Welcome to the next series of travel reports. Take a look at my recent round-the-world trip with my dad. In addition to first and business class reviews on Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, Virgin Australia and Qantas, expect reviews from several hotels including Hyatt Regency, St. Regis, Hilton LXR, Ritz-Carlton and Holiday Inn Express. increase.
why we took this trip
Most of the trips I have taken in the past year have been “pure” review trips. In other words, it was a trip whose primary purpose was to review the products and hotels of a particular luxury airline. This time, I decided to mix it up a little.
I have had some very memorable trips with my father over the years, but unfortunately I haven’t traveled much with him in the last few years. That’s because her mother is sick and she prioritizes traveling with her mother.
That being said, my dad always looks forward to fun flights and adventures, and recently the perfect opportunity came along. There were some new flight experiences I really wanted to review…and he had two award seats available for the entire itinerary.
So I took my father on a review trip. This was actually quite a surprise to him, as he had no idea where we were going all along. He found out which airline we were on and where our next destination would be just before boarding each flight. He’s a very good sport for this kind of thing.
I had a wonderful time. I am very happy to be able to do this.
Airlines used for this trip
Excluding the positioning flights (Miami to Washington and Los Angeles to Miami), the review portion of this trip covered 22,605 miles and spanned five legs. As you can see, I redeemed mostly American AAdvantage miles on this trip.
To start my trip, I booked first class on Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways to the Middle East. I booked the following for 115,000 American AAdvantage miles and he was $18.55 taxes and fees per person.
5/18 EY130 Washington to Abu Dhabi Depart 9:15pm Arrive 6:15pm (+1 day)
5/20 QR1055 Abu Dhabi to Doha Depart 1:50am Arrive 1:55am
Its first segment was Etihad Airways’ Boeing 787 First Class. It’s been years since I’ve flown first class on Etihad Airways, so I wanted to know how durable this product would be, especially considering my recent Etihad A350 business class flight was exceptional. It is. The second flight was then operated by Qatar Airways’ latest Boeing 737 MAX, originally developed for Russia’s S7 Airlines.
For the next part of my trip, I booked Qatar Airways first class to Australia. I booked the following for 100,000 American AAdvantage miles and $104.50 taxes and fees per person.
5/23 QR900 Doha to Perth Depart 2:25am Arrive 6:20pm
The flight was operated by Qatar Airways A380 First Class. It was my first time on a Qatar Airways A380 in many years, so I was excited to see how durable this product was. Another main motivation was to be able to see all of Qatar Airways’ new lounges at Doha Airport.
Next, I booked business class with Virgin Australia on a transcontinental flight. I booked the following for 28,800 United MileagePlus miles and $12.10 taxes and fees per person.
5/24 VA560 Perth to Sydney Depart 1:15pm Arrive 7:35pm
Why did you book with Virgin Australia? Well, there were no perks with Qantas and the cash fares were exorbitant. I was curious to see what the airline would look like after the restructuring, so this was a good opportunity to fly with Virgin Australia. Note that Virgin Australia often releases business class award seats one at a time, so finding award space for multiple people can be tricky.
Last but not least, I ended up with what can only be described as a unicorn award, as I found two Qantas first class award tickets on the Transpacific. I booked the following with 110,000 American AAdvantage miles and $79.75 taxes and fees per person.
5/25 QF11 Sydney to Los Angeles Depart 10:20am Arrive 7:05am
I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try Qantas A380 First Class again and revisit one of my favorite lounges in the world, the Qantas First Lounge Sydney.
In addition to flight reviews, you can also expect reviews for the following airport lounges:
- Etihad First Class Lounge Abu Dhabi Airport (AUH)
- Qatar Airways Al Sahwa First Class Lounge Doha Airport (DOH)
- Qatar Airways Al Moorjan Garden Business Lounge Doha Airport (DOH)
- Qatar Airways Platinum & Gold Lounges Doha South Airport (DOH)
- Qatar Airways Platinum & Gold Lounge North Doha Airport (DOH)
- Virgin Australia Lounge Perth Airport (PER)
- Qantas First Lounge Sydney Airport (SYD)
Hotels we stayed in on this trip
In an ideal world, you would spend a few days in each destination, specifically Perth (which I had never visited before) and Sydney (which I hadn’t visited in years). However, on this trip, we ended up moving pretty quickly for a variety of reasons.
- As Ford was home caring for our 11-month-old son, we wanted to minimize the amount of time we were away from home.
- I planned my trip around a flight from Sydney to Los Angeles. Because he found two first class award tickets. This is incredibly rare.
- We deliberately invited them to stay in Doha for a few nights, coinciding with the opening of Qatar Airways’ new Louis Vuitton cafe.
We ended up spending 3 nights in Doha, 1 night in Perth and 1 night in Sydney.
We stayed in 3 different hotels in Doha. As we were due to arrive in Doha around 2am, we decided to spend our first night at Hyatt Regency Oryx his Doha. I booked this because it was cheap (only 5,000 World of Hyatt points) and close to the airport, so I thought it would be the most practical option.
The next night we stayed at Katara Hills, the most interesting hotel of the trip. Katara Hills is a Hilton LXR property and consists of just 15 individual villas. The cash rate is close to $2,000, but I booked this with my Hilton Honors free night award. I can say that it is very good value.
Finally, we spent one night at The St. Regis Marsa Arabian Island Doha. I booked using my Marriott Bonvoy free night award. This offer is valid for accommodations up to 35,000 points. Again, this was a great bargain compared to the cash rate.
In Perth, we stayed overnight at The Ritz-Carlton Perth. I booked this through Marriott Stars and the cash rate he said was pretty reasonable at around $300 (USD) per night. Considering the extra perks like free breakfast and a $100 facility credit, I think it was a good deal.
Finally, I spent a short night in Sydney and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Sydney Airport. This went well for the night. It cost us nearly $200 (USD) for the stay, but we stayed with an expiring IHG One Rewards free night award.
In terms of redeeming my credit card free night award, I have to say this was a pretty great trip.
Conclusion
My dad and I had a really fun round-the-world trip, but I wish we had more time. We took some great flights, stayed in some interesting hotels, checked out some great lounges, explored Doha (by the way, much more interesting than it was a few years ago) and Enjoyed my short visit to Perth.
Please look forward to this series. Thank you for reading.
