Introduction: Flying The Nordic Shortcut to Europe
Cathay Pacific 777 Business Class Hong Kong to Bangkok
Oriental Residence Bangkok
Finnair A350 Business Class Bangkok to Helsinki
Hilton Helsinki Airport
Finnair A321 Business Class Helsinki to Amsterdam
Hotel Des Indes The Hague
Hotel Le Royal Luxembourg
Sofitel Brussels Le Louise
Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht
British Airways Lounge Amsterdam
British Airways A321 Economy Class Amsterdam to London
My Bloomsbury London
Finnair A350 Business Class London to Helsinki
Finnair A350 Business Class Helsinki to Hong Kong

We arrived at the Hotel Des Indes after driving straight from Amsterdam Airport. We were greeted by the bellmen who directed us to the check-in area and offered to park our car.

Hotel Des Indes The Hague Entrance 

Continue reading “Review: Hotel Des Indes The Hague” →

Since we’d booked a Cathay Holidays package for our trip, our ticket included a four-night stay at The Westin Sydney. The Westin Sydney was right by Sydney’s central business district, and it looked pretty modern, so all else being equal we decided to go for it for our four-night stay. Our flights to Sydney in Cathay Pacific business class were retailing for HK$24,300 per person, so the overall cost breakdown from the package brought the hotel price to around ~HK$2,500 per night. The hotel was retailing our room type for ~HK$2,700 per night, though I’m not sure if Starwood was doing their fourth-night free promotion at the time – if they were, that would’ve saved us quite a bit of money, though the promotion never crossed my mind at the time of booking.

The Westin Sydney is a category 5 hotel, so an SPG redemption would cost 12,000 points. In this case we weren’t staying in an entry level room (though the biggest difference was probably the floor we were staying on). An entry level room cost ~HK$2,100 for our dates, so paying cash would’ve been a marginally better deal.

The Westin Sydney is integrated into the No. 1 Martin Place complex, so the general impression of the hotel’s exterior is the classic, dainty building that No. 1 Martin Place is. That’s where most of the public areas of the hotel are housed, though the real hotel is in a more corporate-looking, though still nice building located behind the complex.

The hotel is located right at the intersection of Pitt Street and Martin Place – two huge streets if you’re looking to shop or eat. There’s also a side entrance by George Street, another huge shopping street. It’s a couple of minutes from the Martin Place subway station, and a 10-minute walk from Circular Quay, so location-wise this hotel gets full marks.

The Westin Sydney Exterior

Continue reading “Review: The Westin Sydney” →