By ChristinaChristina writes and edits Travelling Companion. Her writing covers expeditions, food, and culture for the blog. Overview With food like that, no wonder the Brits conquered the world. Trip Overview: European Adventures 2018 Flight Review: American Airlines A330-300 Economy CLT-LHR Hotel Review: London Marriott Regent's Park Food in London Flight Review: British Airways A319 Economy LGW-BCN Hotel Review: AC Hotel Irla Barcelona Train Review: Renfe Clase Turista Barcelona-Valencia Exploring Life in Valencia Exploring Life in Barcelona Flight Review: American Airlines 777-200 Economy BCN-JFK Flight Review: American Airlines A321T Business Class Seats JFK-DCA Introduction Local cuisine is important. Food is one of the most comprehensive ways to understand a culture. Food can give a context of a new place and their way of life. London is a cosmopolitan city with food from around the world. However, English food does not have the best reputation. The British lived up to their reputation. Nicholson's Pub  During our visit, we tried a traditional English pub call Nicholson's. It's been around since 1875. The pub had two levels, a bar on the first floor and a restaurant on the second floor. We decided to eat at the bar. We went during lunch time at 11:50 AM. It was nearly empty, but that wasn't too alarming since it was still early in the day. My first impression was that the bar on the first floor of the building was much nicer than expected and clearly had been well maintained or renovated recently. The bar, floors, and tables were made of dark oak wood. Ramon ordered the Jaw's Orchard Cider which was very good. It was sweet, bubbly, and tasted like crisp apples.  Ramon ordered the chicken, ham hock, and cheese pie while I ordered the slow cooked beef amber ale and mushroom pie. Ramon's pie had very small pieces of chicken and ham which were overwhelmed by the cheese. He thought the dish was fine but wished that it had more meat. My slow cooked beef pie was very bland. I thought the best part was the crust. Both meat pies came with carrots and salad on the side. The carrots were overcooked, rubbery, and had a soft texture. The salad was mediocre. It was a mix of light and dark romaine leaves. The service at the pub was great, which I guess it was to be expected since we were the only customers. Overall the pub had a nice atmosphere and service with good drinks, but the food was bland.  Golden Union We checked out Golden Union in SoHo for dinner which served traditional British fish and chips. Ramon and I both ordered fish and chips which came with tartar sauce and a lemon wedge on the side. Ramon generally likes fish and chips but was unimpressed with Golden Union. He found it to be too greasy. I thought the fish and chips were okay. The fish was fresh, hot, and crispy. The french fries were thick. Overall the service in the restaurant was fine and the atmosphere was casual. I thought the meal was good but not really memorable. SoHo seems like a fun spot that we would love to explore more next time, but will definitely skip Golden Union.
The Wolseley  The Wolseley was the most formal restaurant we checked out in London. We went there for breakfast, and we saw a ton of business people in suits having early morning meetings. The waiters were also dressed much more formally which added to the formal ambiance.
The Wolseley had an extensive menu including two pages dedicated to breakfast food. Ramon ordered The English with a hot chocolate and pan chocolate. I ordered porridge and the Wolseley Fishcake with poached egg along with a latte. The latte was the best part of my breakfast.  Porridge is a traditional British breakfast food. It tasted like oatmeal, but even more boring. I did enjoy the fishcake which I found to be full of herbs and spices. My poached egg was overcooked. Ramon really enjoyed the pan chocolate and his hot chocolate. I ate his sausage which I found to be mediocre. His bacon was crispy and his beans were very sweet. Ramon found his scrambled eggs to be the most interesting part of his dish as they were different than scrambled eggs either of us had ever seen. The eggs seemed to be whipped and were light and fluffy. They were very good. We both tried Ramon's blood sausage and we both hated it. I had a visceral reaction and will never eat that dish again.  The decor at The Wolseley was strongly influenced by Chinese artwork. This seemed out of place in a traditional British restaurant. Still, it was a beautiful restaurant. One thing which was very impressive at The Wolseley was the service. The waiter who served us was very very quick and attentive. Despite some British dishes which we did not enjoy, like the blood sausage, we enjoyed The Wolseley and would probably check it out again if we found ourselves back in London. 
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By RamonRamon is the creator of Travelling Companion. He focuses on flight reviews, hotel reviews, and helping stretch your travel dollars, miles, and points further. Trip Overview: European Adventures 2018 Flight Review: American Airlines A330-300 Economy CLT-LHR Hotel Review: London Marriott Regent's Park Food in London Flight Review: British Airways A319 Economy LGW-BCN Hotel Review: AC Hotel Irla Barcelona Train Review: Renfe Clase Turista Barcelona-Valencia Exploring Life in Valencia Exploring Life in Barcelona Flight Review: American Airlines 777-200 Economy BCN-JFK Flight Review: American Airlines A321T Business Class Seats JFK-DCA Arrival at London Heathrow Our flight landed at London-Heathrow at 6:45 AM and after taxing we deplaned and headed towards immigration. London Heathrow is one of the most confusing airports I have ever been to. The signage in the airport left us confused about where we needed to go to exit and we stood for quite a while in the line for EU passengers until we realized there was a much shorter line for non-EU citizens. The immigration lines at London-Heathrow were very long and once we cleared immigration we searched for a way to our hotel. Once we were able to find the signs for shared rides we headed up an elevator then waited in a long line at another bank of elevators in a parking garage and eventually grew so frustrated by the line that we dragged our bags up several flights of stairs. Once we were finally able to locate the pick-up spot we waited and waited for the Uber to arrive in the terrible traffic. Finally, about 1 hour after deplaning we hopped in an Uber headed to our hotel. I think in the future I will try the Heathrow Express because the process for using Uber at London-Heathrow is a mess. Unfortunately, we waited too long to search for the Heathrow Express tickets and in that time the prices went from £5.50 to £25.00 so we decided to use Uber instead. Location The London Marriott Regent's Park is located in Northwest London about a 40 minute drive from London-Heathrow. The hotel is a six minute walk from the Swiss Cottage Tube station on the Jubilee Line and an easy connection to all the sites in Central London. Also, as the name implies the hotel is walking distance from Regent's Park and nearby the London Zoo. The location is ideal because you can enjoy easy access to the sites in central London in a quiet setting.  London Marriott Regent's Park Check In and Dining The check-in time for the hotel was 3 pm but we arrived around 9 am. As soon as we walked into the hotel we were greeted by friendly agent who offered to take our bags. Despite the dated exterior the hotel had a modern lobby. At the check-in counter we were informed by a friendly check-in agent that our room was not ready yet. The concierge offered to hold our bags while we waited. We agreed and because we were both hungry headed to the hotel's restaurant Carluccio's.  London Marriott Regent's Park Lobby Carluccio's is open 7am-11 pm on Saturday and Sunday and 6:30 am-11:00 pm Monday-Friday. The restaurant was very busy but after a short wait we were able to get a seat. The restaurant offered both a buffet and an a la carte breakfast. We decided to order off of the a la carte menu and it did not disappoint.  Carluccio's Menu Christina ordered a poached egg with spinach on Italian bread and I ordered a salmon and egg on Italian bread and we were both impressed. The bread was perfectly toasted and the eggs were full and flavor and delicious. Because I was so exhausted from the lack of sleep on our redeye flight I ordered tea and a friendly waitress insisted that I have it with milk which I assumed was the British way to drink tea. However, I found the tea to be too bitter for my taste. Overall, I was very impressed by this meal and it was definitely one of the best breakfasts I have had at a hotel.  Salmon and Egg on Italian Bread Room After our meal our room was ready and we headed up to third floor. The hallways of the hotel seemed very dated and in need of renovation.  Hallway My first impression of the room was positive. The room was small, my understanding is that is normal for European hotel rooms, but the the room had a modern feel.  Mini-Fridge and Safe Our room was the smallest room type in the hotel the Deluxe King room and as you enter the room there was a closet, mini-refridgarator, and a safe. Next to the safe was a coffee maker, mugs, glasses, and an ice bucket.  Coffee Maker and Glasses At the center of the room was a king bed with a headboard. On either side of the bed were tables each of which had USB chargers! I was excited by the plethora of the USB chargers because this meant we did not need to go out and buy converters (Though this would be an issue in Barcelona). I found the bed too hard but was still able to get two good nights of sleep.  Deluxe King Room One of my favorite features of room was the smart TV. This allowed us to easily connect our Apple devices to the TV to stream music and videos.  Deluxe King Room  Deluxe King Room  Deluxe King Room Another great feature of the room was that it offered a balcony. We did not use the balcony since it was a cold but I could see this being a great feature on warmer days.  Bathroom  Bathroom The bathroom in this hotel room was small and had basic bath amenities. I really enjoyed the strong water pressure from the shower.  Bathroom Amenities Amenities The hotel had a fitness club which was complimentary to hotel guests but also offered memberships as part of the Marriott Fitness Club. The Fitness Club featured an indoor pool and a gym.  Fitness Club We worked out one morning in the gym and it was nearly empty and had a large selection of cardio equipment and weights. The machines offered access to several television channels on the TV screens at the front of the gym.  Gym  Gym I also appreciated the view from the gym of the hotel grounds. We did not get a chance to use the pool but I thought it was fairly large indoor pool.  View from Gym  Pool Service
The service at the London Marriott Hotel Regent's Park was excellent. From the minute we walked in the door we were greeted by friendly staff who seemed eager to help. This attitude continued throughout our stay from the very early check-in that was accommodated by the hotel staff to friendly concierge who sent us off with free bottles of water at check-out. The staff at this hotel seemed to really care about service. Take Away The exterior of the London Marriott Hotel Regent's Park is not impressive but once you step inside the hotel offers modern touches, a good restaurant, great service, and a convenient location. All of these factors paired with a great price for London ($151 a night) was a perfect match for our stay. I wouldn't hesitate to stay at this hotel again on our next trip to London. By RamonRamon is the creator of Travelling Companion. He focuses on flight review, hotel reviews, and helping stretch your travel dollars, miles, and points further. Flight Summary My first trans-Atlantic flight to London-Heathrow was one of the worst flights I have taken and showed that American Airlines needs to retire the A330-300s. Pros- Lots of leg room and a quick boarding. Cons-Horrible food, old plane, old and unresponsive in-flight entertainment, and cold service. Trip Overview: European Adventures 2018 Flight Review: American Airlines A330-300 Economy CLT-LHR Hotel Review: London Marriott Regent's Park Food in London Flight Review: British Airways A319 Economy LGW-BCN Hotel Review: AC Hotel Irla Barcelona Train Review: Renfe Clase Turista Barcelona-Valencia Exploring Life in Valencia Exploring Life in Barcelona Flight Review: American Airlines 777-200 Economy BCN-JFK Flight Review: American Airlines A321T Business Class Seats JFK-DCA Boarding We had a tight connection for our flight to London so we had no time to check out the Admirals Club in Charlotte. Our flight from Washington D.C. was scheduled to arrive at 5:15 pm but ended up arriving about 13 minutes early. However, we still had a tight connection for our flight to London which began boarding at gate D11 while our flight from DCA landed at gate B5 across the airport.  CLT Boarding Gate Charlotte does not have an airport train so this meant that we had to sprint through the airport to our gate. Thankfully because of our Gold elite status with American Airlines we were seated in row 8 on our connecting flight and were able to quickly deplane and sprint across the airport to our gate. We arrived at our gate completely out of breath and having dodged numerous passengers in the terminal to find out that boarding hadn't commenced. Four minutes later boarding began and we boarded with Group 4 and were on the plane.  CLT Gate D11 Plane and Seats We boarded the plane through the second door on the left side of the plane. We were on the plane and in our seats in about two minutes the fastest boarding process I have ever experienced. This was due to the fact that we had the bulkhead seats 8A and 8B on the left side of the plane and immediately to the right of the boarding door.  A 330-300 Cabin This flight continued our 100% streak of free main cabin extra seats as American Airlines Gold elites. Typically these seats are half off at booking and free at check-in for Gold elites. I thought that our steak would end on this flight because there are only 16 main cabin extra seats on American Airlines A330-300s and there were no main cabin extra seats available at check-in. However, about a few hours before boarding two main cabin extra seats opened and we upgraded our seats to Main Cabin Extra.  A330-300 Legroom The A330-300 cabin is set up in a 2-4-2 configuration in economy and we were able to score one of the two seats together on the left side of the plane which was great for us as couple. Even better these seats had about 36 inches of pitch compared to the standard 31 inches in economy on the A330-300. This was great for our nearly eight hour flight to London. In fact the legroom was so good that I was able to cross my legs and even get up and stretch during this flight.  A 330-300 Legroom Our seats featured USB power plugs in the armrest and on the setback screen which has to be stowed during takeoff and landing in the bulkhead seats. Despite the extra legroom there were two big downsides to our seats. First, the armrests were immovable and this ended up being very uncomfortable for sleeping. Second, the proximity to the galley meant more light and noise.  Flight Map The cabin also featured a flight map in middle bulkhead of row 8. This map displayed information on the flight including the plane's location, remaining flight time, along with departure and arrival city time. As you can see in the photo below the A330-300 definitely is showing its age. The seats and the bulkhead had marks all over.  A 330-300 Seat I had significant issues sleeping on this flight and only managed about 30 minutes of sleep on the nearly eight hour flight. I typically cannot sleep on planes but this plane made the flight experience even worse. As a disclaimer Christina managed to sleep nearly six hours on this flight. The plane made a loud hum throughout the flight and the warm temperate of the cabin made it more difficult to go to sleep. I tried to use my noise cancelling headphones to block out the plane noise and my eye mask to filter the light coming from the galley but for the vast majority of the flight was unsuccessful. The departure time for the flight, about 6 pm, also did not help my sleep and in the future I will try to schedule a later departure time in an attempt to improve my sleep. Unfortunately, the issues with the plane were not just cosmetic and extended to the in-flight entertainment system.  In-Flight Entertainment System The in-flight entertainment had a selection of movies, tv shows, live television, music, and video games. American utilizes the same system on many of it's trans-continental flights and I thought that this selection was even more comprehensive than those flights. However, at times the system was completely unresponsive and during the flight I couldn't load any of the video games. The system functioned so poorly that a one point the flight attendants shut down and restarted the entire system. The touchscreen was old and very difficult to use. I found it cumbersome to scroll through the selection and the content loading very slowly. Despite the comprehensive selection this was one of the worse in-flight entertainment systems I have seen on a plane and it made my lack of sleep even more difficult to bear.  In-Flight Entertainment System Meals Dinner service began about 30 minutes after takeoff and the flight attendants started at the front of the cabin which meant we were served first. Separate food and drink carts went down both aisles. For dinner we were offered a choice between chicken and pasta. To drink we were offered a choice of soft drinks and a selection of complementary beer and a choice between red and white wine. On flights to Europe and select international destinations American offers free wine and beer in the main cabin.  Drink Service I chose the pasta dish and a glass of red wine. The pasta was served with a salad, olive oil and vinegar dressing, bread, a cheese wedge, crackers, and a caramel brownie. I must say that this was one of the worse meals I have ever had and by far the worst on an airplane. The salad was extremely bland with lettuce, shredded carrots, and no cheese. The wine was the worst red wine I have ever had. Christina described it as sharp and terrible. The pasta was a bland and flavorless excuse for pasta. The brownie was thick and dry. The only thing which was decent was the gruyere cheese with bread. I appreciate that American Airlines still offers complementary meals on transatlantic flight, however, I wish I has skipped this one.  Pasta Meal Service I appreciated that dinner service started quickly after takeoff since this allows passengers to maximize sleep on this relatively short night time transatlantic flight. However, this is about the only positive thing I can say about the service on the flight. The flight attendants were cold. One example of this was my interaction with the lead flight attendant when I attempted to go to use the business class bathroom during the meal service. Because of the poor design of the A330 the nearest economy bathroom on the plane was about 16 rows away from behind row 24. I have seen passengers on domestic American Airlines flights utilize the First Class restroom on numerous occasions without any issue if the aisle was blocked with the service cart. However, on this flight as I stepped into the business class lavatory I was strongly reprimanded and told to use the lavatory in the back of the cabin by the lead flight attendant. When she realized the dinner service was underway and the aisle blocked she offered to have the flight attendants stop service and bring the cart back to the front of the aisle to let me use the economy restroom. I said no thank you and proceeded back to my seat. I was absolutely in the wrong here for not using the economy lavatory and it is her job to enforce the rules, however, the sharp rebuke that I received from her that really disappointed me and was unnecessary. There is no need to be rude to someone just trying to use the lavatory. Also, I did wonder would she really prefer to stop the entire meal service and further delay passenger's sleep to stop my from using the business class lavatory which had no special amenities?  Arrival Flight Path On approach to London we circled the airport several times likely due to the significant amount of traffic generated by the early arrivals to London Heathrow. We landed in London at 6:45 am 30 minutes ahead of our scheduled arrival.  A330-300 Airplane Take Away
This flight showed American Airlines equipment at its worse. As a part of the merger with U.S. Airways American Airlines inherited many subpar planes, including the A330-300s, which primarily fly out of former U.S. Airways hubs. The A330-300s have an average age of about 18 years and definitely are showing their age. The poor equipment coupled with the cold service on this flight led to one of the worse flights I have ever had. Thankfully American Airlines plans to retire these planes by the end of 2020. Until this time I would recommend that you avoid flying an American Airlines A330-300 on a long haul route. |
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