LHR: Melia White House Hotel

Hello folks!

You won't believe this, but I had the distinction of being the very first crew to check in at the Melia White House hotel! We were received very warmly by the Director of Sales, Kati Sadchikova. She even took us around on a personal tour of the hotel grounds and the amenities.

The hotel is located east of Regents park, one small block north of Euston Road (behind a church). It is near the Great Portland Street Tube stop, which services the Circle, Hammersmith, and Metropolitan lines.


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The hotel is very well appointed. The lobby is impeccable, with marble floors and a clean design. Interestingly, there is no ramp, so you need to schlep your bags down a couple of stairs to get to the counter.





The small size of the rooms at the Melia White House are the biggest disappointment. They are a very tight squeeze in all respects. You no kidding only have about 18" of space between the foot of the bed and the opposite wall. The desk takes up the entire window wall, and there is almost not enough room to scoot the chair back far enough to sit down at the desk. The other beef is the pillows, which seemed very flat and unsupportive. The bed itself was fine, but not the best I've slept in. The thermostat is on the wall, but the fan speed is by the bed.



The bathroom, in keeping with the theme for the rest of the room, was small, but very well appointed.



You get free internet, wired and wireless. They'll give you a code upon check-in. If you're using the wired (ethernet), it's really tough to find where to put the code. You need to click on an obscure link at the bottom that says something like 'I already have a code.'

There are the standard meal discounts. I would think that we'd eat there a bit more than at the Metropole since most of the restaurants are a bit of a walk.

The gym is adequate. They have 3 treadmills, one elliptical, 2 bikes and 1 rower. There are dumbell weights, with the heaviest only being about 45 lbs or so. They really need to get at least a lat pull-down machine as a minimum, so let's bug them to put that in.

One of the best deals that they are giving aircrew is 2 for 1 at the bar from 4pm until 6pm. So, don't forget to stop by and kickstart your layover with a pint or two.





The Melia White House is a change of pace from the Metropole, and about a 5 minute extra van ride. Overall, it is a well appointed hotel that is conveniently located. The room size is the biggest detractor, but at least they are comping the internet. Have fun and be sure to post your comments on the hotel so we can get extra observations...

BRU: Chin Restaurant

Last time in Brussels, I heard about a Mongolian Barbeque restaurant called Chin. This time, I decided to check it out.

Chin Restaurant
Rue de l'Aqueduc 103
1050 Ixelles
Tel: 02 537 22 90
(google maps)
From the Sheraton, go across Avenue Louise on Rue du Bailli (past Michael Collins). At the end of the road (in front of the church) turn left onto Rue de l'Amazone. When you get to the intersection, you'll see Chin on the next street over.

Mongolian Barbeque style is where you choose your raw plate items yourself and a chef cooks them up for you. Chin is no different. You have your choice of chicken, beef, shrimp and calamari for the meats, and there were about 15 or so different veggie items that you can add to the meats. You have a choice of 10 different sauces of varying spice ranges to add to your meal.

After you've chosen all your raw items, take it to the cook or waitress and tell them which sauce you want. In about 5 to 10 minutes, your food will be cooked and brought to your table. They will bring out a bowl of white rice to go with your meal.

The price for the meal was €14.50, and it is all you can eat. I ate two plates, the first one with a spicy curry sauce, and the second with a Japanese Teriyaki style sauce.

The restaurant opens at 6pm, so plan accordingly. They weren't busy when we went, but I've heard that it can get a bit crowded.

During my Air Force years, Mongolian BBQ nights were always a feast of fun, and this meal at Chin was no different. It's a great value and very good food that you get to select yourself. And that flexibility makes Chin a great group visit as well.

Choose your fixins


The chef cooks it up adding your sauce choice.


And voila! A hearty meal with all the stuff that you picked!

DXB: Ski Dubai!

Hello Fellow Dubaiers!

Well, I'd heard about Ski Dubai from other folks, and I really wanted to check it out. Sure, it's one of those gimmicky kinda things, but it's certainly worth some bragging rights at the bar.

Also, I wanted to try my hand again at skiing after a 22 year hiatus. The last time I donned skis was in 1987 (ouch!). And since I'll probably be taking my kids skiing this year for their first time (we did snowboarding last year), I wanted to reacquaint myself.



Until the tram gets in service, the best way to get to and from the Mall is via a cab. It's a 20-30 minute ride from the Festival City Marriot, and will cost you about 50 dirhams, which is about $14.


The 2 hour skiing pass costs 180 dirhams ($49) and that covers everything except a hat and gloves. Yes, the snowsuit and jacket are provided. There is a little upper arm zippered pocket which is where you're supposed to keep your little RFID lift ticket. That way, you can easily scan it each time you enter the chairlift line. It will tell you how much time you have remaining

You'll probably want to bring a hat and gloves as it's pretty cold in there, as it should be. They keep it at -1 Celsius, just below the freezing mark, but you can manage without. You'll just be mildly uncomfortable, but its just for 2 hours anyway... I'd wear long pants, and a long sleeve shirt would be nice. You can bring a few more layers and rent a locker if you want to have more clothing options.

For an experienced skier, you'll be bored, except for the thought that your skiing on a layover when its 125 outside! There is only about 200 feet of vertical drop, and the longest run is 450 yards long. But I had a lot of fun nonetheless. The snow is actually pretty good. Not powder, but well made man made snow. The lack of sun helps to keep out the slushy and icy spots that an east coast skier might be acquainted with.



The quad chair lift goes up to a midway optional drop off point, and then continues the rest of the way up to the top. The queue forms just like at any other ski resort. The lift is a bit slow at times, however.

Overall, I'd give the Ski Dubai thing a thumbs up. It such a unique experience to ski indoors in a desert that it allows you to accept the various shortcomings with a grin!

Below is a short video of my Ski Dubai experience... Enjoy!

FRA: Baseler Eck

Baseler Platz 7
60329 Gutleutviertel, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
069 252439

Finally, I had a layover with a crowd that wanted to visit the Baseler Eck. I've heard a lot about this restaurant, and was anxious to get my Jaegerschnitzel currency updated!

To get to the Baseler Eck from the Marriot, just take the #16 S-Bahn (or any Bahn that'll get you to Baseler Platz, here's a map) and then follow the map below. Don't forget that you can do a GruppenKarte for gaggles of up to 5. If it's nice out, its not a bad walk if you want a little exercise.



Schweinshaxe is apparently the fave at the restaurant. I'd had that dish a few weeks ago, and I wanted Jaegerschnitzel, so there you go. One guy ordered the bratwurst, but I always get bratwursts at the airport, so that didn't interest me.

Everyone loved their dishes! I scarfed down my Jaegerschnitzel, with a coupla Erdinger Weissbieren. Totally way cool!

So, meander your way over to the Eck. You won't be disappointed. It's been a fave of airline crews for quite some time. Clearly evident with the number of Aviation stickers on the walls. Bring yours and get it posted! Enjoy!