wellington sounded particularly appertizing especially after seeing it as a regular item on Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen.


Oysters


Soup


Beef Wellington

Once I got done with supper, it was time to convert my suite into the oh-so-elusive double bed in the sky. It took two flight attendants about ten minutes to setup. I like that the suites were totally private with the sliding doors but the bed itself wasn't the best bed in the sky I've tried before. I would rate Lufthansa's seat/bed combo on their 747 higher. It was awesome that I had all the space but in reality the second bed was just wasted space since I was pretty much limited to one bed anyway with having to buckle up the seatbelts. Goes without saying that would have enjoyed it much more with Lydia!






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