After a hectic day in Singapore we had a chance to relax in the First Lounge at Singapore Airport whilst we waited for our Qantas Flight to London. Part of being a Frequent Flyer, both Mardi and I are Platinum flyers with Qantas as well as the highest tiered on the oneWorld platform, Emerald, is the chance to upgrade. And as such, tonight we will be flying first class.
Experiencing first class on a Qantas A380 from Singapore to London is the epitome of luxury air travel, offering a blend of sophistication, comfort, and personalized service. As soon as we step aboard, we’re welcomed into an exclusive and serene cabin designed to provide the utmost privacy and relaxation. The spacious suite features a fully flat bed with a plush mattress, crisp linens, and a doona, ensuring we arrive well-rested. Each suite is equipped with a personal wardrobe, ample storage space, and a large entertainment screen with an extensive selection of movies, TV shows, and music, all accessible through noise-cancelling headphones. I can’t see the TV, but Marid enjoys a few movies, while I watch stuff on my iPad.
The cabin’s elegant design, with its warm tones and premium finishes, creates a tranquil atmosphere conducive to both rest and productivity, so we do a bit of both. I do some work as well in preparation for some meetings in London, while Mardi catches a few movies.
Culinary delights are a hallmark of the Qantas first class experience. Renowned chefs curate the in-flight menu, offering gourmet meals that reflect the rich flavours of international cuisine, paired with a selection of fine wines and champagnes. The attentive cabin crew provides us with impeccable service, ensuring each dining experience feels like a five-star restaurant. Beyond the exceptional food and drink, we indulge in exclusive amenities including luxurious skincare products and pyjamas, designed to enhance comfort during the flight. Our journey is complemented by access to premium lounges at both Changi Airport as noted and Heathrow. Overall, flying first class on a Qantas A380 from Singapore to London is not just about reaching your destination but savouring every moment of the journey with unparalleled luxury and care.
We arrive in London, rested, well fed and ready for the eight-night stay. Its 6.00am.
Due to my eye-sight we arrange a meet and assist at the airport. Mardi also suffers from high anxiety at airports due to her Autism, and Heathrow is heaving with people, wo we are very pleased to have this support from Qantas. Did you know that if you travel with a disability, Qantas is probably the best airline for this type of support, I’ve been using it for years.
Our expert guide gets us into the right queue, finds our luggage and guides us to the underground station that will take us to our hotel, in Marylebone.
We descend the elevator to the cavernous, busy, noisy and confusing underground. Tunnels leading every which way and us standing there looking at each other both mouthing, “now what?”
Mardi kicks into gear finds some signs and we start walking, me following behind, a little like a pack horse, with our bags. I can’t help with navigation, I can’t see the signs so I have no idea where to go, so we lesson the load on each other, Mardi navigates and I lug. It has worked well for us now for 14 years.
After navigated a few tunnels, some long walkways and travelators, we find our line, catch the Elizabeth line train and change at Green Park for the Jubilee line, which takes us to Bond Street, a short walk to our hotel.
If you have read our New York Blogs you’d know we love the AKA Times Square. So when in London, where else were we going to stay?
We arrive around 10.00am, after the underground ride from Heathrow, which took around an hour. We walk from Bond Street to Bentinck Street, around ten minutes to look for number five.
We find it, a beautiful townhouse built in the 1780s and occupied and owned by Victor 3rd Baron Rothschild among others during the course of its 240 year life. Converted by the Korman Group in the early 2000s, it’s now our home for the next eight days.
The AKA at Marylebone is a hotel with only eight rooms set in an exquisitely renovated townhouse in the heart of Marylebone. Formerly used as an MI5 safe house, lovingly restored by the AKA group, we are blown away as we ascend the front steps and enter the lobby. The external façade, from the 1700s, belies the modern interior which is built around the original circular staircase and lift – the quirky side: a manually operated tiny lift!
We check in and cram into the tiny lift, a little taken-a-back that the so-called luxury we were promised and are used to at the AKA might be a little different in London. We get off on the fourth floor and are presented with a spiral staircase to our room, the one-bedroom apartment with a terrace. We lug our bags, ably assisted by the day manager Anad, and arrive at our suite. Wow. Bright, airy, small, but perfectly laid out and designed: a centrepiece of the Larry Korman design aesthetic. Kitchen, Laundry, sitting area, bedroom all tidily fit into the tiny overall space. Windows to the north and south are letting in the gentle spring air as the morning warms up. We are then shown the terrace. Wow. Overlooking all of the rooftops of Marylebone and the street in front, it’s like our own private view of London. Quiet, lined with flowers, an area to sit and snack, just a beautiful space to unwind.
It’s typical AKA, your own private oasis as you recover from a busy day on the streets of New York, or in the next week’s case, London. We couldn’t be happier. We have found another home away from home.
We unpack and settle in, then go for a walk to familiarise ourselves with the local area and find some lunch. We’ve been on the go since 4.00am.
We wonder down Marylebone lane and the High street and settle on a bustling little Italian place called La Brasseria. The streets are starting to fill with a combination of locals and tourists and as we each lunch we sense the restaurant growing busier and busier.
We enjoy a pizza and some pasta before continuing to explore the local area by foot. As we leave the restaurant, the streets are much busier now as the warm afternoon sun brings out people. The little shops along the lane offer an eclectic mix of wares, product, souvenirs and household items.
We slowly wend our way to Regents Park and explore Queen Mary’s Rose Garden. There aren’t a lot of roses on show, it is early Spring, but we see some and can imagine what the full spring will bring.
It’s a glorious afternoon so we continue walking along Marylebone Road when we leave the park and explore the buildings and statues along the way.
At around mid-afternoon we decide to head back to our suite and rest for a bit. We finish unpacking.
Check out some of Mardi’s hotel room hacks over at Linke Lifestyle.
We’ve also been playing with a new video camera, an Insta360 X4. It shoots 360 degree 8K video, and I’ve used it a long our walk. We’ve been keen to expand this blog, which has been going since 2010 and add in some more rich content. So, we’ve set up some social channels.
Check them all out here.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559884432673
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@LinkeLifestyleAsWeSeeIt
https://www.instagram.com/linkelifestylessweseeit/
www.linkedin.com/company/linkelifestyle
Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/LinkeLifestyle
During our rest, I look at some of the 360 degree footage and start to learn about how best to capture some interesting and fun video to share on our social platforms. Check out a couple of examples below. The first eon shows us walking through Regents Park, and the second one is of some ducks in a pond.
As early evening arrives we head out for a walk down Oxford Street and into Trafalgar Square. It is absolutely packed, the balmy weather and long weekend combined to bring millions of tourists into London and we are smack bang in the middle of one of the busiest areas. We wander around for a while before heading back to Marylebone.
We find a little burger joint around the corner from the hotel, Tommi’s. Wow, the burgers were definitely better here! A perfect snack sized burger, with some fries, soft bun and delicious patty, just great food.
We call it a night and head home for a well-earned rest.
