We stayed at the London West Hollywood that last night having been recommended it by a number of friends. It certainly lived up to expectations; we’d booked through Amex FHR and received a room upgrade to a Royal Vista Suite having originally booked the cheapest standard room. Other FHR benefits here included a $100 food & beverage credit, noon check in (very handy as we set off from San Diego first thing to take advantage of this early check-in) & 4pm check-out. We didn’t need the late checkout though as our flight departure time was 15:50. On the subject of Amex FHR benefits we reaped some good ones on this trip which, in my opinion, still makes the annual fee well worth it. In Orlando we had a night at the Loew’s Portofino at Universal (so as to take advantage of early park access for Harry Potter , express ride passes and being on site for Halloween Horror Nights. I’d booked two rooms on the one booking via FHR and all benefits were applied to both rooms, including room upgrade, $100 F&B credit, early check in and late checkout. In this case the late checkout was really useful as it meant we could spend most of the day at Islands of Adventure with all our stuff left in the room. FHR also came in handy at San Diego (Doubletree) where (again for two rooms on the one booking) we received complimentary upgraded on both rooms, early check-in/late checkout, free breakfasts each morning (a sizeable saving when you see the price of breakfast!) and free internet.
One thing to mention about the London West Hollywood is the Gordon Ramsay Restaurant. We ate there and were disappointed to say the least. The food was good but the service appalling; I’ve posted a review on TripAdvisor. I hardly ever complain but had no choice on this occasion. Perhaps we just unlucky, but not judging by other recent reviews.
We checked out around 12:30 and made the 35 minute drive to LAX, dropped our car at Hertz and took the transfer bus to Tom Bradley Terminal. There was a long queue for Economy check-in and a few people in line at Club World and World Traveller Plus. The First check area was empty; we were seen quickly and politely and given directions to the One World Business Lounge by the agent. She also made a point of explaining that from early next year there will be dedicated First Class lounge that BA & Qantas will share.
We had priority access through security so no wait there and quickly through to the One World Business Lounge. It was a pleasant environment to while away the time before boarding with various types of seating areas and a mixture of people eating or working; the WiFi incidentally was very fast. What stood out for me was a huge circular leather sofa surrounding a semi-covered gas fire pit that’s set into large marble ring. The bar area was really snazzy, black-tiled and featuring signature cocktails and decent Australian and Californian wines. The buffet selection was good with a wide selection of fresh salads, hot items, and desserts. Keen to preserve my appetite for the five course tasting menu on the flight I tried small portions of quinoa mixed with feta & spinach and the slow-roasted beef short rib.
We decided to head to the gate early as wanted to look at the shops on the way, or were we just super excited about flying First for the first time ever!? Compared to LAX T2 the Tom Bradley terminal was luxurious! Loads of shops, clean, modern, light & spacious. When we reached the gate area it was fairly frenetic. Announcement after announcement asking various passengers approach the staff at the podium. I often wonder why this only seems to happen States side, I rarely witness the same frenetic stuff going on in UK gate rooms. Steve & I were now itching to get on, super excited about our first experience of BA First! Our first treat was when First and Club World passengers were called forward first as the small number of us is First had our own jet bridge to board the aircraft! On we went and were immediately warmly welcomed by the CSM and shown to our seats. Initial impressions were calmness and tranquillity but it was our massive suites that I couldn’t keep my eyes off! The CSM showed us how everything worked and the masses of storage space we each had, including our own personal wardrobe. I’d pre booked us seats 2K & 3K. We accepted the offer of Champagne and began settling in. There are only fourteen seats in First on the A380 and on this flight twelve were occupied.
We were offered a second round of Champagne by the CSM at the same time as she handed out the dinner menus and ‘First’ pyjamas and amenity kits. I’d researched beforehand the menu offerings and was fully au fait with the five course tasting menu with wine pairing. She explained the menu and we could eat whenever we like, whether post take-off or hours into the flight. We’d decided we would eat soon after departure as had intentionally eaten very little in the lounge earlier.
We pushed back on time and were soon airborne. Three cabin crew members were attending to the twelve of us in First, not a bad ratio! The CSM was soon back with us taking drinks orders and checking that we were still keen to do the tasting menu. She said that some people like a fast paced experience of the tasting menu and others long & drawn out & asked us to feel free to let out server know how much time we would like between courses. We were definitely in the long & drawn out category – the longer the better, after all it was only around 4.30pm!
Our table was laid, the first round of wine poured and first to arrive was the amuse bouche. Unexpected but delicious!
The starter followed a few minutes later but not before we were asked if were ready for it. Throughout the entire meal we were always given a small tasting measure of the paired wine first.
This meal was the best we have ever had on any flight along with the service that accompanied it, I’d go as far as saying that the turbot was among the most perfectly cooked pieces of turbot I’ve had in any restaurant.
The short rib course was also delicious
The sheer amount of space that I had (guest in Steve’s suite) was amazing.
Throughout the meal the service was exceptional, other people I noticed opted to eat later. From what I could see only two other people were dining at around the same time as us. The thing that I liked was that we were given the choice to enjoy the tasting menu at a speed that suited us; we just loved having the whole thing long and drawn out!
We elected to skip the dessert course and enjoy the cheese selection with a nice Port!
We interacted with both the CSM and the crew member serving us a lot throughout the meal service; they were both bubbly people and were meticulous in ensuring that every aspect of this dining experience was spot on.
When we were served coffee, brandy & chocolates the CSM asked us if we fancied a tour round the rest of the aircraft after dinner which we had no hesitation in accepting.
The CSM herself took us round, we went up the stairs forward of our cabin and long the CW cabin at the front of the upper deck. She then showed us the galley just behind CW and we ended up getting into conversation with the crew there. The CSM got called away but she asked one of the friendly crew members we were chatting with to complete the ‘tour’! We must have stayed chatting in that galley for a good half hour, even accepting the offer of a gin & tonic! Our friendly guide then showed us the rest of the upper deck and introduced us to crew at the galley at the back of the upper deck. From there it was down stairs and we ambled our way back along the lower deck to our cabin at the front. We were given all sorts of facts & figures along the way and it was really nice meeting & chatting with crew members in the galleys.
By the time we were back at our suites I felt ready for a sleep and had my bed made up.
I guess I must have had a good four hours sleep because when I woke breakfast was being served! Steve was already up and using the IFE so I popped round to his suite for breakfast. It was all served beautifully, the tea was piping hot – perfect for dealing with my ‘mild’ hangover!
When we were being served breakfast the CSM told us about the arrivals lounge at Heathrow, however we’d already decided that on arrival we would focus on getting home.
We were set to land a few minutes early but were held in a stack and touched down around fifteen minutes late. The crew thought First passengers would be disembarking via the forward jetty but there seemed to be a problem and at the last minute we were asked to exit via the normal route. Other passengers were held back so we were still first off. The Captain was already at the door saying goodbye to leaving passengers which was nice.
My overall verdict: This was a fantastic flight, one that I won’t forget in a very long time.
Was the meal served on this flight my best ever? Yes
Was the professionalism & slickness of service the best? Yes
Was the bed the most spacious and most comfortable of any flight I’ve been on: Yes (so much so I didn’t use the IFE at all on the entire flight!)
Was this the ‘best overall’ flight I’ve ever been on? No. The reason why is that, for me, the best flight I have ever taken was one in VS UC. It was the best because of the social interaction you get via the bar, especially on a day flight to San Francisco when you and a group of friends have taken over almost the entire the A zone!
Value for money wise we got an incredible deal, well it wasn’t a ‘deal’ – it is simply how the BA reward scheme works. I still scratch my head at how we got all that (including the CW outbound to MCO) for a little over £500 and 62.5k Avios each. We’ve already secured Avios redemptions for the same trip next September, not before we’ve enjoyed VS UC to LAS in April!
Thanks for reading
James
The ratio of staff was better though 2:6 
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Thank you for posting 
