[Airline Review] – ITA Airways A319-111 (AZ1759) – Economy Class, FCO – CTA (6 Dec 22)

February 25, 2023April 25, 2023 / kktong76 / Leave a comment

The ITA Airways A319-111 in the iconic cobalt blue livery that will take us to Catania

At the Airport

Check-in

ITA Airways, formerly known as Alitalia, is the national carrier of Italy. The troubled Alitalia was previously privatised, and due to financial issues, the Italian government bailed the airline out of its financial woes and rebranded it as ITA Airways. Therefore, finding some ITA Airways planes still donning the old Alitalia livery is unsurprising. ITA Airways check-in counters are located in the centre of Terminal 1 of Rome Fiumicino Airport. Two rows of check-in counters at Row B serve ITA Airways Economy Class passengers flying out of Rome domestically or internationally. Separate check-in counters in Row A serve passengers flying on ITA Airways Business Class and status passengers with the airlines. Due to the many counters available, there was no queue at the check-in counters. The check-in process was a breeze, with the staff processing our check-in efficiently. We were given directions on the security that we had to pass through and where our gate departed. The check-in counters for ITA Airways are very conveniently located next to the security clearance that gave us access to the airside of the airport terminal.

Approaching Rome Fiumicino Airport Terminal 1

ITA Airways Business Class Check-in counters in Rome Fiumicino Terminal 1

ITA Airways has 50 counters dedicated to Economy Class passengers in Rows A and B

Prima Vista Lounge

As we were flying in Economy Class, we were not entitled to Lounge access. However, being a Priority Pass holder, I got my friends into the Prima Vista Lounge. The Prima Vista Lounge is located in Terminal 3, about 10 minutes from the security counters. Prima Vista Lounge is a small lounge with limited seating. Most of the seats face the apron of Rome Fiumicino Airport. We found several larger dining tables that can seat up to six passengers. The food offering is quite decent, and the food quality is good for a small lounge serving breakfast. Prima Vista Lounge serves up mainly pastry, piazza, fruits and some pasta. Prima Vista Lounge still practises pandemic measures, passengers are not allowed to pick the food themselves. Lounge staff are stationed at the food area, picking the food that the passengers request and heating them in a microwave oven before handing it over to the passengers. As the lounge is in Terminal 3, there is a 20 mins walk to get to our gate in Terminal 1 of the airport.

Breakfast offerings in Prima Vista Lounge

At the airside of Rome Fiumicino Terminal 1

The Aircraft

ITA Airways has two variants of their A319-111, one with all Economy Class seats and one with both European Business Class and Economy Class. Today, the aircraft ITA Airways used to ply between FCO and CTA is the version with both Business Class and Economy Class.

ITA Airways AZ1759 flying to Catania departs from Gate A68

The Cabin

The two-class variant ITA Airways A319-111 used for this FCO-CTA route is fitted with six European Business Class seats, occupying the first three rows, and 63 Economy Class seats occupying the rear 21 rows of the aircraft. All seats are arranged in a 3-3 configuration, and Business Class onboard this version of ITA Airways A319-111 has the middle seat blocked out to give it a pseudo 2-2 configuration. The entire ITA Airways A319-111 cabin is decked in black and white, using white on its bulkhead and black for the carpeting and seats. The use of white colour reduces the claustrophobic feel as this is a small aircraft. As with most narrow-body aircraft, the Business and Economy Class Cabins are separated by a thin curtain. I like how ITA Airways uses warmer orange lighting in its aircraft, which seems to calm passengers during the flight. As this s a short 1hr 15 mins flight, I did not visit the lavatory.

Alitalia logo can still be spotted on the bulkhead in front of the aircraft.

The Seat

Seats on board ITA Airways A319-111 are the same regardless of the class of travel. The most immediate difference between the classes is that the seats in Business Class have a middle seat blocked out, sitting only two passengers in a row. All seats, both Business Class and Economy Class are 17.7″ wide. Business Class has a slightly longer seat pitch of 31″ compared to the 30″ in the standard Economy Class. We paid an additional €12 for the exit row seats, which gave us the longest pitch of 35″ (longer then Business Class seats).

Our exit row seats at Row 10, which has the longest seat pitch on the ITA Airways A319-111 aircraft

Business Class seats onboard ITA Airways A319-111

Seats onboard ITA Airways A319-111 are clad in black leather which thick paddings, making the seat very comfortable. As we were sitting in the exit row, the legroom was excellent on this row. The set-up onboard ITA Airways A319-111 is very simple, with only one button to recline the seat. Buttons to control the overhead reading light and call attendant are on the ceiling above the seat. The seat has a very large tray table, capable of putting a 14″ laptop. The seat pocket is very simple and holds a very limited amount of items.

Exit row seat at Row 10 gave us a great amount of legroom

The seat pocket is a tad tight on ITA Airways A319-111

Seat recline button in Economy Class seats on ITA Airways A319-111

In-Flight Entertainment

There is an old-school channel control, seemingly meant for some radio channels and a one-pin headphone jack. I did not plug in any headphones to check if these so-called radio channels were working. No In-Flight Entertainment Systems are fitted onboard the aircraft, and the aircraft does not even have drop-down TV screens.

Old school radio control on ITA Airways A319-111

It seems ITA Airways took out the IFE that might have been installed previously.

Meal

As this is a short 1hr flight, only drinks are served onboard. However, I was asleep when the flight attendant made their rounds to distribute drinks.

Service

As this was a short flight, the interaction with the cabin crew was limited to boarding when they welcomed us onboard with a warm smile and during the beverage run (during which I fell asleep and did not interact with them). The cabin crew diligently carried out their duty onboard to ensure the safety of the passengers. They were seen doing safety demonstrations and patrolling the cabin to ensure passengers fastened their seat belts and seats were upright during pre-take-off and landing. A cabin crew also popped by our row to give us a simple brief on what to do in an emergency.

Flight attendants during the safety demo.

Afterthought

Our first experience onboard ITA Airways A319-111 was a pleasant one. Our positive experience started from the check-in and lasted throughout the flight. The cabin crew were friendly and seen wearing their smiles throughout the flight. The seats onboard are comfortable, and the seat pitch at the exit row far exceeds that in the Business Class cabin, giving us excellent legroom (I told my friends paying to sit at the exit row is far better value than paying twice the fare sitting in Business Class). For a short-haul flight, I thought ITA Airways did a great job.

[Accommodation Review] Mercure Roma Centro Termini (Junior Suite), Rome, Italy (2 – 6 Dec 22)

February 22, 2023 / kktong76 / Leave a comment

Location

Mercure Roma Centro Termini is very close to Rome’s major public transport facilities. Roma Termini, the main train station in Rome, is about 15 mins walk from the hotel, and the nearest Metro station is Repubblica station, which is about 5 mins on foot. There are several shops and restaurants within a stone’s throw of the hotel, and even a supermarket diagonally opposite the hotel. The hotel’s location is superb for exploring the attractions in Rome. The Colosseum and Roman Forum are about 10 mins walk from Mercure Roma Centro Termini, but attractions like Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navona and the shopping districts near Spanish Steps are a tad further, about 20 mins walk from Mercure Roma Termini. We chose to stay at Mercure Roma Centro Termini due to its proximity to Roma Centro Termini Station, which gave us the convenience of moving interstate and to Roma Fiumicino airport. We find it weird that the main entrance to Mercure Roma Centro Termini is located in a small alley at the side of the hotel. The other entrance (which we used to enter the hotel on the first day), located along the main street, is the entrance to the restaurant on the hotel’s premises.

The Junior Suite

We checked into the Junior Suite at Mercure Roma Centro Termini, which feels like your standard run-of-the-mill hotel room. The decor of the suite was functional, and felt a little tired. We were expecting an enlarged standard room like Junior Suites in most hotels. Instead, the 35m² Junior Suite at Mercure Roma Centro Termini has a dedicated living room and a large common balcony that was shared with the room next door.

Living Room

We were greeted by a smallish living room when we entered the Junior Suite at Mercure Roma Centro Termini. The parquet flooring with a white colour wall living room is an elongated room that allowed us to lounge around with our friends staying in the other rooms in the hotel. The decor in the living room is very simple, and there are no decorations in this part of the suite. The Junior Suite at Mercure Roma Centro Termini furnished the living room with a three-seater sofa placed against the wall, capable of converting into a bed. The sofa bed enabled us to watch TV comfortably. I thought it was an excellent idea for the hotel not to furnish a coffee table in the living room. Having it would make the already cramped living room smaller.

A 42″ LED TV is mounted on the wall opposite the sofa. There are numerous entertainment options from local TV stations if one is fluent in Italian. Unfortunately, we only found one English music channel out of over 500 channels on the TV. A work desk sits by the wall near the TV and is cluttered with a kettle, complimentary coffee and tea and a telephone. The limited available space on the table barely allows guests to do any decent on the work desk. The power outlets on the wall, a tad far from the table, seem to signal guests to relax and not work while staying at the hotel. A small mini fridge tucked nicely under the work desk provided limited space for chilling beverages. However, the mini fridge did not seem to be working well during our stay, and we found leaving our drinks out on the balcony a better way of chilling drinks (given it was early winter in Rome during our travels). The in-room safe is the most out-of-place item in the living room. Placed on top of the mini fridge, next to the main entrance to the Junior Suite at Mercure Roma Centro Termini and in plain sight of anyone visiting the suite. The safe does not assure us that it would be able to keep our valuables safe.

Bedroom

A door separates the living room from the bedroom in the Junior Suite at Mercure Roma Centro Termini. I was glad to find a larger living space in the bedroom compared to the living room. It makes sense for the hotel to allocate a larger space in the bedroom as we would spend most of our time in the bedroom, given the hotel’s limited real estate in its Junior Suite. The use of an open wardrobe, though it did not provide much privacy, contributes to the spaciousness of the suite. The large wardrobe provided us with tons of space to hang up our clothing, but the absence of drawers limited the number of smaller items we could store. The comfortable king bed occupied most of the space in the bedroom, providing us with excellent sleep quality. However, I do find the pillows supplied by the hotel to be a tad soft for my liking. Accompanying the king bed are bedside tables, which gave us space to charge our mobile phones. There wasn’t much space on the flimsy grey stool-like bedside tables, fortunately, the hotel uses hanging bedside lamps, which freed up precious space on the tables. Another smaller TV is mounted on the wall facing the king bed. The mounting of the TV seemed fragile, half the time, we were worried that the TV might drop off any time (luckily for us, it did not). We found the bed bench in the corner of the bedroom, just outside the bathroom entrance. Unfortunately, the bed bench did not seem to serve any useful function other than giving us space to place our luggage. Mercure Roma Centro Termini did not furnish this Junior with any luggage rack, and we had to make do with what we had.

Bathroom

The bathroom in the Junior Suite at Mercure Roma Centro Termini is the most disappointing part of the suite. The bathroom decor seems to be in contrast with the rest of the suite. The open sink countertop fitted by the bathroom entrance did not offer us much space to stow our toiletries, and installing an oversized sink that took up the bulk of the countertop space did not help give us more space. The bath amenities provided by the hotel are a far cry from luxury. The bath amenities, other than looking cheap, have an overpowering musky smell. As with the other hotels we stayed at during our trip to Italy, Mercure Roma Centro Termini installed a bidet and toilet by the bathroom wall, opposite the sink. We found towels hanging on the rack next to the toilet. I was glad the hotel allocated ample space for the semi-open walk-in shower with consistent water temperature and pressure. I thought this part of the bathroom was best designed as we did not find water splashing out despite the semi-open design of the walk-in shower.

Balcony

We were surprised to find a large balcony in our Junior Suite, spreading across the entire length of the Junior suite and the standard room next door. Granted, we did not have the best views from the balcony, but we found the balcony to be a great place to chill out with our friends, with whom we shared the balcony occupying the room next door. Luckily we knew the occupants next door, I thought it might be awkward if some strangers were staying next door as there is no segregation of the balcony between the rooms. The balcony in the Junior Suite at Mercure Roma Centro Termini was thoughtfully furnished with two armchairs, a side table, and a dining table for four, allowing for some form of communal living with our friends next door.

Service

Despite the flaws with the room and the weird main entrance, service was impeccable throughout our stay at Mercure Roma Centro Termini. Gianluca was the only one we met and interacted with during our three-night stay at Mercure Roma Centro Termini. We were warmly welcomed by Gianluca when we checked into our rooms. He was personable and generous in sharing information about the hotel and Rome. His strong local knowledge allowed him to give us excellent suggestions on what to see and how we could efficiently visit the major sights in Rome. Gianluca was also not stingy in helping us differentiate between authentic Italian restaurants and touristy ones. He would always greet us with a smile and chat with us whenever we walked past the reception. Gianluca even helped us solve our issue when we causally mentioned we had a hard time dragging our luggage on the uneven Roman street roads from Roma Termini Station. He helped us get a van to the airport at a rate that we thought to be reasonable (it would have cost us roughly the same amount if we were to take the train to the airport). Gianluca made us feel very welcome during our stay with Mercure Roma Centro Termini.

Overall

The location of Mercure Roma Centro Termini was great for exploring Rome. The Colosseum and public transport were within minutes walk from the hotel. The neighbourhood felt safe with some light shopping options, and a supermarket across from the hotel adds to the advantage of staying at the hotel. Granted, the room’s decor was a tad boring, and the suite did not feel luxurious, but our stay in the Junior Suite at Mercure Roma Centro Termini was comfortable. We were glad we met Gianluca during our stay in the hotel, who provided valuable local knowledge about Rome and made us feel welcome. Overall, we had a great stay at Mercure Roma Centro Termini.

[Accommodation Review] Hotel Cerretani Firenze – MGallery (Junior Suite), Florence, Italy (29 Nov – 2 Dec 22)

February 18, 2023 / kktong76 / Leave a comment

Location

Located in the heart of Florence, Hotel Cerretani Firenze is between Firenze Santa Maria Novella station and the Duomo. Stay at the hotel during our trip to Florence is perfect due to its proximity to the train station and the major sights in the City of Florence. It is within a few minutes walk from the Duomo, and Ponte Vecchio, the two main attractions in Florence. Hotel Cerretani Firenze is also very close to the shopping street, wedged between the Duomo and Ponte Vecchio, where luxury brand boutiques are found. There are also numerous restaurants and a supermarket within a stone’s throw from the hotel.

The Junior Suite

We stayed in the Junior Suite at Hotel Cerretani Firenze. At 35m², the contemporary decor Junior Suite looks modern but feels small. This Junior Suite at Hotel Cerretani Firenze does not have the standard feature of a Junior Suite, such as an area dedicated to a couch, and feels more like an enlarged standard room.

Entryway

The Junior Suite at Hotel Cerretani Firenze has a dedicated entryway, a room with a door separating it from the rest of the suite, furnished with an armchair and a standing lamp. The chair in the entryway allows us to wear our shoes and is also great for relaxing and reading a book with the warm light from the lamp and the lighting in this room. There is an open wardrobe in the entryway, which is meant for us to hang our jackets. Despite being a small room, there is sufficient space for us to place one of our luggage with the luggage rack in the suite.

Sleeping Area

We could see the rest of the Junior Suite from the second door. Despite having 35m², the space in the suite feels tight with the fitted furniture. I guess part of the real estate is dedicated to the entryway, which leaves little room in the rest of the Junior Suite. We were in the sleeping area as soon as we passed the door after the entryway. The decor in the sleeping area is contemporary, exuding a comfortable and cosy feel. The lighting in the sleeping area matches the suite’s theme, adding to the comfortable feel. The sleeping area is furnished with a king bed, occupying a bulk of the space in this area. The king bed is comfortable to sleep on with its firm mattress and the pillows provided by the hotel. We found the bedside tables were small and offered limited space to charge our mobile phones.

The window in our Junior Suite looks into some back alley.

Despite having over 500 channels showing on the 40″ LED TV mounted on the wall across from the bed, there are limited English entertainment options as most of the channels on the TV are Italian channels. Even the Nationa Geographic Channels on the TV are in Italian. We had a hard time scrolling through the channels, looking for a channel we could comprehend, and eventually giving up. A minimalistic work desk is found placed by the wall beneath the TV. There is not much space on the work desk for one to do any proper work, at the very best, it will fit one 14″ laptop and one file. The cluttering with items like drinks, glasses, a telephone, the hotel directory, and a reading lamp made the space available for work even more limited. The velvety-wrapped chair the hotel used to furnish the work desk looks elegant but impractically designed. The chair is uncomfortable to sit on, and the low backrest also makes one’s back ache after sitting for less than 30 mins. It seems like Hotel Cerretani Firenze wants its guests to relax and enjoy their time in Florence rather than spend time working in the hotel.

Wardrobe & Minibar

A three-panelled cabinet sits at the end of a small corridor that houses the wardrobe and minibar in front of the entrance to the bathroom. The wardrobe occupied two panels, providing limited storage space for two guests staying in the Junior Suite at Hotel Cerretani Firenze. The wardrobe space is only sufficient for guests to put away at most five days of clothing. I also find the hangers supplied by the hotel to be a tad limited, and we had to request extra hangers from the hotel reception. A two-tiered open shelving inside the wardrobe maximises the amount of storage in the wardrobe. The hotel maximises the cabinet by fitting the minibar within one cabinet panel. The suite came equipped with a Nespresso machine, placed on the open shelving of the minibar area. The minifridge is tucked inside a cabinet space on the lower tier of the shelf, while the in-room safe took the top shelf.

A beige-coloured leathered bench sat beside another floor lamp right before the wardrobe. I find the placement of this bench weird, as it just faces an empty wall. It seems Hotel Cerretani Firenze is trying to fit a sofa to satisfy some form of checklist that mandates a sofa must be in a Junior Suite. Unfortunately, the placement of the bench serves no purpose other than to take up precious real estate in the compact Junior Suite. Nevertheless, we found a use for this bench to place one of our luggage.

A bench, placed next to the wardrobe, seems not to serve any purpose, less putting our luggage.

Bathroom

The theme in the bathroom is different from the rest of the suite. While the suite exudes a contemporary and warm vibe, the bathroom oozes an industrial and functional feel. The sink sits on an open two-tiered cabinet tucked against the bathroom wall. I like how the hotel decided to go with one sink instead of a dual sink concept due to space limitations in the Junior suite. This design also afforded us plenty of space on the sink countertop to place our toiletries without feeling cramped. The body lotion and hand wash are mounted onto the wall to save more space on the sink countertop. The use of a large Hollywood-style mirror not only brightens the whole space but also makes the bathroom looks bigger than it is. The toilet and a separate bidet are mounted onto the wall opposite the sink countertop, leaving a lot of space for guests to walk and use the bathroom. The photo of Ponte Vecchio hanging above the toilet and bidet Hotel Cerretani Firenze not only constantly reminded us that we were in Florence but also removed the bathroom’s dullness.

The walk-in shower is tucked in the innermost space of the bathroom, separated by a glass panel clad in white marble with a light grey pattern. The walk-in shower is rather sizeable, which gives us plenty of space when showering. The walk-in shower features both regular and rainfall shower heads. The water pressure is great, and the hot water works perfectly. The hotel uses Milanese brand CULTI shower amenities mounted onto the wall, freeing up space for us to place our toothbrushes and facial washes onto the silver rack mounted in one corner of the bathroom. I favour the decision of Hotel Cerretani Firenze not installing a bathtub in the bathroom owing to the lack of space. Having a bathtub or a bath and shower combination will inevitably sacrifice the useable space in the bathroom.

Service

The service we got during our stay at Hotel Cerretani Firenze was mixed. On the one hand, we met with staff who understood what it meant to be customer-centric. Unfortunately, such staff were few in the hotel. Our initial impression of the service at Hotel Cerretani Firenze was excellent when we met Sara, who was already expecting us, identifying my friend by first name when we approached her at the reception. Sara was warm and sincere and processed our check-in so efficiently that we did not have to wait too long before issuing the keys to our rooms. Sara went all out to ensure that our stay was comfortable. She oriented us with the facilities in the hotel and gave us the restaurant’s meal times. When we complained that the Junior Suite fitted only with one window, it felt stuffy (it was winter, and the hotel did not turn on air conditioning). Instead of telling us the obvious, Sara devised a solution and brought a fan into our suite. She was professional and certainly knew her job very well.

Every morning we met Giulio, the elderly gentleman working in the restaurant. Giulio took care of us very well at the restaurant for breakfast. He came across like a grandfather taking care of his grandchildren, constantly checking with us if we wanted more coffee or if we had enough to eat. He oriented us to the buffet corner on the first morning we were at the restaurant for breakfast. Giulio efficiently dispatched our orders for cooked eggs and coffee, not allowing us to wait too long for our food.

The excellent service seems to stop with Sara and Giulio. The rest of the staff in the hotel came across as cold and uninterested in their job. When I requested extra hangers from one of the staff at the reception, instead of helping us, he would give the excuse that he was alone in the reception and refuse to barge. Other staff did not even bother to look us in the eye or exchange any form of greeting when we walked past them. We had the worst service experience during check-out when we checked the bill and enquired about the mysterious charge of over €‎500. Instead of being attentive to us, a male staff at the reception stared at his computer while conversing with us. We contested the breakfast charge to him, explaining that we were informed during check-in that our rate comes with breakfast. The male staff refused to listen and provide any solution. He brushed us off by blaming us for not checking our booking terms. After some back-and-forth exchange of perspectives, the male staff gave us an ultimatum and stated that he was fed up talking to us, was busy, and did not have the time to explain further. He gave us the option to pay or not. The male staff’s action was unprofessional, and did not even bother creating a win-win solution.

Hotel Facilities

Breakfast

We had our daily breakfast at the only restaurant in Hotel Cerretani Firenze, located on the ground after the reception. Breakfast was served in a buffet style with limited options. Each morning we would see the same food in the small buffet area. Despite the uninteresting breakfast selection, Hotel Cerretani Firenze serves up a variety of bread and cakes. The only warm options for breakfast are scrambled eggs, bacon and sausages. The coffee and egg options are not stated in the buffet area, which would have to be ordered separately from the restaurant staff. For the price of €‎13 per pax, I thought the breakfast had little value for money.

Overall

The biggest draw of Hotel Cerretani Firenze is its location. The hotel is close to Florence’s main train station and the city centre, making exploring the city of Florence very convenient. Although the sleep quality of the Junior Suite was excellent and the suite was modern and clean, the layout and the inefficient use of space were a letdown. We find the space in the suite very tight, despite having 35m² of real estate. The biggest deterrent lies with the service, with only two staff providing an excellent guest experience. The service from the rest of the staff felt cold and unwelcoming, especially during our check-out incident. I would certainly not return to Hotel Cerretani Firenze if I ever travelled to Florence.

[Accommodation Review] Hotel Papadopoli Venezia -MGallery (Deluxe Suite with Canal View), Venice, Italy (28 – 29 Nov 22)

February 15, 2023 / kktong76 / 2 Comments

Location

Hotel Papadopoli Venezia is two bridges (the Venetians measure distances by the number of bridges they have to cross) away from Venezia St. Lucia Station, the gateway to Venice. Its proximity to the train station means we do not have to drag our luggage across countless bridges to get to our accommodation. Unfortunately, not all bridges in Venice have ramps for easy luggage transportation. The hotel is also near the Piazzale Roma Vaporetto stop, where we could hop on the water bus to explore Venice. There is a bakery right below the hotel, where guests can buy pastries or breakfast (that shop seems to be very popular with locals). However, being situated at the entrance to Venice, Hotel Papadopoli Venezia is a tad far from most attractions, such as Piazza San Marco, Rialto bridge, etc.

Hotel Papadopoli facade

Deluxe Suite

We checked into the 33m² Venetian style Deluxe Suite at Hotel Papadopoli Venezia. Despite naming it a Deluxe suite, the suite does not have a separate living room, nor does it come with a sofa. Understandably real estate in Venice is limited, and Hotel Papadopoli Venezia was able to maximise the amount of liveable space in its suites by having such a design.

Entryway/ Wardrobe Area

We were hit by a Venetian-style decor when we opened the main entrance to the Deluxe Suite. There is a large amount of gold and bronze colour theme. The yellow floral motif used as the wallpaper throughout the suite (less the bathroom) complements the gold colour theme. A couple of cabinets flanked each side at the entryway to the Deluxe Suite, dressed in gold wallpaper with floral prints. One of the cabinets houses a large wardrobe, which allows guests to hang a substantial amount of clothing. The other cabinet mainly consists of shelving, providing excellent storage solutions for its guests. Housed within this cabinet is an in-room safe and a mini fridge, where the non-alcoholic drinks are complimentary, thanks to my friend’s Diamond status with Accor.

Two bronze-coloured armchairs occupy the space of the Deluxe Suite in Hotel Papadopoli Venezia a little further into the suite, right in front of the exit to the terrace, from the wardrobe area. These luxurious chairs with thick cushioning complement the Venetian decor of the suite very well; sitting on them is like sitting on a throne. The rounded table between the two armchairs would be great for occupants of the Deluxe Suite to enjoy a cup of coffee or drinks from the minibar, if not for the holder of some pamphlets. A vintage chest of drawers is placed between the bed and the wall, diagonally opposite the armchairs. Bottled water and a huge speaker are placed on this chest of drawers. This chest gave us additional space to stow our items, especially smaller items.

Sleeping Area

A large king bed occupies most of the space in the Deluxe Suite in Hotel Papadopoli Venezia, placed at one corner by the windows, a little further from the armchairs. The headboard of the king bed carried the golden luxurious and Venetian theme seen in the suite. The king bed offered excellent sleep quality with its firm, thick mattress. At the side of the king bed are a couple of side tables mounted onto the wall to maximise the space in the suite. However, I thought the space on side tables was a tad tight for us to place our lifestyle devices, as a sizeable egg-shaped night light occupies it. Thankfully Hotel Papadopoli Venezia made up for the lack of space with another stool-like side table which created more space. In addition, the placement of light switches and power outlets by the side table is thoughtful, as this allowed us to charge our mobile devices.

A LED TV is strategically mounted onto the wall facing the king bed. The TV placement is perfect for watching the hotel’s many local and international channels while lazing on the bed. However, the work table is slightly out of place under the TV. In addition, the work desk is a tad small for anyone to do decent work with space for only one laptop. The Nespresso machine and electric kettle on the work desk already occupy a substantial amount of space, not to mention the power outlets that are taken up and blocked by these additional machines, making the work desk not ideal.

Bathroom

The bathroom in Deluxe Suite at Hotel Papadopoli Venezia is equally luxurious, consistent with the gold-coloured theme in the main parts of the suite. The first item we saw in the bathroom was a white marble, high-legged sink counter. Furnished with a large gold framed mirror and a stool, the sink counter doubles up as a make-up desk. While there is some space on the sink counter, these spaces are occupied by the hotel’s amenities. The bathroom in the Deluxe suite is fitted with a large bathtub next to the sink and a window. The bathtub is deep and is excellent for soaking away the fatigue we have accumulated from exploring Venice. In addition, I like the inclusion of a window in the bathroom, which provides natural light and allows us to look out into Venice while soaking in the tub.

The toilet and bidet are found after an open bronze-coloured partition next to the sink. I like how the hotel isolated the toilet area in a semi-open space. A huge walk-in shower fitted with a regular and a rain shower head lies after the toilet area. I thought this area was a tad dark due to the bronze colour chosen to furnish this area. The multi-coloured overhead light installed does not help to provide any more illumination. Instead, this is used more as mood lighting.

The sizeable walk-in shower is fitted with both regular and rain shower heads.

Terrace

I like the terrace in the Deluxe Suite at Hotel Papadopoli Venezia. The large terrace extends the entire length of the suite, giving us a great view of Venice and one of the back-lane canals. To add icing to the cake, Hotel Papadopoli Venezia furnished the terrace with a small table and chairs, which allowed us to sit on the terrace, sipping away the coffee from the Nespresso machine and watching life in Venice. The appointment of the hotel will enable us to watch sunrise and sunset from the terrace. In addition, we used the terrace to talk to our friends in adjacent rooms.

Service

The initial contact with a member of the hotel staff was positive. The female staff who checked us in was friendly and warmly welcomed us to Hotel Papadopoli Venezia. She gave us a short introduction to the hotel and where to find things like restaurants. She even took notice of my friend’s status with the hotel group and upgraded the rooms occupied by my friends to terrace rooms. I like how Hotel Papadopoli Venezia arranged our rooms to be next to each other, which allowed us to talk to each other from our terraces in our respective rooms. The female staff also wanted to recommend places to get breakfast and meals when she noticed that our bookings do not come with breakfast. However, that is how much of a good service we received from the hotel. The service by the rest of the staff at Hotel Papadopoli Venezia was pretty standard and not memorable. It felt as if they were doing their bare minimum to provide service.

Overall

We had a comfortable stay at Hotel Papadopoli Venezia. The Deluxe Suite did come with a canal view and is very well appointed. The Venetian decor in the room is unique, and the use of gold colour did not come across as overbearing. We particularly liked the terrace, which allowed us to take in the views of Venice. The location is the most significant advantage of Hotel Papadopoli Venezia. Locating near the train station meant guests did not have to drag their luggage across multiple bridges. However, service was a tad standard and not impressionable.

[Accommodation Review] UNAHotels Century Milano (Superior Junior Suite), Milan, Italy (26 – 28 Nov 22)

February 11, 2023March 2, 2024 / kktong76 / Leave a comment

Location

UNAHotels is an Italian brand hotel that operates 25 hotels across the country and has seven properties in Milan alone. We chose to stay at UNAHotels Century Milano due to its proximity to Milano Centrale Station, which is about 7 mins walk to Milano Centrale Station and the Centrale Metro Station (next to Milano Centrale train station). The hotel’s proximity to train and metro stations provided its guests with excellent connections in Milan City and other parts of Italy. The several eateries and cafes near the hotel, in the vicinity of the train station, provided us with options to dine without having addition, there travel too far. There is a supermarket inside Milano Centrale Station, giving us the convenience of getting some drinks and snacks. The quiet but safe location where UNAHotels Century Milano sits, coupled with the numerous shops around, is an excellent place to stay when visiting Milan, especially if one has an early train out of Milan to catch. Furthermore, the hotel is a mere five Metro stops from the Duomo, where most of the shopping in the city congregates, meaning we are not too far away from the actions in Milan.

The hotel lobby is an excellent place for guests to hangout

The Superior Junior Suite

The only type of rooms in UNAHotels Century Milano are Junior Suites. The hotel has several suite configurations ranging from 30m² to 35m². The Superior Junior Suite that we stayed in has a generous (by Italian standard) floor area of 35m². My first impression of the Superior Junior Suite in UNAHotels Century Milano is very spacious and contemporary. We still have ample space to walk around in the Superior Junior Suite after laying our two 28″ luggage on the floor.

Work desk/ Wardrobe area

The Superior Junior Suite employs an open concept making the suite look spacious. We could see the entirety of the suite from the moment we opened the door. The use of a woody tone, mainly in the lighting, flooring and furniture in the Superior Junior Suite, gives it a very cosy feel. The use of an open wardrobe, placed next to the main entrance of the suite, adds to the open theme of the suite. However, I find the wardrobe a tad too small and can only hold a limited amount of clothing. Housed in the same area as the wardrobe is a minibar area, which only consists of a tiny fridge and a set of complementary tea and instant coffee. We cannot find any electric kettle for making tea and coffee, it turns out we had to request an electric kettle from the front desk if we needed to use it. A small safe is mounted below the mini bar area in the suite.

The work desk cum wardrobe area is right at the entrance to the suite.

Nested in front of the wardrobe is a large empty work desk, which we used to place small items on. We also used this work desk as a dining table for the food we packed back as supper. The power outlets on the wall next to the work desk provided guests with the convenience of powering their laptops for work.

The large work desk in the Superior Junior Suite of UNAHotels Century Milano

Lounge Area

The work desk delineates the lounging area in the Superior Junior Suite. A large two-seater sofa, with a matching coffee table, occupies the space in front of the work desk and the window. The couch is very comfortable to sit on and ideal to lounge on while watching the programmes on the 39″ LED TV placed on the shelves mounted on the wall. As the wall was at an odd angle, we would have to adjust the TV to face the couch. The TV programmes in UNAHotels Century Milano are only limited to local channels. Despite having 100-plus channels, we found only one English channel. In addition to using the couch for lounging purposes, we found the sofa a perfect place to place our bags.

Sleeping Area

A twin bed is tucked at one corner of the suite that feels isolated from the rest of the suite, despite having an open concept. The dark brown headboards and bedroom bench were consistent with the colour theme throughout the suite. The bed is very comfortable to sleep on, providing excellent sleep quality that left us recharged to explore Milan. However, I find the only pillow placed on the beds a tad soft for my liking. Besides using the extra pillow found in the wardrobe, we also requested an extra pillow from the front desk, which was delivered to us within minutes. The bedside tables on either side of the bed provided sufficient space for us to charge our phones and power banks.

The twin bed in the Superior Junior Suite of UNAHotels Century Milano

Bathroom

The bathroom entrance is located next to the main entrance to the suite. I like the efficient use of space in the bathroom. I find the single-sink set-up, instead of a dual sink, a fantastic arrangement as we had more space to place our toiletries. The toilet and a separate bidet are found mounted onto the wall opposite the sink area. Furthest into the bathroom is where a shower and bathtub combination is located. The bathtub deep and sizeable tub allows us to get a good soak. I thought the movable shower screen was a great idea, making it easier to get in and out of the tub. UNAHotels Century Milano provides its guests with Milanese-branded shower amenities, CULTI. The quality of the shower amenities is excellent, leaving our skin soft after showering.

UNAHotels Century Milano provides its guests with local CULTI-branded bath amenities.

Service

Service in UNAHotels Century Milano is very standard and nothing outstanding. The staff at the front desk initially came across as being stern. However, after interacting with them, we found they are pretty friendly. The check-in and check-out processing times are a tad long, but they are done with due diligence. We also found the hotel’s reception was very responsive when we called them to request additional in-room amenities. The staff at the breakfast restaurant also initially came across as being a tad unfriendly. However, they were very observant and efficient in clearing our plates when they spotted empty plates on our table. These staff at the restaurant were ready to jump in to help guests when they spotted someone needing help.

Hotel Facilities

Breakfast

Guests staying at UNAHotels Century Milano can enjoy complimentary breakfast in the dining room at level 1 of the hotel. The breakfast consists of an assortment of pastries, some cold cuts, and a limited selection of hot food. In addition, eggs can be requested from the servers at the restaurant. Despite the limited breakfast choices, the food is delicious and can fill one’s energy for the day.

Overall

UNAHotels Century Milano is a business hotel. The most significant advantage of staying at this hotel is its proximity to Milano Centrale Station and Centrale Metro station. The suites are spacious and clean, and the sleep quality is excellent. The hotel also serves a very hearty breakfast to fuel its guests for the day. Although the service is nothing outstanding, by no means are the staff rude. We had a pleasant stay at UNAHotels Century Milano, which provides value for money and is an excellent base we used to explore Milan.

[Airline Review] – Turkish Airlines A321-200 (TK1895) – Business Class, IST- MXP (26 Nov 22)

February 8, 2023 / kktong76 / Leave a comment

The Turkish Airlines A321-200 that will bring us from Istanbul to Milan today

At the Airport

As this is our transit flight, we did a check-through for this leg of our flight at our place of origin. We headed straight to the Turkish Airlines Business Lounge the moment we deplaned. The Turkish Airlines Business Lounge was quite a fair walk from the aircraft gate, and it took us about 15 mins to reach the lounge. One thing good about Istanbul airport is we did not have to go through security checks to get to the lounge. We spent our six-hour layover between flights in the Business lounge at Istanbul airport. The Turkish Airlines Business Lounge was packed with transiting passengers in the morning, we had a hard time looking for seats in the dining section of the lounge.

We met with an empty Istanbul airport when we disembarked from our previous flight.

Turkish Airlines Business Lounge

The Turkish Airlines Business Lounge in Istanbul is huge and uses a mix of light brown wooden colours and dark brown earthy tones (depending on which part of the lounge one is at) for its decor. The design of the lounge layout is very practical, where the main dining area, the heart of the action in the lounge, is located in the centre. Food is found throughout the lounge’s main dining area in an attempt to spread out the crowd during its peak period. Turkish Airlines Business Lounge prepared their ala minute food in the three hut-like booths in the centre of the lounge. Turkish Airlines Business Lounge has a huge selection of greens in its salad bar with numerous sauces for its passengers to customise their salad. More cooked food, in the form of carts or open kitchens, is tucked away further into the lounge. There is a small table serving coffee and tea, and even two chilled sections with desserts found in the innermost area of the lounge. Chill drinks are populated throughout the lounge for passengers to help themselves.

A Grand Piano welcomes passengers to Turkish Airlines Business Lounge

Quiet lounging area in Turkish Airlines Business Lounge

Some of the food in the Turkish Airlines Business Lounge

Desserts in the Turkish Airlines Business Lounge

Turkish Airlines Business Lounge has a section for passengers to stow their baggage securely next to the main entrance to the lounge, monitored 24hrs by several CCTVs. Passengers can find some activities to do in the lounge other than watching TV on the TV wall and relaxing on the many couches scattered throughout the lounge. Passengers who want to have some “fun” in the lounge can use the golf and flight simulators; for younger passengers, there is a play area tucked at the innermost section of the lounge. Passengers who want to do some work can use the many working pods by the lounge entrance or one of the three meeting rooms. Finally, passengers who want to nap while waiting for their next connecting flight can book their suites for resting. These suites are very limited and very popular, we were not able to secure the suits during our stay at the lounge despite Turkish Airlines’ strict rules in the issuance of the suites. Only passengers with connecting flights more than five hours can gain access to the suites.

Lockers in Turkish Airlines Business Lounge for passengers to store their luggage

Diaroma in Turkish Airlines Business Lounge depicting downtown Istanbul

Shower facilities inside the Turkish Airlines Business Lounge are located in the same space as the suites. However, despite the many showering rooms available (there must be at least 10 shower rooms), we had to wait at least 45 mins for a shower. In addition, the concierge staff (the same staff who we could book the suites) would confiscate our boarding pass and issue us with a beeper, restricting our movement to the lounge area.

Turkish Airlines has some Private Suites for passengers to nap, but these are very hard to book

The Private suites and shower facilities are co-located in the same area in Turkish Airlines Business Lounge.

The Aircraft

Turkish Airlines deployed the narrow-body A321-200 aircraft for today’s short 3-hour flight to Milan.

Turkish Airlines TK1895 departs from Gate F4(A) today

Close-up view of the Turkish Airlines A321-200 livery

The Cabin

The Turkish Airlines A321-200 has 180 seats spread across two classes, with 16 Business class seats and 164 Economy Class seats. Seats in the Turkish Airlines Business Class cabins are arranged in a 2-2 configuration in four rows. The cabin exudes a bright and uplifting feel, thanks to the white and beige colour scheme. Turkish Airlines uses black-coloured leather for their Business Class seats, making them look very classy. A bright red Turkish Airlines logo is mounted on the cabin’s bulkhead, reminding its passengers we are flying on Turkish Airlines.

Turkish Airlines A321-200 Business Class cabin is bright and lively

Lavatory for Business Class is located at the front of the aircraft. The lavatory is a simple set-up and a tad small due to the aircraft’s size. The only amenities in the lavatory are Molton Brown hand soap and hand lotion. No other amenities like toothbrushes or even cups for mouth rinsing are found in the lavatory.

Toilet onboard Turkish Airlines A321-200

The Seat

Clad in black leather, the Turkish Airlines Business Class cabin recliner seats have a seat pitch of 43″ and a width of 19″. As with most narrow-body aircraft configurations, these seats cannot be converted into a lie-flat bed. Instead, the seats have a recline of 8.5″. Despite being unable to lie flat, each Business Class seat comes with a calf rest, and the choice of soft leather makes the Business Class seat very comfortable. On top of the reading light fitting on the cabin’s ceiling, each seat in the Business Class cabin is equipped with a separate reading light near the headrest. There are no pillows and blankets in this short-haul Business Class product. The seat pocket is located on the back of the seat in front, allowing passengers to stow small items. Due to the pandemic, only an airsick bag and the aircraft safety card are found in the seat pocket.

Business Class seats onboard Turkish Airlines A321-200

Reading lights on the Business Class seats

Seat pocket that is only large enough to stow a laptop and passport

Seat control buttons and the IFE controller onboard Turkish Airlines A321-200

Safety Card for Turkish Airlines A321-200

The tray table is hidden on the armrest of the seat. I find popping mine out a tad difficult due to the age of the aircraft. The large table covers the seat’s width and allows passengers to work on their laptops comfortably. The mechanical seat control buttons are found under the armrest, which can only recline the seat and deploy the calf rest. Other buttons, such as the call attendant and overhead reading light buttons, are found on the IFE controller.

Tray table in Business Class cabin onboard Turkish Airlines A321-200

The tray table is tucked into the armrest when not in use

In-Flight Entertainment

Each Turkish Airlines Business Class seat is fitted with a 10.6″ IFE Screen, stowed under the armrest between the seats. The IFE screen can be deployed with a push of a button. The IFE controller is found stowed beside the seat recline buttons. Similar to that found in their long-haul product, the IFE controller mainly uses a touchscreen for passengers to select their entertainment options. The touchscreen on the IFE controller is very responsive. There are tons of entertainment options on the IFE of Turkish Airlines. We could select from various shows, from the latest Hollywood blockbusters to TV shows. There is even a menu for music. However, the headphone is the biggest letdown in the IFE department of this Turkish Airlines Business Class flight. Not only are these headphones uncomfortable to use, but they also are not noise-cancellation headphones.

Turkish Airlines A321-200 is equipped with a 10.6″ IFE screen

The button that ejects the IFE screen from the centre armrest

Meal

Turkish Airlines has a solid meal catering for this short flight to Milan. As with other airlines, passengers only have the option of choosing from three types of main courses. Food is served on a tablecloth-laden tray with the starters and desserts. The starters look miserable, with only a few leaves and two blobs of mozzarella cheese on top of a single slice of tomato. I am not a fan of cheese and skipped the starter. For mains, I chose pasta with mint sauce which was surprisingly flavourful and not too rubbery. The mint sauce with the pasta added a punch to the plain pea pasta. The dessert was good and provided a balance to the savoury main course.

I opted for Turkish Airlines’ signature Lemonade as a pre-departure drink

Meal options onboard Turkish Airlines short-haul Business Class today

The starter is served on a tray together with sides and desserts

Service

The service rendered by the two cabin crew in Business Class was a mixed bag. The service rendered by the older female cabin crew is nothing worthy of Business Class on this short-haul flight. She greeted passengers with the mandatory welcome in a robotic and scripted manner as if she were forced to do so. She came across as grumpy throughout the flight and was observed to provide better service to Caucasian passengers compared to their Asian counterparts. Having said that, she was seen to be patient and caring to the baby passenger sitting in front of us, constantly checking on the baby and if the mother required any help.

The other male pursuer in the Business Class cabin was seen working very hard. I can see him trying very hard to provide the service befitting a Business Class product. He was seen diligently taking orders and delivering food, patrolling the cabin and clearing the table once passengers had finished their meals. He was also seen attending to the passengers’ various requests, from bringing extra bread to ensuring passengers stayed well hydrated.

The very hardworking male flight attendant is serving my friend’s pre-departure drinks.

Afterthought

For a short-haul flight, the Turkish Airlines A321-200 is a good product. The seats in the Business Class cabin are comfortable and spacious for the short flight to Milan. The use of leather gives the cabin a premium feel, and the IFE was solid, which kept us entertained throughout the 3-hour flight from Istanbul to Milan. The catering on this flight is flavourful and well-balanced despite its simplistic plating. However, the service rendered by the female flight attendant looking disinterested in her job, was terrible. Her attitude towards passengers undermined the good effort put in by her male colleague. Overall, I thought this short flight from Istanbul to Milan was comfortable but not impressionable.

[Airline Review] – Turkish Airlines B777-300ER (TK55/TK54) – Business Class, SIN – IST (25 Nov 22) / IST – SIN (9 Dec 22)

February 4, 2023April 25, 2023 / kktong76 / 1 Comment

Turkish Airlines B777-300ER that flew us on the SIN-IST-SIN route

At the Airport

Singapore Changi Airport

Check-in

Turkish Airlines flying out of Singapore has their check-in counters in row 4 of Terminal 1 of Singapore Changi Airport. There are only two lines at the check-in counter one for Business Class and elite status passengers, and the other line services passengers flying in Economy class. The airlines catered to two counters for Business class and status passengers and five for Economy Class passengers. The queue for Business Class was much shorter than the Economy Class, but the line moved slowly. The ground attendant was efficient in processing our check-in bags. We were quickly given our boarding passes and briefed on the boarding time and the directions to the lounge.

Two counters are dedicated to passengers flying in Business Class

Marhaba Lounge

Turkish Airlines has no dedicated business class lounge at Singapore Changi Airport. Instead, the airline uses the Marhaba Lounge on level 3 at the airside. Marhaba Lounge serves Business Class passengers from other airlines such as Air France, Malaysia Airlines, etc. Marhaba Lounge uses a light earthy theme that exudes a sense of relaxation. The lounge is finished with light grey couches in the main lounge area that only come with a small side table, which was not ideal for eating. These seats are perfect for relaxing and eating small snacks and drinks. There are USB charging outlets between couches for passengers to charge their lifestyle devices. There is a small dining section in the Marhaba Lounge, located to the left of the entrance to the lounge. However, these dining seats are in limited quantity. Marhaba Lounge offers a very limited food selection in a buffet style. Food is constantly being topped up whenever they run low. Drinks are self-served and stored in a fridge beside the food station. Also, hot beverages such as Coffee and tea are available next to the refrigerator. I find the cleanliness of the lounge questionable Staff are only seen patrolling the lounge at what seems to be a fixed interval clearing the plates and drinks left behind by previous passengers. Despite its small size, Marhaba Lounge has showering facilities for guests to freshen up before their flights.

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Istanbul Airport

Turkish Airlines Business Lounge

Turkish Airlines operates two lounges in Istanbul Airport; the Smiles and Miles Lounge is dedicated to status members, while the Business Lounge is dedicated to Business Class passengers. The Turkish Airlines Business Lounge is large, occupying a good amount of real estate space in the airport terminal. There is plenty to do other than munching on food and relaxing. The first thing we saw as we entered the lounge was the grand piano at the lounge entrance. The grand piano played relaxing music, giving the lounge a classy feel but helped to create a relaxing mood. The lounge flooring is decked in light brown Parque, while the ceilings use white wavy patterns, giving passengers an extraordinarily comfortable feel.

Grand Piano at the entrance of the

There are lockers in the lounge

Passing the grand piano, we arrived at the main lounge area. This is where we find food, beverages, and the dining and couches for relaxing. The main dining area is located in the centre of the massive lounge, with plenty of dining tables for passengers to dine in. Even the lounge seating at the side of the main dining area has dining tables that provide additional space for passengers to dine. Food is spread across the main lounge area, serving mainly Turkish cuisines in a booth-like see-through kitchen. A huge salad bar section has an extensive menu of vegetables for passengers to customise their salad. Several more food counters offering Turkish pita and pasta are behind the salad bar. A little further down is where we found Turkish Coffee and tea station.

There is an area in the lounge equipped with pod-designed chairs fitted with computer stations for passengers to do some work. Turkish Airlines Business Lounge has three meeting rooms that can accommodate six passengers. The showers and sleeping suites are located to the left of the entrance to the lounge. Sleeping suites are available for passengers with more than 6 hr of connecting time. However, both times we were there, the suites were fully taken. The shower rooms are located opposite the suites. The white-marbled shower room is vast and has shower amenities but no toothbrushes.

The Aircraft

Turkish Airlines operates both B777-300ER and B787-9 aircraft between Singapore and Istanbul. The aircraft that leaves at night from Singapore uses B777-300ER, fitted with only Business Class and Economy Class.

Turkish Airlines departs from Gate C24 tonight at Singapore Changi Airport

Turkish Airlines B777-300ER departs from Gate D16 at Istanbul Airport

The Cabin

The Turkish Airlines 2-class B777-300ER has 349 seats onboard, with 49 flatbed seats in Business Class Cabin and 300 reclining seats in Economy Cabin. The Business Class cabin on Turkish Airlines B777-300ER looks bright and spacious due to the open design of the seats. As the Turkish Airlines B777-300ER is fitted with their older Business Class product, it gives its passengers more space but lesser privacy. The Business Class cabin is further split into the larger forward section, fitted with 28 seats and the smaller rear section, equipped with 21 seats. The use of contrasting colours of beige and black with a dash of red gave the Business Class cabin a premium feel. In addition, a huge bright red Turkish Airlines logo hangs on a grey and white patterned bulkhead at the end of each section decorating the otherwise dull bulkhead and adding a touch of premium feel without coming across as tacky.

Turkish Airlines B777-300ER Business Class cabin

There are three lavatories in the Business Class cabin onboard Turkish Airlines, one located at the front of the aircraft and two in the middle of the Business Class sections. The lavatories continued the colour scheme of predominantly beige and white with a dash of red, found in the Business Class cabin. Using a red diffuser in the lavatory gives the lavatory a premium feel. Other than the Molton Brown hand soap, lotion and facial spray, the lavatory has no other amenities. I like the use of sensor taps and step lever bin cover to reduce touch points in the lavatory.

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The Seats

The Turkish Airlines B777-300ER Business Class cabin seats are arranged in a 2-3-2 configuration. Each Business Class seat is clad in black fabric with leathered headrest, has a very generous pitch of 78″ and measures 22″ wide, providing each excellent passenger legroom. The fabric material for the seat provided us with a comfortable ride and rested on the 12 hr flight. Waiting on the seat is a soft pillow, while the blanket and inflight slippers are placed on the ottoman in front of every seat. Storage space under the ottoman is meant for passengers to stow away their shoes, but it is large enough for us to stow our carry-on backpacks. Due to the pandemic, Turkish Airlines, like other airlines, reduced their In-flight literature, found in the grove between the two ottomans to the safety card and a puke bag. Other than the ottoman, I find the seat storage space to be a tad limited. A slim storage bin is found under the armrest between the seats. This is also where the universal charging outlet is located. A USB outlet and the headphone jack, which is hard to access, are located in an awkward position within the side bin storage area.

The seat controls are located on the armrest between the two seats. Despite having several modes, the only buttons that work are the ones that recline the seat into bed mode and return to an upright position. The other buttons are defective, and the massage function is also not working. A little further up the centre armrests is a small cocktail table with dedicated space for us to place our cups. The cocktail table has sufficient space to place the small plate of warm nuts served shortly after take-off. I mainly used the armrest to put my phone on, charging it while sleeping during the flight. Each Business Class seat has a large dining table, allowing passengers to do work other than dining. The table is neatly stowed under the cocktail table when not in use.

Each Turkish Airlines Business Class seat technically has only two modes, the upright take-off/landing mode and a 180° flatbed mode. As the seat has aged a lot, whatever is in between, like lounge mode, is only achievable by trial and error by playing around between the bed mode and upright mode buttons. The cabin crew will come around to make the bed for Business Class passengers by fitting a mattress topper and laying a thicker blanket. Adding the mattress topper enhanced the sleep quality onboard, as I could not feel the creases on the seat in flatbed mode. Privacy also increases tremendously when the seat is converted to bed mode. A personal reading light is also found in the seat on top of the one on the ceiling of the aircraft.

In-Flight Entertainment

Business Class seats onboard Turkish Airlines B777-300ER are fitted with an 18″ IFE touchscreen TV. Despite the distance from the seat to the TV screen, the TV screen does not come across as small. However, this also meant we could not use the touchscreen function as the distance was a tad too far. The IFE controller has a 4″ touchscreen interface that works like a mobile phone and is sensitive and responsive. The IFE controller’s menu design is intuitive, organised in large rows of three options across the screen. Besides controlling the TV screen, the IFE controller is also fitted with buttons for calling cabin crews and the overhead reading light.

All Business Class passengers are presented with noise-cancelling headphones upon boarding. The headphones’ quality is excellent and very effective in blocking out noise. However, when preparing for landing, the cabin crew will collect these headphones and replace them with a cheaper set. There are numerous entertainment options on the IFE on Turkish Airlines, ranging from the latest Hollywood blockbusters to TV shows and all genres of music. My friends and I spent hours onboard watching the many entertainment options when we were not sleeping. Business Class passengers onboard Turkish Airlines are given 1GB of free internet access. However, internet access is a tad slow and can only be used to text messages and post photos on Instagram, streaming youtube videos will take forever.

Turkish Airlines provides 1GB of internet for its Business Class passengers.

Meal

The food served onboard Turkish Airlines Business Class was excellent. The food tasted flavourful and fresh, hardly like airline food. Meal service on both legs begins with warm nuts and drinks while the crew prepares our choices of dishes. I was surprised that Turkish Airlines gave us options for all three courses of the main meal, which is quite rare. On board other airlines, passengers were given choices only for the main course. The cabin crew started by laying out our table with silverware and Turkish Airlines’ signature LED candlelight for their candlelight dinner in the sky.

SIN-IST

Dinner

For this flight, I chose Mozzarella & Grilled Vegetables for starters. The vegetables were juicy and lightly seasoned. As we thought that was the only appetiser, we were served Sichuan Chicken Soup next, and this was just for the starters. The chicken soup is flavourful and not overpowering. For the main course, I opted for the Rosemary Chicken Breast. The chicken breast is tender and juicy, and I can taste a hint of rosemary used to cook the chicken. The sides that come with the main did not disappoint. They are moist and crunchy. My friend opted for the Grilled Salmon, which is moist and flavourful. For dessert, I opted for Brownie with Chocolate Sauce. The brownie was warm and delicious. My friend opted for the Traditional Turkish Dessert, which we thought was a tad too sweet. After dinner, the cabin crew turned down the lights for passengers to rest. Passengers who are not sleepy can help themselves to the snacks and drinks in the pantry between the Business Class cabins.

Breakfast

Breakfast service started about 2 hours before landing. Even the 2-course breakfast was served course by course. First, the cabin crew came around and laid the tables with tablecloth and silverware and bowls of cheese, yoghurt and chicken breast slices. Soon after, they returned to serve fresh fruit salad as a starter, which the rockmelon and honeydew were sweet and juicy. For the main course during breakfast, I opted for crepe with blueberries. The crepe was delicious when paired with the vanilla sauce and was divine. My friend opted for the Mushroom Omelette and commented it was moist and puffy.

I opted for crepes for breakfast

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Late Dinner

For this flight, I opted the Turkish Mezze for starters. Maybe it is my taste bud, I only ate the turkey (or it might be chicken) and what appears to be tuna. I left the other items on the plate almost untouched. Our pumpkin soup came shortly after the Turkish Mezze was served. The pumpkin soup was flavourful and went very well with the bread. I requested extra croissants from the cabin crew, who was very efficient. I chose the fish wrapped in some cooking paper for the main course. The presentation was not the best, but the fish was moist and delicious. I went with the Apple Strudel for dessert. The Apple Strudel has a nicely baked crispy crust, and the vanilla was like icing on a cake. The dinner was delicious.

Breakfast

The 2-course breakfast began with bowls of yoghurt, spread, salad, and a plate of cheese and turkey breast. I only had the turkey breast, which is delicious and moist. I opted for scrambled eggs for the main course, which is still runny and warm. I highly recommend trying the Turkish Coffee with breakfast, as it perked me up after 5 hrs of sleep onboard.

Service

Turkish Airlines Business Class service varies between our outbound and inbound flights. However, despite the difference in service standards, Turkish Airlines always welcomed their Business Class passengers with welcome drinks.

SIN-IST

Service is not the best on this leg of the flight. The cabin crew working in the Business Class cabin came across as cold and robotic. Their service felt scripted, and the crew didn’t portray any warmth or sincerity. They were not seen helping passengers, and requesting items like drinks and wet towels (for me to wipe off the stain on my seat) took forever and felt like a chore to them. The cabin crew was not seen smiling a lot, and most of the time, other than meal times, they were seen gathering at the galley chit-chatting. The cabin crew will not even nudge if they are in the passengers’ way talking amongst themselves. During meal time, we were not served bread. When we asked for bread, the meal pursuer reluctantly came to our aisle and pointed the basket to us without even bothering to introduce the bread they offered. Drinks are not served unless asked. The cabin crew during this flight felt uninterested in making their Business Class passengers feel welcome.

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Despite the subpar service we received on the outbound flight from Singapore, the crews on this inbound flight were excellent. They were warm and personable, making every passenger feel welcome onboard this flight. The cabin crew were attentive and observant, and most importantly, they poured in their heart to ensure passengers felt comfortable. This set of crews was friendly, always wearing a smile on their faces no matter how tired they were, and seemed to be forever on standby, ready to respond to any requests by the passengers. They were seen plying around the cabin during boarding, preparing and serving pre-departure drinks to passengers when we settled into our seats. The cabin crew worked like clockwork after the seatbelt sign was turned off, busy preparing meal service after take-off, ensuring meal service was done in the shortest amount of time to maximise passengers’ rest time. The male pursuer working at my aisle diligently ensured that our glasses were never empty, and when we requested additional bread, he would always come back with a basket without us having to wait too long. The service we received on board was outstanding, and the crew made us want to fly Turkish Airlines again. This set of crew is the best we met on our four legs with Turkish Airlines.

Turkish Airlines’ sky chef taking orders from passengers

Afterthought

Despite the ageing Business Class product and some buttons not functioning, the seats on Turkish Airlines B777-300ER are very spacious and comfortable. We had a great sleep during the 12 hr red-eye flight. The food served on both legs was excellent; it tasted more like restaurant food than airline food. The lounge in Istanbul was amazing, except the wait for a shower took quite some time, and the queue for the suites for resting never ended. The service onboard was heaven and earth on both legs of our flight. We had a set of crew who seemed like they were doing their bare minimum for our outbound flight, yet during our inbound flight, we had a crew who ensured that their passengers felt comfortable. Turkish Airlines is a viable option when flying from Singapore to any European destination.

Italy Day 14 (9 Dec 22) – Conclusion to our Maiden Trip to Italy and Bonus Trip to Istanbul, Türkiye

February 1, 2023 / kktong76 / 2 Comments

Conclusion to our Italian Trip

Today marks the conclusion of our maiden trip to Italy and my first-ever trip to Europe. We dreaded the arrival of this day, as we had such great fun in Italy. We started our trip not knowing what to expect in Italy and how it will turn out. We were initially quite worried about our trip as we heard a lot about the pickpockets in major cities, the flooding in Venice and the scammers in Rome. As we travelled throughout the country, we came to release the country was very safe, and our worries were unfounded. We thought the Italians were cold initially, but they were very friendly and helpful once we chatted with them. The travels between cities were easy and efficient, thanks to the high-speed rail infrastructure. Looking back, I thought we could spend one more day in Milan, as we only had essentially half a day in Milan. There is more to see and do in Milan that cannot be covered in half a day. We could also cater more time for shopping. I only catered one day for shopping, thinking The Mall Firenze could satisfy our shopping needs, but it turned out The Mall was disappointing. As a result, we had to forego some sights in our plan. We had some fun experiences during the trip, climbing the Leaning Tower of Pisa, scaling up the dome of St Peter’s Basilica, getting lost in Venice, climbing up Mt Etna, etc. A summary of our 13-day journey through Italy:

Day 1: Milan – Arrival at Milan, Duomo di Milano, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
Day 2: Milan – Lake Como (Verona, Bellagio, Como), Naviglio Grande
Day 3: Venice – Venice City on foot
Day 4: Venice & Florence – San Marco Campanile, San Giorgio Maggiore, Burano; Florence City at night (Duomo, Piazza della Signoria, Ponte Vecchio)
Day 5: Florence – Shopping at The Mall Firenze
Day 6: Pisa – Leaning Tower of Pisa and Pisa Cathedral
Day 7: Florence & Rome – David in Galleria dell’Accademia, Duomo, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon
Day 8: Rome – Colosseum and Palatine Hills
Day 9: Naples – Pompeii, Sorrento
Day 10: Vatican City – St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel
Day 11: Catania – Roman Amphitheater, Duomo,
Day 12: Agrigento – Valley of Temples
Day 13: Catania – Mt Etna
Day 14: Departure

Arrival at Istanbul

Our flight out of Catania to Istanbul was scheduled for 9.10 am. We left for the airport at 6 am, as we needed sufficient time to validate the tax-free purchases we had made for the past 13 days in Italy. We headed for the tax-free counter the first thing we arrived at Catania airport, located at the right corner of the airport terminal from the entrance in a very inconspicuous corner. After validating our tax forms, we proceeded to the airline counter to check in. Looking at the time, we still have some time left to enjoy a light bite at the airline lounge. Our flight finally took off at 10.20 am (some delays due to overbooking), and we landed in Istanbul at around 3 pm local time. Our plan today was to join the free tour that would bring us to some of the famous sights in Istanbul provided by Turkish Airlines. Turkish Airlines offered several tours in the city throughout the day (you can refer here for the Touristanbul schedules and itineraries) with different tour itineraries. However, I misread the timing, and we ended up taking only the shopping tour.

Wefie at the hotel’s lobby before we head to the airport

Last look at Mt Etna from Catania airport

We have a light breakfast at the lounge in Catania airport

My friends on the jetbridge to our flight

Shopping in Galataport, Istanbul

To register for the tour, we cleared immigration and looked for the Turkish Airline’s “Hotel Desk” counter. The way to the immigration was a tad far, and we had to ask the airport staff for directions to the immigration (it is not easy to find from the airside area) and then to the Hotel Desk counter to register for the complimentary tour provided by Turkish Airlines. Our tour begins with a Turkish dinner at a restaurant (paid for by Turkish Airlines). The food was delicious, and the meat served was tender. After dinner, we were driven to Galataport for the shopping trip. Galataport is a coastal, open-air shopping mall situated next to the Bosporus sea on the Europe side of the city. There weren’t many shops at the shopping mall selling goods. I estimated about 70% of the shops are restaurants. We spent the 1 hr allocated for shopping and walking along the coastline for the night Istanbul views of the Bosporus Sea. I’d say the shopping tour was a tad boring. I wouldn’t recommend the shopping tour as there was nothing at the mall to shop for. After the tour, we were driven back to the airport, where we took a shower and got ready for our flight home. Our flight departed Istanbul at 1.55 am, marking the end of our trip to Italy.