Singapore Airlines A380 Business Class Melbourne to Singapore SQ 228
Todays flight report will cover SQ 228 in Business Class. Running from Melbourne to Singapore, Singapore Airlines (SQ) pulls out the A380 for this flight. The current business class product for Singapore Airlines is still very much a market leader with the 1-2-1 configuration- but not in a herringbone way giving a large amount of width and personal space. It would be my first time flying in a Business Class product this far advanced, and I was looking forward to seeing how Singapore Airlines would perform on this route. Not wanting to miss any of the action of the flight, I arrived at Melbourne Tullamarine Airport Terminal 2 at about 11:40am.
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Sydney Dining: The Garden Buffet at The Star
Many would say that a casino buffet hardly counts as part of the fabric of the Sydney culinary scene. But we were greatly interested in this offering in the Darling Harbour precinct…everyone loves sampling from a range of 130 hot and cold dishes from time-to-time?
The buffet is available from 7am for breakfast and continues with lunch and dinner throughout the day. Pricing per adult is in the $30-$40 range, but the pricing is inclusive of a good selection of non-alcoholic self-serve beverages. The key to most casino buffets is to avoid peak times, so that’s why we decided to go on a week night.
There was no line- an express line is available for higher-up Absolute Rewards members which would help in peak times. Once inside, it runs like most buffets. The décor of the food area is reasonable, but the seating area looks a little cheap for a buffet of this calibre with the choice of seating and strong patterned carpet.
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Our review of the Ambassador Transit Hotel Changi- Terminal 1
As someone who prefers day flights over night, I found myself spending a long layover at Singapore’s Changi International Airport. My flight landed at 9:45pm, with the connecting flight at 7:10am. The transit hotel (The Ambassador) runs across all three terminals at Changi, however, with Terminal 2 and the newer Terminal 3 fully booked, there was only Terminal 1 available. This was booked some 2-3 weeks before the stay. The advice to anyone looking to stay would be to book ahead and early as we did see people at check-in being turned away with no place to stay for the night.
The hotel was easy enough to find thanks to the Skytrain and signage throughout the terminal. On arrival, check-in was a bit disorganised as they struggled to find a room (despite it being booked some time ago). I needed the room for 8 hours (10pm-6am) and was given to 2 hours free to make up for the noise due to renovations that were being done.
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Review: Novotel Sydney on Darling Harbour
When looking for accommodation in Sydney in the Darling Harbour precinct, the Novotel caught the eye for a reasonable price- a room including breakfast was available for $198, good value in the heart of Sydney where decent accommodation comes at a premium from $300 and above per night. The booking process was typical Novotel- online, reliable and easy which is what you’d expect from a major chain. On arrival at the Novotel, it was reasonably easy to find the car park and proceed to the hotel. There was a lack of signage to the actual location of check-in- finally a staff member indicated that it was one level up from the entry. At reception, there simply weren’t enough desks open to cater for the check-in rush with a fair wait. The entire hotel looked reasonably dated and in need of a refresh of décor.
Finally, check-in was complete and I found that I had been upgraded to room with harbour views- a nice gesture from the Novotel. The room had a similar feeling to the rest of the hotel- a little dated but the offering with adequate for one person. Cleanliness is a basic and the room was lacking a little- a black oddly-shaped hair (further elaboration not required) was found on the bed, and the surfaces of the bathroom looked like a good wipe down was in order. Simple but not done- more time was needed for rooms to be cleaned. Generally the bathroom could use a refresh.
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The Riverside Room at Crown Casino
We get a lot of search traffic that’s looking for information on the Riverside Room at Crown, which is why we’ve decided to write this quick blog post giving those without access a quick insight. First of all, how do you gain access? The Riverside Room is separated from the main gaming floor with a see-through wall- compared to the Teak Room and Mahogany Room it’s quite open and lacks the same feeling of privacy and exclusivity. To gain access, one simply requires a Signature Club membership of silver and above. To get a silver membership, you just need to get 5 credits- requiring a planned spend of at least $490 over 6 months throughout the complex. Read more about getting credits in our review of Signature Club here. The easiest way is to spend 1-2 nights at a Crown Hotel- getting Silver from this should be easy.
Once inside, the first impressions are that the Riverside Room is largely an extension of the main gaming floor- it’s lacking in the identity and separation that makes up the Teak and Mahogany Rooms. It could be looked at as similar to the all-access Maple Room which is styled like the gaming floor but slightly separated. There is a small amount of seating with a reasonably-sized TV, and on Friday and Saturday nights, the room plays host to live music.
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