Scoot 787 Dreamliner from Singapore to Sydney in ScootPlus

[yflyer]

When staying in a given city for an extended period, I like to change things up a bit, when it comes to hotels, just for a bit of variety. Over the weekend in Melbourne, we moved from the DoubleTree to the W Melbourne...



Like W hotels all over the world, the brand strives to be different...



...with a quirky, possibly OTT, design sensibility, which I quite like...

[yflyer]

First impressions: great front office staff, warm and spontaneous... the young lady who checked us in, who was Thai by heritage, was so warm and friendly that we felt so well taken care of, and welcome at the property, that we didn't mind that our room was not yet ready for our early arrival.

Later when we checked in, we were offered complimentary sparkling wine, which was just what our parched tongues needed...



As for the rooms, they were anything but conventional...



The essentials were there...a large, inviting King bed, with crisp white sheets...



...but there were so many other design touches that made sure that any guest knew they were in a W, and nowhere else...



For example...



...and this...



This was the wardrobe...

[yflyer]

2 seats and a minibar by the window...



A very nice minibar setup, by the way...



,,,but too bad it was all chargeable...



The in-room safe in the bench at the foot of the bed..,

[yflyer]

The bathroom was very well appointed...





Large tub...



...with really interesting design features on the wall (Someone explain to me what it all means...).

[yflyer]

There was a really nice indoor pool...



...and a well equipped gym...

[yflyer]

The breakfast spread was impressive too...



Some Easter specials...



The usual hot selections (done to a hifgh standard)...



Smoked salmon...



A very competently done omelette...



...made to order by a team of very busy chefs...



...and some very tasty Asian selections as well!

[yflyer]

By sheer coincidence, fellow SQTalker Kyo was on a staycation at the Intercontinental Melbourne The Rialto that weekend, and he invited me and Mrs yflyer over to the lounge for afternoon tea and evening drinks...

[yflyer]

The Intercontinental Melbourne Rialto is a beautiful luxury hotel, whose structure is a reconstruction and extension of an 1890's neo-Gothic brickwork structure.



The Club Lounge was located in the stunning atrium of this property.



This was a beautiful lounge...



...with a full bar...



...and an extensive canape and appetiser buffet selection...



This was one of those buffet spreads that was as appealing to the eye as to the tastebuds...



In addition to the buffet, there was also an afternoon tea service, with a beautiful array of tea-time snacks served at the table...

[yflyer]

The bar menu was very impressive, with wines, spirits, and some very tempting cocktails...



We began with some bubby...



Very nice!

I perused the cocktail and spirits menu, which featured some very interesting Australian spirits...



The cocktail selection...



We ordered a few to sample...



Very nice!



This was an outstanding lounge, a cut above the lounges at other hotel brands.

There were 4 of us here: myself, Kyo, and the spouses. It was my first time meeting Mrs Kyo, and her first time meeting Mrs yflyer. What a nice place to meet and get to know each other!

[yflyer]

After Melbourne, we caught VA803 back to Sydney. This was a 6am departure, which meant that we checked in so early that by the time we checked in and got to the VA lounge in Melbourne Airport T3, it was just before 5am, and the lounge was not yet open. There were a few other folks waiting to enter.



At 5am the lounge doors opened, and pax streamed into the lounge for a coffee and breakfast...



This was a large lounge...



Given how busy the MEL-SYD air route was, it probably got quite busy later in the day, but at 5am, the lounge was pleasantly quiet.



A simple breakfast buffet was served...



Fruit and yogurt...



Breakfast cereal...



Bakery items...



Pancakes (Made fresh by machine)...



Scrambled eggs and bacon...



Nothing fancy, but a perfectly adequate start to the day...



Beer and wine service only after 12pm...

[yflyer]

Spacious shower rooms...

[yflyer]

Boeing 737-800 rego VH-YFS taking us to Sydney today.



This aircraft had a small business class cabin, with 2 rows of 2-2 seating.



Not the most legroom or recline for a J cabin, but this was just a 1 hour 25 min flight (with actual flight time typically just over an hour) so this was probably bearable.

After J, a small section of Economy X seats...



...then regular Y, arranged in conventional 3-3...



Adequate, but not particularly generous, seat pitch.



I was amazed that even this ultra early flight was very full.

[yflyer]

While there was no seatback IFE, this aircraft offered both paid wifi internet...



..., and free moves and TV.



The inflight map was also available on the browser via wifi...



The cabin crew came round with the F&B cart...



A decent selection of paid menu options...



Snacks...



Beverages...



Complimentary tea/coffee or water...

[IMGhttps://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53927376417_7a805b46a6_h.jpg[/IMG]

I dozed off for most of the flight and we landed on time in Sydney.

Having previously flown mainly Qantas on this sector, I was very happy with the Virgin Australia experience, and would be happy flying them again within Australia on future trips.

[yflyer]

On this leg of the trip, our hotel was the West Hotel, part of the Hilton Curio collection.



Just a couple of pictures of the room, as I have covered this hotel in a previous TR.



This was a very new and stylish hotel in a great location in the CBD, just a short walk from Wynyard station, Circular Quay and other attractions.

[yflyer]

Mrs yflyer and I headed to the Sydney Fish Market for a look around.



It had not changed a lot since the last time we were here. There was a mindbloggling array of seafood...



...from live lobsters...



...to whole parade contingents of fresh-shucked oysters, ready for immediate consumption with supplied lemons and hot sauce...



Some things we had not encountered before included Scampi sashimi...



The place was even more touristy than we remembered...



...and packed to the gills...



We sat at a table outside and tucked into some oysters...



...and some sushi with toppings that some might consider over-the-top...