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Four Days in Beautiful Santorini

Four Days in Beautiful Santorini
via American and Emirates First Class
May 2018

Goldair Handling Lounge at Athens International

 

We exited domestic baggage claim and headed for the departures level exactly 3 hours before our Emirates departure.

Wow, now that's the lkind of line I like.

After check-in, we headed for passport control.  The was no designated priority lane but when the doc checker saw our Emirates First Class boarding passes, she directed around the main queue to a separate passport control booth. 

All the lounges are located at the end of the concourse, near gates 10-12.   The Skyserv Lounge is the one we used in January.  It's a terrible lounge, or as Mrs. SFO777 calls it... "the crap lounge".

On the other hand, the Goldair Handling Lounge is much, much nicer.

Comfy seating and functional seating.

And quite a nice selection of food and drink.

A little snack before our Emirates dinner.

At around T-50 with the lounge pretty packed, we decided to beat the traffic and head for the gate, rather than wait for the lounge dragon to announce that boarding had commenced, typically 10 minutes after it has already started.  

Another of the lounges next door to our lounge.  And another Priority Pass lounge.

Emirates First Class Athens to Newark

We timed our arrival perfectly as we were the first in the Priority Lane and general boarding was announced about a few minutes later... but only after the ridiculous "families with small children and the those passengers that need a little more time".  Seriously?

Emirates EK 209
Athens ATH to Newark EWR
777-300ER
5:20pm-9:20pm
May 17, 2018
First Class
Suite 2EF and 1K

 

Emirates 77W, a great way to fly.

Although, when First Class was finally announced, all was well until we got to the jet bridge which was backed up with "families with small children and the those passengers that need a little more time".  LOL.

But once on board, amazing Emirates in flight service, with a personal escort to our seats in the 8 seat First Class cabin.  Only two other F passengers today.

Pre-departure champagne.  OK not the good stuff, no doubt a Greek tax thing.   Our FA proactively told us not to worry, she'd break out the Dom once we'd departed.

Emirates PJs... very nice.

And an impressive Bulgari amenity kit.

... with amenities you can actually use and worth taking home.  What a concept. 

Tonight's impressive menu...

And amazing wine list.

In the air, the good stuff as promised.   Wow, Dom P2.

Snacks anyone?  LOL.

Tonight's amuse bouche plate... confit duck with curried pineapple, parmesan and truffle arancino, and poached prawn and guacamole tartlet.

And showtime, Emirates style.

After three glasses of P2, an amazing Hyde de Villaine Chardonnay.

My Pistachio-crusted chicken was excellent with grilled asparagus and lemon yogurt.

Next up... OMG, the 2005 Chateau Margaux Pavillon Rouge.  Simply amazing.

Delicious salad.

For my main, the Lamb frikase was very good... especially with another glass of the spectacular Margaux.

OK, maybe the rest of the bottle, decanted.  LOL.

I couldn't decide on dessert, so naturally I had to try both.

And as if I hadn't had enough to drink how could I turn down a glass of Paradis.  

After dinner and the rest of a movie, I moved over to 1K where our FA had made my bed.

I slept for nearly 6 hours and then moved back to my original seat.  Mrs. SFO777 in 2E had declined dinner and slept for nearly 9 hours.  Wow.  Love the map but it's frequently amusing to see which "cities" show up.  WTF is Clark??  

Clark, Ohio??  We lived in Cleveland for 12 years and I've never even heard of Clark, Ohio.   LOL.

What an an amazing flight with stellar, indeed flawless service.    Despite thousands of people in the CBP queues, there was no one at the Global Entry kiosks and we were out in a couple of minutes.   And at the AirTrain platform 5 minutes later.

Wait until Mrs. SFO777 learns that we are staying at the Holiday Inn Newark...

 

As we were landing, Mrs. SFO777 casually asked where we were staying tonight.   If looks could kill, I'd be a goner, after I told her "... uh, uh, Holiday Inn".   LOL.    OK, someone is not happy, and didn't want to hear that it was a lot cheaper and highly rated. 

Indeed, I had to think twice about $136 a night but it received positive ratings and reviews from guests on hotels.com.   And it was $300 less than the Marriott.   No contest in my mind.   

Fortunately, everything about our experience here was excellent.  The shuttle van was waiting for us at the front of the line at the P4 AirTrain location and we departed immediately.   Excellent driver Juan navigated the construction and we got to the hotel five minutes later.  Wonderful front desk staff who seemed thrilled that my Platinum status had got us an upgrade to a suite.  LOL, for $136.  OK, it's not a Four Seasons by any stretch, but this suite was spacious and the bed really comfy.

OK, maybe not the best view.  But is there any good view in Newark?

The lobby as we waited for our shuttle to arrive.

Yeah, yeah.  It was a little tattered from the ongoing construction.

But, all in all, a very pleasant stay and hard to beat the price.  Even Mrs. SFO777 agreed that in the end, it was a good choice.

Less than 5 minutes from the hotel, back at the P4 AirTrain station... 

... and Terminal C, the first stop.

Since the United Club converstion to Polaris Lounge had not been completed, we headed towards the C124 club.

We never got to United Club, since it's not very good anyway and we figured that the food and ambiance would be better here.

My quiche was excellent.

At around T-60, we headed over to our C102 gate.

Not sure what the idea here is, but all of the traditional gate seating is gone, replaced by work/resto type table.  OK.

Newark EWR to Los Angeles LAX
United 1244
757-200
10:00am-1:05pm
May 18, 2018
Seats 3AC

I'd rather fly have flown JetBlue Mint or American Flagship First from New York, but it just seemed more convenient to stay around Newark despite the free Emirates limo service to anywhere in NYC. Plus the price was surprisingly reasonable.  Only $660 per person, or in our case, 33,000 Amex points after the 50% rebate.  Plus we earn miles for the flight.

On board, a dated but comfortable international Business Class product with lie flat seats.

Cool retro amenity kit box...

... but with little more than garbage inside.

Today's menu...

The starter tray. Surprisingly the garlic bread even tasted garlic-y unlike other UA garlic bread offerings I've had. The starters were pretty weak...

Salad with Asian Ginger dressing was OK.

But the smokey chicken, fennel and apple. Yuck. Who thinks up this stuff?

On the other hand, the Seared Beef Short Rib was substantial and very tasty, with bordelaise, goat cheese grits, carrots and parsley.

Perfectly moist. Mint it's not, but probably the best US3 domestic meal in months.

Sundae in nice looking logo'd glass with chocolate sauce and Ghirardelli white chocolate chips. No glass chips.

Snack basket offerings set up in front of cabin. although Miss Classy in 1A tossed her garbage next to the basket. Also, not sure about having cheese out and open to the public.

About 90 minutes out, FA passed thru with a selection of weak looking wraps and sandwiches.

We arrived at LAX 30 minutes early and with little traffic on the 405, were home in Newport Beach by 2pm.  What a fast but wonderful trip to London and gorgeous Santorini.  Thank you for following along.