Tag: Bangkok

FLIGHT REVIEW: Spring Airlines A320 Economy SpringPlus, Bangkok – Shanghai

I was scratching my head as to how to get from Bangkok to Shanghai on a one-way ticket, and to my surprise there wasn’t many cheap options for flights during the day.

Strangely, there were a lot of red-eye options, but I’m not particularly excited at doing a five-hour red-eye flight, having travelled from Shanghai to Kuala Lumpur on a red-eye service a year before and trying very hard to survive through the day after the flight.

I then stumbled across Spring Airlines, which seemed like a perfect option given that it had a mid-day departure and arriving into Shanghai at about dinnertime.

About Spring Airlines

*Spring Airlines A320 (source: Spring Airlines Facebook page)*

Spring Airlines was established in 2004, and operated its first service in 2005. It’s one of China’s first low-cost airline, although in its early days it offered complimentary food and drinks to all passengers.

The Shanghai-based airline operates only the A320, serving over 50 domestic destinations within China and 25 international destinations across Asia.

Bangkok is one of Spring Airlines’ focus cities internationally, serving over 10 Chinese cities, including Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xi’an.

The schedule

Spring Airlines operate three flights daily between Bangkok and Shanghai Pudong.

At the time of writing, the daily schedule is as follow:

Flight	Route	Departure Time	Arrival Time	Day	Aircraft*
9C8892	BKK-PVG	0205	0715	Daily	A320
9C8756	BKK-PVG	1335	1830	Daily	A320
9C8580	BKK-PVG	1810	2330	Daily	A320
9C8755	PVG-BKK	0845	1235	Daily	A320
9C8579	PVG-BKK	1245	1705	Daily	A320
9C8891	PVG-BKK	2100	0105(+1)	Daily	A320

*Aircraft types are always subject to change

How to book

I don’t usually talk about how to go about booking your ticket, but I think in this instance it’s pretty critical.

If you try to book a Spring Airlines ticket through an online third-party site, chances are, you will be booking a ticket without any add-ons. No bags, no food, no seat selection.

To book a Spring Airlines ticket with some choices of add-on, you will have to book directly on its website, ch.com.

Being a Chinese carrier, Spring Airlines’ website is available in Chinese, as well as English, Thai and Japanese. If you also read Chinese, you will realise that there’s a lot more options in the Chinese version of the website, but do note that you can only make payment through some of the common Chinese payment platforms, including WeChat Pay and Alipay, or debit cards issued in China.

*More bundle options compared to English site*

To purchase a ticket using a credit card issued outside of China, you will need to use one of its non-Chinese version of the website. Apart from the awkwardly designed website, the first couple of steps are pretty straightforward.

When you have decided on the flight timing you want, you will have to select either Spring Saver, which simply gives you a seat and a carry-on bag, or Spring Plus, a all-in-one bundle. Note that all fares displayed are before the applicable taxes.

Spring Airlines is technically a budget airline, so if you want to purchase a seat only, they have it. Note that if you purchase a seat only, you can only bring one carry-on bag no heavier than 7kg (more on that later).

If you decide to customise your own add-ons, you can add items such as check-in baggage allowance and food in the later steps.

*Add-ons can be selected in the later steps*

For add-on baggage, the weight comes in 10kg steps and the price goes up accordingly. On my flight from Bangkok to Shanghai, every 10kg cost THB1,000 or RMB220.

Seat selection can also be made from RMB10 onwards. The price of your seat actually defers from row to row, so be sure to check.

*Seat selection ranges from RMB10 to RMB70, depending on zones*

As for food and beverage, you can pre-order a hot meal at RMB79 (THB340), but everything else is buy-on-board.

SpringPlus Bundle

Being highly uncertain about whether I could survive a 4+ hour flight on a Chinese low cost carrier, I decided to splurge on the best bundle I can find, which is the SpringPlus package, which costs RMB350 (THB1500) more. The SpringPlus bundle is also known as 经济商务座，which can loosely be translated to “economy business seat”.

So what does it entail? You get:

A seat in either Row 1 or 2, with free seat selection
30kg of checked baggage allowance
Free meal and unlimited beverages, including wine and beer
Priority boarding and disembarking
A pillow and blanket

Given that 20kg of checked baggage alone will set you back by RMB440, the SpringPlus bundle was a no-brainer. Having said this, I really don’t get how they priced this, but I suppose many Chinese travellers probably travel light.

Note that there’s also a 3% credit card surcharge, and there’s no way to get this fee removed.

After making payment, you are all set! However, note that the email confirmation is a little shady as well. There are details of your flight, but it doesn’t state the bundles as well as the entitlements (e.g. baggage allowance) you have on the flight, so just try to remember what you have booked.

At the airport

While the email asked passengers to arrive at the airport 120 minutes before the flight departure time, I arrived only about 75 minutes before.

There were four check-in counters opened for our flight and a good number of people in line waiting to check in. There was supposedly a separate queue for SpringPlus, but it’s only displayed by its Chinese term. I tried to queue up there, but was directed back to the main queue anyway.

*Spring Airlines check-in row K at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport*

Never mind that. The queue moved pretty quickly so I wasn’t very bothered.

As I was queuing, I saw a few signages that Spring has put up around hand baggage. The notice was very specific: hand carry items must be 7kg or less, and must be of dimensions 20cm by 30cm by 40cm or smaller. It then goes on to say “if it is found at the boarding gate that passengers’ luggage does not meet the requirements for free luggage entering the cabin, a luggage fee will be charged for passengers’ excess luggage.”

The price for checking in bags at boarding gate? Pretty horrific:

THB3500 (RM820) per piece for luggage under 20kg, and
THB7000 (RMB1640) per piece for luggage over 20kg, but under 32kg.

That’s some really expensive ‘fines’ for exceeding the hand carry limits, which I’m very happy for some other low cost carriers such as Jetstar to pick up.

*More warnings about hand-carry baggage on the boarding pass*

To drive home the point, there was the same notice, in Chinese, being stamped on my boarding pass when I received it. By this time, I was dead certain they were going to weigh my carry-on bags.

The aircraft

Spring Airlines operate a dedicated fleet of A320 only, in a single class configuration with 6 seats per row, 3 on each side for a total of 180 seats.

The first two rows are dedicated for customers who have bought the SpringPlus bundle, while row 3 onwards are for the other customers. This also means that there are only 12 SpringPlus bundles per flight, and some customers may be ‘upgraded’ if the flight is really full.

When the flight was ready to board, SpringPlus customers get to board first.

However, I chose to wait to board last, as I had an aisle seat. The A320 only has a single door for boarding, so that means if I boarded first, I’ll be greeting every other passenger who has to flow through the single aisle.

Also, a word about budget carrier travellers. Regardless of length of flight, customers on these flights tend to bring too many carry-on items. So that means overhead cabin space is a premium on a first come, first served basis.

I forgot this, and I realised that boarding last was a mistake. By the time I was on board, there was no more space in the overhead cabins. My seat neighbour had not one or two, but four bags – including two cabin suitcases – that couldn’t be stowed overhead. Once again, I wonder if the warnings about carry-on bags were a lie. The cabin crew couldn’t find a space for all their bags, and had to stow them somewhere in the galley in the end.

So I had to keep my bag under the legs for take off, which I’m sure is a breach of safety, and also incredibly uncomfortable.

The seat

Spring Airlines install 180 seats on its A320, in a 3-3 configuration across 30 rows. As mentioned earlier, the first two rows are reserved for SpringPlus passengers.

Each passenger in rows 1 and 2 receives a green blanket and a pillow, which are pretty ugly. The seats are upholstered in a faux leather skin, making it easy to clean and fairly comfortable for a mid-haul flight. The seatbacks are also quite thin, maximising the legroom.

The seats are standard width at about 17 inches wide, which is slightly narrower than most other airlines. There is also more legroom for the first two rows, at about 30 inches. All other seats have a standard pitch of 28 inches, which is fairly reasonable for the Asian traveller.

If you are in the main cabin, there are also extra legroom seats at the exit rows of 12 & 13.

Each seat comes with a fold-down dining table, and for the first row the table comes up from your armrest. There are also individual air nozzles and reading lights for every seat located above.

One critical point of all Spring Airlines seats is that: the seats do not recline. This to me isn’t really a bad thing. Most of Spring Airlines’ routes are anywhere between short to mid-haul, and in my opinion, disabling the very limited recline in an all-economy layout is probably a lot more beneficial (by preventing disputes), than whatever marginal comfort you may get with a 2-inch recline.

The service

Once we are safely in the air and the seatbelt signs have been turned off, the cabin crew in front swiftly went behind row 2 to draw the curtains, making the front cabin even more exclusive.

The very lovely crew then went around to each row of three to greet us by name, and then provided an overview of today’s flight, such as the flight duration, estimated landing time and meal service. She also gave us a bottled water each. I was impressed.

Shortly after that, the meal service commenced. The meal was fairly simple: pieces of chicken along with some potato wedges, pumpkin cubes and long beans, along with a slice of chocolate cake and a packaged bread roll. Everything was nicely encased in a plastic box and served up at once, with the entree piping hot.

In terms of beverage, this is where it got a little interesting. Unlike some other low cost carrier which only offered water or one single drink along with the purchased meal, Spring Airlines offered unlimited drinks, including soft drinks, coffee, tea, beer and wine. Even though the cart had a limited choice of drinks, the sheer fact that drinks were unlimited was, again, impressive.

*Complimentary unlimited beverages on Spring Airlines with SpringPlus*

I had a soda water to go with my meal, followed by a coffee after. Meal service was pretty prompt, and collected shortly after I was done with it. Once again, service was very attentive. As my finished meal was collected, the cabin crew asked if I’ll like another drink. I saw that they had small bottled red wines on the cart, so I decided to give it a try.

The red wine turned out to be a China-made Cabernet Sauvignon (China Wine, ha!), produced in a vineyard from Ningxia. Having not tried Chinese wine before, I took a sip and as it turns out, it was pretty decent. I made a quick search online about Chinese wines and the region has apparently been known to produce some award-winning wines in recent years.

The wine was served in a paper cup as the crew has run out of plastic ones. Personally, I do feel that has affected the taste a little, but the wine was delicious so I had three glasses.

If you are reading this and decided not to buy the SpringPlus bundle, the buy-on-board menu is very affordable. Meals begin from RMB20 (THB87) and all drinks from water to beer were RMB10 (THB43).

*Spring Airlines buy-on-board food menu*

*Spring Airlines buy-on-board drinks menu*

With about 90 minutes to go before landing, the purser opened up the curtains, and I thought this a little too early to prepare for landing. He then started wheeling out a cart, and took out the in-flight PA to start speaking.

As it turns out, he was starting to peddle the in-flight duty free items for sale, in Mandarin, of course. While he was very good, being incredibly knowledgeable and persuasive in selling the wide-range of items (I did a rough count, he mentioned no less than 20 items in the catalogue – including cigarettes, SK-II, Disney products, and electronics – over the 15 to 20 minutes of speaking), I can imagine that if you didn’t understand Mandarin, you might find it a little annoying.

*In-flight magazine (largely duty free catalogue), menu and safety card*

After he was done, there was indeed a flurry of duty-free sales going on within the cabin. For one, the Chinese traveller likes to buy cartons of cigarettes back home, and apparently they always run out on Spring flights.

Shortly after, it was time to prepare for landing. The cabin crew once again came to thank customers one-by-one, as well as provide landing information including estimated time of arrival and weather. While this was something fairly simple, I personally was really impressed at the level of service for a supposedly no-frills flight.

Final thoughts

I came off the flight more than impressed with what Spring Airlines have packed into a ‘value-added’ bundle.

While Asia is no stranger to low cost carriers and their ancillary products, the SpringPlus bundle that Spring Airlines offer is equivalent to a full-service economy class product, sans in-flight entertainment.

The little more, such as priority check-in, boarding, disembarking and priority baggage handling, made the entire experience even more worth it for the additional cost.

What truly impressed me was the quality of service. Chinese carriers used to be associated with poor quality food and service, but I found both to be more than acceptable in this instance. I’m not sure if this is a one-off experience or representative of the entire fleet, but I’m very sure I’ll be giving this another try if the opportunity arises.

That said, the only downside to the experience is the quality of your travel companions on the same flight. This is a common problem with Chinese travellers, particularly those who are venturing internationally for the first time as they tend to be from smaller cities and may have different levels of refinement and cross-cultural appreciation as those living in the tier-one cities.

Also, Spring Airlines obviously do not belong to any alliance, so if you are more concerned about earning miles, this will obviously not be an option for you.

13 December 19

REVIEW: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Bangkok Ploenchit, King Guest Room

Having to clock a few more stays this year to qualify for Hilton Honors Diamond Elite, I did what I always resisted doing: mattress runs.

After staying at the DoubleTree by Hilton Sukhumvit the previous night, I leisurely made my way to DoubleTree by Hilton Bangkok Ploenchit, which was about 15 minutes away by car.

In this post:
• Introduction
• The hotel
• Checking in
• The room
• The facilities
• Dining & happy hour
• Final thoughts

The hotel

A little bit more about the hotel first: if you haven’t seen the property on Hilton’s list in Bangkok over the past couple of years, you are not mistaken. DoubleTree by Hilton Bangkok Ploenchit only opened earlier this year in September 2019.

DoubleTree by Hilton Bangkok Ploenchit

Before you get too excited, the property is not a brand new one. The hotel was previously Majestic Grande Hotel, and the deal for Hilton to manage the hotel under the DoubleTree brand was announced back in 2018. The hotel remains owned by Majestic Grande, who also runs other properties in Bangkok such as their same name property in Sukhumvit.

DoubleTree by Hilton Bangkok Ploenchit has 251 rooms across 25 floors, although it doesn’t have an executive lounge. The hotel is also located about a 7-minute walk away from the nearest BTS station (Ploenchit), which is only two stops away from Siam and Asoke, both being popular places for tourists.

However, note that given the hotel’s proximity to Sukhumvit Road which is perpetually crawling, be sure to cater extra time if you are travelling by taxi to and from the hotel.

Checking in

I got into the hotel at about noon. The first impressions were pretty good, I had to say. Right from the moment I arrived, the porter spring into action and swiftly took over my bags and gave me a tag. I proceeded to check in, which was pretty fuss free. As usual, the agent gave me the signature DoubleTree cookie to dig in while she checked me in.

DoubleTree by Hilton Bangkok Ploenchit lobby

I took the time to check out the lobby as well. While not the largest, the lobby was decked out in fresh and modern fittings, coupled with a very clean reception, giving the impression of a newly renovated hotel. Adjacent to the lobby was also the restaurant, which looked pretty chic.

OPEN restaurant adjacent to the lobby

The agent then told me that unfortunately, my room wasn’t going to be ready until 2pm, which was pretty common in Bangkok given the high occupancy levels across most city centre hotels. I asked if my bags will be moved into the room when I get back later, and she confirmed it.

As a Hilton Honors Gold member I had a choice of either bonus points or free breakfast. If you haven’t figured, it is often better value to take the breakfast over the points, if your room didn’t come with breakfast. If you are a diamond member, you get both.

Given I had about two hours to spare, I decided to go do a little shopping and grab a massage before coming back to the room in the evening.

When I got back, that was when everything started going downhill.

The room

DoubleTree Ploenchit has 251 rooms across 8 room types, including three suite types. For this trip, I was invested in only the entry level room, which was a King Guest Room. Unfortunately I didn’t get an upgrade even as a gold elite member.

The room categories can be a little confusing: across the basic rooms, there are Deluxe, Guest, Premium and Superior rooms. The Premium and Superior rooms are significantly larger, the only difference between Deluxe and Guest is the state of renovation. Deluxe are newly refurbished rooms while the Guest rooms are inherited from Majestic Grande.

The hotel is still in the midst of progressively renovating the rooms, so I will expect that at some point, all rooms will be minimally “Deluxe”.

Standard King Guest Room

When I first stepped into the room, the staleness of the room hit me – you could literally smell the age of the room. Adorned in dark wood and warm tones, the controls for the lights was my first challenge. After switching on all the lights, I went, “that’s all?!” The room is clearly in need of more lights.

At 28 square metres, the room was adequately sized, although it didn’t feel that spacious compared to similar rooms I have had in Bangkok. There was a standard sized work desk, as well as other standard amenities including bathrobes, bedroom slippers, complimentary coffee and tea, and bottled water.

In-room minibar

On the bedside table, there was also a set of room controls which have clearly seen better days. The room phone was also placed beside the bed.

The room was pretty well stocked out in the food department. There was a full minibar, as well as an in-room dining menu with food available round the clock if you are hungry. Only problem with the minibar? The fridge was hardly doing its job of keeping the contents cold.

In-room dining menu, with 24-hour options

Complimentary water in the room comes in glass bottles, which are cleaned and reused (yay for the environment!). If you do stay in a DoubleTree property in Bangkok, please be careful when you consume the complimentary in-room water. There are some bottles, such as the Evian and Badoit bottles on the countertop, which are chargeable. The free ones are clearly marked.

Very dated bathroom

The bathroom is where the signs of age was the most obvious. It was laid out in the classic manner, with the vanity running one side of the toilet, the toilet seat across from it and the bathtub opposite the door. There was no shower stall, so you are expected to shower in the bathtub, which some people may find it cumbersome given you need to climb in and out of the tub.

Crabtree & Evelyn amenities

Amenities remain the same set from Crabtree and Evelyn, as with all other Hilton and DoubleTree properties I have been to.

The facilities

DoubleTree by Hilton Bangkok Ploenchit facilities

Given that the hotel was newly taken over by Hilton, most of the facilities were inherited from Majestic Grande. There was a fitness centre, which can be accessed with your key card. However, note that the fitness centre is only opened between 6am and 8.30pm, which again, is a very strange timing.

Fitness centre, open daily between 6am and 8.30pm

While the hotel states it has a pool, the swimming pool was undergoing rebuilding during the time I was there.

Swimming pool clearly under renovation, to be ready in 2020

While the former Majestic Grande had a spa, DoubleTree Ploenchit didn’t cater for one, and that also means there are no relaxation facilities such as a steam room or sauna within its premises.

Also, the hotel does not have an executive lounge, so if you are a Diamond elite member and was looking for an exclusive space to rest during the day (why though?!), this may be a point of consideration.

In terms of dining, there is only one all-day dining restaurant at the lobby, as well as a bar adjacent to it. The restaurant doubles up as the breakfast venue for all guests.

Dining & Happy Hour

For guests who has breakfast as part of their room rate, breakfast is available daily at OPEN, the ground floor restaurant, between 6.30am and 10.30am. Breakfast is provided for guests who has booked a bed and breakfast rate, as well as complimentary for Hilton Honors Gold and Diamond elite members.

Breakfast situation at OPEN

The breakfast spread at DoubleTree Ploenchit is pretty standard fare. Beyond the usual American breakfast offerings, there are also some Asian offers, including a live noodle station, along with a buffet spread of rice and stir-fried dishes.

Asian fare at breakfast

Egg station at breakfast

Honestly, the food wasn’t all that great, so if you have to pay for breakfast, I’ll strongly suggest that you skip it and head out for breakfast instead. After all, you are in the land of good food.

Given that the property didn’t have an executive lounge, DoubleTree by Hilton Ploenchit offers its members complimentary drinks at the lobby bar daily between 7 to 8pm.

Evening complimentary drinks between 7pm and 8pm for Hilton Honors Gold & Diamond members

When I got down at 7pm, there was already a handful of people waiting for drinks, with only two staff tending to everyone. Within 15 minutes, all the seats were taken up, so all other guests had to stand around to enjoy their drinks during the hour. The staff were very attentive though, constantly topping up the drinks proactively even without asking.

Final thoughts

While DoubleTree by Hilton Bangkok Ploenchit is relatively new to Hilton’s portfolio, the property is relatively dated. Having stayed in both DoubleTree properties (this and the one at Sukhumvit), the other one is definitely superior, both in terms of comfort as well as location.

Lobby bar at DoubleTree by Hilton Bangkok Ploenchit

The hotel is in a dire need of an upgrade, as shown by the state of the room I was in as well as some of the facilities. I believe this is in progress, given how new the lobby looked. The lack of facilities may not be a major issue for most people, but if you are the type that likes to spend plenty of time in the hotel to work out or relax in the pool, you may want to avoid this property for a while.

The happy hour is a nice touch for Hilton’s loyalty members, but the space needs to be better thought given the number of guests who were eligible for it. I believe the spillover crowd usually goes to the restaurant, but unfortunately during the evening I was there, there was a private function happening at the restaurant.

At a glance:
• Room type: King Guest Room
• Room rate: THB2,548 + 17.7% taxes (Hilton Honors rate as of November 2019)
• Executive lounge: No
• On-site restaurants: Yes (one)
• On-site parking: Yes, complimentary
• Fitness centre: 24 hours
• Swimming pool: Under refurbishment
• Spa: No

4 December 19
FLIGHT REVIEW: Cathay Pacific A330 Business Class, Singapore – Bangkok
Many people associate Cathay Pacific with its home base of Hong Kong, which isn’t surprising given that there are over 50 flights a week from Singapore to Hong Kong. While Cathay Pacific is one of the preferred choice when travelling to Hong Kong, what some people may not know is that Cathay Pacific also offers a daily service to Bangkok from Singapore.

The Cathay Pacific Singapore-Bangkok daily service is one of Cathay’s unique fifth freedom flights around the world, and the only one operating between the two Southeast Asian cities.

I decided to take a slight detour to Bangkok today while on my way to Hong Kong, to check out if this option is indeed a much better choice than other full service carriers.

The schedule

Cathay Pacific runs a return flight between Singapore and Bangkok daily, in addition to its eight daily services to Hong Kong.

At the time of writing, the daily schedule is as follow:

Flight Route Departure
Time Arrival
Time Day Aircraft*
CX712 SIN-BKK 1320 1500 Daily A330-300 / A350-900
CX717 BKK-SIN 1155 1525 Daily A330-300 / A350-900/1000

*Aircraft types are always subject to change

While Cathay has an issue of aircraft consistency, they don’t really have an issue with cabin product consistency. Unlike Singapore Airlines, Cathay essentially only have two business class seat types – the regional business class and the long-haul business class product, both of them are used on services to Singapore.

The lounge

All business and first class passengers will be able to access the Cathay Pacific lounge at Terminal 4 before their flight. The lounge is pretty new, having opened back in November 2017 when Cathay Pacific moved to Terminal 4.

Cathay Pacific Changi Airport Terminal 4 lounge

Of course, if you are holding a oneworld Emerald equivalent status (including British Airways Executive Club Silver, Qantas Frequent Flyer Gold), you will also be able to access the lounge as well.

The aircraft

On my A330 aircraft today, there are three classes: Business, Premium Economy and Economy. In business, there are 39 seats over 10 rows. There’s a small premium economy section consisting of 21 seats over three rows, while in economy there are a total of 191 seats. It’s a fairly loose configuration, given that an A330 can carry over 300 people at max.

Pre-departure drinks

Note that there are three versions of the A330 that Cathay Pacific operates. Two of them have the long-haul Cirrus business class seats, while the last one uses the regional recliner business seats, which unfortunately is used on the Singapore-Hong Kong services at times. If you are not sure, just check up the seat map of the flight before you book.

The seat

Fortunately for me today, the cabin product on the Singapore-Bangkok sector was the long-haul business product. The cabin is laid out in a 1-2-1 configuration in a reverse herringbone format, with all seats having direct aisle access. Seats are Cirrus seats, designed by Zodiac Aerospace, and can be found on several other carriers including Air France, American Airlines, and Delta.

The beauty of such 1-2-1 configuration is that it works for both couples and solo travellers. If you are travelling solo, the window seats work best, but if you are travelling as a pair, the middle pair seats will be your ideal positions.

Given it’s a long-haul business class product, the seat can be converted into a lie-flat bed at a touch of the automatic controls, with the seat flushed with the ottoman in front of the seat.

Ottoman that can be used as a footrest too

Every seat has a in-flight entertainment screen that folds out from the seat in front of you. When stowed in the original position, the screen will be at a 90 degree angle from you, so that means that you don’t get any entertainment during take-off, landing and taxiing. If you ask me, this is about the only weakness of the seat design.

Seat controls, power sockets are conveniently located next to you

The seat controls are conveniently located at the side of the seat. The entertainment control handset is stowed next to you, with the power socket and audio inputs right next to it. This makes it very convenient to access and use, particularly with the side table right next to all the sockets.

The service

The flight time today is under two hours, making it a very short flight for a meal service. Given it’s a mid-day flight, lunch was served.

For those who are familiar with Cathay Pacific’s services to Hong Kong, you will know that it usually does a three course meal in business class, with each course served separately.

Given the short length of today’s flight, the meal service is therefore similar to what Singapore Airlines offer on its short haul services, where everything is served on a single tray.

For starters, there was a bowl of fresh fruit, with no other options available.

There was three choices of main course:
- Stir fried beef, sha cha sauce, kailan, oyster mushroom and egg fried rice
- Pan fried salmon fillet with sumac spice, carrot potato mash, quinoa with zucchini, peas, sun blushed tomato and dill mustard sauce
- Grilled chicken with Bali sauce, fried noodles with vegetables and chilli sauce
Apart from the menu that was already placed on my seat, what’s good about the Cathay Pacific business class meal service was that the cabin crew will wheel out a trolley with all the mains available, so you can visually take a look at the options before deciding what you want. I always thought this was a much better option, because words can only conjure an image of what the dish might look like, which more often than not turns out to be different from what is plated.

I went with the salmon with quinoa. Shortly after the main was served, another cabin crew trailing behind came around with a basket of bread, and I gladly chose garlic bread to go with my meal.

What differentiates Cathay Pacific from Singapore Airlines was their dessert service. Singapore Airlines typically does a cake or a room temperature dessert service.

Loyalists will know that Cathay Pacific dishes out Haagen-Dazs ice cream for its passengers, and this is no different even for this short-haul service and definitely a plus for me.

For those who are interested in the beverage list, here are the wines and champagne on offer today:

Cathay Pacific ex-Singapore wine list

The Entertainment

I am a huge fan of Cathay Pacific’s in-flight entertainment system. As earlier mentioned, the only draw back was the design of the screen, which flips away from the seat during take-off and landing, so that means that you won’t be able to watch your shows from gate to gate.

Cathay Pacific in-flight entertainment system

Back to the content. Cathay Pacific boasts a wide variety of entertainment options on its IFE, and what I personally enjoyed the most was the huge range of Chinese and Asian content. I find that particularly lacking on other carriers, including Singapore Airlines.

Beyond Hong Kong produced shows, they also carry a healthy amount of China, Taiwan, Japan and Korean content, including some more obscure options that may be hard to find. Some of the best shows I’ve watched are on Cathay flights. Having said that, they are also pretty strong in their Hollywood offerings – you will be able to find some of the hottest films on their system.

Noise-cancelling earphones

Final thoughts

The Cathay Pacific fifth freedom service between Singapore and Bangkok is a very much welcomed competition if you are looking beyond the Star Alliance carriers (i.e. Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways).

While it’s pretty much a very short flight, coupled with its brand-new lounge at Changi Airport, this is a product that works and is a very worthy alternative to what Singapore Airlines can offer. Schedule wise, while it only offer one flight a day, the middle-of-day timing also works pretty while for both business and leisure traveller – I could still head to work in the morning and still make it on the flight, while the return flight affords me some time in the morning in Bangkok before coming back to Singapore in time for dinner.

For those with Asia Miles, the redemption on this flight is however slightly more pricey than Krisflyer. You will need 25,000 Asia Miles each way in business class on Cathay, as compared to 21,500 Krisflyer miles each way on Singapore Airlines.
18 July 19
REVIEW: DoubleTree by Hilton Sukhumvit Bangkok, Deluxe King Room

Hilton has an array of properties in metropolitan Bangkok, ranging from the newly opened Waldorf Astoria to more budget friendly DoubleTree by Hilton.

I’ve tried out several other Hilton properties in Bangkok before, including the Conrad Bangkok, and wanted to find out how does DoubleTree Sukhumvit measure up.

DoubleTree by Hilton Sukhumvit Bangkok

The hotel

DoubleTree Sukhumvit by Hilton, Bangkok is located just off the main Sukhumvit Road. The hotel was opened in May 2013, after Hilton took over what was formerly known as the Imperial Tara Hotel and did a refresh. At the time of the opening, the DoubleTree by Hilton Sukhumvit Bangkok was touted as Hilton’s 100^th property in Asia Pacific, as well as the first DoubleTree by Hilton property in Bangkok.

The hotel is a 7-minute walk from Phrom Phong BTS station, and that also means a short walk from EmQuartier and the Emporium. This affordable option is well-placed if you are keen to zip up and down Sukhumvit for most of your time in Bangkok.

The hotel has 177 rooms across four room categories. Rooms include three levels: Deluxe, Guest and Superior, and if you are looking for a suite you only have the King Deluxe Suite (there’s only five in the entire hotel) to choose from.

DoubleTree Sukhumvit Lobby

Upon arrival, you will be greeted with the warm Thai hospitality, and the famous DoubleTree cookie treat at the front desk, as your agent processes your check-in. I’ve stayed at the property twice now, and both times I didn’t have to wait very long to get my key card.

The hotel has a pretty eclectic decor style, similar to what I’ve seen at Hotel Indigo Bangkok before. There are hints of nostalgia with its vintage phonographs, transistor radios, cameras, wall clocks, as well as modern funk kind of furnishing around the lobby.

Lift Lobby

The room

The room I was staying for the day was the Deluxe King room. At 28 square metres, the room was a comfortable size although admittedly a little small for a Bangkok room.

DoubleTree Sukhumvit – Deluxe Room

Along with a generous king-sized bed, the room also has an armchair by the side of the window. In lieu of a work desk, there was a round glass-top table with an office armchair, which suffices for your basic hotel-office needs.

King-sized bed

Of course, there are the usual hotel amenities, including a large 40-inch flat screen TV, a mini-bar, complimentary coffee and tea as well as an in-room kettle. There are also some in-room luxuries such as bedroom slippers and bathrobes.

Window side lounge chair

As with many other DoubleTree properties, the bathroom came with a shower stall instead of a bathtub. Specifically for DoubleTree Sukhumvit, even the suites don’t come with a bathtub.

Bathroom

DoubleTree uses the same suite of Crabtree and Evelyn bath amenities as the mainline Hilton properties, which I personally like to use as it’s pleasing to the nose and yet not overpowering.

The facilities

Given the size of the hotel, the property is fairly well equipped with amenities. On the recreational front, DoubleTree Sukhumvit has an outdoor swimming pool on the 7th floor, which was fairly popular with the guests during my stay.

Swimming Pool

On the same floor, there is also a 24-hour fitness centre which is accessible with your room key card. Unfortunately there is no spa, so if you are looking for some relaxation facilities such as a hot tub or sauna, tough luck.

24-hour fitness centre (credit: DoubleTree Sukhumvit)

On the same floor there is also a poolside bar, Mosaic. As DoubleTree Sukhumvit doesn’t come with an executive lounge, the bar also doubles up as the happy hour bar for Hilton Honors gold and diamond members, offering complimentary drinks between 6 to 8pm daily.

Mosaic Poolside Bar

The ground floor has a full restaurant Dee Lite (yeah tacky name), which also serves as the breakfast restaurant. Unfortunately for this stay I left too early, even way before breakfast was served, so there’s nothing I could share with regard to the F&B.

Final thoughts

Bangkok is a land full of hotels – and cheap ones to boot. While higher quality and luxury hotels are often available at very affordable prices, DoubleTree Sukhumvit is incredibly value-for-money especially when you compare it to Hilton on the next soi. Having said that, this value comes with less amenities and will only be of good value if location is your primary consideration.

In-room amenities

For one, the hotel does not come with an executive lounge, so if you are a Hilton Honors diamond member, what you will receive instead are complimentary Happy Hour drinks daily from 6 to 8pm by the pool, which is also offered to gold members.

Overall DoubleTree Sukhumvit is a very comfortable property, albeit less than the usual frills. This is usually not a problem in cities like Bangkok, as you will usually spend much time outside of the hotel anyway. If you are in town to explore the myriad of offerings along Sukhumvit Road, this is definitely an ideal location to be in.

Hotel at a glance

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Sukhumvit Bangkok
18 1 Sukhumvit Soi 26
Khlong Ton, Bangkok, 10110, Thailand
TEL: +66-2-6496666
Nearest BTS station: Phrom Phong
Approximate taxi fare from airport: THB350

No. of rooms: 177
Suites available: Yes
Executive Lounge: No

All-day Restaurant: Yes
Bar: Yes
Room Service: Yes – 24 hours

Fitness Centre: Yes – 24 hours
Swimming Pool: Yes
Spa: No

Meeting rooms: Yes
Business Centre: Yes

11 June 19
FLIGHT REVIEW: Singapore Airlines B787-10 Business Class, Bangkok – Singapore

Singapore Airlines / 22 Apr 19 / B787-10 / SQ983 BKK-SIN / Business class / 14A

I was redeeming my Krisflyer miles for a trip down to Perth, and I remembered that I could add on a leg within Southeast Asia for an additional USD100. As I had a trip to Bangkok some time earlier in the year, I decided to add on a Bangkok-Singapore flight to make the full use of my miles.

Bangkok Survarnabhumi airport is a massive animal, but Singapore Airlines almost always depart from D gates. Singapore Airlines also operate a SilverKris lounge at the airport, right across from gate D7.

Singapore Airlines Boeing 787-10 business class

The aircraft

The Boeing 787-10 is the new generation aircraft that Singapore Airlines have decided on for its short and medium haul flights. At the time of writing, the aircraft type is progressing replacing the A330-300s on several routes, including to Osaka, Taipei and Perth.

The aircraft has a two-class configuration: business and economy class, with 36 and 301 seats respectively, for a total of 337 seats. In business class, the seat that Singapore Airlines have chosen is the STELIA Symphony, a brand new design that Singapore Airlines have decided on and announced with much fanfare back in 2018.

In a departure from its previous regional configuration on the A330-300, Singapore Airlines have gone with a 1-2-1 seat layout, forgoing the wide seats its famous for and gone for the alternating pattern with a side console. This layout is similar to what other airlines such as Qantas have on their widebody aircraft.

The seat

The Boeing 787-10 I travelled on has 36 business class seats across 9 rows in a 1-2-1 configuration, which means that all seats have direct aisle access. At the time of booking, all the window seats with the side console dividing the seat from the aisle have been taken up, which was rather surprising.

The 2018 regional business class seat

At first seating, the seat feels a little tight. The seat comes with adjustable armrests on both sides, which one can leave up or push it down to level with the seat for a more spacious seating.

Unlike the Qantas layout, Singapore Airlines have aligned the seats in the such a way that in alternate rows, couples travelling together can choose a pair of middle seats that is right next to each other.

Alternating couple and aisle-siding seats for the middle section

You will also notice there’s a sort of privacy divider between each seat and the aisle, making the seat feel really private as you will be avoiding any kind of awkward eye contact with your neighbours across the aisle if you happen to be just looking around from your seat.

Privacy divider on every seat

The controls on the seat have been very much updated from previous iterations of the Singapore Airlines business class seat. Loyalists will know that the previous iterations of the business class seats – especially the long haul seats – are built to be manually turned into beds upon request.

Seat controls and entertainment handset

For the Boeing 787-10, Singapore Airlines have adopted an electronically-controlled system. The seat controls are located on the side of the table-console. At a touch of the button, you will be able to recline the seat into a fully flat bed.

On the side console was also a small compartment which contained the headphones, and also contained the power socket and charging ports. For take off and landings, the compartment needs to be closed, so effectively you won’t be able to charge anything during this time.

Storage compartment on the side console

One thing to note is that the foot well is rather small. When I tried it, the only comfortable position is when you sleep facing upwards. If you are a side sleeper like me, you will be more comfortable curling up your legs, rather than try to slot them into the foot well. If you are very tall, good luck to you.

Tiny footwell

The tray table is stowed under the in-flight entertainment screen in front of you. There is a button to eject the tray, which you then unfold into a larger table.

For an extra perk, the two front row window seats – 11A & 11K – both contain an extra storage space that also serves as a bassinet space. If you manage to get those seats, the space is very handy to keep your bags within reach during flight.

Bassinet space at seat 11A

The service

The flight time today was just under 2 hours, and a full meal was served.

As usual, as the economy class is still boarding, the cabin crew came around with a choice of pre-departure drinks. As always, I’ve gone with a glass of champagne. The choice of bubbly today was the Charles Heidsieck, the choice of champagne that Singapore Airlines go for its business class.

Shortly after take off, dinner was served rather quickly. The menu for the day read as below:

Appetiser:
Marinated fried tofu and cashew nut salad with thai chili sauce
Main course:
Seared kurobuta pork loin with bourbon sauce
Deep fried sesame coated chicken with asian green, carrot, fried noodles and oyster sauce
Hor Mok Pla, or thai style minced fish with coconut cream and spices, sauteed vegetables and fried rice
Dessert:
Raspberry choux
Assorted bread rolls and gourmet breads
Coffee and tea

Given the short flight time, the meal was served on a single tray, rather than through a multi course presentation.

Single tray service for short haul flights

The only real choice you get on short haul flights are a choice of main course. For flights out of Bangkok, note that there’s also no Book The Cook options so you are pretty much limited to the menu choices.

I decided to go with the pork loin, which I thought was the least bad options based on the choices available. At first bite, I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty it was. The pork was tender and the texture was in fact closer to chicken, rather than pork.

The jus was pretty good as well, although I’m sure that would have been laden with sodium.

The star of the meal was in fact the dessert. The cake was balanced in its sourness and sweetness, making it a perfect end to the meal.

Along with the meal, there was also the usual choice of four wines, two whites and two reds. I went with the french red bordeaux (as opposed to the italian red), which wasn’t particularly memorable, although it wasn’t bad.

Champagne barely half-filled

I was done with my meal pretty quickly and soon enough the cabin crew came around to clear my tray. I then asked for another glass of champagne, which was promptly brought to me. I was rather amused at the serving though: it was barely one-third filled. I understand that service guidelines typically require most beverages to be filled to roughly about half, or two-thirds of the glass to minimise spillage, but one-third of a small, tall glass is kind of ridiculous.

Needless to say, I had to ask for a second serving.

Final thoughts

It’s great that Singapore Airlines has finally moved to a 1-2-1 configuration for its regional business class seats, which is a much needed upgrade from the previous 2-2-2 cabin which I unfortunately had to experience when I went to Beijing.

Having tried the seat for the first time, while sleek, I personally felt that the seat was rather tight. Even though it seemed like there was a lot of space, but in reality the seat width didn’t feel spacious, especially when the armrests are up.

Fully flat bed at a touch of a button

The screen also seemed like it was right in my face, although one may argue that’s not too bad a thing actually as I could actually touch the screen without stretching.

The design of the seat could also use some tweaking. Realistically speaking, the compartment next to the seat which had a sliding door wasn’t much of a use. If I have placed some small articles in it, I had to shut the door in order to prevent the items from falling out in case of turbulence. A container-style compartment would have worked much better.

In-flight entertainment

The seat controls next to the seat was also often accidentally triggered by my resting arm when my armrest is down, which was rather annoying.

On the service front, as usual it was impeccable, and a tray service even in business class is pretty standard for a short flight like this. However, I would really appreciate if there was a semblance of option, even for something as simple as desserts where some things such as ice cream are easy to uplift.

21 May 19