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REVIEW: The Four Seasons Sydney, Deluxe Partial Harbour Room

Published by Shane

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.

Four Seasons Sydney lobby

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 with a full on-property restaurant (more about that later), a full spa and 24-hour fitness centre.

24-hour fitness centre, adjacent to spa

The hotel is situated on a slope, with the front entrance facing George St and a secondary entrance on Harrington St which leads directly to level 3. There is a mobile porter service that operates at level 3 too, where they can store and deliver your luggage to your room while you go and check in at the lobby.

On level 3, there’s also several ballrooms and function rooms for conferences and events, which saw a fair amount of activities during my stay there.

There is also a Club Lounge for eligible guests on the 32nd floor, which I didn’t manage to check out on this trip.

The Room

There are two room types, the Deluxe and Premier Rooms, as well as five suite types, including the Junior Suite and Club Suite. The most epulent suites include the Royal Suite, the Deluxe Royal Suite and Presidential Suite.

Deluxe Room, 23 glorious square metres

For the rooms, they come with three kinds of views: the city view, the partial harbour view, and the full harbour view, and of course any view of the harbour comes with a premium in price. Rooms with Club access are all situated on 31st to 33rd floor, which guarantees an unobstructed view.

The suites come with at least a partial harbour view, and all suite guests are guaranteed club access too (except junior suites).

I stayed in a Deluxe Partial Harbour Room on the 30th floor, with what I think is already an excellent view overlooking Circular Quay and the Sydney Opera House. I typically don’t believe in paying a premium for a good view from my room, but this was definitely a treat so you may wish to consider paying the extra.

At 23 square metres, the room was rather small by Australian standards, but incredibly well adorned. The room was decked out in classic wooden furniture including the bed, TV console and the wardrobe, along with other elegant fitting that added to the luxurious feel.

The Four Seasons Bed: a worthy contender against Westin’s Heavenly Bed

I need to talk about the signature Four Seasons bed: it was arguably one of the best sleeps I had in a hotel in a while. The bed was firm, but topped with a fluffy layer that provided maximum comfort and support no matter what kind of a sleeper you are.

The pillows were abundant, and yet not overwhelming to disrupt the sleep. You could also request for other type of pillows if you were into firmer ones. The duvet was perfect for me too as it was warm and weighted, since I never liked thin blankets. I knocked out at 11pm and had an uninterrupted sleep all through till morning.

The bathroom was laid with marble, a touch that is rare to see in newer hotels today. Featuring a bathtub and a separate shower stall, along with a simple vanity, the space was very well used and you don’t feel like it’s too small.

Bathroom with a touch of class

APPELLES was the choice of amenity at Four Seasons Sydney, an organic Australian brand.

What I really loved about the hotel is its attention to detail when it comes to service. It provides twice daily housekeeping, once in the morning to refresh the room and once in the evening to turn down for the night.

What was great was not only the bedside water and glass, but also the bathrobe being conveniently placed beside the bathtub, a very minor but impressive detail. And as you know, only top tier hotels in Sydney provides complimentary bottled water, most other Australian hotels will charge you for it.

Adaptor in every room

Breakfast

Breakfast was at Mode, the in-house restaurant located at the lobby. Serving up Australian fare during lunch and dinner hours, the restaurant was most recently renovated not too long ago and now features a modern space for all-day dining.

Mode Kitchen & Bar, featuring all-day Australian dining

Mode serves up an incredible spread, from pastries, hot entrees, a wide cereal and oatmeal bar, and also some Asian offerings such as congee and miso soup. Of notable mention is the quality of the pastries, from the simple crossiant to the rewarding blueberry cheese tart, the baked goods at breakfast is certain worth breaking any diet plans you have.

Breakfast at Mode

What’s worth mentioning is the impeccable service at Mode. My table was cleared at the first instance when I’m done, and when I decide to go for seconds a while later, i found a new set of cutlery when I returned, and another glass of water to go with it.

Also, for those who are in a mood for some bubblies to go with your breakfast, Mode also serves mimosas up for AUD10 a glass, which is incredibly affordable.

If your room doesn’t come with breakfast, you can walk in for a choice of buffet or ala carte breakfast.

My take

Admittedly, I will usually not choose such a hotel in the heart of town if I had to spend my own money, given that the facade seem rather dated and its on a rather pricey end. However, having experienced what’s on the inside, it’s definitely incredibly good value given its excellent location and facilities for guests.

Welcome amenity in room

Overall, Four Seasons Sydney is an excellent hotel to be in: heart of Sydney CBD and has everything you want in a hotel from an excellent bar to a quality spa, plus good views to boot. While on the pricier end, you will be hard pressed to find another hotel for better value for money that you pay for hotels in this city.

Hotel details

199 George Street
Sydney, NSW 2000
Australia
Tel. 61 (2) 9250-3100

Deluxe rooms start from AUD340, Club rooms from AUD590 (all-in). Book here.

The stay was sponsored by Destination New South Wales.

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

Published by Shane

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.

Asia Miles to change earn and burn rates from 22 June 2018

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 zones: ultra-short all the way to ultra-long. These are the same categories used by Marco Polo Club’s tier points accrual, as well as the new redemption charts (more on that below), providing more uniformity across the two programmes.

Source: Asia Miles

Asia Miles claim that members will “earn more miles on 80% of the airlines’ tickets, including to popular destinations such as Shanghai, Osaka and London.” Obviously this is written for a Hong Kong base, but let’s take a look at some of the common ones out of Singapore:

Cabin	Economy		Premium Economy		Business
Route	Current	New	Current	New	Current	New
Singapore- Bangkok	878	1800- 2000	969	2000- 2300	1098	2500- 2700
Singapore- Hong Kong	1592	1800- 2000	1751	2000- 2300	1990	2500- 2700
Singapore- Taipei	2093	2390- 2650	2302	2650- 3050	2616	3310- 3580
Singapore- Tokyo Narita	3433	3600- 4000	3776	4000- 4600	4291	5000- 5400
Singapore- Los Angeles	8840	7790- 8650	9724	8650- 9950	11050	10810- 11680
Singapore- New York	9651	9630- 10700	10616	10700- 14610	12064	13380- 14450

Seems like members are generally better off for a short- to mid-haul trip out of Singapore, but not so for transpacific flights.

If you frequent earn miles on partner airlines, the good (or bad, depending on who you are travelling with) news is that mileage earned on partner airlines remains the same.

Asia Miles will price all redemptions as a one-way, adjusts all redemption rates

Customers familiar wtih Asia Miles will know that it is typically cheaper to redeem a roundtrip ticket on Cathay Pacific/Dragon, but this will change come 22 June 2018.

To simplify its redemption requirements, all redemption tickets will now be priced one-way, so a return ticket will now simply cost twice as much as two one-way tickets. Kudos to Asia Miles for being upfront in saying that long haul flights in premium cabins will now also cost more.

Asia Miles Standard Award Chart (source: Asia Miles)

Also, the redemption chart is now aligned to the Marco Polo Club’s 6 categories of distances, rather than the existing 7. This is a good move because I have seen so many people being confused by the Marco Polo Club tier points earning table and the Asia Miles redemption table.

It wasn’t clear from Asia Miles’ website, but I wrote to clarify if multi-sector itineraries (as most itineraries originating from outside of Hong Kong would be) will be priced as a sum of two sectors under the new charge, or as though its a single sector. Asia Miles confirmed in writing that it will be priced as a single sector. That means, if you are flying from Singapore to New York, it will cost you as much as flying from Hong Kong to New York. This means great value

Let’s compare some of the redemption rates for routes out of Singapore (one-way, in ‘000 miles) before and after the changes:

Cabin	Economy		Premium Economy		Business
Route	Current	Standard	Current	Standard	Current	Standard
Singapore- Bangkok	15	10	18	18	25	25
Singapore- Hong Kong	20	10	24	18	30	25
Singapore- Taipei	20	10	24	18	30	25
Singapore- Tokyo Narita	25	22	30	30	45	45
Singapore- Los Angeles	55	42	66	60	85	85
Singapore- New York	55	42	66	60	85	85

(All mileage are one-way, in ‘000 miles)

At first glance it look like you will get a better deal off almost every route (except in Business), but that’s if you only redeem one way. Now let’s take a look at redemption for a return ticket:

Cabin	Economy		Premium Economy		Business
Route	Current	Standard	Current	Standard	Current	Standard
Singapore- Bangkok	20	20	24	36	40	50
Singapore- Hong Kong	30	20	36	36	50	50
Singapore- Taipei	30	20	36	36	50	50
Singapore- Tokyo Narita	45	44	54	60	80	90
Singapore- Los Angeles	90	84	108	120	145	170
Singapore- New York	90	84	108	120	145	170

(All mileage are one-way, in ‘000 miles)

You will almost end up paying more for all premium classes mid- and long-haul flights. For instance, for Singapore to LA, this is at 170,000 miles return in Business (at the same level as what KrisFlyer requires), up from 145,000 miles previously.

As a sweetener, Asia Miles has announced that they have made redemption seats more accessible, by increasing availability by 20% or more. While no one is really sure how accurate is this, a comparison of the charts do see a slight reduction in the number of miles overall.

Asia Miles is now introducing two more levels of redemption levels – Choice & Tailor

Obviously you should never be burning miles at these levels, but Asia Miles has now unveiled two additional levels of redemption levels with “improved availability” and also allows you to select your seat in advance. This is similar to the previous Priority Tiers 1 & 2, except that this provides a little better clarity as to what ‘perks’ these higher redemption levels accord, such as advance seat selection.

Asia Miles Choice Award Chart (source: Asia Miles)

Side note: I’m constantly amused at how seat selection is such a great tool used by airlines to encourage people to spend more money (and miles in this case).

The skeptic in me feels that the bulk of the overall ‘improved’ award availability is going to go to the higher levels of redemption, given that at first glance Asia Miles is giving out more miles than before.

There will be changes to partner airlines redemption rates too

But this will be unveiled only on 22 June 2018. Based on some of the sample itineraries shown, it seems like across the board the mileage required will increase for round-trip itineraries, consistent with what it has applied for Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon prices.

More to come on this on 22 June 2018.

My take on the changes

Overall, this change looks good at first glance, in the sense that everyone will end up earning more miles. However, with more miles flooding the market, this will also mean that the miles will lose their value over time and lead to an increase in redemption rates down the road (which is already reflected), or resulting in Standard awards being harder to find.

Furthermore, Asia Miles is one of the few programmes (including Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer) that held steadfast in refusing to accord any status bonuses for Marco Polo Club elite members. Whether you are a Diamond, or a Green, you still earn the same number of miles. So this is somewhat unattractive as compared to some other programmes, such as Qantas Frequent Flyer, that awards a bonus for status holders.

Celebrate for now, especially if you fly a lot on Cathay Pacific because you are about to get a whole lot more miles. However, if I were you I will also not hoard too many miles and try to get award availability as soon as you can – you will never know if prices will rise again.

LOUNGE REVIEW: Qantas Hong Kong Lounge

Published by Shane

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.

Entrance to Qantas Hong Kong lounge, right above gate 15

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.

Feature wall adjacent to the entrance

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 ceilings.

Opened from 11.30am to midnight daily, the lounge changes its offerings throughout the day to cater to the different profiles of its key customers. Early in the day, the lounge serves mainly JAL business class passengers, while the evening and night crowd serves the redeye Qantas and British Airways customers.

One of the many sections in the lounge

I got in at about 5pm in the evening to check out its offerings and also to get some work done before my overnight Qantas flight to Sydney. I was immediately impressed with the amount of space and natural light, although the evening sun was starting to come in.

The lounge is longish and features several zones. When you first enter, the bar greets you with the lounge’s signature roast proudly displayed behind it. The next zone features the restaurant style dining area, where you will get table service during the evening peak.

Dining area

Further in there’s the self service buffet bar, as well as coffee tables and armchairs where guests who don’t want to dine can lounge at. Right at the other end from the entrance is another self-service drinks bar, stocked with sodas, an espresso machine and wines.

The food was amazing. Let me just give you a list of what they offer in the evening:

Made-to-order

Barbecue pork & roast pork rice

Beef brisket noodles

Barbecue pork buns

Stir fried prawns with rice

Small bites served in trolleys

Dumplings in soup

Siew mai

Tempura prawns

Deep fried beancurd with salt and pepper

How’s that for a lounge offering?

Char siew rice

Pan fried prawns with rice

Beef brisket noodles

On top of that, there’s the full buffet bar with 5-6 different salads, cheese, and 3 hot dishes, similar to what was available in the Singapore Qantas lounge.

There’s also a full bar, serving up all kinds of cocktails. In the early evening, there will be a trolley full of cocktails meeting customers right at the entrance, so guests can just grab one on their way in.

The signature drink, Chi Chi, features a dark rum, complete with pineapple juice, lime juice, vanilla syrup and topped with a kaffir lime leave.

Chi Chi, Qantas Hong Kong signature drink

Overall, you can see that Qantas has definitely up the ante with its offering in Hong Kong. Competing directly with Cathay’s suite of lounges given that both carriers are in oneworld, the Qantas Hong Kong lounge is definitely a worthy alternative for those who wish to avoid the crazy crowds at Cathay’s lounges.

Also, with that crazy amount of food – especially made-to-order food – on offer, they have enough to create a complete restaurant menu, so I’ll definitely be back again for another dinner some time.

Dimsum trolley service

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

Published by Shane

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”.

FlyDubai has announced the world’s first flatbed on a 737 – will SilkAir be the next? (Image source)

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 Singapore Airlines will retain its experience on a narrow body aircraft. Many airlines that operate both narrow- and wide-body aircraft will know that customers generally prefer the larger aircraft due to its stability and better in-cabin experience. Smaller aircraft, along with its smaller galleys also puts a limit to what they can bring on board for customers.

What does this mean?

This means some time after 2020, you are going to have a more decent in-flight experience (no more streaming on your own device for entertainment, hopefully better food), and have the iconic Singapore Girl on your flights.

And given that cabin upgrades typically take several months for each aircraft, the complete refurbishment and transition of the entire SilkAir fleet could take a couple of years.

What’s really worth looking out for is how Singapore Airlines will start making adjustments to its routes. As it is today, some low traffic routes (e.g. SIN-BWN) have been known to be operated by SilkAir regularly. In the past, the destinations for SQ and MI have been very well segmented, but in recent years there are some ports that are served by both SQ and MI, such as KUL, HAN, RGN, and more recently DPS and CMB.

REVIEW: Next Hotel Brisbane, Deluxe Room

Published by Shane

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.

Next Story Group is an unusual coop between a hospitality arm, design and marketing firms.

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.

Next Hotel Brisbane (Credit: Next Hotel Brisbane)

The 26-storey hotel with 304 rooms gives a mix of a vibe: funky yet calming. The reception on level 2 is a bustle of activity, with the in-house restaurant Lennon’s right next to it, there are plenty of people passing through the floor throughout the day. However, once you get into the guests-only Next Lounge on level 4, it becomes a sight of calm where you can drown in free-flow coffee and do your reading or work all afternoon.

Next Lounge on level 4, for hotel guests only

I arrived in the morning not expecting to get a room, but to my surprise the room was already ready for me to use, which was great. However, if you arrive too early and your room is not ready yet, the hotel offers two shower suites and three sleep pods on level 4 if you need to freshen up or take a nap, the first of its kind that I’ve seen in any hotel. There are also luggage lockers on level 4 for you to store your items while you nap, although you can always check them in at the reception.

The Room

I stayed in the Superior Queen room for the two nights I was here. At first glance, the room was very generous in space at 24 sqm, but also felt was rather dated. They also made use of an open concept bathroom which can easily be boarded up for privacy, although the bathroom didn’t come with a bathtub to my disappointment.

Next Hotel Brisbane Superior Queen Room

However, the room came with a smartphone which you could bring out for data hotspot, which is rather uncommon for an Aussie hotel.

For bath amenities, Next Hotel has gone with local brand Biology Skin. They smelt rather generic (I didn’t try the toiletries as I usually bring my own), although its website claimed that they were “free of sulphates, parabens and other harmful chemicals”.

Open concept bathroom, but you can close it up

What’s incredibly interesting was that all guests could take four items out of the minibar for free everyday – including the cider and the beer. This is incredibly handy given that Aussie hotels generally do not provide complimentary bottled water as the tap dishes out perfectly drinkable water. Every item after the first four will be A$4, while the alcoholic stuff cost A$8. Also, they rely on an honour system, you are to declare the excess you took from the fridge and they will not check it for you.

Take your pick of four items daily from the in-room mini bar – alcohol included

What’s in the Hotel?

The hotel offers all guests access to the Next Lounge, which provides all-day coffee and tea for guests. Unlike other properties which offer a club lounge, there’s nothing of that sort. The lounge is a good space and during the several times I went down to level 4, there was always people there either doing their work, or having a drink at the bar.

The hotel also has an outdoor pool on level 4 overlooking Queen Street mall, although I will recommend avoiding it in the late afternoon given that there’s a pool bar that overflows with people both days I was there.

The outdoor lap pool overlooks Queen St Mall

The bar is a happy place – it serves up happy hour with A$6 beers and A$8 cocktails from 6pm to 7pm daily, as well as a decent menu of bar bites ranging from fried items to salads. Couple that with a great location, no wonder there were throngs of people there every day when I stayed there.

In the Next Lounge there’s also a self-service 24-hour fridge stashed with water, soft drinks and snacks. Again it’s on an honour system: you take something out of the fridge, and you charge it to your room by scanning your room key in the register next to it and selecting the item you took.

Self service 24-hour bar and free all-day coffee and tea

Lennon’s Restaurant

While I didn’t have my dinners there throughout my stay, breakfast was included in my stay.

Lennon’s Restaurant on level 2, opens for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily

The breakfast spread was rather simple: the continental breakfast is laid out as a buffet, consisting of fruits, yogurt, pastries of all kinds, toasts and spreads, salad and self-service coffee and tea. If you will like a hot breakfast, they have a limited menu with four options you could choose from: Ham Benedict, Bacon & Eggs your way, Potato Rosti and French Toast.

Ham Benedict, Lennon’s Restaurant

I had the continental option one day, and the hot breakfast another. The only memorable thing to write about was the savoury muffin that I think had spinach, tomatoes and feta cheese in it – that would have been much better if I could toast it.

If you didn’t have breakfast included, you could still dine at the hotel restaurant for either A$19.95 for a continental breakfast or A$29.95 for a hot breakfast. I will recommend that you go elsewhere for breakfast for a fraction of that price.

My Take

Overall, the hotel is rather good value for money – for A$159 on a weekend night, it’s a great price to pay for two people at a great location in the heart of Brissy. You will get to save a lot on transport given that everything’s within walking distance or the free City Hopper ferries, and the free mini bar gives you a treat to relax and enjoy, whether you need a beer or some potato chips to unwind at the end of the night.

24 hour gym

What you probably want to skip is the breakfast, at that price you are better off looking at the plenty of cafe options within walking distance, or maybe even just grab something from the takeaway bar where a coffee and muffin will set you back by less than A$10.

The Next brand is also a great brand: you are constantly reminded of your ‘next’ stay, your ‘next’ breakfast, your ‘next’ everything, in its happy and youthful colours and style. While the rooms may be a little dated but that’s the least of my concerns, I felt incredibly comfortable through my entire stay and will definitely be back.