Author: Shane

REVIEW: The Four Seasons Sydney, Deluxe Partial Harbour Room

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Nested right in the heart of Sydney CBD, Four Seasons Sydney is a classic and elegant hotel fitting right into the cityscape that offers comfort especially for those who loves large spacious hotels. Located right next to the Rocks and Circular Quay, Four Seasons Sydney is literally a stones’ throw away from Sydney’s most iconic landmarks: Sydney Opera House is a 10-minute walk away, Museum of Contemporary Art is a few blocks beside, and if you are there on the weekend, the weekend market at the Rocks is around the corner. The Hotel A full five-star hotel, the 531-room property is arguably one of the best maintained luxury property in Sydney. The hotel opened in 1982 as The Regent hotel, which was later managed by Four Seasons from 1992. The hotel was only rebranded as a Four Seasons hotel in 2002. The hotel has since gone through several refurbishments, with the last major one in 2009 for all the rooms. Some of the more exclusive suites were also further enhanced in 2011. The property comes …

Asia Miles programme changes from 22 June 2018: What you need to know

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Most people will be familiar with Cathay Pacific and their loyalty programme Asia Miles as many credit cards across Asia Pacific allow you to transfer miles into the programme, which serves as a good alternative to KrisFlyer and Singapore Airlines, especially if you travel a lot on oneworld carriers. In particular, Asia Miles is also rather popular with some Australians given its relatively cheaper redemption rates than Qantas Frequent Flyer. Hence this change is likely to impact many members across this part of the world. In a nutshell, here are some of the changes they will be introducing come 22 June 2018: Miles earned will no longer be based on distance travelled, but by distance zone, if you are travelling on Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon. Also, the exact fare class within each cabin class matters too: for the lowest fare classes, you get the least miles. Even in Premium Economy and Business, the cheapest fare class for each cabin will also get you lesser miles. All routes are now categorised into six different distance …

LOUNGE REVIEW: Qantas Hong Kong Lounge

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Hong Kong International Airport is a stronghold and a heaven for oneworld elite members. With Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon being home-base carriers and operating such a strong network of lounges in their home ports, one would naturally be very curious as to how another oneworld lounge may compare. That’s why, this time round I decided to try the Qantas Lounge rather than head to Cathay’s The Wing, given that oneworld elite members can also gain entry to the Qantas lounge. The Qantas Hong Kong lounge is located to the immediate right hand side right after immigration and security checks, and easily missed if you don’t know where is it. Overseeing gates 15 & 16, the lounge features a high ceiling and plenty of natural light during the day and an abundance of space. The present lounge opened in 2014, featuring an international concept that catered to both first and business class passengers. The design is contemporary and influenced by the airport itself, featuring a lot of triangles similar to what you get from the airport’s …

SilkAir to upgrade cabins with flat bed business class seats, to be folded into SIA

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For the first time, SIA has gone public to address the elephant in the room: merging of the SilkAir into the Singapore Airlines brand. From 2020, the regional arm of Singapore Airlines will embark on an extensive cabin upgrade of the narrow body fleet, including lie-flat business class seats, seat back entertainment screen across all cabins to “ensure closer product and service consistency across the SIA Group’s full-service network”. The announcement also said that the SilkAir brand will only be merged into SIA after “a sufficient number of aircraft have been fitted with the new cabin product”. Finally it’s happening Many analysts have applauded the move and observed that this is ‘long overdue’, and that Singapore Airlines Group has come full circle to once again operate only two brands, down from four, which is a sensible move. While some people may be reluctant to give up the branding SilkAir has established over the last two decades, I do feel it’s no loss – it hasn’t quite caught up with times anyway. Most observers are watching how …

REVIEW: Next Hotel Brisbane, Deluxe Room

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I have to confess: before this stay, I have never heard of the Next Hotel chain. Next Hotel is one of the many brands under Next Story Group, a unique company that dabbles in hospitality, brand and marketing services and design. Under its portfolio, there are also several brands. Apart from the Next hotels, the group also owns Sage hotels, an a very interesting concept in Taiwan called Kafnu. I was told that the group’s head office is based in Singapore, to my surprise. The group has no property in Singapore at the time of writing, but a little research revealed that they have most recently taken ownership of the New Cape Inn in 2017 and was expected to run it under one of its brands. The Hotel The hotel is right in the heart of Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall, with its front entrance leading right straight onto the pedestrian walkway lined with shops. The excellent location also means that you are just minutes walk away from the Brisbane River and major transport options. The …