American Airlines first class lounges are called “Flagship Lounges.” There are currently four Flagship lounges, in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and London. There used to be one in Miami, renovations closed it and they never brought it back. It’s always struck me odd that they don’t have one in Dallas. American is seriously revamping and improving its business class product (though the rollout will take awhile), and in the process is removing first class from much of its fleet over the next few years. Eventually only their Boeing 777-300 aircraft will offer three cabins in international service. So I don’t expect an expansion of the Flagship Lounge product. Currently in order to access a Flagship Lounge, you need to: Be flying first class on an American Airlines or oneworld international flight in first class…
Trip Reports
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Eating Around Lower Manhattan
I usually prefer to be in Midtown, but I found myself staying in the Financial District over the weekend. And there’s plenty to eat in Lower Manhattan. First stop of the day for lunch was Lam Zhou Homemade Noodle, on the outskirts of Chinatown. They don’t speak much (any?) English. There’s no air conditioning. If you want a soda you take it from the refrigerator sitting outside. Soup is about $5, a dozen dumplings ~ $3. They’ll sell you 50 frozen dumplings for $8.50. Cash only. Somehow Michael Bloomberg allows them to remain open (perhaps because the refrigerator has only 16 ounce cans of soda?), despite a “B” rating from the health department, is anyone’s guess. This is not a pretty restaurant. No water or tea if you do not ask. But outstanding soup, I…
Confusing Room Types, Breakfast, and Room Service at an Otherwise Nice Andaz Wall Street
I spent the weekend up in New York and stayed at the Andaz Wall Street. I was looking for New York hotel prices in the middle of the week and found a great rate at the Wall Street property. It’s usually quite reasonable on weekends, since the primary function of the hotel is for business travelers wanting to stay in the financial district. Although it remains surprisingly busy on the weeknds, there were apparently 3 wedding parties at the hotel while I was there. It’s just that most of the area isn’t especially vibrant once the business week ends. “Andaz suite” rooms were pricing the same as base-level rooms, and the weekend rate was especially low, so I booked it In fact, I made a couple of bookings. By the time I completed that, and…
A Pedestrian Trip, the Marriott Boca Raton
One of my frequent destinations is Boca Raton, Florida. Unfortunately there’s no Hyatt nearby. There’s no Starwood, either. And other than the Boca Raton Resort & Club, there’s nothing in town that purports to be especially nice. I’ve schlepped from the Hyatt Pier 66 when I’ve had competing reasons to be closer to Ft. Lauderdale along with trips up to Boca on multiple occasions, and my old go to used to be the Westin Diplomat for these trips but I’ve tired of 45 minute drives each way when I can stay mere blocks from where I need to be. Naturally to the North there are plenty of nice properties in Palm Beach. But you do have to go to Fort Lauderdale or Palm Beach to broaden out options for a ncie hotel. Starting in July…
Weekend at the Falls: American Business Class, Gol Domestic, and the Sheraton Iguazú Resort: American’s Business Class to Miami and on to DC
American to Miami in First, then Business Class to Sao Paulo Gol Smiles VIP Lounge and Domestic Service to Foz de Iguassu Sheraton Iguazú Falls Resort & Spa The Wonder of the Falls Gol Domestic Back to Sao Paulo and the Admiral’s Club Sao Paulo American’s Business Class to Miami and on to DC After about 5 hours in the lounge it was finally time to leave Brazil. We headed downstairs and on to our gate at the end of Wing D, and it simply reinforced the notion that there’s not much to do, see, or eat in the terminal. One of the interesting things about the walk is that the international and domestic gates are separated by a glass wall most of the walk to the end of the pier. We arrived at the…
Weekend at the Falls: American Business Class, Gol Domestic, and the Sheraton Iguazú Resort: Gol Domestic Back to Sao Paulo and the Admiral’s Club Sao Paulo
American to Miami in First, then Business Class to Sao Paulo Gol Smiles VIP Lounge and Domestic Service to Foz de Iguassu Sheraton Iguazú Falls Resort & Spa The Wonder of the Falls Gol Domestic Back to Sao Paulo and the Admiral’s Club Sao Paulo American’s Business Class to Miami and on to DC Checkout from the hotel was smooth, I did need to stop by the desk though to have them remove internet charges from the bill that was slipped under my door (as they told me I would need to do when I checked in). I had inquired earlier about getting a cab from the hotel back to the airport on the Brazilian side, and was told it wouldn’t be a problem and that no advance reservation was needed, there’s a waiting queue…
Weekend at the Falls: American Business Class, Gol Domestic, and the Sheraton Iguazú Resort: The Wonder of the Falls
Iguazu Falls: American to Miami in First, then Business Class to Sao Paulo Gol Smiles VIP Lounge and Domestic Service to Foz de Iguassu Sheraton Iguazú Falls Resort & Spa The Wonder of the Falls Gol Domestic Back to Sao Paulo and the Admiral’s Club Sao Paulo American’s Business Class to Miami and on to DC The really stunning thing about the Sheraton isn’t the views per se, it’s that you’re already inside the park. You can arrive in the afternoon, drop off your stuff in your room, and pop over to the Falls. You’re literally 15 – 20 minutes’ walking from your hotel room door to some of the most impressive sights you’re likely to come upon, anywhere. From the hotel there’s easy access to an upper trail that will take less than an…
Weekend at the Falls: American Business Class, Gol Domestic, and the Sheraton Iguazú Resort: Sheraton Iguazú Falls Resort & Spa
American to Miami in First, then Business Class to Sao Paulo Gol Smiles VIP Lounge and Domestic Service to Foz de Iguassu Sheraton Iguazú Falls Resort The Wonder of the Falls Gol Domestic Back to Sao Paulo and the Admiral’s Club Sao Paolo American’s Business Class to Miami and on to DC With just a weekend in South America, and a goal of visiting one of the places I’ve wanted to see for years, I decided on convenience and time savings — I picked the Sheraton because it’s actually in the National Park, on the Argentina side. The Sheraton is on the pricey side, rooms were over $250++ and suites around $575++ during my stay. It’s a Starwood category 5 — so delivers a bit over 2 cents a point without any high season points…
Weekend at the Falls: American Business Class, Gol Domestic, and the Sheraton Iguazú Resort: Gol Smiles VIP Lounge and Domestic Service to Foz de Iguassu
American to Miami in First, then Business Class to Sao Paulo Gol Smiles VIP Lounge and Domestic Service to Foz de Iguassu Sheraton Iguazú Falls Resort & Spa The Wonder of the Falls Gol Domestic Back to Sao Paulo and the Admiral’s Club Sao Paolo American’s Business Class to Miami and on to DC I walked over to the transit check-in desk for Gol, it had a long line but I decided since I was there anyway I might as well grab my boarding pass rather than going upstairs, not knowing what the economy check-in line might look like there. I had booked an aisle and middle in row 5, the whole plane is coach. Seat assignments secured by emailing contactus@golnaweb.com.br. Brazilian domestic flights have a maximum weight for carryons of 5kg but the agent…
Weekend at the Falls: American Business Class, Gol Domestic, and the Sheraton Iguazú Resort: American to Miami in first, then Business Class to Sao Paulo
American to Miami in First, then Business Class to Sao Paulo Gol Smiles VIP Lounge and Domestic Service to Foz de Iguassu Sheraton Iguazú Falls Resort & Spa The Wonder of the Falls Gol Domestic Back to Sao Paulo and the Admiral’s Club Sao Paolo American’s Business Class to Miami and on to DC Standing in line at TSA an inquisitive fellow (perhaps a wannabe Behavior Detection Officer) was asking me where I was headed. I told him Iguassu Falls. He asked where that was. I told him I was going for the weekend. “Gotta do something this weekend.” Coupled with top tier elite status on American and some extra systemwide upgrades, along with a bonus promotion meant to incentive additional flying by passengers from the oneworld Mega DO in January, I could fly business…
