By RamonWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Ramon is the creator of Travelling Companion. He focuses on flight review, hotel reviews, and helping stretch your travel dollars, miles, and points further.
Lounge Overview
The food, drink, and service at this lounge was the best I have had at any airport lounge. Pros- Tasty A La Carte Menu, Creative Cocktails, Good Champagne, and Fantastic Service Cons- Dated Decor, Funky Seating, and Dirty Bathrooms First Class Honeymoon Trip Report First Class Honeymoon Overview Delta Sky Club DCA Review Delta CRJ 900 DCA-JFK First Class Review Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse New York JFK Review Singapore Airlines A380 JFK-FRA Suites Review Singapore Airlines A380 FRA-SIN Suites Review JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach Review Singapore Surprise Singapore Airlines 737-800 SIN-MLE Business Class Review The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort Review Etihad Airways A320 MLE-AUH Business Class Review Al Maha, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa Dubai Review The St. Regis Abu Dhabi Review Exploring Abu Dhabi Etihad Apartments A380 AUH-JFK Apartments Review 
Singapore Airlines JFK Check-In
Location and Check-In
Our Delta CRJ900 flight from Washington Regan National (DCA) arrived at New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) Terminal 4. While our flight on Singapore Airlines to Frankfurt (FRA) also departed from JFK Terminal 4. JFK Terminal 4 is known as JFK's international terminal and also houses Delta Airlines long JFK haul flights. Shortly after arriving we collected our bags and headed to the Singapore Airlines check-in desk. We arrived about four and a half hours before our fight to make sure we could soak up the entire Suites experience and enjoy the airport lounge. Singapore Airlines begin online check-in 48 hours in advance unlike the standard 24 hours in advance for U.S. airlines, however, because we were flying from the Untied States we could not access our boarding passes until 24 hours in advance. When we arrived at the check-in desk there was no one waiting in line and only one check-in area was open. Because we were early the Suites specific check-in was closed and there was no one else in line for the general check-in. The woman who served us seemed to be German and was training another check-in agent. The trainer was very matter of fact and not very friendly. The check-in experience was fast but didn't really feel very welcoming. The best part of the check-in was when we received our white and gold colored boarding passes which had Suites written on them. It felt like we just received a golden ticket. 
JFK Terminal 4
Since we were flying in the Singapore Airlines Suites we were invited to the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse JFK which serves as Virgin Atlantic's JFK airport lounge. The lounge is located on the upper level of Terminal 4 between gates A4 and A5 next to the Air India Maharaja and Emirates lounges.
International Airline Lounges Sign JFK Terminal 4
On our way to the lounge we spotted the A380 which was going to be our ride to Frankfurt then on to Singapore. We were in awe by the size and design of the aircraft which had a hump like a whale.
Singapore Airlines A380
Access and Hours
All Virgin Atlantic lounges worldwide including the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse JFK are temporarily closed due the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to COVID-19 this lounge was open daily 4:15-7:15 am and 2:30-10:30pm. This lounge was accessible to a number of passengers including the following passengers:
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse JFK Entrance
Decor, Amenities, and Seating
My first impression of the JFK Clubhouse was not a positive one. I found the seating and decor to be dated. The majority of couches and seating in the lounge were worn and in need of refresh. Despite this poor first impression I did like the mood lighting and hip music playing in the lounge which felt very on brand for Virgin Atlantic. The JFK Clubhouse is much larger than the Washington Dulles Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse and at the center is a large bar flanked by funky seating and a pool table. 
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse JFK
In addition to the funky seating near the bar the lounge also had strange wallpaper with tractors and apples on it. In general, I found the lounge's decor to be too funky for me.
 Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse JFK Wallpaper
Near the windows facing the tarmac was a dining area and additional couches. When we first entered the lounge it was fairly empty, however, as the night went on and the boarding times approached for multiple Virgin Atlantic flights the lounge filled up. Very few people were seated in the dining room and instead most people were seated on the various couches and chairs. We decided to spend our time in seated on a brown leather couch near the windows with a view of the tarmac including the Virgin Atlantic planes. Something we found really annoying was the lack of power plugs. It was hard to find plugs and they were not nearly as accessible as the Delta SkyClub DCA. This was ironic since the Delta SkyClub DCA only serves domestic passengers and this was an international business passenger lounge. This pointed to the need for a renovation. One interesting seating option was a Herman Miller chair. I had never heard of this type of chair but Christina noticed it walking around the lounge. This chair costs around $5,000 and it seemed to be occupied the vast majority of the time we were in the lounge. When I saw the chair was free for a few minutes I decided to try it out. It felt very comfortable but I still didn't think it is worth $5,000.
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse JFK Seating
The lounge also had several amenities including a wellness spa which offered some complimentary treatments for Virgin Atlantic passengers along with paid treatments for all passengers. Since we were flying Singapore Airlines we didn't have access to the complimentary treatments and decided not to pay for any treatments. The lounge also had a small business area with several computers and printers. Additionally, about half of the bathrooms had showers that were stocked with Cowshed amenities. These bathrooms were dirty and needed repairs.
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse JFK Bathroom
Food and Drinks
The Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse JFK serves restaurant style a la carte meals and drinks including non-alcoholic drinks, beer, wine, champagne, and spirits. When we sat down on the sofa we were immediately greeted by a very friendly server who asked us if we wanted anything to drink. Christina asked for cocktail recommendations and the server recommended we get some tequila cocktails which were a special for Cinco de Mayo. We both took her up on her offer and we loved the creative drinks including the Pink Slipper which had Codigo 1530 Tequila, Rose Wine, agave syrup, and lemon. 
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse JFK Cinco de Mayo Cocktail Menu
The service in the lounge was fantastic and we leaned heavily on our server's recommendations with the exception of any spicy food she recommended. Next up we ordered the ribs which I must say were the best dish I have had in any airport lounge.
Dried Rubbed Beef Spare Ribs
Without us asking our server sent over croquets and a salad. The croquets were great while the salad was okay. I thought the salad we had earlier in the day from the Delta SkyClub DCA was better.
Croquets and Pink Slipper Cocktail
Our server asked us if we wanted anymore food and when we said yes, she ordered us a 50/50 burger which was half beef and half chicken. This was the first time I had such a burger and I only ended up getting to try the chicken half since Christina liked the beef half so much she ate it before I could try it. The burger also came with fries on the side but the best part was the BBQ sauce which came with the fries. The sauce was sweet and we really liked it.
50/50 Burger and Fries
For dessert we ordered the pumpkin pie, Christina's favorite, and a muffin. After this we were stuffed and stopped ordering food and instead turned to champagne for the rest of our time in the lounge. The Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse JFK served Lanson Black Label champagne which was lovely. We realized that we both really appreciate good champagne and that would be our go to drink on our honeymoon.
Lanson Black Label Champagne
The food and drinks at the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse JFK were very impressive featuring a wide variety of options, amazing service, and five-star restaurant quality. Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse JFK food and drink service really impressed me and I found it to be the best offering of food and drinks I have ever had at any airport lounge.
Take Away The Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse JFK had the best food, drinks, and service of any airport lounge I have ever visited. Despite its dated decor, lack of power plugs, and unimpressive seating I would hesitate to visit the lounge again. Passengers taking off in the Singapore Airlines Suites from JFK have a reason to get to the airport early. I really hope the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse JFK access continues after COVID-19 pandemic has ended.
1 Comment
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 Overview
I found my first Delta CRJ-900 First Class experience to be average. Pros-Friendly Gate Agents, Well Placed Power Plugs, Impressive Amenities, Fast Baggage Service Cons-Limited Storage, Poor Sparkling Wine, Weak Snack Selection, Subpar JFK Arrival Experience First Class Honeymoon Trip Report First Class Honeymoon Overview Delta Sky Club DCA Review Delta CRJ 900 DCA-JFK First Class Review Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse New York JFK Review Singapore Airlines A380 JFK-FRA Suites Review Singapore Airlines A380 FRA-SIN Suites Review JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach Review Singapore Surprise Singapore Airlines 737-800 SIN-MLE Business Class Review The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort Review Etihad Airways A320 MLE-AUH Business Class Review Al Maha, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa Dubai Review The St. Regis Abu Dhabi Review Exploring Abu Dhabi Etihad Apartments A380 AUH-JFK Apartments Review
Boarding
We left the SkyClub DCA in high spirits and with a great impression of Delta which we hoped would continue once we were onboard. We got to the gate early and it was empty. When boarding started it was 3 minutes after the scheduled boarding time and since we were sitting in First Class we were among the first people to board. I loved being able to board first and settle into my seat. However, in the COVID-19 era I imagine I would also appreciate the option to board last and hang out in the lounge. As we boarded the plane the check-in agents were very friendly something that was not always the case on American Airlines. 
Boarding DCA Gate 18
Plane and Seats
This flight was on a CRJ-900 regional jet, operated by Delta affiliate Endeavor, with 12 First Class seats arraigned in a 1-2 configuration. We were seated together in the bulkhead seats 1 C and 1 D on the right side of the plane. These seats had approximately 37 inches of pitch and 20 inches of width. Since we were in the bulkhead there was more limited legroom than the other First Class seats but I thought the legroom on this plane was still sufficient. One of the downsides to First Class in the CRJ-900 is that the bathrooms are too small for me stand up straight. This is an annoying feature on many regional jets but wasn't as a big of a deal on this approximately 50 minute flight. Another annoying part of the First Class experience on this plane was the lack of storage space. There wasn't enough storage space to store both the bottle of water at my seat and my noise cancelling headphones. As we took off we waived goodbye to our home city Washington D.C. which we wouldn't see for three weeks. 
View of Washington D.C. Metro Area
Amenities and In-Flight Entertainment
Upon boarding we were greeted by several amenities at our seats. These included a blanket and a pillow. This was the first time I had ever seen a pillow on a domestic First Class flight. Also waiting at our seats were small plastic bottles of water. I was very impressed by the amenities provided by Delta especially considering that this was a sub-one hour flight. These amenities blew away the CRJ-900 First Class flight I had on American Airlines were there weren't even blankets in First Class on a three hour flight. 
CRJ-900 First Class Seats
Another downside to the CRJ-900 regional planes is that unlike Delta's mainline planes this plane had no seat back in-flight entertainment (IFE). Delta did offer in-seat power and streaming IFE on this flight. We were so excited about our trip that we didn't even bother watching the streaming IFE. A really good feature of the seat was two 110 volt power plugs. We ended up using these plugs to charge our devices and I loved the placement which I found to be much better than the awkward below seat placement on many planes.
In-Seat Power Plugs
Food and Drinks
The food and drink service started shortly after we sat down with a pre-departure beverage. I chose the sparkling wine so I could compare the difference in taste between the other sparkling wine and champagne offerings available later in the day. Christina passed and said she was waiting for the good stuff at our next stop. She was smart to wait as the sparkling wine was really bad. Shortly after takeoff the flight attendant came around with the snack basket. I found the snack selection to be weak with just a handful more snacks that economy. The snack selection was so weak that I ended up selecting Biscoff Cookies the same snack I would have received in economy. I can say this is one area where American Airlines did better pre-COVID-19 since they had much larger variety of snacks on short flights. One interesting thing I noticed about Delta's service is that every drink they served was handed over on a tray. I liked this tray service and think it made the experience feel more refined. 
Biscoff Cookie
Service
While I have been very impressed by Delta's in-flight service in the past there wasn't much to note about the service on this flight. I appreciated the pre-departure beverage but I had come to expect that on Delta. Generally the service on this flight wasn't bad just unremarkable. Arrival at JFK We arrived about 20 minutes ahead of the scheduled arrival and upon landing we got the first glimpse of our ride to Singapore. Out of the window we could see the Singapore A380 parked next to a Virgin Atlantic plane. Our excitement grew immensely as we saw the giant plane which was going to be our ride for almost 24 hours. 
View of Singapore A380 from JFK Runway
After deplaning we had to take a shuttle bus to the terminal. Generally, I don't like having to a take a shuttle especially if I have a tight connection and I hope this is part of the experience Delta eliminates in future JFK renovations. However, the big upside of doing so today was we got a chance to see many of the big planes at JFK up close. This included a Qatar Airways plane which was taxing during our shuttle ride. I really enjoyed this as a travel lover. We headed to the baggage claim to retrieve our bags since we were booked on separate reservation for our next flight on Singapore Airlines and impressively our bags were out in five minutes. I really love how fast bags are available after a Delta flight.
View of Qatar Airways plane from JFK Runway
Take Away
I found my first flight in Delta's CRJ-900 First Class to be average. I thought the boarding experience was smooth, the gate agents were friendly, liked the placement and availability of power plugs, the baggage service was very fast, and I was very impressed by the amenities provided by Delta on such a short flight. However, Delta could improve the CRJ-900 flight experience by adding additional storage, improving the sparkling wine, improving the weak snack selection, and improving the arrival experience by not requiring a shuttle. 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.
Lounge Overview
This lounge featured comfortable seating, widely available power outlets, a wide selection of food, terrific decor with odes to and amazing views of Washington D.C., and was the best domestic airport lounge I had ever visited. Pros-Terrific Local Decor, Tranquil Atmosphere, Amazing City Views, Wide Variety of Food Options, Wide Selection of Complimentary Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Drinks, Comfortable Leather Seating, Widely Available Power Outlets, Private Bathrooms Cons- Bland Food First Class Honeymoon Trip Report First Class Honeymoon Overview Delta Sky Club DCA Review Delta CRJ 900 DCA-JFK First Class Review Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse New York JFK Review Singapore Airlines A380 JFK-FRA Suites Review Singapore Airlines A380 FRA-SIN Suites Review JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach Review Singapore Surprise Singapore Airlines 737-800 SIN-MLE Business Class Review The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort Review Etihad Airways A320 MLE-AUH Business Class Review Al Maha, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa Dubai Review The St. Regis Abu Dhabi Review Exploring Abu Dhabi Etihad Apartments A380 AUH-JFK Apartments Review 
DCA Terminal B
Location and Check-In
Christina and I arrived at Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) Terminal B in a jubilant mood as we were very excited to start our First Class Honeymoon. This was our first time flying Delta Airlines First Class and our first-time visiting a Delta Sky Club. Because we were flying in Delta First Class we used the Sky Priority check in which was very fast. The one hiccup we had was confusion over how to tag our bags. The Delta agents placed the bag tags on our bags themselves instead of letting the machine do it as we were used at American Airlines. It will be interesting to see if this process continues as Delta takes precautions in the post-COVID-19 era. We breezed through security using TSA pre-check and as we exited security for gates 10-22 we saw the sign for the Delta Sky Club. The Delta Sky Club DCA is located on Level 3 of Terminal B (Gates 10-22). To enter the lounge, we took the elevator up one level and the lounge is right in front of the elevator. 
Elevator to Delta SkyClub DCA
Access and Hours
Delta Sky Clubs are accessible on a unlimited complimentary basis to a number of passengers including:
Delta SkyClub DCA Entrance Sign
Sky Club Decor and Seating
The Delta Sky Club DCA reopened in 2018 after a significant renovation and takes up 9000 square feet. Upon walking into the Delta Sky Club DCA Christina and I were immediately blown away by the decor which featured odes to Washington D.C. To the right of the entrance is a stunning Cherry Blossom chandelier the most impressive piece of decor in the lounge. All over the lounge there were touches of Washington D.C. including pictures of the Lincoln Memorial and the U.S. Capitol. 
Cherry Blossom Chandelier
The lounge also featured amazing views of Washington D.C. through floor to ceiling windows to the right of the entrance. Through the windows we could see the airplanes on the tarmac, the Washington Monument, and the U.S. Capitol. This lounge gave a clear sense of place which is often lacking in airport lounges.
Washington D.C. View
Another thing which really impressed me about the lounge was just how tranquil the atmosphere was compared to the hectic airport terminal below. As I have said previously one important part of an airport lounge is the respite from the chaos of the terminal which it provides. On this point the Delta Sky Club DCA shines.
Delta Sky Club DCA
This lounge was much emptier and substantially quieter than the two American Airlines Admirals Clubs I had experienced at DCA. I think this was driven by the fact that Delta has fewer flights out of DCA, we were traveling on a Wednesday, and that the lounge seemed to be primarily full of business travelers. Another reason the lounge was quieter is that the televisions in the lounge could only be accessed through the Tunity app which I thought was a great feature. One of the few noises made in the lounge were boarding announcements which I don't remember American Airlines making in Admirals Clubs.
Delta SkyClub DCA
The lounge also had a wide variety of modern and comfortable leather seating. One of my pet peeves with airport lounges is the lack of sufficient functioning power plugs. Here the Delta Sky Club DCA shined again. Power plugs were available at almost every seat in the lounge and every plug I tried was working. My favorite seats were the ones next to the windows. These seats had high leather backs which made them more private and they featured amazing views of the tarmac and Washington D.C.
Christina in Lounge Seating
One last feature of the lounge which I appreciated was a large private bathroom which I found to be well lite and clean, something I can't say for all airport lounge bathrooms I have visited. The bathroom also offered Malin+Goetz soap and hand lotion, which are also offered onboard Delta, and is a brand I really like.
Sky Club DCA Bathroom Amenities
Food and Drinks
There were a wide variety of food and drinks available when we checked out the Delta Sky Club DCA. The lounge rotated their offerings seasonally and I never have had same dish offered as a part of the menu during multiple subsequent visits. We arrived around 11 am during the transition between breakfast and the all-day menu. I will start by saying that the Delta Sky Club DCA blew American Airline's Admirals Club food options away both in terms of selection and quality. With that said I found the Delta offerings to be a mixed bag with some being really good and others bland. With some of the dishes I felt that Delta tried too hard to make complex dishes instead of nailing the basics. For breakfast I had eggs, which were really bad, with bacon bits, which were okay. 
Delta SkyClub DCA Breakfast
The all day menu was a very healthy affair with the choice of a smoked turkey sandwich with mustard cream, cucumbers, and arugula along with a mushroom sandwich with spinach, and mozzarella baguette. The menu also offered fresh vegetables, including carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, and celery. To accompany these items there were a variety of offerings including seasonal green salad, roasted cauliflower, kale caesar salad, and a quinoa salad. Finally, as a special offering the lounge had Pho, which was another nice local touch because of the Washington D.C. area's large Vietnamese population. I tried the quinoa salad which was great and the smoked turkey sandwich which was boring. The sandwich really needed more mayo and higher quality sandwich meat. Christina choose the Pho and found it to be bland. She felt it lacked sufficient seasoning. For desert we tried one of the mini-cupcakes and I have only one word to describe it, amazing!
Delta Sky Club DCA All-Day Menu
The lounge also offered a wide variety of complimentary alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks along with premium wine and spirits available for sale. The non-alcoholic drinks included water, unsweetened ice tea, orange juice, cranberry juice, Starbucks coffee, and a wide variety of sodas available from a soda machine. I really liked that Delta had the option to select from a machine which made it easy to refill, unlike the Admirals Clubs at DCA where typically I had to ask a bartender.
Delta SkyClub DCA Non-Alcoholic Drinks
In terms of alcoholic drinks, the lounge offered two different beers, four wines, and six spirits. The lounge also offered premium wine and spirits for sale using cash or SkyMiles. I tried the unsweetened ice tea and thought it was disgusting while Christina tried the Starbucks coffee which she thought was okay. Even though I didn't like the unsweetened ice tea I was able to try a variety of other drinks which I did like and made me really appreciate the lounge's wide drink selection.
Delta Sky Club DCA Bar
Take Away
The Delta Sky Club DCA left an amazing positive impression on me. This was the best domestic lounge I had ever visited. The lounge delivered stunning views of Washington. D.C., terrific local decor, and a tranquil atmosphere which left me with the feeling that I was at a nice cocktail lounge instead of an airport lounge. It is clear with the Sky Club DCA that Delta is targeting premium business and leisure customers at DCA and this lounge alone is a strong reason to choose Delta over DCA's dominant airline American Airlines. 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.
First Class Honeymoon Trip Report
First Class Honeymoon Overview Delta Sky Club DCA Review Delta CRJ 900 DCA-JFK First Class Review Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse New York JFK Review Singapore Airlines A380 JFK-FRA Suites Review Singapore Airlines A380 FRA-SIN Suites Review JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach Review Singapore Surprise Singapore Airlines 737-800 SIN-MLE Business Class Review The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort Review Etihad Airways A320 MLE-AUH Business Class Review Al Maha, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa Dubai Review The St. Regis Abu Dhabi Review Exploring Abu Dhabi Etihad Apartments A380 AUH-JFK Apartments Review 
Ramon and Christina in Dubai
Introduction
After a lot of planning and saving our miles and points Christina and I embarked on our amazing First Class honeymoon to Asia in May 2019. During our honeymoon we went to Singapore, the Maldives, and Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates(UAE). The goal of this trip was to get to the Maldives, an island nation in the middle of the Indian Ocean. I first heard about the Maldives in the documentary film The Island President in 2012. After being blown away by the beauty of the islands, I committed to one day visiting the Maldives. It wasn't difficult to convince Christina that this beautiful remote island destination should be the place for our honeymoon, that we should fly international First or Business Class, and that we should stopover in Asia since neither one of us had ever been to Asia. The changing political climate in the Maldives which moved closer towards dictatorship as our planning was underway almost led us to go to another destination such as Thailand or the Seychelles. In the end the Maldives held new elections in 2018 and we ended sticking with our original plan to go to the Maldives. The Maldives was even more gorgeous than I had imagined. It was a great place for the seclusion we desired during our Honeymoon. However, some of the places we envisioned just being stopovers also left significant impressions on us. In the case of Singapore it was a very positive impression and it ended up being our favorite city we have every visited together. In the case of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) the impression was negative and we are unlikely to visit again. Booking Flights For our honeymoon we set out well in advance saving all our our miles and points to ensure that we would fly the long haul segments to the Maldives in First Class and all of the shorter segments in Business Class. We also wanted to try out two of the best First Class products in the world for traveling companions; the Singapore Suites and the Etihad Apartments. Both of these products allow traveling companions to connect suites, sleep side by side on beds, and dine together. While I will leave the full details for the reviews I can tell you we were very impressed and neither product disappointed. 
First Class Honeymoon Flight Routing
Singapore Airline's Suites are only on their flagship A380 aircraft. In the United States the airline only use this aircraft to serve New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) via Frankfurt International Airport (FRA). This meant to start off our trip we had to fly from Washington D.C. to New York JFK. For this flight we booked a Delta First Class tickets for 12,000 SkyMiles and $5.60 taxes and fees. You should know that SkyMiles fluctuate in price generally based on the actual cost of the ticket. These tickets were selling for $161.20 each meaning we got a value of 1.03 cents per mile which was a mediocre value for SkyMiles. However, at the time we didn't plan to fly Delta for a while and the overall SkyMiles cost was low so we went ahead and used our SkyMiles.
Delta CRJ 900
For the next leg of the trip in the Singapore Suites the only redemption option was utilizing Singapore Airlines Kris Flyer miles. We booked the tickets from JFK-FRA-Singapore Changi (SIN) for 120,000 Kris Flyer miles and $65.80 SDG (~$49.22 USD) each. These tickets were selling for $8,415.78 USD each meaning we got an amazing value of ~7 cents per mile! For the complete details on how we booked these tickets you can read my post on the booking process here. Since the time we booked these tickets the cost on this route has increased to 132,000 miles per ticket which I believe is still a great value.
 Singapore Airlines A380
To get to the Maldives from Singapore we flew in Business Class on Singapore Airlines affiliate Silk Air since there were no First Class flights available on this route and the timing of the Silk Air flight worked better than the mainline Singapore Airlines flight. For this flight we booked the tickets using 39,000 Kris Flyer miles and $49.80 SDG (~36.88$ USD) in taxes and fees each. These tickets were selling for $1,416 USD each so we got a great value of 3.54 cents per mile.
Silk Air (Singapore Airlines) A320
For our flight from the Maldives to the UAE we chose to flying Etihad from Male Veleana International Airport (MLE) to Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH). Even though we were heading to the Dubai desert for this leg of the trip, we decided to fly into Abu Dhabi because Etihad had a non-stop flight from MLE and we could use our AAdvantage miles. We booked this flight for 30,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles and $51.40 in taxes and fees. These tickets were $1,480 per person meaning we got a great value of 4.76 cents per mile.
Etihad Airways A320
Etihad's Apartments are only on their flagship A380 aircraft and JFK is their only U.S. A380 destination. For this flight we booked the Apartments using 115,000 AAdvantage miles and paid $49.31 in taxes and fees. The tickets were selling for $8,535 meaning we got an amazing value ~7.38 cents per mile. For the complete details on how we booked these tickets you can read my post on the booking process here.
Etihad A380
For the final flight to Washington Regan National (DCA) from JFK we bought two First Class tickets on Delta. We chose Delta because the timing of the flights gave us a buffer in case our Etihad flight was late, the Delta terminals at JFK are near the Etihad's terminal 4, and we could access the SkyClub during our wait. We booked these two First Class tickets for $197.30 each. We each earned 855 SkyMiles, 750 Medallion Qualifying Miles, and 171 Medallion Qualifying Dollars.
Booking Hotels
For our Honeymoon we chose to stay only at Marriott luxury hotels since Christina has Marriott Platinum Status. In Singapore there are numerous Marriott hotels bookable with points including The St. Regis Singapore and the W Senosta Cove. However, for our trip we decided to book the JW Marriott Singapore because of its central location. We booked the JW Marriott Deluxe Room for $436 SDG (~$322 USD) per night. Christina earned 50,082 total Marriott points. 
Delta 717
JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach
Marriott has multiple luxury properties in the Maldives including the W Maldives and the JW Marriott Maldives. However, for our stay in the Maldives we chose to stay at The St. Regis Maldives Volmmuli which is considered one of the best points hotel in the world and one of the best hotels overall in the Maldives. This hotel is located on a secluded atol about a one hour seaplane ride from Male, Maldives. We booked the Garden Villa for five nights at 60,000 points per night with the fifth night free, for total of 240,000 points, along with $1,450 in taxes and fees including the cost of the roundtrip seaplane ride. The cost of the Garden Villa was $1,473 excluding taxes and fees meaning we got a fantastic value of 3.7 cents per Marriott point. Please note that in the intervening time Marriott has implemented category 8 and peak and off-peak pricing. This means that the price of an award redemption at The St. Regis Maldives can range from 70,000-100,000 points. We also booked this reservation as a part of Marriott Points Advance which allowed us to lock in the price of the room before it increased. However, in the intervening time Marriott has Points Advance to only allow the member to hold a room and not lock in the price.
The St. Regis Maldives
Marriott has a large number of luxury hotels in Dubai including the Ritz Carlton Dubai and the W Dubai-The Palm. However, we decided to stay at Al Maha located in the desert about an hour outside Dubai because we wanted the seclusion of the desert experience and looked forward to enjoying the all inclusive food and activities. We booked a one bedroom Bedouin Suite for 60,000 Marriott points per night, for a total of 180,000 points, plus 60 AED (~17 USD) in taxes and fees for the whole stay. The cost of the garden villa was $870 per night excluding taxes and fees meaning we got a great value of ~1.5 cents per Marriott point.
Al Maha Dubai
Finally, for our stay in Abu Dhabi there were a number of Marriott luxury hotels available including The Edition Abu Dhabi and The St. Regis Sadiyaat Island Resort. However, we decided to stay at The St. Regis Abu Dhabi so we would have an opportunity to easily explore the city. We booked the Superior Room for $590 AED per night (~$142.33 USD). Christina earned 6,773 Marriott points.
The St. Regis Abu Dhabi
Summary
We had an amazing time on our First Class Honeymoon! We can't wait to share the photos, videos, stories from Singapore, the Maldives, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi! We felt very blessed to have had this experience and hope sharing some of our adventures will inspire you to travel when it safe to do so again or just bring a light hearted story for you to enjoy during your day. Let the First Class Honeymoon trip report begin! 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.
Hotel Overview
This resort makes it easy to relax with ocean views from every room, multiple pools and hot tubs with stunning ocean views, a wide variety of fresh food and good drinks. Pros- Stylish Airport Transportation, Good Elite Recognition, Great Ocean Front Location, Ocean Views and Hot Tubs in every room, Champagne Welcome Amenity, In-Room Tablet, Wide Variety of Dining Options, Amazing Seafood, Good Alcoholic Drinks, Multiple Pools and Hot Tubs, Swim-Up Bar, Complimentary Room Service, Friendly Service, Hard-Working Staff Cons- Poor Concierge Service, Chaotic Airport Pickup, No Complimentary Water Sports, Awkward Check-Out Process Relaxing in Cancun Report Relaxing in Cancun Overview Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Washington Dulles Review Delta 737-800 IAD-CUN Flight Review Hyatt Zilara Cancun Review Location The Hyatt Zilara Cancun, which opened in 2013, is located in the Hotel Zone about a 20 minute drive from the Cancun International Airport and 15 minutes from downtown Cancun. Zilara is Hyatt's adult-only all-inclusive brand which in 2020 has 3 locations: 1) Cancun Mexico, 2) Montego Bay, Jamaica, and 3) Cap Cana, Dominican Republic all of which are owned and Managed by Playa Hotels and Resorts. I found the location to be good because it was directly on the beach but still close to the nightlife in downtown Cancun. 
Map of Hyatt Zilara Cancun Location
Airport Transportation
About one week before our arrival we reached out to the resort to schedule airport transportation to our hotel. We were quoted a cost of $90 one way or $150 roundtrip. Because we had a group of 5 guys this came out to a reasonable cost of $30 per person which we decided was a good deal. Upon exiting the arrivals area about Cancun International Airport (CUN) we were greeted by a chaotic scene. Surrounding us were at least a hundred different people aggressively trying to sell airport transportation services or pickup people with prearranged transportation. As we waded through this crowd of people and looked at all of the signs we did not see a sign with my name or the Hyatt Zilara sign. After about another 15 minutes we spotted the driver who apologized that he wasn't waiting for us upon arrival but explained that there were no parking spots available. We waited for about another 20 minutes until the final member of our group arrived and then we headed towards the hotel. Our transportation to the hotel was a luxurious black Lincoln Navigator with space for six passengers and a driver. When we entered the SUV our driver offered us a cold towel and cold water. We really appreciated this after standing in the hot sun for almost an hour. The luxurious ride was a nice start to our Hyatt Zilara experience, after a poor airport pickup experience at CUN. CUN really needs to improve the airport pickup experience and I would strongly recommend any larger groups staying at the Hyatt Zilara Cancun to arraign transportation ahead of time to avoid the chaos of the airport pickup. 
Hyatt Zilara Cancun Lincoln Navigator
Check-In
Hyatt Zilara Cancun Driveway
Upon arriving at the resort all our suitcases were taken and would be delivered to our rooms later.
Hyatt Zilara Entrance
As we entered the resort we were very impressed by the decor, which reminded me of a hacienda with an interior courtyard stain glass ceiling, and the atmosphere of the resort felt very cool. We headed to the standard check-in area and after recognizing that I was a Hyatt Discoverist, the lowest level tier of World of Hyatt elite status, we were ushered to a private check-in area for World of Hyatt elites.
Standard Check-In Area
All of the members of our group were shown to seats in this area and were offered champagne. I was again greeted as a Hyatt Discoverist and was told that I had been upgraded from an Junior Suite to an Junior Ocean View Suite. The other two Junior Suite Double Rooms we booked were also on upper floors with better ocean views. This was the first time I had stayed at a Hyatt as an elite and I was impressed by the Hyatt elite recognition. Overall, I was very impressed by the elite recognition and I felt we were treated like kings.
Junior Ocean View Suite Upon entering the suite I was again impressed that I was greeted with a welcome amenity of Champagne and macrons which I assumed was due to my Hyatt elite status. The champagne was good and the macrons were delicious. The continued elite recognition left me really impressed by Hyatt. 
Welcome Amenity
My Junior Ocean View Suite was a 653 square foot room with a king bed at the center facing the ocean. The bed was comfortable and had an impressive headboard with a mirror in the center.
Junior Suite King Bed
Near the sliding glass door was a table with two chairs, where my welcome amenity sat, and a flat screen television.
Junior Suite King Room
On both sides of the bed were side tables and on the right side was a desk with a wooden chair. At the foot of the bed was an ottoman which I really liked using to change my shoes.
In-Room Tablet
A really impressive feature of the resort was the tablet next to my bed which reminded me of the Aria. This tablet contained the schedule of the all of the resort's activities, information on all of the restaurants, and most impressive was the ability to order room service from the tablet. I really appreciate it when hotels embrace technology to improve the guest experience and I can say that Hyatt Zilara Cancun did just that.
Mini-Fridge
The room also had a dresser near the entrance which contained a mini-fridge and had a Nespresso machine on top. The mini-fridge came stocked with juice, beer, soda, and water. While I could order whatever I wanted at the restaurants or via room service I still appreciated having some beverages in the room in case I got thirsty.
In-Room Hot Tub
One very impressive feature of this resort is that all of the rooms contain an in-room hot tub. While I didn't get to use it one of my traveling companions who did use the hot tub said it was really nice.
Sink
The bathroom was split into two with one half having a sink, shelving, and a closet that contained a safe. Inside the closet was an iron, ironing board, and two robes.
Shower
The second half had a room with a walk-in shower, toilet, and phone. A cool feature of the shower was a window which allowed the person showering to have an ocean view. I really appreciated these great design touches.
"Magic Box"
Another impressive feature of the room was something the resort called the "magic box". It was located next to the entrance of the room and allows room service delivery and return with complete privacy. When room service was delivered a light turned on and you could retrieve the room service from the magic box. When we were done you simply returned the empty dishes to the magic box.
Balcony
I was really impressed that all 310 junior suites and suites at the Hyatt Zilara Cancun had at least a partial ocean view and a balcony. I loved the balcony in my room and it had a table and two chairs and I found the ocean view from my room to be spectacular. However, I didn't notice a significant difference in the view since all of the rooms face the ocean and my room and my traveling companions' rooms were on the same floor. The balcony also had a hammock which could be strung up. I didn't try it but my traveling companions said it was lovely.
Ocean View
The only part of my room I didn't like was the location. I loved the good view and being on a higher floor. However, I actually ended up finding the upgrade annoying because my suite was located at the other end of the resort far from my traveling companions. This meant more privacy but also long walks every time I needed to go back to my room. Overall, I was left very impressed by my Junior King Ocean View Suite. Having a private hot tub, a king bed, balcony, and ocean view made this a great room.
Dining One of the most important aspects of an all-inclusive resort is the dining and this is an area where the Hyatt Zilara shined. This was my first stay ever at an all inclusive and I was unsure what to expect especially when it came to food and drinks. The dining options at the resort left me very impressed. Hyatt Zilara Cancun had a wide array of dining and drinking options with six restaurants, one cafe, four bars, and 24-hours a day complimentary room service. During our two night stay we were able to try all of these dining options with the exceptions of La Adelita Cantina, which is only open for dinner, and Chef's Plate, which is the only dining option requiring a reservation and only accessible to guests stay in full suites. Pelicanos The first dining option we checked out was Pelicanos which is located next to the main pool and overlooks the ocean. Pelicanos offered stunning ocean views and a relaxed setting for a meal. Pelicanos is a Caribbean fusion restaurant with a heavy focus on fresh seafood. During our stay it was only open for breakfast and lunch. Since our stay its hours have expanded to include dinner. 
Pelicanos
Some of the highlights of my meals at Pelicanos were the grilled grouper, the shrimp cocktail, and the chocolate platanos (plantains). The grouper was one of the best I have ever had which is a strong statement coming from someone who grew up in the Caribbean.
Grouper
Pelicanos was our most visited dining option during our stay because of the good drinks, stunning views, and fresh seafood.
Shrimp Cocktail
Marie Marie
For dinner on the first night we went to Marie Marie. This is a gourmet Mexican restaurant which is only open for dinner. The restaurant shares a building with Cantina La Adelita and is located in a more secluded area of the resort near the outdoor hot tubs. 
Marie Marie Entrance
The restaurant had a very romantic atmosphere with dark mood lighting, a fountain, and candlesticks in the shape of a heart.
Marie Marie Decorations
I found the beef tacos at Marie Marie to be okay and I thought the ones I had in Mexico City were much better. However, the pork ribs I ordered fell off of the bone and were amazing while the flan was small but sweet and tasty.
Pork Ribs
The service at Marie Marie was outstanding. The servers checked on our table often and brought out additional appetizers and drinks that we didn't even order. Overall, I found Marie Marie to have a great atmosphere particularly suited for couples but my traveling companions and I still enjoyed the ambience, delicious food, and good service.
Marie Marie Dining Room
Spice
On our second morning at the resort we had breakfast at Spice the resort's buffet which is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I didn't find the breakfast buffet at Spice to be impressive. 
Spice Brunch
While the buffet had many options including some Mexican dishes such as tacos, frijoles, quesadillas, and Conchas most of the food was American cuisine. This included pancakes, toast, and eggs. I found the American food I tried including pancakes and an omelet to bland. The most impressive part of the buffet was the fresh fruit and fruit juice station which included mango, guava, and orange juice.
Spice Breakfast
Asiana
During the second night of our stay we had dinner at Asiana the resort's Asian restaurant focused on gourmet contemporary Asian Cuisine. The restaurant is located in a more secluded area on the side of the resort not facing the ocean near Marie Marie. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner and has two levels. 
Asiana Entrance
The top level, where we ate, served a full menu including sushi while the bottom level had a hibachi grill with a cooking show but required a reservation. We were not told about the cooking show at check-in so did not make a reservation but still enjoyed our dinner at Asiana. I ordered the Chicken Pad Thai and Korean Beef. The Chicken Pad Thai was okay but the Korean Beef was delicious. I loved the sauce the Korean Beff was soaked in. Asiana also had a menu offering Asian drinks including Sake. My traveling companions and I really enjoyed the Sake. The service at this restaurant was fast but indifferent. I liked Asiana but would probably opt for the lower level hibachi cooking experience if I returned to the Hyatt Zilara Cancun.
Asiana
Room Service
We ordered room service multiple times during our stay at the resort. I found room service to be a great feature because it was complimentary and convenient. Room service was very easy to order through the tablets in each room. I loved the use of technology to streamline and simplify the process. 
In-Room Room Service Odering
The only downsides to the room service were it did not allow the ordering of alcohol and it was slow. The first time we ordered it took 40 minutes. The highlight of my room service orders was the breakfast I ordered on our final morning in Cancun. It was very relaxing to order room service while I sat looking out over the ocean. The salmon omelet with fresh guava juice was very good and capped off my great dining experience at the resort.
Room Service Breakfast
Casa del Cafe
The resort also had a cafe called Casa del Cafe which had coffee, hot chocolate, and numerous deserts including a large variety of ice cream. It is located just off of the lobby and is open from 7am-10 pm. 
Case del Cafe Sign
I loved having access to ice cream and hot chocolate for most of the day. Also, like most of the resort it offered stunning ocean views and we sometimes sat on the couches drinking our warm drinks or eating ice cream and staring at the ocean.
Ice Cream
Trades Winds Swim Up Bar and Tequliria Beach Lounge
One my favorite features of the resort is the swim up bar Trade Winds located in the same building as Pelicanos in the infinity pool. The staff here was friendly and the drinks were very good. I especially loved the mango margaritas. I really appreciated that the resort did not water down the drinks which was something I feared staying at an all-inclusive. 
Trade Winds Swim Up Bar
The resort also has a beach bar called Tequliria Beach Lounge. I checked out the bar once and didn't find the tequila collection or drinks to be any better than what was served at other bars around the resort. I would only recommend visiting this bar if the other bars are busy or if you are already at the beach.
Time Out Time Out is the resort's 24 hour lounge. The lounge serves drinks and appetizers from 11 am-11 pm. It featured numerous televisions showing sports most of the day. It also had games such as pool, table tennis, checkers, and poker. During our visit it was under renovation so the bathrooms and the courtyard were closed. Timeout was never full when we went inside and we did not spend a lot of time here but it is a good option if you want to watch a particular game, play a game, or want some down time. 
Time Out Sign
Lobby Bar
The Lobby Bar was located just off the lobby behind Pelicanos. The bar was a fun place to hang out especially in the evenings when it filled up with other guests. In this space there were televisions with sports on and the area also hosted a lot of the nightly entertainment. 
Lobby Bar
Activities
The activities at the Hyatt Zilara make it clear that this a place to relax. If you are a person who wants to be very active during your vacation this is not the spot for you. The resort has multiple pools, a beautiful beach multiple hot tubs, and numerous daily activities. Two of the activities we did not check out were the Sky Gym and the Zen Spa. The gym looked nice from the outside and the spa offered massages with a view of the beach. 
Sky Gym
Beach
The beach at the Hyatt Zilara Cancun is beautiful but the ocean is very rough and not pleasant to swim in. The beach does have cabanas which are complimentary and do not need to be reserved. We went swimming in the ocean one time during our stay. What was also really disappointing was that the resort did not offer any complimentary water sports such as kayaking. I assumed this was because of safety concerns due to the very choppy water near the beach.
Hyatt Zilara Cancun Beach
Pools and Hot Tubs
Where we spent the majority of our time during the day was in the pool and in the hot tubs. The resort has two outdoor pools and multiple hot tubs. The first pool is a lap pool located next to Pelicanos and the second pool is an infinity pool also located next to the Pelicanos. On our first day the resort lap pool had a foam party which looked like a ton of fun and the pools were definitely the center of activity during the day. Both of the pools featured cabanas which were also complimentary and did not require reservations. Staff constantly passed by the cabanas to see if guests wanted anything to drink. I really liked that these cabanas came at no additional cost since so many resorts use this an opportunity for an upcharge. 
Infinity Pool
There were multiple hot tubs but we liked the ones that were more private located on the side of the resort not facing the ocean. These hot tubs were fun because for the vast majority of the time we were the only guests using them.
Glow Party and Michael Jackson Show
The resort had nightly entertainment and during our stay the two shows were a glow party and a Michael Jackson show. The glow party was held on the first night of our stay in one of the resort's ballroom. The resort did a good job turning the ballroom into a fun glow in the dark party. 
Glow Party
The party had many interesting decorations and characters. It seemed the staff were going for a trance dance party look. Overall, we really had fun at this party and I think the staff did a good job making sure the scenery was fun and the drinks were easily accessible.
Glow Party
The Michael Jackson show was held in the lobby during our second night. I thought the dancers in the show were very good but found the show itself to be short. I also thought it was distracting that the resort left the televisions on during the show. After the show ended the lobby bar had live music and became a hub of activity.
Michael Jackson Show
Service
The service at the Hyatt Zilara Cancun was great. The staff in the restaurants and at the bars seemed to go out of there way to make sure that guests had fun. For example, on our first day at the resort the champagne welcome amenity in my friend's room was already hot so he called down to ask for another bottle and the staff were happy to accommodate his request and sent up a cold bottle of champagne. Also, during our dinner at Marie Marie the waiter sent over appetizers that we hadn't ordered for us to sample and made sure that the drinks kept flowing every time we were empty. The staff at the pool were also great. It seemed that they were everywhere and any time a member of our party needed another drink they were ready to serve us. What I found most surprising about the service is that all of resort fees and gratuity are already included in the rate so staff were unlikely to get additional tips but were very quick and hard working. The biggest service downfall at this resort was the concierge service. About a week before our stay I reached out to the resort asking about their airport transportation options and any recommendations on nightlife in Cancun and I never heard a response. So about two days later I ended up having to call the resort to arrange the transportation. When we checked in at the resort I asked the staff member about nightlife options in Cancun and was given the generic answer of Coco Bongo but no other options. The resort really needs to step up their concierge services including responding to guest in a timely manner and providing additional information about activities outside of the resort. One additional item to note is the awkward check-out process at the resort. While many resorts allow you to leave the resort without formally checking out, this resort required a slip of paper saying you had checked out before you could leave the property. Take Away The Hyatt Zilara Cancun has a great location, impressive design elements, and all of the rooms have amazing ocean views which makes it easy to enjoy yourself in Cancun. The resort also features a wide array of fresh and delicious food and good drinks in addition to multiple pools with stunning ocean views and relaxing hot tubs. The staff is friendly, hardworking, and constantly makes sure guests are enjoying themselves. All of this added up to make the Hyatt Zilara Cancun one of the best resorts I have stayed at and I would strongly recommend staying here if you are looking for a relaxing resort vacation with beautiful ocean views. 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 Overview This non-stop Delta flight from the Washington D.C. area which has now moved from IAD to BWI provided a comfortable and convenient ride to Cancun, Mexico. Pros-Non-Stop Service to Cancun, Newly Upholstered and Comfortable Seat, Friendly Crew Cons-Slow Boarding Process, Old IFE System, Limited IFE Selection, No USB Power Relaxing in Cancun Report Relaxing in Cancun Overview Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Washington Dulles Review Delta 737-800 IAD-CUN Flight Review Hyatt Zilara Cancun Review Boarding After a visit to the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse my traveling companions and I took a long walk from the lounge down to our departure gate B78 at the far end of the B terminal. As we walked I was happy to be traveling with two friends even though it was strange to be traveling without Christina. We were traveling during the federal government shutdown and there had been reports of long lines at security around the country but all of us made it quickly through security. On the way to our gate I ran into an alumnus of my college who was headed with her family to vacation in the Cancun area. It was nice to randomly run into someone I knew at the airport.  Dulles Gate B78 At check-in the flight was full in economy but ended up having two empty First Class seats even after all upgrades were processed. This was not surprising because neither Dulles or Cancun are Delta hubs and Cancun is primarily a leisure destination making this a rare non-hub to hub flight for Delta. Since I flew this flight in the winter of 2019 Delta moved the flight from IAD to Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI) which makes sense since BWI is a more leisure focused airport. I was annoyed that I did not have Delta status since I could have easily ended up with a First Class upgrade. Because of the empty First Class cabin I was offered a $169 First Class upgrade at check-in which I would have gladly accepted if I was flying with Christina. However, I declined it since I was flying without her and my friends were flying in economy. Despite the 7:50 am boarding time boarding did not begin until 8:10 am because of large number of passport checks and gate-checked bags. Despite the late start boarding was completed in 25 minutes and economy ended up going out with empty seats which I assumed was due to passengers missing the flight.  Boeing 737-800 Plane and Seats On this flight I was flying a Boeing 737-800 arranged in a standard 3-3 economy configuration with approximately 17 inches of width and 31 inches of pitch. As I headed to my seat 20C, a standard economy aisle seat on the left hand side, I noticed the fresh and stylish blue upholstery on the economy seats. Delta clearly had recently replaced the upholstery and I appreciated the updated look. The seat was nicely padded and comfortable but did not have a headrest which would be annoying on a late night or early morning flight when a passenger is trying to rest.  737-800 Economy Seats Once passengers completed boarding the captain announced that we could not depart because of a maintenance issue. Once the issue was fixed we still didn't move because we needed a driver to move us back from the gate since there was a ton of ice and snow on the ground. We ended up departing at 9:05 am about 20 minutes late for our approximately 3-and-a-half-hour flight. As we took off we saw the ice and snow and I was very happy to be escaping the Washington D.C. winter for Cancun, Mexico.  Delta 737-800 Amenities and In-Flight Entertainment After boarding was completed the flight attendants came through the economy cabin with complimentary headphones. This is a staple on Delta's international flights. The headphones Delta offers are cheap headphones so I always bring my own noise cancelling headphones, but they are still better than nothing in the era of cost cutting and fees. The area where Delta was really weak on this flight was in-flight entertainment (IFE). This 737-800 featured an old Delta IFE system with a small screen and poor resolution. The IFE also did not have USB power and economy passengers had to rely on the two shared AC power outlets for every three seats. Finally, the IFE selection on this flight was not strong and it had relatively few new releases. I ended up watching Mission Impossible Fallout.  737-800 IFE Food and Drinks
The start of the flight was quite bumpy and the captain asked that the flight attendants and passengers remained seated. This delayed the start of the flight food and drink service. Despite the turbulence passengers continued to walk about the cabin and flight attendants continually asked passengers to remain seated for their safety. After about 30 minutes food and drink service commenced. There was no complimentary food served in economy on this flight. However, there was a buy on board menu which included a choice between a Protein Box and a Turkey Maple Sandwich. Since I had already eaten in the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse and I was headed to an all-inclusive resort I decided to pass on buying a meal. However, the flight did include Delta's standard complementary snacks including Biscoff cookies, Kind bars, snack mix, and peanuts. Service Service on this flight overall was friendly. There were a total of four flight attendants working economy. The flight attendants were firm but not mean making sure that passengers sat down during turbulence. When they came by for snack service the flight attendants offered two snacks and chatted in a friendly manner with passengers. The flight attendants made several announcements to keep passengers informed and were friendly each time. While the cabin was kept dark for most of the time during this morning flight the flight attendants did come by with a water service with about 20 minutes left in the flight. Take Away My flight on Delta's 737-800 non-stop from Washington Dulles to Cancun provided a newly upholstered and comfortable seat coupled with friendly service. However, the boarding process was slow, the IFE system needed to be refreshed, there was no USB power, and the IFE selection was limited. Despite several drawbacks including the age of the plane I would choose to take this flight because of the convience of taking a non-stop versus a connecting flight. 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. Lounge Overview This lounge featured great, decor, a relaxing atmosphere, a wide variety of alcoholic drinks, and was the best domestic Priority Pass lounge I had experienced. Pros-Impressive Decor, Relaxing Atmosphere, Great Tarmac Views, Wide Variety of Alcoholic Drink Options, Private Bathrooms Cons-Limited Hot Food Options, Limited Amenities, Restricted Priority Pass Hours Relaxing in Cancun Report Relaxing in Cancun Overview Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Washington Dulles Review Delta 737-800 IAD-CUN Flight Review Hyatt Zilara Cancun Review Location I cleared security quickly and headed towards the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at Washington Dulles. This lounge is located next to Gate 22 in the A Concourse. Dulles has four Concourses A, B, C, and D. The A and B Concourses house all non-United Airlines flights. The airport was empty and very quiet as I headed to the lounge and I found the lounge relatively easy to find.  Dulles Airport A Concourse Access and Hours Normally this lounge serves Virgin Atlantic Upper Class passengers along with some elite members of Virgin Atlantic partner airlines including Delta, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Australia, and Air France/KLM when traveling on a Virgin Atlantic flight. However, I had access to the Lounge through my Priority Pass membership a benefit of my Chase Sapphire Reserve Card. The lounge is only open to Priority Pass members from 6 am-1:30 pm. This allows the lounge to bring in additional revenue from the lounge outside of the hours it serves Virgin Atlantic and partner airlines flights.  Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Entrance Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Dulles The lounge contains two levels all set in a circular pattern with the bar and food stations at one side, a variety of seating at the center, and bathrooms at the end farthest from the check-in desk. The lounge had a few amenities including a luggage storage area and a modest business center with computers, telephones, and a printer.  Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Dulles I was very impressed with the decor and design of this lounge. Everything in the lounge felt upscale and refined. The lounge also had great views of the tarmac and our group decided to sit down at the comfortable brown leather chair and take in the view of the tarmac. I really appreciated that while the lounge was small it never got cramped and had a relaxing atmosphere.  Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Dulles Food and Drinks The lounge offered a variety of cold food options for breakfast including fruits such as melon, pineapples, apples, pears, and oranges. Moreover, the lounge offered vanilla yogurt parfaits, packaged cereal, assorted muffins, assorted pastries, assorted bagels, and croissants. Where I think the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse really shined for breakfast was the wide selection of self-serve alcoholic drinks available during the Priority Pass hours. Despite the early hour Virgin Atlantic offered two types of red wine, including my favorite Malbec, sparkling wine, three types of beer. Given the early hour and the fact that the lounge was only serving Priority Pass customers Virgin Atlantic could have skimped on the alcohol and I appreciated that they did not. On the non-alcoholic side the lounge offerings included orange juice, cranberry juice, flavored water, and coffee.  Cold Food Options The lounge also offered one hot option which was a made to order breakfast sandwich. This sandwich came with egg, American cheese, dijon aioli, and the option of sausage on an English muffin.  Breakfast Sandwich Option I ended up ordering the breakfast sandwich without sausage and having a piece of chocolate bread. I enjoyed the chocolate bread and found the breakfast sandwich to be fresh but too spicy for my taste which I believe was due to the dijon aioli. While I wished there were more hot food options I liked that Virgin Atlantic offered a hot made to order option something that it not typical for breakfast in a Priority Pass lounge.  Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Dulles Breakfast Overall, I found the food and drinks options for breakfast to be good for a Priority Pass lounge and above average compared to domestic airport lounge options.
Take Away On my trip to Cancun The Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse lounge at Washington Dulles was the best Priority Pass airport lounge I had experienced. The lounge has a relaxing atmosphere, impressive decor and design, great tarmac views, a wide variety of seating, and a relatively large alcoholic drink selection. I would recommend going to this lounge for breakfast and if I pass through Washington Dulles during its Priority Pass hours I plan to check it out again. 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. Relaxing in Cancun Report Relaxing in Cancun Overview Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Washington Dulles Review Delta 737-800 IAD-CUN Flight Review Hyatt Zilara Cancun Review  Introduction During early 2019, I decided to escape the cold in Washington D.C. and head to Cancun, Mexico for my bachelor party. This was my second time in Mexico, after our amazing trip to Mexico City. I chose Cancun because I wanted a warm weather beach destination that I had never visited. I can confidently say it was one of the best vacation decisions I have ever made. On this trip I had the opportunity to try out an all-inclusive hotel, the Hyatt Zilara Cancun, for the first time. I left impressed by Mexico's beaches, with the Hyatt Zilara brand, and several of the airport lounges I tried on this trip. Booking Hotel One of the main reasons I chose Cancun, Mexico was because I had the opportunity to try an all-inclusive hotel for the first time. I wanted a vacation where I didn't have to worry about constantly pulling out the checkbook and my traveling companions would know the vast majority of the cost upfront. There are several all-inclusive options in the Cancun area but I chose the Hyatt Zilara because it was an adults-only all-inclusive and gave me the opportunity to earn points and use my Hyatt Discoverist status.  Hyatt Zilara Cancun There are a several things to bear in mind when booking the Hyatt Zilara Cancun. First, as best as I can tell the standard rates are more for marketing purposes and tracking the rate for our January trip it never got close to the standard rate even a week before the trip. Second, the rates at this hotel vary significantly depending on what time of year you book and how far in advance you book. I booked about six months in advance and kept checking for a cheaper rate. Over time the rate fell from $448 per night for one person to $398 per night. Also, the hotel was definitely not full during our stay so I assume that my rate was on the low end for the resort. Third, the rate varies depending on the number of guests and the sweet spot is two guests in a room, however, I ended up having to book a room for one since there was a person who dropped our at the last minute. For example, my room was $398 for one person while a double room with two people came out to $276 per person. Fourth, while these rates may seem high for Mexico they include not just the room but all the food, all drinks including alcoholic drinks, and gratuity. When you consider this the cost per person per day is a good deal. Fifth, the all-inclusive does not include the cost of transportation to or from the airport. Because there were five of us traveling together we booked a car for $270 roundtrip. Since I booked the stay directly with Hyatt I ended up earning 3,392 base and 339 bonus World of Hyatt points. Booking Flights Southwest, Spirit, United, and Delta all offer non-stop flights from Washington D.C. area to Cancun. At the time of booking I had elite status with American Airlines but because I was only going to spend three days in Cancun and the non-stop flights offered reasonable prices I decided not to book with American. While I did not have have status with Delta at the time I had positive experiences with the airline in the past so decided to book with Delta. I booked the non-stop Saturday-only Washington Dulles (IAD) flight to Cancun and came back to Washington Regan National (DCA) with a connection in Minneapolis (MSP). Since I flew this flight in January 2019 Delta moved its non-stop Saturday-only Cancun service for the D.C. area to Baltimore Washington International (BWI) airport. While I was nervous connecting in Minneapolis during winter I ended up not having any problems.  IAD-CUN-MSP Route (Flight Routing Map generated using the Great Circle Mapper-copyright Karl) L. Swartz To top it all off I got the best deal I have gotten since our sub-$200 tickets to Mexico City. In the end this flight was $271 which was a steal for a non-basic economy fare to Cancun! Because of the high taxes and fees which amounted to 49% of the ticket cost and my lack of Delta elite status at the time I would have earned only 695 Delta SkyMiles. Instead I credited this flight to Delta's partner Virgin Atlantic where I earned 1,973 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles.
Summary Cancun was the perfect winter escape and left me with a great impression of the Mexican beaches, Hyatt's all-inclusive hotels, and several of the airport lounges. I look forward to sharing my experience and the many reasons why I enjoyed my travel experience to Cancun and my time in Cancun. 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 while traveling in comfort.  American Airlines A319 Introduction
I have been a member of American Airline's AAdvantage loyalty program since I was three years old and have fond memories of visiting the cockpit, getting wings from flight attendants, and flying between The Bahamas and Miami on turboprop airplanes. This loyalty extended into my adulthood, when I started traveling frequently for leisure my airline of choice continued to be American Airlines. Not only did I have a long history with the airline but it was the largest carrier at my hometown airport Washington Regan National (DCA). This meant more non-stop flights and plentiful options when a connection was required. As a result of this loyalty I attained Gold elite status with American Airlines which I have held for over two years. I have flown over 107,000 lifetime miles with American Airlines as of January 2020. As I sit here on the day my Gold status ended I have had enough of the flying experience with American Airlines and Christina and I are ready to say farewell, and here is why. Admirals Club Food and Drinks What I value most about having lounge access is complimentary food and drinks and on this front the offerings from the Admirals Clubs are sad. With the exception of the avocado toast I find the vast majority of Admirals Club food and drink options to be either uninspiring or tasteless. I have often found myself buying food before going to the Admirals Club to make sure I don't go hungry. Hub Airports Flying from DCA when a non-stop is unavailable or unaffordable I often find myself connecting in American's big east coast connecting hubs Charlotte (CLT) and Philadelphia (PHL). These are both legacy U.S. Airlines hubs and I find connecting through these hubs to be an unpleasant experience. CLT is poorly laid out for connecting flights and does not have an airport train. Christina and I have often found ourselves running to make connections when changing terminals. I have found PHL to be in a constant state of disrepair from missing ceiling tiles to a water main break which left the bathrooms in disgusting shape and the Admirals Club closed. To make matters worse American Airlines also concentrates their older legacy US Airways planes in the CLT and PHL hubs which can lead to a poor experience on these planes and significant inconsistencies on the same aircraft across the airline's fleet. Seat Back In-Flight Entertainment and Power One area where American Airlines is sorely lacking is seat-back in-flight entertainment on narrow-body planes and in-seat power plugs. American's narrow body planes can be assigned to transcontinental flights some of which are six hours or more, however, many of these planes never offered seat-back in-flight entertainment. To make matters worse American has focused on removing seat back IFE from planes that have it and instead requires passengers to watch streaming entertainment on personal devices. With less space on American Airlines planes using a personal device further restricts space and increases the importance of functioning power plugs. However, this is another area where American is sorely lacking. On many planes American Airlines has no in-seat power plugs even in First Class. On other planes the power plugs exist but are so loose that they are barely functional. I believe these dual problems show that American Airlines rush to streaming IFE on narrow body planes is misplaced. Baggage Handling Our experience with American Airlines baggage handling has been very poor. At DCA we have waited up to 30 minutes for our bags at baggage claim and we have had similar experiences waiting around at multiple airports around the country. On one trip with American Christina's checked luggage was so beat up that it was barely usable and we had to file a claim. The airline eventually replaced the piece of luggage ending an annoying situation. On another trip we had a wait around the airport for two hours since Christina's luggage never made it onto the flight. Flying American Airlines with checked luggage requires waiting around the baggage claim and feels like a gamble as to whether your luggage will make it on-time or in one piece. Business and First Class Food Christina and I have had numerous opportunities over the past two years to fly in American Airlines First and Business Class. We came away from these experiences disappointed with the quality of the food. We found some of the meals tasteless while other meals were barely edible. The quality of food served on American Airlines domestic and Caribbean First Class flights is truly embarrassing and significantly detracts from the First Class experience and the value of First Class upgrades for elites. Customer Service The most important reason of all that we are leaving American Airlines is the terrible customer service. The experiences are too numerous to list in this post but I will share with you some of the lowlights. At our home airport DCA we rushed to Priority check-in area and ended up being one minute past the cut off for checked baggage. The check-in agent refused to check our bag and we ended up sitting in the airport lounge for hours until the next available flight. To make matters worse she tried to charge Christina for a checked bag when she was entitled to a free checked bag. The agent wasn't apologetic and stopped assisting us for several minutes at a time to chat with her co-workers. When American lost Christina's bag there was no apology or compensation and instead the baggage agent gave Christina attitude. On our flight to London the flight attendant told me off for using the Business Class bathroom despite being allowed to do so by American Airlines policy. These poor customer experiences also extended to Business and First Class. On numerous occasions we were not served a pre-departure beverage on our flights and we were offered no blankets. On one flight our dirty dishes and glasses sat uncleared for almost an hour while flight attendants chatted in the galley. While there are certainly good employees at American Airlines who provide strong customer service, including on our flight from BCN-JFK, too many of the employees we have interacted with do not have a customer centric attitude and make it seem as if flying with them is a privilege. Take Away After decades of loyalty and two years of Gold Elite status with American Airlines it is time to say farewell. Because of American’s dominance at DCA we may not be able to avoid the airline completely but Christina and I plan to actively avoid American Airlines and purposefully did not re-qualify for elite status. The convience of flying out of DCA, and fairly regular First Class upgrades are outweighed by the many negatives including our terrible customer service experience. Christina and I would rather be treated well in economy than poorly in First Class and that is why it is time for us to say farewell to American Airlines. 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 while traveling in comfort.
In this series of five reviews I focus on the experience flying American Airlines in First Class domestically and Business Class on flights to the Caribbean. The posts compare American Airlines First Class and Business Class across four different aircraft on medium-haul flights between 3-4 hours where meals are served.
American Airlines First and Business Class Reviews American Airlines CRJ-900 SBA-DFW First Class Review American Airlines 737-800 DFW-DCA First Class Review American Airlines E-175 NAS-DCA Business Class Review American Airlines E-175 DCA-MSY First Class Review American Airlines A321 SJU-CLT Business Class Review Flight Overview This flight had the worse airline meal I had ever eaten in First, Business, or Economy class and it is embarrassing that American Airlines delivered an experience this bad on a three and a half hour flight. Pros- Freshly Upholstered and Comfortable Seats Cons- Barely Edible Food, Bad Drink Service, No USB or AC Power Plugs, No Seat Back Entertainment, Limited Wi-Fi and Streaming Entertainment Plane and Seats We left a packed Avianca VIP Lounge, which I have previously reviewed, at San Juan (SJU) airport and headed to Gate C4 for our departure. We were upgraded to Business Class in advance on this flight using our 500 miles upgrades. We boarded quickly with other Business Class passengers and as we boarded I was impressed by the updated upholstery. We were seated in the bulkhead seats 1D and 1F which had 36 inches of pitch and 21 inches of width on this version of the A321.The seats seemed new and had a nice comfortable head rest. 
American Airlines A321 First Business Class Seat
Once we settled into our seats our positive impression quickly faded as we scrambled to look for power plugs for our phones. The search was for naught as we did not find any USB or AC power plugs. I couldn't believe that American Airlines would refurbish the seats on the plane but not add power plugs so I confirmed with the flight attendant serving Business Class. She confirmed that the plane indeed did not have power plugs and said the plane was "not an American Airlines original". She meant that this is a legacy US Airways plane which American Airlines acquired during the 2015 merger with US Airways. These planes did not have in-seat power plugs and by the comment I assumed that this flight attendant was likely a legacy American Airlines flight attendant. The fact that this was a legacy US Airways plane made sense since we were flying to a legacy US Airways hub in Charlotte (CLT) and is a good reason to avoid many legacy US Airways hubs including CLT and Philadelphia (PHL). After resigning to the fact that we were not going to have power for the entire flight I went back into my bag to see if I could pull out my tablet or a book but the overhead bin was stuck. After trying to open the bin several times without success I asked for the flight attendant's help and after she was unsuccessful another flight attendant came over and was finally able to open the bin. After I was seated passengers continued to board and the flight attendants grew nervous that the flight would be delayed because the catering had not yet arrived. Finally, the catering arrived and our flight ended up departing nine minutes early.
Amenities and In-Flight Entertainment Waiting at our seats upon boarding was a thin blanket which I ended up not using on this flight. It seemed to be the same blanket American Airlines offers in First Class on domestic flights. Unlike the 737-800 I flew from Dallas to Washington D.C. this plane had GoGo ground based Wi-Fi which does not turn on until the plane reaches 10,000 feet. Because the plane also did not have a seat back in-flight entertainment (IFE) screen we needed the Wi-Fi to activate before watching any IFE. However, once the plane reached 10,000 feet I tried to connect and could not connect since the vast majority of Latin America and the Caribbean are outside of GoGo ground based Wi-Fi range. This was the same problem I had on an earlier flight from San Juan. I was again frustrated that American Airlines was using a plane for a three and a half hour flight that was not equipped with seat back entertainment, in-seat power, and that had IFE that did not work for the majority of the flight. The IFE finally functioned with about hour and half remaining in flight. I turned it on briefly to browse the IFE options but I was still frustrated by the lack of in-seat power plugs. 
American Airlines Streaming In-Flight Entertainment
Food and Drinks The entire food and drink experience on this flight was terrible. It started on the ground when we were not served any pre-departure drinks because of the late arriving catering. I overheard the flight attendants discussing whether they should serve a pre-departure drink, however, they decided not to do so because the ice from the previous flight had melted and they only had juice and water. Once the catering arrived the flight attendants were more focused on departing on time because of American Airlines strategic push. The flight attendants ended up spending all of their time putting away the catering instead of taking care of passengers. About 20 minutes after takeoff the Business Class flight attendant distributed hot towels and took drink orders. After the drink orders the flight attendant brought around our drinks along with warm nuts. We ended up ordering red wine which was okay.  Red Wine and Warm Nuts
As we waited for the flight attendant to come around for meal order we smelt the scent of burning bread in the galley. The flight attendant didn't return to get meal orders until about 45 minutes after takeoff. This was the longest I could remember waiting for a meal order on any Business or First Class flight. The flight attendant started meal selection from back which meant we ended up picking last. On this flight American Airlines was serving dinner and the options for other passengers were a choice between the beef filet or Southwest lasagna. By the time the flight attendant reached us the only remaining option was the Southwest lasagna. I was very annoyed since I wanted the beef filet, however, Christina and I went ahead and took the Southwest lasagna. About 1 hour into the flight the food was finally served. Despite ordering the same dish Christina and I received different sides. I was served two salads while Christina was served a salad with a side of Indian flavored chicken which did not fit the Southwest lasagna theme at all.
Ramon's Southwest Lasagna
Christina suspected that she was served this chicken dish because she asked if the lasagna had any meat. Also, on the side of our meal was a hard white bread which was unremarkable.
Christina's Southwest Lasagna
The first salad which Christina and I were both served came with butter lettuce, cranberries, and arugula. Christina and I agreed the butter lettuce was really bad but she did enjoy the cranberries. My second salad was served with arugula, tomatoes, and parmesan cheese. The second salad was even worse than the first. The ball of parmesan cheese had no flavor and the tomatoes were disgusting. I mostly left both salads untouched and moved on to the main dish the Southwest lasagna. The lasagna had cheese, corn, and was topped with what tasted like sriracha sauce. I usually love lasagna but this was barely edible and I can easily say this was the most disgusting dish I had ever been served on an airplane. Who puts sriracha sauce on lasagna? The meal service ended with a warm chocolate chip cookie which I usually look forward to on American Airlines but thsi time was served a little hard.
American Airlines Chocolate Cookie
Overall, this was the worse meal I have been served in any class on an airplane and it is embarrassing that American Airlines would serve this meal to anyone especially Business Class customers.
Service The Business Class flight attendant on our flight certainly tried hard but seemed to be in over her head. This started from the minute we walked on the plane where she and the other flight attendant seemed really nervous about departing late and focused more on this issue which was mostly out of their hands instead of serving the passengers. The manner in which she talked about the plane not being an American Airlines original showed her frustration with the airline's product. After take off she was very slow taking food and drink orders and delivering food. Once the meal service was complete she was slow to clear away dishes and empty glasses. At one point we waited an hour for her to clear our empty glasses. When the flight attendant heard us complaining to each other about the meal and saw that our food was barely eaten she apologized and offered us compensation. American Airlines rolled out a compensation program in 2018 which flight attendants can use onboard called iSolve and it was my first experience with this system. As Gold elites Christina and I ended up with 7,500 miles because of our issues with the food which I thought was fair compensation. The flight attendant also sent us home with a bottle of wine as an apology. I really appreciated that the flight attendant tried hard to make up for all of the issues on this flight and I gave her a one of our outstanding service coupons for her effort. We ended up talking and she told me that flight attendants constantly send American Airlines management notes about all of the issues but management doesn't listen to staff. Unfortunately, this is symptomatic of a bigger problem at American Airlines where management doesn't listen to employee or passenger feedback and leaves employees apologizing for the airline. It is clear that American Airlines needs to work on staffing for these flights and service training for flight attendants to improve the passenger experience. Take Away The comfortable and newly upholstered seats were not enough to make up for the many problems on this flight. The lack of any seat-back IFE on this flight was compounded by the lack of any power plugs for the entire flight and streaming IFE for the vast majority of the flight. The food on this flight was disgusting and added to an embarrassing Business Class experience from American Airlines. Furthermore, the staff on this flight were overwhelmed and the Business Class flight attendant was left having to apologize for American Airlines embarrassing experience. My advice is to do your best to avoid lasagna and the legacy US Airways A321 when flying on American Airlines. |
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