- Introduction: The Long Way To Florence
- Review: Etihad Business Class A350 (ORD-AUH)
- Review: Etihad Arrivals Lounge Abu Dhabi Airport (AUH)
- Review: Burj Al Arab Dubai (What An Experience!)
- Review: Bulgari Hotel Dubai, UAE
- Caviar All The Way To Bologna: My Emirates First Class Non-Review
- Review: Four Seasons Florence, Italy
- Truffle Hunting In Tuscany With Savini Tartufi
- Review: Masaccio Lounge Florence Airport (FLR)
- Review: Lufthansa First Class Lounge Munich Airport Satellite (MUC)
- Resisting Temptation In Lufthansa First Class
Welcome to my next trip report series, which will cover a recent spring trip to Dubai and Florence (a weird combination, I know!). You can expect reviews of Etihad’s A350 business class, a few luxury hotels, and more. Once I’m done with this report, I’ll be publishing the full series for my recent surprise round the world trip with my dad.
In this post:
Why we took this trip
A majority of the trip reports that I’ve published this year have been “pure” review trips, which is to say that I traveled exclusively to be able to review certain airline products, with some hotel reviews thrown in as well. This includes my whirlwind Aeroplan adventure, my four trips across the Atlantic, and my new era of German business class trip.
In this case, Ford and I were planning on just going to Florence for a quick weekend, as neither of us had visited since we were kids. However, I’m always looking for an interesting review angle when it comes to these kinds of trips, and I wasn’t seeing any exciting transatlantic premium cabin flight award options for our dates.
Probably the single airline product I most wanted to review was the new Etihad Airbus 350 business class, especially with the new Armani / Casa amenities. So I talked Ford into traveling to Italy via the United Arab Emirates, which admittedly isn’t exactly the most direct way to get there. 😉
Since we were in the vicinity of Dubai anyway, we decided to check out a couple of hotels there as well. While the trip was ultimately a bit more complex than I initially planned, we had an awesome time.
The airlines we flew on this trip
The outbound portion of this journey was definitely the most interesting in terms of airlines I could review.
For the outbound, I managed to redeem miles for Etihad business class. I booked the following for 70,000 American AAdvantage miles plus $5.60 in taxes and fees per person:
4/24 EY150 Chicago to Abu Dhabi departing 12:35PM arriving 11:00AM (+1 day)
Then to get from the United Arab Emirates to Tuscany, I redeemed for Emirates first class through Emirates Skywards. I booked the following for 102,000 Emirates Skywards miles plus $432 in taxes and fees per person:
4/28 EK93 Dubai to Bologna departing 9:20AM arriving 1:40PM
Admittedly this was a pretty poor value compared to the first flight, but it was a direct option, and for that matter, we had the first class cabin all to ourselves, which is tough to beat. It’s also much easier to justify and recoup any fuel surcharges with Emirates’ unlimited caviar and Dom Perignon. 😉
Lastly, to return back home, I redeemed for Lufthansa first class through Air Canada Aeroplan. I booked the following for 100,000 Air Canada Aeroplan points plus $110.54 in taxes and fees per person:
5/01 EN8193 Florence to Munich departing 9:50AM arriving 11:00AM
5/01 LH434 Munich to Chicago departing 3:25PM arriving 6:15PM
In addition to flight reviews, you can expect reviews of a few lounges, including:
- The Etihad Arrivals Lounge Abu Dhabi Airport (AUH)
- The Masaccio Lounge Florence Airport (FLR)
- The Lufthansa First Lounge Satellite Munich Airport (MUC)
While I’ll be fully reviewing the Etihad flight, I’ll be doing slightly unconventional reviews of Emirates’ 777 first class and Lufthansa’s A340 first class, since I’ve reviewed both of those products in detail recently.
The hotels we stayed at on this trip
During this trip we stayed at three different hotels, all of which were new to us. Let me start by saying that none of them were points hotels, but I think they all make for interesting reviews (and worry not, for my round the world trip with my dad, we exclusively stayed at points hotels, and I have lots more points hotel reviews planned in the coming months).
We decided to spend our time in the United Arab Emirates in Dubai, and for our first night we checked out a hotel that has been on our radar forever, and that I think might just be the world’s most iconic hotel. Specifically, we spent a night at the Burj Al Arab, often referred to as the world’s seven-star hotel (of course that’s not actually a thing, though). I was expecting that the property would be all style over substance, but was actually incredibly impressed.
We then decided to check out a hotel we had heard a lot of good things about. Specifically, we visited the Bulgari Dubai. Bulgari is a Marriott hotel brand, but frustratingly, doesn’t participate in Marriott Bonvoy. This turned out to be a pretty great hotel as well, though in a totally different way than the Burj Al Arab.
Lastly, in Florence we spent a few nights at the Four Seasons Florence, which has to be one of the most impressive city hotels anywhere in Europe.
In the individual review installments I’ll talk about how we booked each of these hotels.
Bottom line
My next trip report series will cover a recent spring trip to Dubai and Florence, and will include a review of Etihad’s A350 business class, as well as reviews of the Burj Al Arab Dubai, Bulgari Dubai, and the Four Seasons Florence. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned!
It occurs to me to mention that when I spent a month or so in Italy several years ago, intercity travel by train wasnt as nasty an experience as in, for example Austria, West Germany and the Netherlands. And this is Italy, obviously. Maybe astonishing that things like trains and federal police are absolutely functioning better than in the US. Bologna Centrale is awful, but you can get from there to Venice or Florence without...
It occurs to me to mention that when I spent a month or so in Italy several years ago, intercity travel by train wasnt as nasty an experience as in, for example Austria, West Germany and the Netherlands. And this is Italy, obviously. Maybe astonishing that things like trains and federal police are absolutely functioning better than in the US. Bologna Centrale is awful, but you can get from there to Venice or Florence without as much pain as desperately hanging around in an Italian airport.
What's the point of this article? Why not just post the reviews? Not sure why you need an article to introduce your plan.
Shuttttttttttttttttt Up and don't read it's not your blog!!
Im SO excited to read your Dubai hotel reviews-the Burj is iconic, but the Bvlgari Dubai has been on my radar for years, Im already in love with the hotel and cant wait to actually stay there. Cant wait to read your full review, and YES to luxury non-points hotel reviews :)
We stayed in an air bnb last June which was right on the river by the ponte vechhio. Had a roof terrace with incredible views. 4 bedrooms. Was old and had character (not for everyone) but I just can’t see myself going back to hotels these days for a pokey room and maid service at 3-4x the cost. Especially when I wouldn’t think to eat at the hotel restaurant in Italy.
Be careful posting that naked statue since you live in Florida. You might get banned!
Why?
Much more likely to get banned if you live in California and the statue is not masked or too white marble, or if you live in NY and the statue looks too straight
@lasdiner
Nah, mdande7's ban is the more likely one.
The governor of Florida is terrified that children viewing Michelangelo’s famed David at a young age will cause irreparable harm.
For those of us who grew up in large metropolitan areas with a wide selection of world class museums (the NYC metro area in my case) find this to be a bit naive if not stimulus for sarcasm.
What does this have to do with DeSantis? What really happened is that parents complained to the school board which proceeded to sack the teacher. Please leave your straw man politics at home.
Four Seasons Florence is a lovely hotel but has a terrible location.
If you don't have legs, maybe
Why ? You can walk. It’s 10 minutes to the Piazza del Duomo.
Yes, Four Seasons Florence is in a terrible location. I would much rather stay more central.
I agree. I spend a lot of time in Florence and it's too far from the interesting parts of the city. I like walking, but to have most points in Oltrarno be a 30 minute walk is kind of a deal-breaker. It's 15-20 minutes to lots of other points of interest, which is completely fine, but it's also not near too much else. Other than the one star restaurant at the hotel (which is good!)...
I agree. I spend a lot of time in Florence and it's too far from the interesting parts of the city. I like walking, but to have most points in Oltrarno be a 30 minute walk is kind of a deal-breaker. It's 15-20 minutes to lots of other points of interest, which is completely fine, but it's also not near too much else. Other than the one star restaurant at the hotel (which is good!) there aren't many restaurants I'd recommend nearby.
Sorry, I know this site's new moneymaker is content marketing Four Seasons properties, but this is one I'd skip unless there was a reason to stay specifically there. It is a gorgeous hotel, though. There are a number of five star, well-regarded properties closer in that, on the balance, are worth choosing over the Four Seasons. The Portrait, Hotel Lungarno, Savoy, Palazzo Vecchietti, Baglioni, are all closer-in. The FS is a nicer hotel than all of them, but the locations of the others more than overcome the niceness gap.
I have stayed at Portrait Firenze in a suite overlooking the Arno twice. First time, shame on you. Second time, SHAME ON ME. It is way overpriced, service is terrible and the bathroom is ridiculous tiny and hard to move around. And their AC system is a mess. They set the temperatures and if you want it lower they have to do it. Then it will default to what they set it at. This is...
I have stayed at Portrait Firenze in a suite overlooking the Arno twice. First time, shame on you. Second time, SHAME ON ME. It is way overpriced, service is terrible and the bathroom is ridiculous tiny and hard to move around. And their AC system is a mess. They set the temperatures and if you want it lower they have to do it. Then it will default to what they set it at. This is a problem in times when the weather can go from hot to cold since the sun shines in the Arno facing rooms making the room hot and needing the AC, but then when it is gone, you may need heat. The location is its only redeeming quality. I have stayed at the Four Seasons once, and only chose to move to Portrait because of the location. If I ever go back, I will go back to the FS again, unless something better is available.
If you go to Italy without the determination to walk a bit and with the expectation to be driven by uber into the sistine Chapel, better stay home or go to lovely places like Minneapolis or Anheim
This does not matter if you don't leave the hotel and order room service avocado toast.
Just out of curiosity how was it taking the baby on this whirlwind tour to Italy did the baby enjoy it did you have to buy him a ticket for his seat or not thank you
How much caviar can Miles eat before he turns into a sturgeon?
I don’t think Miles has generated any miles yet on their trips, I must admit I am extremely impressed they can leave their baby at home and still enjoy with confidence international travel, if only I could do that with my young boy.
I agree - as a new-ish parent of a 14 month old, I am looking at my world of points & business class travel diminishing rapidly after the 24 month lap-infant is over. It's hard enough to find 2 biz tickets, let alone 3, or hopefully 4 one day! I also find it a little odd that Ben focuses exclusively on the travel, as though his life with a young child doesn't exist, and doesn't...
I agree - as a new-ish parent of a 14 month old, I am looking at my world of points & business class travel diminishing rapidly after the 24 month lap-infant is over. It's hard enough to find 2 biz tickets, let alone 3, or hopefully 4 one day! I also find it a little odd that Ben focuses exclusively on the travel, as though his life with a young child doesn't exist, and doesn't need to impact his travel plans. I would assume lots of parents read this blog, and could relate more easily to travel with a young family.
A good alternative would be to buy caviar from Costco (e.g., Bulgarian sturgeon, $379.99; 8.8 oz Vacuum Sealed Tin, Serves 7-12; Superior Quality Malossol Caviar, Salt Cure Only; This Caviar is Borax Free, Non Pasteurized) and use the rest of the flight surcharges for two persons to purchase some millesime champagne of your choice. Finally, having champagne+caviar in a company of good friends is much more fun vs. consuming that alone at 30,000 ft...
FYI...Lufthansa now serves caviar produced in China in their first class cabin.