I am currently in Sevilla, Spain getting ready to celebrate the new year in just a matter of hours. Before the year is officially over, I wanted to take a brief look back at 2015 and the awesome adventures I was able to have.

As those closest to me know, traveling is something I prioritize over many things in my life and because I have dedicated time to learning how to work the system, I have been lucky enough to experience so many wonderful places and adventures this year. I sometimes feel guilty because I get to travel as much as I do, but the truth is that it's a lot of hard work (and sleepless nights) and although I have a job that took me to China four times this year (which means I earned miles and hotel points that I could use later), I've done the rest myself. I spend a lot of time and money on traveling and learning how to get cheap or free tickets and if everyone else did the same, they could too. 

In 2015, I

• Visited 5 new countries: Denmark, Iceland, Norway, United Arab Emirates, and Spain
• Took 81 flights totaling 168,503 miles, spending approximately 15 days, 22 hrs, and 35 mins in the air
• Qualified for American Airlines Executive Platinum status with 132,494 miles flown
• Qualified for Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond status with 56 nights

January
Vancouver, British Columbia

In late January, we spent a weekend in Vancouver, which is something that has become our yearly tradition. I love Vancouver and each time I visit, I love it even more. We didn't do much other than wander around and eat good food, but we did make it up to see the Capilano Suspension Bridge, which is definitely worth the quick trip from downtown.

February
Maui, HI

We found a killer deal on Alaska Air flights to Maui on Black Friday 2014, so we jumped on it and spent a long weekend in Maui at the Andaz in Wailea. It was such a dreamy place to stay and was my first time in Maui. Needless to say, I feel completely in love with the island. 

March
Seattle, WA

We did another weekend trip at the beginning of the month to Seattle, which is a place I have visited many times, but usually to see family. We lucked out and caught Seattle on one of the first sunny and warm weekends of 2015 and caught up with some friends. 

Hong Kong and Shanghai, China

I took my first business trip of the year in March to Hong Kong and China and had a free day in Hong Kong. Since it was my third time to the city, I didn't have a lot I wanted to do, but I did make it out to the flower market, the bird market, and the goldfish market, which were all incredibly interesting to see. 

April
​New York, NY

Another weekend trip in April, this time to New York. Visiting New York is another yearly tradition we've started and we always try to catch up with friends and eat as much as possible. 

Back in March, I wrote about how to book partner award flights on Etihad Airways.  We originally booked First Apartments both to Abu Dhabi from London and from Abu Dhabi back to London over the Thanksgiving holiday, but unfortunately, the airplane for our flight from London was switched from an A380 (which has First Apartments) to an A340 (which has Etihad's standard First Class). The airplane switch was somewhat devastating, but at least we will still experience the Apartments on our way home. We planned a whirlwind luxury long weekend in Dubai around these flights and I'll be covering all the details in upcoming posts. 

Review: British Airways Club World SFO - LHR
Review: LHR Etihad Airways First & Business Class Lounge
Review: Etihad Airways First Class LHR - AUH
Review: Park Hyatt Dubai
​Review: Afternoon Tea at At.mosphere Burj Khalifa
​Review: Burj al Arab Part I: One Bedroom Suite
Review: Burj al Arab Part II: Grounds and Amenities​
Review: AUH Etihad Airways Premium Lounge 
​Review: Etihad Airways First Apartments AUH - LHR 
​

We arrived at the Park Hyatt Dubai at around 10 AM after a slightly disastrous chauffeur ride from Abu Dhabi following our Etihad First Class flight from London. The Park Hyatt Dubai is definitely tucked away and a bit tricky to find, since it's located in the Dubai Creek area, which is about 20-30 minutes away from downtown Dubai. However, it's very convenient if you fly in to DXB because it's located about 10 minutes away.  I was ok with the fact that the hotel was located away from downtown because the area was very quiet (aside from an incident that I'll get into later and the fact that the Red Bull Flugtag was taking place across the creek on our second day) and beautiful. I can say without a doubt that the Park Hyatt Dubai is one of the most beautiful places I have ever stayed. It's beautifully designed with amazing Arabian design accents throughout, which I was completely in love with. There is also beautiful tile work and wood accents throughout the hotel's design and it was really incredibly gorgeous.

We pulled up to the hotel and beelined straight for the front desk. It was definitely early in the morning and I didn't expect that our room was available, but I was so mad about our ridiculous chauffeur ride, I was hoping we could get in to our room ASAP since we had a lot we wanted to do that day. I had booked a Park King room, which came to 1,030 AED, (about $280) and was honestly a bit on the pricy side for me, but I applied one of my Diamond Suite Upgrades, so I figured it would be worth it. When we arrived, we were told we had been upgraded to a Park Terrace Suite, but the room would not be ready for another 15 minutes. One of the front desk associates escorted us down a hallway to The Lounge, which is a small cafe serving breakfast and light snacks throughout the day with a large seating area where we could wait for our room to be ready. They knew I was a bit upset upon our arrival and offered complimentary breakfast or drinks, but we weren't hungry or thirsty, so we just sat and waited. After about 30 minutes, someone came back and told us our room was available, so we were able to go to our room quite early, which was definitely appreciated. 

The Park Hyatt Dubai is extremely spread out and honestly, very confusing to navigate. The hotel stretches across two wings which radiate out in opposite directions from the lobby. When walking to your room, you'll pass through multiple wings, which are connected by glass enclosed walkways and will likely either need to go up or down in the elevator to get to your floor. Because we had a Terrace Suite, our room was located on the ground floor, which meant we needed to take the elevator down to the ground floor from the lobby level. ​We found room 2108, which was located at the very end of the hallway at one of the farthest points of the hotel property.

Back in March, I wrote about how to book partner award flights on Etihad Airways.  We originally booked First Apartments both to Abu Dhabi from London and from Abu Dhabi back to London over the Thanksgiving holiday, but unfortunately, the airplane for our flight from London was switched from an A380 (which has First Apartments) to an A340 (which has Etihad's standard First Class). The airplane switch was somewhat devastating, but at least we will still experience the Apartments on our way home. We planned a whirlwind luxury long weekend in Dubai around these flights and I'll be covering all the details in upcoming posts. 

Review: British Airways Club World SFO - LHR
Review: LHR Etihad Airways First & Business Class Lounge
Review: Etihad Airways First Class LHR - AUH
Review: Park Hyatt Dubai
​Review: Afternoon Tea at At.mosphere Burj Khalifa
​Review: Burj al Arab Part I: One Bedroom Suite
Review: Burj al Arab Part II: Grounds and Amenities
Review: AUH Etihad Airways Premium Lounge 
​Review: Etihad Airways First Apartments AUH - LHR 
​

We arrived in London at 1:52 PM after flying British Airways Club World from SFO - LHR, which we had booked separately from this flight. This meant we had quite a bit of time to kill between flights and unfortunately had to exit terminal 5 and transfer to terminal 4 to check in for our Etihad flight. Because of this, and the fact that check in doesn't open until four hours prior to boarding, we had to spend a long while waiting around the Etihad check in area. We were first in line to check in and finally made it through to Eithad's First and Business class lounge for a rest prior to the flight. Before we knew it, it was time to board.

The Flight

Etihad Airways (EY) #18
London (LHR) - Abu Dhabi (AUH)
Wednesday, November 25th, 2015
8:05 PM - 7:15 AM (+1)
Airbus A340-500 Diamond First Class

The boarding gate was conveniently located just across from the lounge entrance and we made sure to be the first to board so I could get some photos of the cabin without disturbing the other passengers. As I mentioned above, I was pretty devastated to have the equipment change, which resulted in losing the chance to fly in First Apartments out of London, but in the end, it was helpful to compare the two products.

On the A340, Etihad offers their "Diamond" First Class, which has a very similar layout and feel to Singapore Airlines "Suites" Class (I reviewed that here). The first class cabin has three rows of 1-2-1 configuration, with the seats designed very similarly to Singapore Suites, which offers doors that fully close and make your own private suite. We chose two middle seats so that we could lower the center divider and talk to each other during the flight. However, if I was flying solo, I would definitely prefer a window seat for maximum privacy and views. 

The cabin is beautiful with very understated, neutral decor in shades of brown. As opposed to Emirates, which goes completely over the top with bling and gold, Etihad's only extravagances came in the form of signature brightly colored pillows on each seat and a large diamond on the center bulkhead (lest you forget you're flying Diamond First Class).

The seats themselves are very spacious and private with wide leather recliners and a foot rest that doubles as a second seat if you wanted to dine with a companion. Waiting on the ottoman was a fuzzy blanket, which could be used in addition to bedding or until the bed is made up. The television is large and stretches the length of the seat, which is excellent. Next to the television, there is also a small minibar, which was stocked with mixed nuts and water. The minibar seems to be mostly for show and wasn't something I used, but it's an extra feature that Singapore Suites didn't offer. Just under the right arm rest, a compartment opens which contains the television remote, two USB ports, the headphone jack, and a few other adapters. There's also a small screen in front of the compartment which allows you to control the seat position, control the massage options (also not offered on Singapore Suites), and control the lighting. Of course, Etihad also provides over-ear noise-cancelling headphones to use during the flight. Finally, each seat offers a closet to place your clothes in and the closet door has a mirror on it in case you need to straighten up. 

Immediately after we boarded, a crew member came by to offer a "welcome drink". Chris, as usual, went for the champagne, which was Billecart-Salmon. Right after our drink orders were taken, the Cabin Manager came by and after finding out it was our first Etihad flight, showed us all the bells and whistles of our "suite", which was very nice. She was genuinely excited for us to experience our first flight and the sentiment was echoed by the rest of the staff, who all assured us we would have an amazing time.

The welcome drink was served along with Arabic dates, a hot towel, and a welcome note, all on a silver tray, which was a very nice presentation.