Despite being an F passenger, my bag came out in the middle of the pack and after submitting the customs form, was on my way to the Grab checkpoint.
An agent was kind enough to help me order a car via the app as I was having credit card issues and eventually got sorted.
Since I only had 8 hours before coming back to the airport to catch the return flight, I wanted to book a hotel that was either in the airport or close to it. Spooled up the Bonvoy app again and found the Sheraton and a Fairfield. While the FF was cheaper, I just went with Sheraton since its a brand I know well and thought it was just a regular hotel.
The ride to the hotel was convoluted because of how the roadways were designed – we basically did a full loop of the perimeter of the airport before turning off on a side road leading up to the hotel but it was fun nonetheless.
Imagine my utter surprise when I pull up and find out its a resort – LOL.
The staff were welcoming and the person checking me in was confused as to why I arrived so early but had to remind him again that the booking was from the previous night and I had requested to hold the room due to my ridiculously late (or super early?) arrival. Once that was sorted, I was directed to my room.
Lobby with check in desks to the right
Entrance
Lounge area
Garden View room
Walked through a courtyard and there are pools with lots of fish (koi?) in them. Funny enough that as you walked up close to the pool, the fish would swim towards you quickly, possibly in an attempt for food being given to them.
After dumping my things in the room, I freshened up and went for breakfast. Apparently breakfast was included in the room rate – so yay.
Lots of dishes featuring Asian and Western cuisines, plus a bakery section, fresh pressed cold juices and a noodle station.
After breakfast, took a walk out the pool area.
The heat was terrifically scorching at 9am and the pool looked really inviting.
Wanted to get back to the cold clutches of the room AC and walked down the path towards my room.
Checked out at 4pm to head back to the airport and found out the hotel had a shuttle service that ran hourly.
At 6pm, checked out and took the train back to the airport.
Wandered over to the C check in desks to spy on the SQ activity.
Security was as convoluted as it gets at FRA but eventually got through as well as immigration. Had a lot of time to kill before boarding, so wandered around. I did want to visit the AC MLL but it was closed.
Nice plane spotting.
The Condor livery is growing on me.
Only lounge choice left was the Senator lounge.
No complaints about the lounge as it was my first time experiencing it – felt big enough and separated into different sections. Not a lot of people were in the lounge during the time I was there and therefore felt roomier and peaceful.
Dining area
Was super hungry since I skipped lunch and was happy with the selections
The spa seems enticing …
T-60 and I made my way to the gate and found the gate lice.
There was an agent manning the Suites area and in typical Canadian fashion, I apologetically yet politely inquired if the line up was here. She responded with “you are welcome to board now!”. She undid the rope and let me know, scanned my BP and I was off towards the boarding tube.
I was welcomed onboard by the purser and handed off to the LSS who escorted me to my seat.
1A – the holiest … you know what I mean 😀
Staircase to heaven if you are boarding from the bottom level
Libis came by to introduce himself and asked if I wanted a PDB. Went with the Tattinger to start.
After downing the first glass, I snuck into the washroom to change into PJs.
When I got back to my seat, Libis poured round 2.
Perusing the menu while boarding was wrapping up.
The SIN to FRA menu which I honestly thought was way better than the FRA to SIN menu.
FRA to SIN section
Fast forward past take off and cabin crew got into action once the sign came from the captain. Served with some more Tattinger.
Show time
Round 3 but this time back to Cristal
Bit of a funny moment here when the LSS attempted to pour during a bumpy part of the flight and some of the delicious liquid spilled over to the floor.
Caviar to start
Caviar from China – I guess SQ doesnt purchase Russian anymore? Or never did?
Saw the trend, didnt understand it but YOLO
Should it be caviar on the top or bottom
Double boiled pork shank soup – Love a good broth
BTC Lobster Ballotine – meh but you know, lobster. Also, they didnt have Lobster Thermidor in the BTC selection which itself was quite poor ex FRA.
Finale – Buchette Cerise
After dinner, I requested the cabin crew to make the bed while I went to the washroom.
I set my alarm to wake me up in 3 hours but I was still groggy and went back down for another 3 hours LOL. After freshening up, I ordered a mid flight snack.
Egg noodles with Prawn
Massaman Moo
Raw dogging it until the next meal service.
With 2 hours to go, breakfast service started.
Fruits to start.
Cornflakes
Blueberry pancakes
Landing was butter and sadly did not get the iconic landing view over the strait.
Once last look before disembarking from the plane.
Fairly busy on the S8/S9 train to the Moxy hotel which was one stop away.
The hotel was an easy 5 minute walk when exiting the Garden Gateway station and quite easy to follow Google Map instructions. I was not keen on sleeping or lounging airside in FRA and was not keen on dragging my backpack and roller around in the city. Spooled up the Dayuse app, found a bunch of hotels available and ultimately chose the Moxy since close to the airport and there was a 10am-6pm timeslot available. This was perfect as I landed shortly after 10am and my outbound flight was after 9pm. I debated making an actual reservation through the Marriot app but I decided against it as I was not sure if they would allow an early check in.
Check in process was fairly straightforward. Initially, the agent said “Sir, there is no room available at this time for early check in” but then I said I booked through Dayuse and voila!, a room became instantly available.
I asked the agent if its possible to add my Bonvoy number to the stay to get the EQN and she indicated that she can but didnt know if it would count. Well, happy to say that it did add the EQN when I checked my account the next day! 🙂
Solid room for a short 8 hour stay, dumped my stuff, quick shower and back out again.
Back on the S8/S9.
Got off at Konstablerwache and followed directions towards the old town. Was lucky that the sun was out as the weather forecast showing rainy days before and after I arrived but to be honest, does anyone really trust the weather people?
As I walked towards old town, I passed by Frankfurt Cathedral and decided to quickly pop in. There was a service happening, so just sat in a pew to enjoy the calm before heading off again.
I came, I saw, I conquered? … and kept walking. Came to the river, crossed the bridge, took some photos. I had a restaurant in mind to have lunch but then found out if was closed on Tuesdays (all of the bad luck) and then said “F it, I’m going back to the room to sleep”. 😀
More bad luck followed and the trains were delayed due to a fire at one of the stations but I eventually made it back to the room and had a few hours of nappy nap time.
Even with rush hour traffic on the Van Wyck, the ride to JFK took 30 minutes. I was 4 hours early but still able to check in.
An agent was able to help me at a different counter and checked my bag all the way to CGK.
The TSA pre check line took 15 minutes to get through but it was still much better compared to the regular TSA line. Once past, I had to kill time before entering any lounge as I could only enter 3 hours before departure.
First lounge – AMEX Centurion
Found the speak easy at the back and got a drink. After killing an hour or so, headed down to the VA lounge.
Yup, definitely not heading to the Air India lounge. 😀
Access to the VA lounge granted for SQ F passengers only and it was definitely better than the AMEX lounge.
Didnt take pics of the lounge itself but feel free to check the IG story link for a video walkthrough.
It was empty in the lounge and one of the staff members came by and said I could have my pick of where I wanted to sit. She was very friendly and was nice having conversations with her about food and other things.
Lychee martini and jerk chicken wings. I did also try Roast Atlantic Salmon but it was overcooked and picked at it.
Bread and butter pudding as a sweet finale
An hour before departure, an announcement was made that boarding would begin soon and I headed down to the gate. As I arrived, boarding for F passengers just started.
Down the hatch
As I stepped on board, I was welcome by the ISM: “Mr JP, welcome back, you know the way” and pointed me towards my seat.
As I walked to my seat, I heard him call out to the LSS and indicate I was onboard: “Mr. JP from 1A is here”. The LSS and another male cabin crew came by to welcome me and introduce themselves.
The holiest of all seats – 1A
Since alcohol could not be served on the ground, I just went with water for PDB.
Menu
The flight continues from FRA to SIN after a 1.5 hour layover. The menu also includes selections for the FRA-SIN leg.
Shortly after, the LSS came by with PJs, an amenity kit and slippers.
Boarding was completed on time and pushback shortly thereafter. SQ’s boarding has always been consistent with starting on time and completing quickly.
The safety demo as we taxi-ed out.
Peace out NYC.
Shortly afterwards, the seatbelt sign went off and the crew sprang into action.
Cristal to start.
Show time – SQ style
Round 2 – went with the Tattinger
Verdict – I prefer the Cristal over the Tat as its more lighter.
Garlic bread – yum
Balik salmon with caviar
For the main course, I chose the BTC option of Maine Lobster with potatoes. The dish was wonderful and the potatoes were deliciously spicy.
Dessert was meh.
After dinner, I requested the bed to be made. Wanted to get as much sleep as I could due to the short TATL flight.
I skipped breakfast, although after looking back at the menu I wish I had tried something from it but c’est la vie.
Coming in hot into FRA.
One last look at the bird.
After passing quickly through customs, I hopped on the train to head to the hotel.
With no traffic at 5:30am, the cabbie made it to the airport in 15 minutes-ish.
Someday I will walk towards the right for the F check in.
US check in had a separate area and it was done fairly quickly. I just had to provide hotel info as I would be staying over in ORD for one night. After that formality, bags were quickly tagged and sent off into the void and BP provided. The agent was kind enough to provide directions to the Al Mourjan Garden lounge as it was closer to the boarding gate.
The other side of the check in hall.
Poor bear still has not been freed from its prison.
On the train heading to the C concourse.
Quick walk through in the Garden before heading to the lounge. Absolutely stunning.
After walking through the garden thinking about life, my existence and my place in this lonely universe, I headed to the lounge for breakfast. Followed the signs and then took the elevator up one level. As I got out of the elevator, a friendly agent gave me a small tour and indicated different areas of the lounge. I headed to the sit down area for breakfast first.
The LV lounge that charges an extra fee for entrance.
Eggs Benny
Self Service stations
After breakfast, I headed back to the front and walked over to the other side of the lounge where the quiet area was located.
Lovely view overlooking the garden.
The quiet area – so nice sitting here. Very open and airy.
Decided to leave early and check out the gate area and good thing I did leave as there was a line up for secondary security which was a bit of a mess. I made it through with no issues and waited in the holding pen. After 10 minutes, boarding was called with J passengers invited to board first.
Still havent hit the A350 on my QR bingo card.
Flew on the 777 with the all white Oneworld livery and could not get a good picture – so sad.
Welcome to 1K. The cabin crew member working my side of the plane came by to introduce herself and asked for my choice of PDB. Shortly after, the purser came by and introduced herself and gave flight details. Service overall on this flight was SUPERB and the crew were amazing.
OJ PDB
Menus
Pushback was on time and we made our way to the runway. It was a bit of the wait for our turn due to the heavy volume of birds but we were eventually on our way.
Geez, another new concourse.
Two Finnair birds.
Some more waiting …
Oh look, another Finnair – is QR leasing these birds from Finnair?
Oh yay, our turn finally.
Peace out DOH.
As the plane was climbing, one of the trolleys came loose from its station and a tray full of nuts and ramekins came crashing down onto the floor (made a very loud bang). Felt bad for the person who didn’t lock it up properly and took some time to clean it up after.
The aftermath …
An hour after take off, the first meal service began.
Setting the table. As a famous person once said, “Show time!” Keep forgetting his name though …
Bubbly to start.
Amuse bouche on deck
Cheers!
Soup of the day – I think it was cream of mushroom (can’t remember now) and it was yummy.
After the meal service, I went to change into PJs while the crew working my side turned the seat into a bed.
For the second meal service, I first went with the greek yoghurt and then the Bircher Muesli
Arrival into ORD was fairly smooth and uneventful – unless you count the heavy slam when the tires hit the tarmac.
Long taxi to T5
Stayed one night at the Sheraton Suites ORD as my flight back home was next day at 9am. Nothing much to write about other than the flight was on time and there was no meal service since the caterer at YYZ was on strike and we only got chips and water.
Chose to stay here because it was the semi cheapest plus also on the metro line with easy access to tourist sites. At least that was my thought process when I had plans to do some touring but the stomach bug forced me to stay in bed until the next morning. Check in at the hotel was smooth – had a pleasant conversation with the lady checking me in about what to do in Doha etc. GM was unavailable at the time for a meet and greet but it didn’t bother me much and I went up to my room. Again, booked a base room and used a SNA to upgrade to a one bedroom suite.
Lobby
Room – exceptionally clean and comfortable for one night with the only complaints being that it felt a little dated and the shower stall was tight.
Welcome chocolate
One of the good things about this hotel is that it is connected to the mall. I did pop out quickly to the local supermarket to buy stuff to bring home. The mall is huge with lots of shops and amenities. Other than that, here are the only pictures I took of Doha on my way to the airport.
Back in the departures hall and found the Qatar desks with long line ups for both J and Y.
It was a 15 minute wait till it was my turn for check in and the process itself took around 10 minutes. There was an unfortunate glitch in the system where it showed I was booked on a Y ticket even though I paid full J fare with Avios points. Due to this glitch, the system said I had no access to the lounge. It did not click in my brain until I was talking to a fellow FT friend and he said to fight it next time it happens and ask the agent to call QR HQ to get it fixed (lesson for next time).
Immigration was quick as there was a separate F and J line (the Y line was ridiculously long). While I was initially waiting in the Y line, I was complaining to fellow FT friend about the lounge kerfuffle and then mentioned the Y line. He responded with “There’s a separate J line, go find it”. I ducked under the rope and walked to the other end of the hall and breezed through LOL. Thanks to my saviour. I did try to get into the MH golden lounge but because the BP said “No Lounge”, I was not allowed in. I have been in the lounge before so I did not miss anything. I did have Priority Pass access and went over to the Travel Club Lounge.
Overall, a very nice lounge with comfortable seating and delicious food. Even though it was early morning, it felt like lunch items were put out but I was in no way complaining as it was all very delicious.
Lovely view while lounging
After having my fill (of food) in the lounge, I made the semi long walk to the C gates where the bird was parked. Security was underway and after I was through, boarding began.
Love sitting in the mini cabin
One of the FAs came by to introduce herself and was super sweet. She offered a PDB which was freshly poured when I asked for champagne.
Cold towel and amenity kit – hot take but I prefer a cold towel over a hot one
The menus
Boarding was done and we eventually pushed back.
Lining up
Yeeting out of KUL
The first meal service started within an hour.
Cream of parsnip soup to start.
Chicken Ouzi
Pear and Almond pudding
An hour prior to landing, I went with the Prawn wonton and noodle soup
Doha in the distance
Arriving at our gate
There is a separate immigration for arriving F and J passengers that is inside the QR arrivals lounge. You can freshen up at the lounge before going to immigration and was quick.
Decided to take the metro to the hotel. The walk to the metro from the terminal was a bit longer than normal but easy to follow directions. Once at my destination, the hotel was right next door and was a 5 minute walk.
I chose Aloft because it was at the KL Sentral station and it had a fairly cheap (sub $100 CAD) cash rate. Unfortunately there were no signs pointing to the Aloft as I got to ground level. A kind lady at one of the booths pointed me in the right direction and then I saw a sign indicating where it was. There are two ways to enter the hotel – the first if you cross the street when exiting the station at ground level and the second being a second floor connecting walkway from the station to the second floor of the hotel. I took the latter and after 10 minutes of walking up an escalator, walking across the walkway and taking an elevator down to the ground floor, I arrived at the reception area.
Fun Fact – this door locks at night and I couldnt get out when I checked out to catch the train back to KUL. /cry
Line up for check in – guess it’s a very popular hotel.
I booked a base room and used a SNA to upgrade to a suite and it cleared 4 days before arrival. Very spacious room and would definitely book it again.
I had this whole plan to go out for dinner, but I caught a stomach bug after breakfast on my last day in Manila and I just went to bed. Was the right choice since I had an early wake up call and caught the first train back to KUL.
After checking out, I walked out the front door and crossed the street to the station.
Followed the signs to the platform level and made it just in time before the doors closed.
When I booked this hotel, it was by sheer luck that I found it on the map within the Marriott app. I didn’t want to go back to Boracay or Cebu but if I did not have any other choice, I would have gone back to either of those two places. Interesting enough, another Four Points also opened up in Boracay but it was not directly on the beach which cemented my decision to fly to Palawan. Some of you might say “Well why didnt you go to El Nido?” or not, I dont know, I can’t read your minds. Well, the short answer is that I did not know there were direct flights to El Nido at the time and secondly, no Marriott. After a 90 minute drive through the countryside, we reached the resort which is north(ish) of the town of Puerto Princesa and located on Sabang beach.
Past the security and it was a short distance to the main entrance.
The lobby
I was welcomed by the staff and proceeded with the check in formalities. Upon looking at my passport, the staff member said “Ah Mr. Jason, we have been expecting you” – you all fully know its going to be one of those memorable stays. I was provided with a cold towel and cold drink.
I dont know what this was but it was damn refreshing.
Another agent came out to welcome me and then the assistant GM came out to say hello. Once the formalities were done, I was escorted to my room by the assistant GM who gave me an overview of the facilities. I was upgraded to a one bedroom suite which is the highest category at the resort and there are only 3 categories in total. My room was right next to the main restaurant and beach, so it was a short walk every day.
Entrance
Bathroom to the left as you enter the room
A welcome note and sweet treats on the bar near the closet
Vary spacious
Got some dinner and then turned in for the evening
The next morning, I walked around the resort to explore. FP Sheraton took over a local resort and opened up in 2023.
Corridor in the west block of rooms
When walking past the lobby into the main pool area
View towards the beach
The beach
Looking back towards the resort from the beach
6am-ish sunrise
When walking out my room, the path led to the beach and the restaurant (left)
The restaurant was open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is an Italian restaurant on the other side but was closed for renovations. The room service menu is exactly the same as the restaurant menu but on some nights, there were specials offered for sit down dinner. The breakfast spread was ok – nothing compared to Westin or JWM’s but still more than enough for me. The only complaint from me is that the hot dishes were not hot enough – for that matter, it was not even luke warm. I stuck to the eggs station for fresh made dishes for my stay.
Cereal and Juice station
Breads and Pastries
Hot dishes – a mix of Western and Local cuisines
For obvious reasons, I chose to come down to Puerto Princesa for scuba diving. Maybe it was not obvious but I hope it would be based on my previous trip reports. The only dive shops located closest to the resort were back in town which was 90 minutes or the alternatives were 2 hours north halfway to El Nido. After some researching and chatting back and forth with some shops via Whatsapp, I chose to go with Lets Dive as they were the most informative in answering my questions and had a lot of good reviews on Google (yes, I trust the internets). I arranged a transfer service via the hotel which cost CAD $80 round trip.
Pickup was at 6.30am which gave me enough time to have a light breakfast and made it to the shop around 8am. It was great that I chose this shop as it turned out to be a 5 minute walk from the city lounge where the van was waiting to take me back.
No other pictures of diving as I was mostly taking videos and there was the usual macro life like nemo / dori fish (yes I call them nemo and dori fish), stonefish, scorpion fish, trigger fish etc.
After getting my log book signed, I wished the team well and made my way to the lounge to wait for the pick up. As mentioned before, this lounge is used for resort guests to wait until the pre determined shuttle time. Usually, it was every 3 hours starting at 8am and ending at 8pm. The lounge itself was decent with light snacks and juices available for consumption.
The upstairs level of the lounge which was rarely used as they kept the lights off. I happened to go upstairs to use the shower to clean off after the dives. Biggest regret using the shower facilities as it was not clean (in case anyone on FT decides to use the facilities and need a shower).
I got back to the resort around 3.30pm and headed to the restaurant for a cold one. My reward after a long day out in the water.
Came back to the room to see this – but ofcourse you missed me. LOL
The next day, I booked a tour via the front desk of the underground river. I met the tour guide along with other guests by the restaurant and we walked to the nearby town which was barely 5 minutes walking distance. I am glad I did the morning tour as it started at 9am and we were back by 11am. By the time we got back to the port, the volume of tourists doubled waiting to get onto boats.
Groups were being called in sequence to board their designated boat.
Our group was called after a 10 minute wait and it took us around 15 minutes to get to the beach where the underground river was located.
Honestly, it was a much better beach compared to where the resort was located and the water was much calmer/clear.
We walked up the beach to a central meeting area – used the washroom before heading down the path to another boat launch area.
Strange but ok.
Tour guide giving us a history lesson – the underground river is part of Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park which is a UNESCO heritage site and one of the new 7 wonders of the world.
Into the dark depths
The caves are home to lots of bats and was fun to see them hanging on top and flying through.
The river itself is 8km long and we could only go 1.5km in. Sad that it was not open to scuba diving as it would have been an amazing adventure doing a dive in there.
After 30 minutes, finally made our way back.
After we got back to the town, I walked back to the beach and plopped down on a lounger to enjoy the rest of the morning.
Was peckish around noon and I made my way to the pool bar for a light refreshment.
Not today Satan #IYKYK
Was a little peckish.
Back to the room and another friend was waiting for me.
The finer touches from the cleaning staff
View of pool at night
For dinner, I ate at the restaurant the rest of the nights.
Pork Adobo
Lamb Shank
Banana milkshake
Closing thoughts on the resort – well rounded staff who showed amazing Filipino hospitality and finer touches, the food was good but not great (breakfast to be specific), and it did not feel crowded at all. Also, who would have thought of Four Points Sheraton brand as a beach resort! Night and day difference to a FP in North America.
At T-60, I made the long trek to the gate as it was a good 15 minutes at a leisurely pace. IST is ridiculously large and the only negative thing about it is that there are no movators.
Really getting my steps in 😀
Got to the gate and boarding was underway. Despite a J line, everything got bottleneck in the long tunnel leading to the tubes.
The chariot.
Spied the J class tube and ducked in.
My seat for the next 10-ish hours. Same one used by SQ for intra Asia flights on their 787’s and 350’s.
Cabin crew came by offering PDB’s and went with OJ this time – very tasty.
Menu’s were provided shortly after.
Aircraft pushed back on time and we eventually whooshed our way into the night sky
Meal service started an hour after take off. Started with the smoked turkey, cheeses and veggies.
Followed by the poached eggs with shakshuka which was ok
We flew into a nice sunrise and it was good just watching the flight via the tail cam.
3 hours before landing, the next meal service started. Started with a small amuse bouche.
Followed by a cart of appetizers to choose from.
Creamy Avocado soup
Grilled lamb chops – delicious!
Finishing off with the eclair and bread/butter pudding – very good.
Landing in MNL
Parked at our assigned gate
Immigration was quick – was 10th in line and after the formalities, made my way to baggage claim. The bag was already on the belt by there. Was picked up by friends for the 5 minute drive round the bend to the Sheraton. Always loved the decor, vibe and hospitality here versus the Marriott next door. The check in agent asked if I wanted to go to the lounge for the formalities but I declined as I just wanted to get to my room – was “upgraded” to the club floor but I didnt care as I just wanted to get in for a shower and sleep.
Comfy for one night.
After a semi decent sleep, I woke up to a wonderful view – the wow factor for me is the airport views.
To wrap up on my TK experience – I have heard good things about it and I will agree to a certain extent. I set my expectations low for anything business class these days and I was not disappointed but I was also not wow-ed compared to SQ and QR. The cabin crew were good, professional and smiling. The food and drinks were delicious and the lounge experience was better than most (I’m looking at your Air Canada). The seat on this leg is just terrible for a long haul flight and felt a little tight when compared to other airlines with better business class seat products.
Hooked On Points 
