Wednesday, April 19 Narita – Bangkok Thai Airways International Flight 677 First Class, Boeing 747 Departs: 4:55pm Arrives: 9:25pm We checked out of the Hilton Tokyo using the temporary lounge on the 30th floor. I used my remaining yen to pay the hotel bill, which was just some room service coffee and the transfers back to Narita. I asked when the executive lounge would reopen and was told summertime, June or July. “It will be much larger, we are very excited.” Then went downstairs to the front of the hotel for the 12:10pm Airport Limousine Bus. Turns out this was a bit of a mistake, there was no traffic whatsoever and I we could easily have taken the 1:10pm departure. Instead we’re at Narita around 1:40pm. After the perfunctory passport check upon the bus entering…
About Gary Leff
Kozue at the Park Hyatt Tokyo
I went to lunch at Kozue, the Japanese restaurant at the Park Hyatt Tokyo. The restaurant is made up of rich amber wood walls, floors, and tables. The tableware is all unique. The restaurant has a breathtaking view out towards Mt. Fuji from its 40th floor perch. The menu, much more affordable at lunch than dinner, offers both individual choices (to which you can add rice, miso soup and Japanese pickles) and set course meals (beginning at JPY3900 at lunch and I believe JPY12000 at dinner, our meal was JPY6200). Our first course consisted of several items: Kelp Flavored Snapper and Fresh Seaweed with Vinaigrette Soy Sauce; Marinated Tofu, Konnyaku and Deep Fried Puffy Bread; Simmered Short-neck Clam, Yachiazami and Fuki Greens; Conger Eel and Seri Greens with Sesame Sauce. Everything was delicious, especially the…
Hilton Tokyo for US$3 a Night
After quickly clearing customs and picking up our bags, we walked over to the Airport Limousine Bus desk in the arrivals hall and bought our tickets to the Hilton Tokyo. We paid our JPY3000 apiece for the ride and went outside of baggage claim. We had to wait half an hour until the next bus would be headed to the Hilton. No problem, it was nice to walk around outside and stand up for a spell. Standing nearby the pickup spot for our bus we were questioned by police who asked for our passports as an airport security measure. They wrote down passport numbers and asked our occupations, but I must admit this was the friendliest questioning by police I’ve ever experienced and I didn’t mind a bit (though the thought did cross my mind,…
Another Travel Provider Decides it Needs a Blog
And so Nuts About Southwest, the Southwest Airlines blog is born… Time will tell whether I subscribe to its RSS feed, but I haven’t yet.
25,000 Delta Miles for Internet Phone Service
Apr
27
2006
Earthlink Voice is offering 25,000 Delta miles for internet phone service, a minimum commitment of six months would appear to be required to get the miles. They’re also offering 10,000 miles for using their high-speed internet. (Hat tip to Free Frequent Flyer Miles.) Update: Reader Alan reports that the fine print on the offer requires a 12-month commitment. So even though miles should post within six you’ll probably face a penalty for cancelling early if you want out before 12 months are up.
Site59 Discount
Last minute package discounter Site59 is offering $59 off on packages of $700 or more through May 31 with discount code SITE59GETAWAY.
ANA’s First Class “Super Style” Washington DC to Tokyo
Friday, April 14 Washington-Dulles to Tokyo NH Flight 1: Scheduled Departure 12:20pm / Scheduled Arrival 3:20pm Seats 2A, 2C Left home at 9:45 and we were at Dulles at 10:30am. There was one person at each of the coach, business, and first class lines. Ironically, everyone waiting in the business and coach lines were checking in before us. The woman who began checking us in stopped in the middle to take care of the crew and then left the business class CSR to handle us. ANA leaves out of B41, and the B concourse no longer requires the people mover. The underground concourse is fine, but a couple of the moving walkways weren’t functioning. That place is sure deserted a bit before 11am! And it’s such a dreary walk, you’d think they’d spice it up…
The Best Hotel Restaurants?
Via Starwood’s The Lobby blog, USAToday.com has a list of the 100 best hotel restaurants in the United States. It’s a generally reasonable list, recognizing outstanding restaurants such as the Inn at Little Washington and Maestro. But I take it all with a grain of salt, since it leaves off CityZen at the Mandarin Oriental in Washington, DC which must be currently one of America’s best restaurants. It certainly outshines the restaurant at the Intercontinental Harbor Court hotel in Baltimore, which the lists ranks at number six.
Diplomatic Suite: the Intercontinental Bangkok
I’m checking out of the Intercontinental Bangkok today, and I was exceptionally happy with my stay. Normally I’d be happiest at the Peninsula or the Metropolitan. Neither is expensive luxury by world standards, Bangkok is after all probably the best city in the world for luxury hotel values. But I couldn’t turn down the value offered by the Intercontinental. I arrived here a couple of days ago after a seemingly endless trip to Bangkok in the Sheraton Pattaya Resort’s BMW. (I’ll share details of that truly amazing, astonishly property sometime in the next few days.) We pulled up to the Intercontinental and walked up to the checkin desk and were escorted up to the club lounge. The lounge is brand new, now on the 37th floor, and the old 33rd floor lounge has been closed.…
About the trip I’m on…
Around 9am in the morning of November 5th I got a fare alert notice. I’d been on Flyertalk already but hadn’t yet checked out the Mileage Run forum. Big news – the Tokyo and Osaka Hiltons were selling for $2 on Expedia, or I could spend an additional buck for an Executive level room. I figured I’d be a sport and go $3 for the better room, since it came with breakfast, complimentary internet, and evening cocktails… Originally Expedia and Hilton were only going to honor November bookings, at least that’s what they told the media, but I had it in writing (email, actually) that mine was a valid rate and they never once disputed this or tried to cancel it. So with the lure of $3 rooms in Tokyo I thought that my wife…
