Dutytravelog

Stayed in ME Melia right in the center of old Madrid, everything is close by especially with the tourist spot. Here is some of the pics of the room which for me is very modernise.

I was on minimum layover from Luton back to Riyadh in Agadir, Morocco. Dont have time for sightseing as by the time we arrive hotel it is already late at night, early morning departure the next day, i wanna show you guys the room for me that night.

JW Marriot, Kuwait City 4-5 March 2007

After 13 Hrs duties from the time I leave my house, fly and waited for VIP in Bahrain for 4 hrs, arriving in Marriot Kuwait is kind of relieving the stress.

Very efficient check in gave me a very warm welcome greeting. Thanks to my silver elite Marriot card, access to executive lounge also granted.

The Hotel is located kind of in a middle of the town, right in front and behind the hotel there is a shopping mall so staying here for few days will not make any person get bored. Unfortunately I’m going to be here just for in night. By the time I arrived in my room it already 7pm.

The room is very nice, with queen size bed with good linen & pillows, I love it. The bathroom is marvelous, here is the pic for my remembrance.

I went to the executive lounge on the 12th floor, I thought I might see any of my fly mates but non avail, probably they go sleep early for early departure tomorrow. Brought my laptop because I was informed during the registration that the wireless in free however it is not. 2 KD for 1 hr access & 5 KD for 24 hrs. However there is 3 pc with internet connection for guest so I just use that for this time.

Checked my email, straight to bed around 11pm.

Breakfast included so all of us in the lobby restaurant, pick-up time 8.30am, headed to the airport for flight back home, not really my home, temporary home.

Hilton Alger.

Arrived around 4pm local time, after catering, baggage & cabin cleaning cleared aircraft towed to parking area. Guess what.. crew baggage taken by the VIP.. what to do? The gound handler suggest me to go with his driver to VIP hotel to get the bags.

Arrived at Sheraton (VIP's hotel) after 30 min drive, apparently the vip representative had identified crew bags that was taken with them, they are about to send it to our hotel.

Reached Hilton 20 minutes later, Iris waited for me in the lobby. Pass her bag and asked the bellboy to send rest of the bags to their respective room.

Checking in was not smooth, there is 5 people infront of me with each of them seems taking the whole day to finish. When my turn come then i know why, the credit card online payment doest work so they have to do it manually, that's why very slow to check in.

With my Gold Hilton Honor card, i was in impression that i'll get an upgraded room however i got frustrated once i enter the room. The room is so so, the only upgrade i got probably the double bed. Not impresive at all.

Internet is free, i guess it because my gold hilton card, so most of the time i stay in the room. Read travel warning from the net, looks like it is not a good idea to go out. I know it more for the westener but if non of the crew dont want to go out then going out alone will invite trouble. Better be safe than be sorry.

As a Gold Hilton Honor card member I was informed the breakfast included however when I check-out, I have to pay, the person who handled the check in have given me wrong information, or it just a tactic to get the money from the guest.

Headed back to Riyadh in early morning of March 1st with no sweet memory to be taken with, maybe next time. No catering on our way out make it worst, lucky adhoc catering suply was able to be loaded just ontime with VIP boarding.

The Shilla, Seoul Korea

Located on the hillside next to Dongguk University, pity that I don’t know the exact name of the hill however it is a pleasant staying in this hotel. It took us 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach the hotel from Incheon Airport. I guess the time will be half if you landing at Gimpo airport.

As far as public transport is concern only taxi is available, for subway, long walk under the hill is required however the good news is there is a complimentary bus service provided by the hotel that will take you around interesting places around Seoul city itself. It will depart on the hour from the hotel and you can jump out and jump in again from the drop point. Surprisingly they did not check whether you are their hotel guest.

The room is average size room, I got a double size bed which of course my preference. The complimentary tea and coffee is available, flask type kettle is provided so you just need to put water and leave it, whenever you need a hot water it always available as long as you did not forget to top it up again.



Complimentary toiletries is available however the is a small note in the toilet saying that disposable razor and toothbrush cannot be supplied to the guest as it against the local law, hmm, first time I heard of this, wonder why?

Breakfast in Shilla is a wonderful experience with variety of food from American style to typical Korean. I love the noodle soup, you can choose what type if ingredient you prefer and the chef will cook it for you.

I did not go to the gym however I can see it from my room’s window looks very well equip, my crew said the gym is marvelous, and there is also indoor driving range for golf enthusiast.

Staying in Shilla is a wonderful, the only thing that offset it is the internet, I was in impression that in this high tech country the internet normally is complimentary for the guest however it is not. 10000 Korean Won for first 1 hour on LAN, 11000 on wireless, 20000 & 22000 Won for 24 hrs usages respectively.

Marriot Jeddah, Palestine Street

The hotel is about 30 minutes drive from the airport, what should be considered is whether you’ll arrived with Saudia Airlines or other airlines because if it other than saudia then the terminal will be on the south part of the airport while saudia terminal is in the north.

Private terminal is close to the saudia terminal so the distance will be more or less the same.

As safety measure the cars can only reach the hotel gate as drive through the entrance is not allowed for safety reasons. The concierge is helpful to give you a hand.

I’m the last one to check in among the crew, have to wait quite a long time because rooms are fully booked. Because of that, lucky for me they’ve gave me a suite.

The rooms is very spacious, with one living room and separate bedroom. What disappointed me was there is no complimentary beverage kit for me to make my self a coffee as I sat on the couch to relax for a while before unpacking.

The broadband internet is available through LAN line, wireless only in the lobby. The rates is 50SR for 1 hr, 100 for 1 day and so on. For me it is on high side as most of hotels in other part of the world offer it for free. The internet cost id Saudi Arabia is one of the expensive in the world so that’s why the hotel have to charge high price for their customer.

There is no shopping mall nearby the hotel, fast food restaurant like Tajaz & McDonald available across the street. Small groceries store is available on right hand side of the hotel.







The next day Izairan pick me up, spend the whole day in his compund reading malaysian newspaper that i've missed since my last trip home. Later at night went to Tun house, guy working with Takaful, bought Al-Baik and spend until 11 pm chat & watch tv together.

Next day, get back to Riyadh on Al-khayala, Khalid on the way to replace me as i need to go to Korea the next day. Rest of the guys cannot go because of visa issue.