Overview of the Park Hyatt Maldives

Learn how to travel to the Maldives on a budget

To maximize the amount
of time I would spend at the resort, I had decided earlier to stay overnight at
a transit hotel near the airport and fly in early morning the next day.

I briefly explored Male and went to bed early,
saving my energy for the next day.

My flight was scheduled
at 7:45 AM, so I woke up early morning and was then dropped off by my transit
hotel at the domestic side of Male international airport. A Hyatt employee
quickly greeted me and assisted me with my bags.

Maldivian air uses
primarily Dash-8 propeller aircraft, wherein all your carryon bags had to be
checked in. 

I was then escorted to
the Maldivian airport lounge, where they served complimentary soft drinks and
food. I highly recommend the fish curry as it was delicious. The fish was fresh
and the flavors, complex.  However, it
might be better to avoid the cold foods. I had one spoonful of yogurt and it
definitely tasted like it was not properly chilled.

After a couple minutes,
a Maldivian air representative arrived and escorted us through security and
onto our quick flight to Kooddoo Island. 
It was a relatively small flight, consisting of mostly locals and a few
tourists.

I was assigned to seat
7A, which had a quite limited view. I highly recommend asking the Hyatt
representative to have you seated in Row 1-4 or row 21 (the last row). That
way, you will be able to enjoy the whole flight with an unobstructed view, but
regardless where you are seated, you will still be treated to some gorgeous
scenery.

The flight was quite
short and we soon landed in Kooddoo Island. I grabbed my luggage and met
another Hyatt representative who quickly took care of my belongings. Apart from
me, there was only one other passenger on our plane who was heading to the
Hyatt, a French sommelier.

We were then escorted
onto an electric buggy cart for a quick 5 minute drive from the airport to the
pier, where a speedboat was waiting for us.

The weather was
gorgeous, and we had a pleasantly smooth boat ride. On the way to the resort,
the boat captain noticed dolphins swimming ahead and asked if we wanted to stop
and look at them. Who wouldn’t want to stop and look at dolphins?! 

Of course we said yes. The engines were
throttled back, and we headed out to the front of the boat to witness the
elusive creatures. 

It was so mesmerizing
to see them swim gracefully, bobbing their heads up and down the water. It was
simply magical and until no, we still couldn’t believe our luck.

After a couple of
minutes, the dolphins disappeared into the sea and we resumed out journey.

When we arrived at the
Park Hyatt, a whole team was waiting for us, including the general manager. I
found out later on that the GM personally meets every arriving and departing
guest. 

We walked from the pier
to the reception area, which was shaped liked an upside down boat.

While I was chatting
with the general manager, the butler introduced himself and brought me a
delicious welcome drink.

At the Park Hyatt
Maldives every guest is assigned his/her own “butler”, essentially an on call
representative that will cater to any request they need. My butler was a
gentleman from China who lived near Shanghai. All butlers are multilingual and
speak fluent English. When possible, they do assign certain butlers depending
on the nationality and language preferences of each guest.

At check in, I was
delighted to hear that since I was a diamond member, I was upgraded to the Park
Pool Villa (upgrades are assigned at check in based off availability).

Before heading to my
room, I decided to take a tour around the small private island. Just outside
the entrance area, I immediately came across the centerpiece of the hotel, a
huge infinity pool spanning across the length of the main restaurant.

Beyond the pool is a
white sandy beach, along with the clear blue water the Maldives is so famous
for.

In the middle of island
is the resort spa, which features a more private swimming pool.

On the other side of
the beach are the world famous Water Villas, but more on that later.

My first impression of
the private hotel island was one filled with awe and wonder. The resort looks
exactly like it does on the pictures, and that itself is hard to replicate
anywhere.

Review: Etihad Business Class – Abu Dhabi to Male

After leaving paradise, I immediately snapped back to reality as I was confronted by a huge crowd waiting to pass through transit security. Although there was a business / first class line, it wasn’t being enforced, which meant I had to wait 30-40 minutes before I was able to pass through.

I headed to the Etihad Lounge, which serves both first & business class passengers. In contrast to the opulent Qatar & Emirates lounge, the Etihad Lounge was rather muted.

The lounge features various lounging & dining areas with comfortable leather seats. The design itself wasn’t ground breaking, and since the lounge can get quite crowded during rush hour, Etihad is almost forced to squeeze in as many chairs as possible.

At the center of the lounge is the main bar area, but since it was early in the morning, I decided to take a break from the alcohol consumption and get some juice instead.

There is a separate business area, which is well designed and sleek.

The lounge offered mostly continental food options, and since I had just eaten “breakfast” on my previous flight, I decided to just grab a few cold bites.

Business class passengers receive a complimentary treatment at the Etihad Spa. My therapist was amazing, and although the treatment lasted only 15 minutes, it proved to be extremely refreshing after a long flight.

Soon enough, my flight to Male was ready for boarding and I headed out. Compared to most international competitors, the business class lounge at Abu Dhabi was top class and was more than comfortable enough to spend a couple of hours in.

Along with the other business class passengers, I boarded onto a bus and headed to our Airbus A330, which typically is used to fly medium to long haul flights. I was warmly greeted by an impeccably dressed flight attendant and shown to my seat.

Forget the domestic first class seats that US airlines have, the business class seat on the A330 is definitely miles ahead, with every fully lie flat seat having direct aisle access! 

Another unique feature is the tray table that is actually bolted onto the back seat.

The business class cabin is spread out in a 1-2-1 formation, which does mean each seat is a bit cramped at only 19 inches wide.

However, for a 4 hours 30 minute flight, this seat was probably among the best in its class. Before departure, I was offered a glass of champagne and some warm nuts

Soon after taking off, breakfast orders were taken. I started off with a plate of fresh fruit and a cup of tea.

This was followed by an omelette with a side of beef. The omelette was a bit cold, but the beef was delectable!

The portions are a bit small, so I asked if could get another entrée. The flight attendant indulged me with a plate of cold cuts.

Overall the food offering was more than adequate for a 4-hour morning flight. After my meal, I decided to try out the lie-flat seat and watch the movie Rush.

The seat must have been real comfortable as I quickly fell asleep, and only woke up when we were beginning our descent.

Outside my window I caught a glimpse of the stunning Maldivian atolls, with sparkly blue waters surrounding each island.

We soon landed at Male airport and quickly disembarked.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience on the Etihad A330 business class. The hard product is definitely unbeatable for such a short flight.

My $23,000 flight on the Etihad Residence & Apartment for $104 – Etihad A380 First Class

When the new Etihad A380 was announced two years ago, the
aviation world was turned upside down.

Instead of cutting costs, Etihad went to the drawing board
and created two new innovative products: Etihad Apartment & Etihad Residence.

The traditional convertible seats in first class pale in comparison to the Etihad Apartment, which featured the world’s first separate seat and convertible sofa for sleeping.  

Each apartment is equipped with a full sized vanity mirror and a swivel 27 inch LCD TV, innovations that have never been seen in any luxury commercial flight before. The Etihad Apartment is so big that Etihad had to remove one aisle in order to fit two apartments side by side across the upper deck of an A380.

While the First Apartment is already a noteworthy innovation, Etihad took it even one step further and launched The Residence. This features not one, but three separate areas for guests, including the world’s first truly private room with a full sized double bed. 

Innovative luxury travel doesn’t come cheap. For a one way flight from Sydney to Dubai, The Residence retails at around $23,000 one way, while the First Apartment retails at a more reasonable $6500.

I have always been intrigued by the Etihad Apartment and since I was in Sydney for the New Year’s Eve fireworks, this was the perfect chance for me to finally try out the best first class products in the sky.

How did I manage to
book this trip?

I redeemed 60,000 AAdvantage miles + $108 for a first class
ticket between Sydney to the Maldives, with the flight from Sydney to Abu Dhabi
on board the Etihad A380 apartment. 

You can learn how to book your own Etihad
first class trip here.

While the apartment is an amazing product, I wanted to see
the holy grail of luxury commercial flying for myself, the Etihad Residence. However, to take a look
at the Residence you have to email Etihad in advance and pray to the airline
gods that they allow you to take glimpse of the world’s most expensive and
private seat in the sky.

With my fingers crossed, I contacted Etihad and to my surprise, they agreed to give me a tour if the Residence was unoccupied during my flight. Upon boarding, Etihad staff informed me that The Residence was empty and therefore they would allow me a brief tour.

Getting a tour was already amazing enough, but due to some unforeseen circumstances, I was able to experience The Residence in private! It was like my birthday came early and for a few minutes, I got a feel of what it’s like to fly in the world’s most expensive and innovative seat! 

The Etihad First
Apartment Experience

On the day of my flight, I quickly checked in and headed to the relatively new Etihad lounge. 

Upon arrival, I was warmly greeted by the lounge attendant. She immediately took my carry on and stored it in one of the luggage lockers.

We then headed down an elevator and entered the lounge. The lounge is separated into two distinct sections, one for dining and one for lounging.

The lounging area is beautifully furnished with classy white and brown leather chairs.

I especially liked the wooden bookshelf, which gave the area a bit of a home away from home feeling.

The buffet area had a self-serve buffet and an a la carte menu featuring numerous small dishes.

There were only two showers in the lounge, so I decided to first take a shower before the lounge got busy. The shower room was well designed and had a large rain shower head.

After my shower, I decided to eat dinner. A waiter introduced himself and informed me that I can order as many dishes as I want from the a la carte menu. 

I started my meal with the seared scallops.

The scallops were perfectly cooked, with just the right amount of moisture squeezing out with each bite.

I then had the pan-fried halloumi, an Arabic dish with baba ganoush (roasted eggplant). Like the scallops, the dish was delicious.

After half an hour, the waiter served my lamb rump. Unfortunately, the rump was too well done and a bit tough.

Finally, I finished with a piece of chicken leg, which was
also a bit too dry, but still much better then your typical American lounge food.

Overall, I’d recommend sticking with the appetizers and having something light, to leave room for the feast waiting for you on board the plane.

The service levels offered at this lounge was world class. Although it’s a satellite lounge serving only a few flights a day, each lounge attendant impressed me with their thorough attention to detail. For business class passengers, this lounge is miles ahead of any other Sydney lounge.  

Soon enough, it was time to board. Since I was planning on having a brief tour of the Residence, Etihad rolled out its Residence boarding experience for me, so I was able to board before everyone else, including other first class passengers.

An attendant escorted me to the boarding gate and introduced to the cabin manager who walked with me all the way to the plane.

Upon boarding, I was greeted by the first class butler and shown to my seat. My mouth was wide open in amazement as I saw my apartment for the very first time. 

The Apartment was huge, with enough space for a lounging area with a convertible sofa and a separate reclining chair. Length wise I’d say the Apartment is equivalent to at least 4 economy seats side by side. The Apartment seats are so big that only one seat can fit on each side of the plane.

Adjacent to the seat and across from the bench is a vanity mirror area where you can find an amenity kit and other hygienic items.

Unlike the small mirrors found on Emirates, the one in the Etihad Apartment is as big as the ones found in your typical bathroom. Except this is not your ordinary mirror, as this one is fit with automatic lights that turn on whenever you open the closet, making you look like a million bucks.

Underneath the vanity mirror is a minibar filled with soft drinks and bottled water. Adjacent to the mirror is a small closet where you can hang your clothes.

Like in Emirates, the overhead storage has been removed to give the space a more airy feeling. Storage of baggage is located under the bench instead.

However, since my carry on bag couldn’t quite fit in the storage, the butler quickly took my bag and stored it for me. 

Two flight attendants cater to the passengers on the First Apartments, with additional service from the butler that usually serves The Residence. That means even though my flight was nearly full with 6 out of 8 seats occupied, service was excellent throughout the flight.

The butler introduced himself and asked if I would like something to drink, so naturally I asked for some champagne.

Because Etihad takes service very seriously for its first class passengers, its butlers are trained at the world famous Savoy hotel. Attention to detail is paramount, and I was thoroughly impressed by my butler’s attentiveness and professionalism throughout the flight. 

My champagne arrived promptly, along with a hot towel, dates, and a welcome letter from the cabin manager.

 Etihad doesn’t serve Dom Pérignon or Krug and instead serves Bollinger Grande Annee 2005, which retails around $100 a bottle. 

After a while, the plane was ready for take-off and left the gate for the runway. One neat innovation Etihad has done is the layout of the First Apartment. In order to fit the apartments side by side, half the seats are positioned “backwards,” which means that on odd numbered rows, you are seated facing the rear of the plane. Since the seating area is wider than the lounging area, this allows the rows of the First Apartment to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, which I found to be very clever. A side benefit of this arrangement is the wall between adjacent seats can be partially lowered, perfect for traveling couples who want to sleep with their heads next to each other.

My seat was 3K, a rear facing seat, so during take-off I was being pulled upwards, sort of like going backwards while on a roller coaster. I enjoyed the experience, but if you are prone to motion sickness, I’d recommend sitting in the even numbered rows instead.

Shortly after take-off I was offered another glass of champagne, along with nuts and olives.

The on board chef then came by, introduced himself to each first class passenger, and personally took our orders. This kind of personalized service can make in flight dining a really pleasurable experience. 

Unfortunately, Etihad doesn’t serve caviar in first class, and instead offers an amuse bouche starter.

I was then served chili crusted king prawns, which was absolutely delicious. The prawns were firm, yet juicy. 

I then had an Arabic soup. The presentation was superb, and I enjoyed watching the butler pouring soup from the serving bowl into the actual soup bowl filled with vegetables. For a moment I forgot that I was on a flight and not in a 5-star restaurant. 

Since I was flying on a Middle Eastern airline, I decided to
also try the Arabic mezze.

Afterwards I was given a sorbet palette cleanser before my
main course was to be served.

I wanted to be surprised and earlier told the on board chef to make whatever dish he could come up with. The chef then personally delivered the dish, which was a mixture of different types of grilled meat. I was extremely amazed on how tender the meat was. This definitely tasted better than any of the dishes I had on the ground.

At this point I was completely stuffed and had to decline dessert. After dinner, I decided to change into something more comfortable. Etihad provides complimentary cotton pajamas for first class passengers.

Etihad has two bathrooms for its First Class Apartment passengers: one has a shower, while the other one located at the tip of the nose is a bit longer and more spacious (similar to Emirates).

One thing I noticed during the flight was the use of patterned light throughout the plane, highlighting Etihad’s signature geometric pattern which was inspired by the modern architecture in Abu Dhabi. They even put a light fixture in each of the bathrooms, adding a very classy touch.

After changing into my comfortable PJ’s, the lights were
dimmed and I decided to play around with the entertainment system, which
features a 24 inch LCD TV and a touch screen remote that can actually play
video, so if you can’t decide what to watch, there’s always the option to watch
two different videos at once.

The flat panel TV swivels up to 90 degrees, which means you can have the perfect viewing angle whether you’re lying down in bed or sprawled on your seat.

At this point we were flying into some heavy turbulence and since it was getting quite choppy, I decided to grab another glass of champagne to calm my nerves.

After a few minutes, the turbulence subsided and the butler knocked on my apartment door and asked me if I would like to take a look at The Residence.

I noticed he had changed into a completely new outfit, complete with a trench coat and white gloves, which is the uniform butlers wear when Residence passengers are on board the aircraft. 

Each uniform is personally tailored to fit each butler, and it was by far the most elegant airline uniform I’ve ever seen.  

The butler then guided me over to The Residence and what followed was the most amazing 30 minutes of flight in my life.

The Etihad Residence

The Etihad Residence is made up of three separate spaces: the living room, an in-suite bathroom, and a private bedroom.

The living room is where guests can lounge around, have a meal, and enjoy the view from the windows. It’s around the same size as a standard apartment seat.  Stretched across the entire length of the living room is a sofa that can comfortably seat at least two people. 

Picture was taken prior
to tour

On the opposite side is an equally long ottoman, which functions both as a foot rest and as storage for your bags, since there are no overhead compartments in first class.

For good measure, Etihad decided to put a mini bar inside the ottoman, although I doubt that you would ever need to use it since a butler is just a call away.

The main showpiece is the entertainment system’s huge 32 inch LCD screen, currently the largest in the sky.

The sofa has pop out footrests, and you can partially recline the seat so you can lounge comfortably during your flight.

Since the Residence is designed for two people, there is a pair of foldable tables that guests can use to dine in. Also, each side of the sofa has controls for the entertainment system and the seat itself.

After a brief overview of the living room, the butler unlocked the door and we walked into the private area of The Residence.

If I thought the apartment was incredible, the private area of The Residence was simply epic. Every detail, big and small, just blended together like musical instruments in a world-class orchestra to give off a luxurious, five-star feel. Everything about the space is simply brilliant. 

Instead of having a sofa that converts into a bed, The Residence is furnished with an actual full double sized bed. This is a first among all airlines.

Unlike Emirates, which has a lot more “bling”, Etihad keeps it much more traditional, with geometric patterns lining the exterior wall on one side, and an almost wall to wall mirror on the interior side. Behind the bed are two LED reading lamps that you can manually adjust.

A photo posted by Sam Huang (@intotheplane) on Mar 30, 2016 at 4:10am PDT

To add to the sheer opulence, Etihad has not two, but four feather pillows and another two smaller side pillows for good measure.

While passengers can lock the door from the inside, the butler does have the ability to open it from the outside in the event of an emergency. Still, this is as private as it gets and you really do feel like a sultan in the sky. 

The private bathroom features a shower and full sized products from Acqua di Parma.  

In keeping up with Etihad’s geometric theme, multi colored tiles lined the floor and parts of the bathroom wall, complementing the signature Etihad light pattern on the bathroom wall.

The Residence bathroom is very similar to the one for First Class Apartment guests, except that it’s your own private shower.

After touring the bathroom, I asked the butler if he could take a few pictures of me sitting on the bed.

As we were taking a couple of pictures, the plane suddenly hit a huge pocket of air and the cabin started shaking quite vigorously. The butler quickly went outside to check with the cabin crew and came back with grim face, saying that we were going through some rough turbulence, and he would have to leave for the next couple minutes due to safety procedures. He then quickly shut the door and all of sudden I was alone in the world’s most private room in the sky.

I first decided to test the bed. The mattress was neither too firm nor plush, and it seems like Etihad found the perfect balance of firmness.  The bed is covered with Italian bed linen, which was extremely smooth and comfortable. I initially felt that having six pillows on your bed was a bit excessive, but the end result was that no matter which way you sleep, you’d still be comfortable

The double sized bed was big enough for two people to sleep comfortably, and is easily the most spacious bed on a plane I have ever tried to sleep on.

While I was lying down on the bed, I noticed my reflection on the wall mirror. It was a bit awkward seeing yourself in bed reflected in the mirror, although I’m sure couples wouldn’t mind at all.

There is also a 27 inch TV at the end of the bed so you can lie down comfortably while watching your favorite entertainment program.

One of the things that really impressed me was the extremely innovative and state-of-the-art lighting system of The Residence. 

Through a control panel you can regulate all sorts of lighting options for the floor, ceiling, and wall.

Not only that, The Etihad Residence is equipped with dimmable lights, which allow you to adjust how bright you want the room to be.

Having had a few champagne glasses too many, I couldn’t help but fulfill a childhood wish to dive into the bed like Nicole Kidman. Needless to say, my clumsy self looked quite ridiculous on camera!

And since I was feeling like I’m on the top of the world, I just had to take a selfie. After all, it’s not every day you get to fly in The Residence!

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. The butler came back to let me know that the turbulence had subsided and I was free to go back to my apartment.

As I left the room, I took one last look at The Residence, thankful for the opportunity to experience a truly revolutionary flight product in the world, even just for a brief moment.

After my brief but amazing experience on The Etihad Residence, I asked the butler to prepare my bed. While I got ready, the butler converted the apartment couch into a flat bed.

Unlike the bed in The Residence, the beds in the Etihad Apartment are essentially converted sofa seats with mattress cushioning on top, similar to other airlines’ first class products. However, compared to the usual first class seat that has more cushion, The Apartment’s sofa is naturally quite firm. This results in a relatively hard sleeping surface.

Since I am a deep sleeper who can fall asleep even on long haul economy flights, this wasn’t an issue; however, those who have back problems might have trouble falling asleep.

We soon began experiencing mild turbulence, and I quickly fell asleep as the aircraft rocked back and forth. I woke up 6 hours later, feeling refreshed and well rested.

At this point, the butler was taking a well-deserved nap, so I was attended to by a lovely flight attendant from India. It turns out she was one of the youngest first class flight attendants on Etihad!

I asked if it would be possible to take a shower. After a few minutes, the flight attendant came back and let me know that my shower was ready.

Etihad is currently one of two airlines with an on board shower, the other being its UAE rival, Emirates. Unlike Emirates, Etihad doesn’t have any shower attendants or a first class bar on board. However, I’m not one to complain since it was still a shower at 40,000 feet, which is an incredible feat.

Each apartment guest is allowed five minutes of hot water, with a lit up shower dial that indicates how much water you have left.

Just like my first Emirates shower, I spent the first half of my allotted time basking in the ridiculousness of having a shower at 40,000 feet, and then the second half playing catch up to make sure I rinse off before running out of water.

As I dried off, I couldn’t help but notice that Etihad adorned its shower bathroom with lots of mirrors, which I found quite interesting. I also found that the ceiling was once again designed with Etihad’s geometrical light pattern.

After my amazing shower, I headed to the Etihad onboard lounge to order “breakfast” which is essentially anything in the a la carte menu.

The onboard lounge is a place where restless business and first class passengers can go to socialize. Unlike in Qatar and Emirates, there is no onboard bar here, although you can easily grab the attention of a flight attendant to order anything you want.

Alcohol Display
Cabinet

Unfortunately at this point we were hitting some extremely strong turbulence, so I had to head back to my seat. I ordered some hot tea while I waited for my food to be prepared.

Soon after, the onboard chef served me breakfast, complete
with his chef’s special consisting of mostly lamb and a freshly made egg. It
was absolutely delicious and just as good as the mixed meat platter I had for
dinner.

I followed with an order of various small desert bites.

After watching a few TV episodes, the captain informed us that we were set to arrive in Abu Dhabi. Since we were flying against turbulence almost the whole time, the flight time ended up being around 15 hours, which was more than enough time to enjoy the Etihad Apartment.

After we landed, I stayed behind and asked to take a picture with the amazing first class crew, to which they gladly obliged.

As I walked down the jet bridge, the lights behind me were turned off. I was the first onto the plane, and the last one off. Deep inside, I didn’t want this amazing flight experience to end.

In conclusion, I am extremely grateful and fortunate to have finally gotten to experience the holy grail of all airline seats. I felt like a true Arab sheikh, if only for a fleeting moment.

I would have to say this was easily the best 60,000 miles I’ve ever spent, and even with the recent AA devaluation, using miles is definitely still worth it to experience exceptional airline innovation.

Next Up: Etihad Business Class – Abu Dhabi to Maldives

Major changes happening to American Airlines award chart on March 22nd. Here’s what to book now.

As I briefly mentioned in my previous post,
starting March 22^nd American Airlines is set to vastly increase the
amount of miles for first and business class award tickets.  The new updated award chart can be found
here.  I’ve taken a thorough look and compared
the old and new award chart.  Here are my
thoughts for flights from and to the United States.  

Flights
within Contiguous 48 U.S. States

Regular award redemption in Economy costs
remain at 12,500.

Business class tickets remain the same at
25,000. 

First Class tickets go up significantly by
53% from 32,500 to 50,000. 

Overall this is great news for those who use their miles for domestic award travel. Keep in mind domestic first class flights are
classified as business class for award purposes.  Only transcontinental flights between New
York to LA and San Francisco have a true first class product which isn’t that
impressive anyway. 

Flights
to Hawaii

Regular award redemption in Economy costs
remain at 22,500.

Business class tickets go up slightly by 6%
from 37,500 to 40,000. 

The mileage
increases basically match United’s award chart. 
To save miles, I recommend using Singapore Krisflyer miles instead which
charges only 20,000 miles one way.  Keep
in mind domestic first class flights are classified as business class for award
purposes. 

Flights
to Canada and Alaska

Regular award redemptions in Economy costs
go up by 20% from 12,500 to 15,000. 

Business class tickets go up by 20% from
25,000 to 30,000. 

With the increased amount of miles, I
recommend using United which still charges 12,500 for economy class and 25,000
for business class.

Flights
to Europe

The good news is the regular award
redemptions in Economy costs remain the same at 30,000 miles.  However, Off Peak Economy award redemptions
increased from 20,000 to 22, 500.  However,
American Airlines has reduced the number of days in the off season
significantly from October 15^th to May 15^th to November 1^st
to December 14 and January 10^th – March 14^th.  This is a significant loss since now you
can’t travel during the shoulder season or during the Christmas break.   

Business class tickets go up slightly by
15% from 50,000 to 57,500. 

First Class tickets go up significantly by
36% from 62,500 to 85,000.  

First class
flights between the United States and Europe are solely operated by American
Airlines and British Airways, which happen to have the subpar first class
products.  This increase makes redeeming
miles for First Class travel between the US and Europe a very poor value.

British Airways First Class

Flights
to Asia Region 1

Regular award redemption to Asia Region 1
(Japan and Korea) in Economy increased slightly by 7% from 32,500 to 35,000.    However,
American Airlines has eliminated off peak redemptions to Asia completely.  This represents a significant increase in
miles, since off peak redemption only cost 25,000 miles. 

Business class tickets go up by 20% from
50,000 to 60,000.  This is still
relatively a good value especially since Japan Airways has better business
class products.

First Class tickets go up by 28% from
62,500 to 80,000. Although that is a
slight increase, the amount of miles needed still represents a good value since
other airline mileage programs charge more and Japan Airways has the best first
class products.

Japan Airlines First Class

Flights
to Asia Region 2

Regular award redemptions in Economy costs
go slightly up by 7% from 35,000 to 37,500. 

Business class tickets go up by 27% from
55,000 to 70,000. 

First Class tickets go up significantly by
62% from 67,500 to 110,000.  This is a
huge increase in miles, making the award from one of the best value redemptions
to a mediocre one.  This is a huge loss,
since I’ve always been a huge fan of Cathay Pacific first class products, and
this increase makes it unaffordable.

Cathay Pacific First Class

Flights
to South Pacific

Regular award redemptions in Economy costs
go slightly up by 6% from 37,500 to 40,000. 

Business class tickets go up by 28% from
62,500 to 78,000. 

First Class tickets go up significantly by
51% from 72,500 to 110,000.  Again, this
is a huge increase by American Airlines. 
What makes it especially difficult is Qantas offers amazing first class
products.  However, now that American
Airlines flies to Australia, award availability should increase.  Currently Qantas awards are very hard to
find. 

Qantas First Class

Flights
to Africa

Regular award redemptions in Economy costs
go slightly up by 6% from 37,500 to 40,000. 

Business class tickets remain the same at
75,000.

First Class tickets go up by 20% from
100,000 to 120,000.  While the award price
didn’t increase by much, the award redemption cost has always been high.  Additionally, flying to Africa usually
requires flying on British Airways, taxes and fees could reach up to $1,000
round trip. 

Flights
to Middle East/Indian Sub Continent

Regular award redemptions in Economy costs
go slightly down by 11% from 45,000 to 40,000. 

Business class tickets go slightly up by 3%
from 67,500 to 70,000. 

First Class tickets go up by 27% from
90,000 to 115,000.  While the amount of
miles has increased, this is still reasonable unlike redemption flights to Asia
and Australia.  Overall this is ok
news for those who want to fly on Ethihad which features one of the best hard products in the world.   In addition,
the Maldives is still classified as part of the Middle East.

Etihad First Class

Flights
to South America Region 1 (Northern Southern America)

Regular award redemptions in Economy costs
go slightly up by 14% from 17,500 to 20,000. 

Business class tickets remain at
30,000. 

First Class tickets go up significantly by 37%
from 40,000 to 55,000.  Overall, award
tickets to countries such as Peru and Colombia represents a good value. 

Flights
to South America Region 2

Regular award redemptions in Economy costs
remain at 30,000.

Business class tickets go up by 15% from
50,000 to 57,500. 

First Class tickets go up significantly by
36% from 62,500 to 85,000. 

Business class awards to South America still
represent a good value.  While the amount
of miles needed for first class flights increased by quite a bit, American
Airlines has a poor first class product to begin with.

Flights
to Central America

Regular award redemptions in Economy costs
remain at 17,500.

Business class tickets go down slightly by
8% from 30,000 to 27,500. 

First Class tickets go up significantly by
31% from 40,000 to 52,500. 

Even though the amount of miles for a
business class award slightly decreased, I’d recommend saving your miles and
fly Economy.  The domestic first or “business
class” product is not a good use of miles.

Flights
to Mexico

Regular award redemptions in Economy costs
remain at 17,500.

Business class tickets go down slightly by
8% from 30,000 to 27,500. 

First Class tickets go up significantly by
31% from 40,000 to 52,500. 

Even though the amount of miles for a
business class award slightly decreased, I’d recommend saving your miles and
fly Economy.  The domestic first or “business
class” product is not a good use of miles.

Flights
to Caribbean

Regular award redemptions in Economy costs
remain at 17,500.

Business class tickets go down slightly by
8% from 30,000 to 27,500. 

First Class tickets go up significantly by
31% from 40,000 to 52,500. 

Even though the amount of miles for a
business class award slightly decreased, I’d recommend saving your miles and
fly Economy.  The domestic first or “business
class” product is not a good use of miles.

In
Summary:

Overall, American Airlines award
redemptions in first class go up significantly, while business class
redemptions in general seem to go up around 10-20%.  The good news is economy flights stay
relatively the same, although the elimination of AAsaver awards for flights to
Asia and South America do sting a bit. 

Award redemptions through Aadvantage will
still “price” at the old level for all award bookings until March 22,
2016.  Since you can book your award
flights around 11 months ahead, this means if you book on March 21, 2016 you
can book for flights until February 2017.

I
highly recommend using your miles to fly first class products, especially
flights on Cathay Pacific and Qantas before the amount of miles vastly
increases.

My first Total Solar Eclipse in Palu Indonesia

The day of the Eclipse was finally upon us and after an early breakfast at 4:00 AM, my driver, guide, and I headed to Kota
Palu, a small village south of Palu, to attend an eclipse watching party
sponsored by the local government. 

We were warned by numerous tour groups to head out early, as the bare bones infrastructure would be stretched to the limit. Eventually after a few hiccups we arrived at a rather crowded local soccer field.

The vice president of Indonesia was scheduled to watch the
eclipse at this particular soccer field, making the security extremely situation very tight. In
fact there was even an escape helicopter ferried in, just in case something happened
at the event.

We initially set up camp in front of the vice presidential
helicopter and I grabbed footage of the sun rising from the mountains. It was a perfect day, with almost nary a cloud in sight!

However, our plans to shoot footage from this particular spot were soon dashed after the head of security came over and told us we were in his security perimeter and we had to move back to a special “tourist viewing”
area.

Unfortunately the viewing area didn’t look nearly as nice and was crowded with other fellow tourists. We decided instead to look for another area to film in, away from the crowds.

Fortunately, we didn’t have to walk very far as we spotted a
nearby rice field, which provided the perfect viewing spot for the eclipse with the reflection of the sun bouncing off the pool of water below.

A local crowd had gathered to watch the eclipse and we set
up our cameras as the eclipse was almost set to start.

In this part of the world solar eclipse glasses were selling for around $6, which is
quite the fortune for the local villagers; some clever locals created their own, albeit not so safe, bootleg version of eclipse glasses.

At around 7:20 AM the solar eclipse began and through my eclipse glasses I was able to see the edge of the moon slowly start blotting off the sun.

The sun was still
blazing hot and without eclipse glasses you wouldn’t be able to notice the eclipse was starting.

I shared my eclipse glasses with my a few of the locals  and the
reactions of them seeing the eclipse for the first time was priceless. 

Slowly but surely the moon kept sliding across the sun, with the sun taking a crescent shape.

At around 8:30 AM the sky started becoming noticeably darker and the mood shifted. I could hear a few birds getting restless and it felt like time itself had slowed down. 

At 8:35 AM,  the
sky started rapidly getting darker and the crowd began cheering and waiting for
the moment of totality. At this point, I would say the sky was at least 25% darker than usual, and even those without a pair of glasses could see something was going on.

Suddenly the valley turned from day into night, with a wave of darkness washing over the sky like a painter stroking a dark brush. If you looked closely, you could see the western part of the valley getting dark a split second before hitting us.

 

It’s really hard to put into words what I was experiencing, but all I can say is my heart briefly stopped and my body was filled with jubliation.

Experiencing totality was just incredible, with a dusk like sky covering the horizon, it really did feel
like the end of the earth was near.

 

 Being swept by Totality. All you will want to do is shout and jump in the air.

Before I knew it, the sun started appeared
out of the shadows, shining brightly like a diamond ring. 

Everyone cheered one last time as the sky quickly reverted back to its normal state. For the next couple minutes, I was in a state of speechlessness. For all the hype, the actual experience was even better. It finally made sense why thousands of eclipse “addicts” spend a small fortune traveling around the world chasing totality.

Afterwards all the locals wanted to grab
pictures and it turns out Indonesians are big fans of the selfie stick.

Was it really worth it to travel to this remote town in
central Indonesia for a few minutes of daytime darkness? The verdict is 100% Yes, in
fact I’m already starting to make my travel plans for 2017. Get ready America
for your turn to experience eclipse fever! 

Things to see & do in Palu, Indonesia

Palu is the provincial capital of central Sulawesi with a
population of 330,000. Since I had a spare day before the eclipse, I decided to
tour around the city. 

The main attractions are outside of Palu, including Lore
Lindu National Park, which features over 200 bird species, many of them unique
to Indonesia. Unfortunately, I was unable to visit the park due to lack of time.

Source: Flickr

Palu has a bit of a microclimate, due to being in a valley
surrounded by two mountain ranges. This meant that it’s relatively dry, making
it perfect for eclipse watching.

There aren’t that many local attractions, and you can easily
see the sights in a couple hours.

Palu’s population mostly consists of Muslims, although there
is a significant Christian minority. This meant that there was always a mosque
within earshot. The most prominent mosque in Palu is the Masjid Terapung or
more commonly known as the floating mosque.

Non-Christians are allowed to visit and inside the mosque I
met a few school children learning Arabic and studying the Koran. Although they
didn’t speak much English, nothing transcends language barriers more than a
game of high five.

Afterwards, I walked around the shoreline of Palu Bay and
stumbled upon an unfinished monument, which was erected in honor of the solar
eclipse.

Nearby, a fisherman was trawling for fish, with his kids
enjoying the sunny day.

Afterwards I headed to the peace monument, located in the
hills overlooking the city.

The views were stunning, although they had a peace
gong with no actual mallet to strike it with. 

As the sun set over the mountains, I walked onto the Teluk
Palu bridge, which featured gorgeous views of Palu bay.

This clearly was the hangout spot for the local youth, and quite a few were taking selfies at a pedestrian area nearby.

I headed back to my hotel and called it a night as I had to
wake up real early the next day for the eclipse.

Review: Mercure Palu

After landing and grabbing my luggage, I went outside only
to be greeted by a mass of people. Now, I usually don’t pre-book airport
transportation, but with the huge surge of tourists I didn’t want to risk
getting stuck at the airport. Luckily my wonderful tour guide and driver from
Malia Tours were right in the front; turns out they had been waiting for me for
over three hours!

We had delicious Indonesian food at a local restaurant and
headed to the Mercure Palu.

The agent welcomed me and confirmed my complimentary upgrade
to the Deluxe Room and informed me that breakfast was complimentary. On top of
the standard benefits, I was given complimentary solar eclipse glasses, which
were not going cheap in this remote town!

The room was clean and reasonably sized, with a huge picture
of the Palu Bridge as the background.

The room featured a see through shower, but you have the
option of rolling down curtains.

The toilet was located separately from the
shower, which is quite normal in Asia but may make the bathroom seem a bit
cramped for those used to the toilet and shower being in the same room.

You do see a few stains here and there, but given this hotel
in Palu, I’d say the room was superb, especially for the price being paid.

The next day I checked out the swimming pool which featured
a nice view of the mountains in the distance and a mini oriental garden.

 Curiously, no one was
actually swimming in the pool and hotel guests seemed to just enjoy having a
drink while lounging under the shade.

The lobby featured plenty of seating area and functional.

More importantly, the air conditioning was fantastic, and offered a respite
from the tropical heat.

The service was excellent although much of the staff did not
speak much English. The check in agents did however speak excellent English and
quickly arraigned anything I needed.

On the day of Eclipse, the hotel even set up breakfast at
3:30 AM to accommodate those waking up early to watch the eclipse!

Overall I enjoyed my stay at the Mercure Palu, which
features first rate accommodations that no other hotel can replicate in this
provincial city. I would definitely stay there again.

Rates at the Mercure
Palu start at $37. I paid $70 a night, which was the rack rate of the Hotel
since I was using the Room Guarantee benefit of my Accor Platinum status.

Review: Lion Air Domestic Flight – Jakarta to Palu

I arrived at the Lion Air domestic terminal with 70 minutes
to spare. Outside the terminal there was a long line as you need to be screened
first and security had to verify you have an actual ticket before being allowed
into the building. It is important you have an actual printed copy of your
flight booking, although it is possible to open your laptop and show security
an e-ticket.

Once I got in, I was confronted by an endless amount of
lines with no clear direction being given on where to line up.

After waiting in
a line for a few minutes, I asked a staff member if there were any shorter
lines since the flight check in cutoff time was approaching.

He directed me to a shorter line at the farthest end of the
check in counters. However, the line was being held up by a passenger checking
in at least 10 boxes.

Another lady behind me had at least 20 bags to check in!
I asked the line agent again as my cutoff time approached and he assured me
that I would make my flight.

Finally, when I got to the desk, the check in agent
initially couldn’t check me in and called his supervisor. In a scene straight
out of a music video, the high heel wearing supervisor hopped onto different
moving conveyer belts before going to an office to sort it out.

At this point I was getting quite nervous as it was 30
minutes before departure, but eventually I got a printed ticket and checked in
my luggage. Unlike most LCC’s, Lion Air offers 15 kg checked in luggage
complimentary for domestic flights and 20 kg for its international flights. As
I ran to security, I checked my pockets and noticed my passport was missing. I
went back to the counter and turns out the check in agent forgot to give my
passport back!

After running back to security again, I arrived at the gate
all sweaty only to see that my flight was delayed. The seating area was very
basic, with metal chairs the norm, and the air conditioning barely working.
They did have charging stations where you could charge your phones, and the
free Wi-Fi was nice.

Lion Air is known for its frequent delays and it was no
surprise that our flight slightly delayed. Now I don’t know if this is a
regular occurrence but ground staff came and gave everyone a light snack and
sealed water cups.

After around 45 minutes our flight was ready to be boarded
and we headed out of the gates and took a remote bus to our plane, a Boeing
737-900.

The aircraft was relatively well maintained and thankfully
the air conditioning was running on fall blast. The seat pitch is 29 inches,
which is a bit tight, even for a low cost carrier but the seats did recline.

Interestingly enough the bins had ads, with one featuring the Burj Dubai
advertising instant coffee.

Boarding took a while and then we were put on a holding
pattern for another hour before finally lifting off 2 hours behind schedule.

The flight was quite uneventful, with a few snacks and
drinks being offered for purchase at around $1 per item.

Apparently Lion Air was the first airline to fly the 737-900ER and is quite proud of it, putting it on numerous billboards and even its Oreo
boxes.

However, the bathrooms poorly maintained and the seats were
covered with “splash”, not a pleasant sight to see.

Soon enough it was time for our descent into Palu, the cabin lights were turned off and the ceiling was illuminated, a new feature on the 737-900.

Overall, the flight itself was comfortable enough although
the seats were a bit cramped.

Both ground staff and air crew are friendly and trying their
best but Lion Air’s check in terminal in Jakarta is extremely crowded and
chaotic. You definitely need to find an agent to help you or you’ll be stuck in
line for at least an hour and possibly miss your flight.

However, with prices of tickets significantly cheaper than
Garuda ($100 vs $270), I’d still probably fly Lion Air again for direct short
haul flights. Just build in a long layover time between connections; otherwise
you might miss your next flight due to frequent delays.

Review: Sheraton Bandara – Jakarta Airport

Upon arrival, I met a staff member of the Sheraton Bandara,
who was waiting for me right outside the departure area. The Bandara offers a
complimentary shuttle ride to the airport that runs every 30 minutes around the
clock, but I’d recommend emailing the hotel ahead of time so they can
co-ordinate a staff member to meet you on arrival.

After exchanging some dollars to Indonesian rupiah, we
headed up to 2^nd level where a shuttle was waiting.  The shuttle bus is more like a van, with the
seating a bit cramped, but the ride was a short five minute ride so it didn’t
bother me too much.

The Sheraton Bandara lobby is well decorated and reminds you of the grand “old Indonesia”. 

Lining the lobby hallways
are old Indonesian stone carvings, a very nice touch showcasing the old
historical kingdoms in Indonesia.

The check in agent was friendly and noted my request for a
renovated room (the hotel is currently ongoing renovation and only half of the
rooms have been completed) and assigned a room on the 4^th floor and
detailed my benefits.

I walked into my room and my initial impressions were
positive. The room was lined with wooden flooring with a long working desk and
a small wooden closet. The bed was king sized and the shower area was made of
marble and even had a bathtub.

However, once you started looking closely at the details,
you can see chips and dings throughout the room including the sink and desk
area. More importantly, there were a few stains including one on my bed sheet
and the sink faucet was slowly leaking water from the handles whenever the sink
was being used.  Since I was tired and
wearing sleepwear, I decided not to call housekeeping, but if you are a clean
freak, this could definitely be an issue.

The welcome amenity for gold members was a plate of fruit and dessert snacks.

 Overall the room is
poorly maintained, and definitively not up to the standards of a regular
Sheraton. I can only imagine what an unrenovated room would look like.

What the hotel lacked in overall cleanliness, the service
levels were excellent throughout my stay. I woke up late and decided to head to
the hotel restaurant for its lunch buffet.

As a SPG gold member, I was given a
voucher good for one drink up to $15 in value. In practice you could order
multiple drinks till you reached the $15 limit, which I fully maximized by
ordering some delicious watermelon shake.

The service at the restaurant was excellent and the food was
delicious. With the 15% SPG discount for all elite members, my total bill was
around $18 which was expensive for Indonesian standards but reasonable compared
to other Sheratons.

After lunch, I decided to quickly check out the pool area, which was deserted due to the daytime heat.

As a SPG gold member I was theoretically entitled to a 4 PM
check out to most Starwood properties. However, upon further inquiry the
Sheraton Bandara is actually classified “resort hotel” which meant that the 4
PM benefit was not guaranteed and “subject to availability”. Frankly I thought
it was bit cheeky since clearly its meant for airport transfers, but if you’re
an elite member, usually they will try and accommodate you.

I checked out of the airport at 3:30 pm and waited for my
hotel shuttle, which was caught in traffic; a bit surprising considering how
close the airport is to the hotel. Ultimately the shuttle was 15 minutes late,
and I arrived at the domestic terminal for Lion Air around 70 minutes before
departure.

Overall the hotel is a bit of a mixed bag, you can clearly
see its “golden days” with its magnificent lobby and excellent service from the
staff throughout my stay. However, my room was poorly maintained for a five
star hotel and the hallways are a bit dated with poor air conditioning and
circulation. This hotel has potential; with a little bit more attention to the
details and maintenance I feel this hotel would easily live up to the old
reputation. I think this hotel was fairly classified as a category 2, but as a category 3, not so much.

Until then, unless you are in desperate need of a quick nap
before your morning flight, I would suggest staying at another hotel given its
relatively expensive room rates (around $150+ a night). 

Review: Pacific Club Lounge & Manila Airport Terminal 3

The day of departure came and I grabbed an Uber to Terminal 3, Manila Airport’s newest air terminal. As I was flying out on a Sunday night, the traffic in Manila
was minimal and I got to the airport in record time. The Cebu Pacific
international check in counter was virtually empty, and it was a bit unreal
being able to walk up directly to the check in counter. Security was also a
breeze as they now had multiple security lines open.

Most importantly, air conditioning seemed to be running on
full blast and almost all the retail shops have opened. Its taken a while, but
Terminal 3 has overcome its opening snafus, and now seems to be a fully
functional modern airport, at least on the international side. 

In Terminal 3, all the lounges are located on the upper
floor. You take a side elevator to go up and you’ll see the Pacific Club on
your left and the airline lounges to your right.

I used my Priority Pass lounge card, compliments of the
American Express Platinum card, to access the newly opened Pacific Club.

The lounge featured around 50 seats spread out in a typical
seating format with a bunch of high chairs next to the windows for plane
spotting.

The food selection was typical of an average priority pass
lounge, featuring finger bite cold sandwiches and some hot congee soup with
condiments.

However, the lounge does feature a generous selection of
complimentary alcohol, including Johnny Walker Black Label. Service was
excellent and you can see staff checking on lounge customers constantly.

The lounge when I visited was relatively empty, however
during peak hours I can easily see this lounge getting quite full.

Overall the Pacific Lounge is a welcome respite from the crowds
at Terminal 3 and pleasant enough for grabbing a drink or two before your
flight.