I've spent quite a bit of time traveling this year, which means a lot of time in airports and a lot of time to people watch. Last week, I observed some interesting behavior while waiting for a connection at LAX and by the end, I found it somewhat hilarious. 

It was around 9 in the morning at the American Airlines remote terminal and a couple of individuals were so comfortable in the gate area, I actually felt like an intruder in their living room. Now of course, if there are massive delays or it's really early in the morning or really late at night, you might see people sleeping on the ground around the gates or trying to get comfortable on the chairs in the gate area, but this was a little different. 

I started Snapchatting the situation ​to a couple of friends who were also traveling that day and realized that things were getting weirder and weirder - so much so that it was pretty hilarious to watch. 

What follows are my (quick and random) snaps of the situation over about 40 minutes, which was really one of the odder ranges of behavior I've seen for grown adults at an airport.

What do you think? Is this appropriate behavior for an airport gate area? 

Review: American Airlines Business Class LAX - PVG 
Review: PVG Cathay Pacific Lounge 
Review: Dragonair Business Class PVG - HKG 
Review: Andaz Xintiandi Shanghai
Review: Grand Hyatt Shanghai
Review: Hyatt Regency Suzhou

At this point, I've stayed at 3 out of the 4 Hyatt properties in Shanghai. I've only had a chance to review the Park Hyatt Shanghai so far, but I'm certain that the Andaz Shanghai has the best location of them all. Xiantiandi (新天地) is an affluent shopping district in Shanghai and the area directly around the Andaz is chock full of restaurants of all varieties, high-end shops, and tons of people. As opposed to the Park Hyatt, which is located in a high-rise in Shanghai's financial district (which has very little going on in the evening), the Andaz is the place to be. Andaz is Hyatt's hip boutique brand and in this case, they almost take "hip" to an extreme. 

You'll notice the Andaz from almost anywhere in Xiantiandi, which makes it easy to find your way back after a few cocktails. The building has a unique design with rounded rectangular windows punctuating the facade (although don't confuse it with the Langham, which is across the street and has a similar look).

Upon arrival at the Andaz, you'll enter through gigantic wooden sliding doors and find yourself almost assaulted with the uniquely designed lobby (I unfortunately don't actually have a picture of the immediate view, but it's imposing). The lobby features a bar and seating area directly ahead, while check-in is to your right. To the immediate right is a patisserie where you can buy fresh juices, pastries and the like. 

At check-in, you'll be offered a refreshment, but I've never accepted one, so I'm not sure what you can choose from. The front desk area has beverages and cookies/fruit available throughout the day in case you need to stop by. Check-in is usually quick and efficient and you'll learn about the nightly happy hour from 6 PM to 8 PM which is free for all guests.

Once you're checked in, you will proceed through the lobby and make a right to the elevators. The Andaz is full of interesting art and you'll pass a custom motorcycle and what looks like a giant wad of painted paper on your way. It's all very unique. The elevator area is decorated with a moving fish screen, which is kind of fun.

The Andaz uses wood accents throughout and when you arrive on your floor and step out of the elevator, you'll see nothing but wood. I think it's tastefully done and it definitely gives the hotel a unique look. 

I've stayed at this hotel so many times and I've had a couple of different room types, so I'll cover both the Andaz Xintiandi View King and the Andaz Large King rooms. 

Andaz Xintiandi View King

If you couldn't tell, this room type faces Xintiandi, which gives you a view of the surrounding neighborhood and the Pudong skyscrapers in the distance. When you enter the room, you'll be in a hallway. To the right (usually) is the bathroom followed by a closet and then the room opens up to reveal the bed, a chair, a table with two chairs, and the TV and minibar. 

The quirky decor from downstairs continues upstairs and I think the designers did a good job of making the room a unique and interesting, but still keeping things pretty modern and minimal, which I like.  The bed is very comfortable and the room views are excellent. In addition, you'll notice that the room has some "smart" features as well.

Guest Reviewer: Chris

An avid traveler and obsessive points and miles hound, Chris is my travel buddy extraordinaire. I love him for his enthusiasm, his sense of adventure, and his many lounge access credit cards. Hope you enjoy his perspective! ​

Recently I took a weekend trip to Puerto Rico in order to earn some elite-qualifying miles with American Airlines (maintaining Executive Platinum status is hard work!). To book my hotel, I decided to use Hotel Tonight, which is an app that offers deals on last-minute hotel reservations. One of the hotel choices for my one-night stay was the Condado Vanderbilt, located about a 15-minute drive from the San Juan airport. It wasn’t the cheapest option at $269 including taxes, but it was listed as a 5-star hotel and was in the “Luxe” category of the app, so I figured I’d give it a shot.
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The Condado Vanderbilt was built by the Vanderbilt family in 1919 and was the first luxury hotel to open in Puerto Rico. Normally I’m not a fan of old hotels - while I appreciate their historic architecture and charm, I find that they usually have musty, cramped guest rooms. Fortunately, the Condado Vanderbilt went through extensive renovations a few years ago, so you get the best of both worlds. It’s located in the Condado neighborhood of San Juan, which is an area containing many restaurants, shops, and resorts. There was a lot more to do in the surrounding area than there was at the last hotel that Jen and I stayed at in Puerto Rico, the Ritz-Carlton San Juan.

In my past experiences with Hotel Tonight, the hotels have usually stuck me in the worst possible rooms. There was one memorable case in Portland where I’m pretty sure they put me in a converted janitor’s closet. Since you’re booking the most discounted rates, you end up at the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to room assignments. So, as I was taking the elevator up, I had really low expectations for how the room would be.

This time, however, things were different. When the front desk lady said the room would be a little bit bigger, what she forgot to mention is that they’d upgraded me to a suite instead. My room had two entrances, two foyers, a bedroom, a living room, and two bathrooms. Needless to say, it was way beyond what I was expecting.

The bathrooms weren’t large, but they were clad in white marble so still felt luxurious. One of them had a shower with a rain head, and the other had a shower-tub combo. The toiletries were C.O. Bigelow branded, and were pleasant enough.

After changing into my swim trunks, I headed outside to explore the property. The hotel has two pool areas: the main tower has a large pool and an ocean-facing infinity edge pool, and the east tower has a smaller adult pool and hot tub. There’s also a small private beach (the main Condado beach is only a few minutes walk away, for those who prefer a larger beach).

I stopped by the pool desk to pick up a towel, and the attendant accompanied me to set up a lounge chair of my choice. There were plenty of available chairs to choose from, and many were even in the shade, which I appreciated. The staff regularly stopped by to check if I needed anything, and I enjoyed a few beers while I lounged by the pool. All in all, it was an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon.

The hotel has five onsite restaurants, but I only dined at one of them during my stay: Ola, where I had breakfast. I was given the choice of indoor or outdoor seating, and opted to sit outside. The waitress soon came by with a glass of ice water, and I also ordered a cappuccino, which was delivered promptly. The were two buffet options to choose from: the continental buffet ($28) and the full buffet ($40), along with some a la carte options. I decided to go with the full buffet since I was feeling rather peckish.

The buffet had enough to satisfy even the hungriest man’s cravings. There was an omelette station, some hot dishes (such as sausages, potatoes, and frittata), yogurt, fruit, cereal, bread, cold cuts, cheeses, and pastries. While the selection was good, the food was hit-or-miss: I really liked the pastries, but the hot dishes were a bit lackluster.

Overall I really enjoyed my stay at the Condado Vanderbilt and wouldn’t hesitate to return, even though I doubt I’d be as lucky in getting a room upgrade the second time around. The hotel exceeded almost all my expectations, and I found it to offer amazing value for the price I paid - though it’s worth noting that rates are much higher during peak season. The service was impeccable, and I found my stay relaxing, even though I was only there for 24 hours.

Cheers!

Review: American Airlines Business Class LAX - PVG 
Review: PVG Cathay Pacific Lounge 
Review: Dragonair Business Class PVG - HKG 
Review: Andaz Xintiandi Shanghai
Review: Grand Hyatt Shanghai
Review: Hyatt Regency Suzhou


Cathay Pacific (CX) #5891, DragonAir (KA) #891
Shanghai (PVG) - Hong Kong (HKG)
Saturday, March 21st, 2015
6:20 PM - 9:10 PM
Airbus A330-300 Business Class

This flight is sold by Cathay Pacific, but it's operated by Cathay's regional subsidiary, Dragonair. Dragonair flies many of Cathay's intra-Asia routes and the level of service that I have come to expect is right on par with that of Cathay. At this point, I've taken several flights between Shanghai and Hong Kong on Dragonair and I'm almost never disappointed. For such a quick flight (just under 3 hours), you'll get a full meal and plenty of personalized service.

I boarded the flight and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the cabin. This particular flight had a 3 cabin configuration and the business class was configured as 2-2-2, which is absolutely fine for a short flight.  Each seat has a pillow (with funky orange metallic fabric) and blanket available as well as an in-flight entertainment screen with the same amount of movies and TV shows that you will find on a Cathay longhaul flight. Even though the airplane was a bit dated, the cabin still felt fresh and clean, which is very appreciated. 

As the flight was boarding, the flight attendants came by to welcome us aboard and offer newspapers and pre-departure beverages. In addition to the standard orange juice and water, they were also offering a very lovely alcoholic fruity something, which I took without hesitation. It was excellent, but I have no idea what was in it. 

The seats were comfortable and were able to recline as well as extend a foot rest, which is amazing to have for such a short flight. The seat controls as well as the IFE remote are next to the seat and they're intuitive enough to operate, which is not always the case. 

As expected on Cathay, the flight attendants address each passenger by name when asking for beverage orders and meal orders, which is always amazing. Sure, they use a cheat sheet at the beginning, but almost every time, they've been able to remember my name when de-planing, which is impressive! (And no, I don't think this has anything to do with the fact that I'm very blonde and there are usually very few other blonde passengers on flights in Asia.) 

As I mentioned, you can expect a full meal service on this flight, which is impressive. The crew will hand out trays with a salad, appetizer and bread plate along with your drink, then come back a bit later to add the entree. When it comes to bread, there should be no hesitation - nothing is better than Cathay Pacific garlic bread. Don't even bother with anything else. 

Aesthetically, the menu looks very similar to what you will find on American or Cathay and there's quite the selection given how short the flight is. There are three entree choices, including an "Asian Delight" which is found on a special addition to the menu and changes every couple of weeks. 

​The menu read as follows: 

...

Starters
Chicken and mushroom terrine with zucchini

Mixed lettuce salad with Italian vinaigrette dressing

Main Courses
Braised duck in five spices braising sauce

Roasted cod fillet with lemon cream emulsion, leek with bacon Gratin potato and broccoli

Asian Delight: Thai green curry beef brisket, coconut rice and vegetables

Dessert
Haagen-Dazs ice cream

​...

Since I'm not a fan of duck or fish, I went for the Asian Delight. It wasn't something I ever would have ordered in another setting, but it wasn't bad. I definitely felt proud of myself for trying something new. Dessert was ice cream, which was simple and delicious.

Shortly after the meal service concluded, it was time to prepare for landing in Hong Kong.

There is really no better way to travel between Hong Kong and China and I really enjoy Dragonair. Aside from the fact that the hard product and service are excellent, there's also the fact that the airline has a very cool name, so you really can't go wrong.